In this work, we demonstrate that glycolytic intermediates can serve as efficient energy sources to regenerate ATP during continuous-exchange cell-free (CECF) protein synthesis reactions. Through the use of an optimal energy source, approximately 10 mg/ml of protein was generated from a CECF protein synthesis reaction at greatly reduced reagent costs. Compared with the conventional reactions utilizing phosphoenol pyruvate as an energy source, the described method yields 10-fold higher productivity per unit reagent cost, making the techniques of CECF protein synthesis a more realistic alternative for rapid protein production.