Lowest-Sodium Beef Jerky & Meat Sticks, Ranked (2026): Country Archer Beats Jack Link's by Nearly 3x

17 Jerky and Meat Sticks, Ranked by Sodium per Serving

Every figure below comes from each product's own nutrition-facts breakdown already published on this site (linked in the Product column), sourced from each brand's official label. Serving sizes differ by format — most jerky is sold and labeled per ounce (28g), while meat sticks are individually sized (25–33g) — so we've added a sodium-per-gram-of-protein column to normalize for the fact that a lower-sodium product with less protein isn't necessarily the better buy for a protein snack.

* KRAVE Sea Salt Original lands mid-table on absolute sodium, but its 11g of sugar per ounce (roughly three teaspoons) is the highest in this comparison by a wide margin — a real trade-off for anyone using this ranking to pick a jerky, not just a low-sodium one. Full detail in our beef jerky reviews.

The Catch: Low Sodium Doesn't Always Mean High Protein

Ranking purely by sodium per serving surfaces a trap. Old Wisconsin Beef Snack Stick (270mg) and Vermont Smoke & Cure Original (370mg) both look like standout low-sodium picks on the raw table — until you check the protein column. Old Wisconsin delivers only 4g of protein per stick, and Vermont Smoke & Cure delivers 6g. On a sodium-per-gram-of-protein basis, those two sticks are actually among the worst in the entire ranking (67.5mg and 61.7mg of sodium per gram of protein, respectively) — worse than Jack Link's Original's headline-grabbing 770mg once you account for how little protein you're getting per stick. If the goal is a genuinely efficient low-sodium protein snack rather than just a low sodium number on the label, Country Archer Classic Original (21.7mg per gram of protein) and the Stryve Biltong lineup (26.9–31.3mg per gram of protein) are the honest winners.

Why Sodium Varies So Much Between Brands and Formats

Sodium in jerky and meat sticks comes from two places: the cure (salt is what makes shelf-stable dried meat safe without refrigeration) and the marinade (added for flavor beyond basic preservation). Brands that lean on a simple salt-forward cure with few other ingredients — Country Archer, Chomps, Stryve's air-dried biltong process — tend to land lower on sodium than brands using a heavier soy-sauce-based marinade, like Old Trapper and Jack Link's. Biltong specifically uses a vinegar-and-spice cure rather than a wet smoke-and-marinade process, which is part of why the Stryve lineup posts real double-digit protein (15–16g per ounce, ahead of every flat jerky on this list) at a moderate sodium cost. Meat sticks, meanwhile, vary by whether the recipe is a lean single-source-meat formula (Chomps, Country Archer) or a fattier all-purpose snack-stick blend (Old Trapper Deli Style, Duke's) — the fattier sticks in this list also tend to carry more sodium per gram of protein because they're diluting the protein with fat rather than adding jerky-style protein density.

Best Pick by Goal

• Lowest sodium, period: Country Archer Classic Original — 260mg per ounce, the lowest in this ranking, alongside a strong 12g of protein.
• Best sodium-to-protein ratio overall: Country Archer Classic Original (21.7mg sodium per gram of protein), followed closely by Stryve Biltong Seasoned (26.9mg).
• Best low-sodium snack-stick format: Chomps Original Turkey — 390mg of sodium for 12g of protein, the strongest sodium-to-protein balance of any snack stick here.
• Highest protein among low-sodium picks: Stryve Biltong Seasoned and Original Sliced — 16g of protein each for ~430–450mg of sodium, ahead of every flat jerky brand on protein while staying mid-pack on sodium.
• Avoid if sodium is the concern: Old Trapper Deli Style Beef Stick (600mg for only 6g of protein — 100mg of sodium per gram of protein, the worst ratio in this ranking) and Jack Link's Original (~770mg, the highest absolute sodium here).

Frequently Asked Questions

Which beef jerky has the lowest sodium?

Country Archer Classic Original has the lowest sodium of any beef jerky we've verified at 260mg per ounce — less than a third of Jack Link's Original's ~770mg — while still delivering 12g of protein per ounce and 0g of sugar.

Which meat stick has the lowest sodium?

Old Wisconsin Beef Snack Stick has the lowest absolute sodium among meat sticks in this ranking at 270mg, but it only carries 4g of protein per stick. Among meat sticks with real protein density, Chomps Original Beef (380mg for 10g protein) and Chomps Original Turkey (390mg for 12g protein) are the stronger picks.

Does low-sodium jerky always sacrifice protein?

No — but it's not guaranteed either, which is the point of ranking by sodium-per-gram-of-protein rather than sodium alone. Country Archer Classic Original and the Stryve Biltong line both combine low-to-moderate sodium with above-average protein. On the other hand, Old Wisconsin and Vermont Smoke & Cure post low absolute sodium numbers but very little protein, which makes them a worse deal than their spot on the raw sodium table suggests.

How much of my daily sodium budget does a serving of jerky use?

The American Heart Association recommends no more than 2,300mg of sodium per day. A 1oz serving of Jack Link's Original (~770mg) uses roughly a third of that budget in a single snack. A serving of Country Archer Classic Original (260mg) uses about 11%. Anyone eating jerky or meat sticks daily, or managing blood pressure, gets a meaningfully larger margin from the lower-sodium picks at the top of this ranking.

Is Stryve Biltong a good low-sodium, high-protein snack?

Yes — Stryve's biltong lineup posts some of the highest protein numbers in this entire comparison (15–16g per ounce, ahead of every flat jerky brand here) at a moderate sodium cost (~430–470mg), giving it the best sodium-per-gram-of-protein ratio after Country Archer. Full nutrition breakdown by flavor in our Stryve Biltong nutrition facts guide.

Why is Jack Link's Original so high in sodium?

Jack Link's Original uses a soy-sauce-based marinade for flavor on top of the base salt cure needed for shelf stability, which stacks additional sodium beyond what a simpler salt-and-spice cure (like Country Archer's) requires. At ~770mg per ounce, it's the highest sodium product in this ranking and carries the least protein per gram of sodium of any jerky (as opposed to meat stick) on the list. Full breakdown in our Jack Link's beef jerky nutrition facts page.

Bottom line: Country Archer Classic Original is the clear winner for anyone prioritizing sodium — 260mg per ounce with 12g of protein and 0g of sugar, the best combination of low sodium and high protein of any product in this ranking. Stryve Biltong Seasoned is the runner-up and the pick if raw protein grams matter more than shaving the last 100mg of sodium. The trap to avoid is chasing the lowest number on the sodium column alone: Old Wisconsin and Vermont Smoke & Cure both look like winners there but deliver so little protein that their sodium-per-gram-of-protein math is worse than Jack Link's. Compare the full protein-first ranking in our best beef jerky for protein guide, see the complete meat-stick lineup in best high-protein meat sticks, read the full brand-by-brand review in beef jerky reviews 2026, or browse the full protein snacks directory.