Beef or shrimp: which is healthier?

Full comparison · Protein · Calories · Healthier · Cholesterol · Iron

Neither food is healthier in every way. Per 3.5 oz (100 g), here is where beef and shrimp differ against FDA Daily Values, so you can choose for what you need more or less of.

Beef

More of: protein (61% vs 46% DV), iron (11% vs 2% DV), potassium (8% vs 4% DV).
Also more of what the FDA treats as nutrients to limit: saturated fat (11% vs 3% DV).

Shrimp

More of: vitamin a (10% vs 0% DV), calcium (7% vs 2% DV), folate (6% vs 2% DV), magnesium (9% vs 6% DV).
Also more of what the FDA treats as nutrients to limit: cholesterol (70% vs 27% DV), sodium (41% vs 3% DV).

Beyond the nutrient table

Health effects depend on more than composition: how much you eat, what it replaces, and the studies on each food. These pages grade that evidence:

What the numbers don't tell you

Per 4 oz (113 g), broiled lean top sirloin has about 35 g protein and 207 calories, cooked shrimp about 26 g and 134 calories. Beef has about six times the iron, 2.2 mg against 0.4 mg.

Shrimp has 238 mg cholesterol per 4 oz against 93 mg. In a 1996 trial in adults with normal lipids, 10.6 oz (300 g) of shrimp a day raised LDL 7.1 percent and HDL 12.1 percent, so the LDL to HDL ratio did not worsen. This shrimp entry has 1,070 mg per 4 oz and may contain moisture-retaining additives, and raw farmed shrimp in USDA samples ran from 113 to 783 mg per 3.5 oz (100 g).

Shellfish allergy is challenge-confirmed in about 1 in 1,000 Europeans, and in lab tests cooked crustacean extract bound allergy antibodies more strongly than raw. About one shrimp sample in five carried Vibrio, a greater risk with liver disease, diabetes, cancer or stomach acid reducers, CDC says. FDA advises cooking shrimp until pearly and opaque and steak to 145 °F (63 °C) with a 3 minute rest. For gout, observational data link red meat with 29 percent higher odds, and fish and shellfish with higher risk in women only.

Pick shrimp for fewer calories and less saturated fat, beef for iron and protein, and check shrimp labels for sodium.

Evidence behind this note

Level B Three hundred grams of shrimp a day raised LDL cholesterol by a fourteenth and HDL by an eighth, so the ratio between them did not get worse. Am J Clin Nutr, 1996
Level E Per 100 g, USDA samples of lobster tail carried about three times the selenium of farm-raised shrimp (63 vs 19 micrograms), while sodium in both swung more than threefold between samples. USDA FoodData Central, Foundation Foods, release 2026-04-30 (lobster tail FDC 2747657; shrimp farm raised raw)
Level C One European in a thousand has shellfish allergy confirmed by a food challenge, against four in a thousand who report one. Allergy, 2023
Level D Cooking made crustacean extracts bind allergy antibodies more strongly, not less, in every species tested. PLoS One, 2017
Level C About one shrimp sample in five carried Vibrio bacteria, and two thirds of the isolates resisted penicillins. Food Res Int, 2026
Level E CDC says most vibriosis comes from eating raw or undercooked shellfish, and that liver disease, cancer, diabetes, HIV, immune-suppressing therapy or stomach acid reducers raise the risk of infection and severe complications. About Vibrio Infection, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, People at risk
Level E FDA says beef steak should reach 145 F with a 3 minute rest, poultry 165 F and shrimp until the flesh is pearly and opaque, and a marinade used on raw meat should not be reused unless boiled first. FDA, Safe Food Handling, consumer guidance, updated 2024-03-05
Level C Observational data from 19 studies link red meat intake with 29% higher odds of gout. Asia Pac J Clin Nutr, 2018
Level C In cohort studies of gout, higher fish and shellfish intake carried a 36% higher risk in women (HR 1.36) but no measurable risk in men (HR 1.02), a difference the reviewers say rests on single studies. Adv Rheumatol, 2019

Written from the studies and agency guidance we hold for both foods, reviewed by the Bioma editorial system. How we verify.

Keep exploring

Read more about these foods

What the studies say

Is shrimp good for weight loss? Untested, and fish trials show under 4.4 lb (2 kg)

Rankings and guides

More comparisons

Where the numbers come from

Beef: USDA FoodData Central, Beef, top sirloin, steak, separable lean only, trimmed to 0" fat, all grades, cooked, broiled, FDC ID 168634 · all forms of beef
Shrimp: USDA FoodData Central, Crustaceans, shrimp, mixed species, cooked, moist heat (may contain additives to retain moisture), FDC ID 171971 · full profile · all forms of shrimp

Each food is one USDA entry, chosen as it is usually eaten. Other cuts, brands and preparations differ, and the links show them. % DV uses FDA Daily Values for adults. How we verify.