Whey vs. Plant Protein: How to Choose the Best Option for You

Figuring out the best protein powder for you can be tricky. In addition to personal factors like taste and texture preference, you’ll likely want to know which type of protein powder is best for your fitness goals. You might be trying to optimize recovery or promote hypertrophy. Whatever you want to accomplish in the gym, ensuring that you get an adequate amount of protein is key. 

Ideally, you’ll get enough protein in your diet, but if you need high amounts of this muscle-building macronutrient to fuel your gains, protein powder is one of the best supplements for you. Choosing sides in the battle of whey protein vs. plant protein isn’t hard if you’re vegan. After all, whey is dairy while plant protein is vegan. But if you’re looking for performance differences over dietary preferences, read on to find out whether plant protein or whey protein reigns.

Editor’s Note: The content on BarBend is meant to be informative in nature, but it should not be taken as medical advice. When starting a new training regimen and/or diet, it is always a good idea to consult a trusted medical professional. We are not a medical resource. The opinions and articles on this site are not intended for use as diagnosis, prevention, and/or treatment of health problems. They are not substitutes for consulting a qualified medical professional.

What Is Whey Protein?

The best whey protein powders, drinks, bars, and snacks utilize a dairy-based protein source that comes from milk. It’s technically highly processed because whey protein is refined until it’s stripped of most non-protein nutritional content. The protein concentrate or isolate that you’re left with contains high protein concentrations by weight. (1)

Typically, whey protein concentrate is about 70 to 80% protein by weight, while whey protein isolate has an even higher percentage, coming in at about 90 to 95% protein by weight. A serving of whey protein may come in around 25 grams of protein, accompanied by 120 calories, 1.2 grams of fat, and 1.4 grams of carbohydrates. (1) That means that this kind of protein powder is a very efficient way to hit your target protein intake.

Additionally, when perusing your whey protein options, you may have come across casein protein. Casein is derived from milk in the same way that whey is — enzymes are added to milk, and when the milk curdles and turns into a cheese, the hard parts are used for casein protein while the leftover liquid is used for whey. (2) The biggest difference between the two protein sources is that casein digests slower than whey.

[Related: Best Protein Powders for Muscle Gain]

What Is Plant Protein?

Like whey protein, plant proteins are processed and stripped of other nutritional components, leaving behind high concentrations of protein. While whey comes from cow’s milk, plant protein can come from a variety of good vegan protein sources, such as peas, soy, oat, brown rice, hemp, potato, canola, legumes, and fava beans.

Plant-based protein isolates and concentrates — like the kind generally found in plant-based protein powders — often contain upwards of 80% protein by weight. (3) This allows lifters to get up to 20 to 25 grams of vegan protein per serving. (3)

Don’t automatically assume that plant protein is inferior to animal-based protein in terms of nutritional quality and health benefits. Like whey protein, pea protein and hemp protein are complete proteins. That means they include all nine essential amino acids that your body can’t create on its own. Additionally, these two sources of proteins also contain branched-chain amino acids, or BCAAs, which can aid in recovery and muscle building.

In cases where specific plant proteins don’t have a complete amino acid profile, many protein powder brands will combine different plant-based sources to ensure you can meet your dietary needs. (4)

How Much Protein Do You Need?

How much protein do you actually need each day? The protein needs of an athlete depend on a wide range of factors. These include your age, level of activity, and fitness goals.

If you’re aiming to maintain muscle mass during a cut within bodybuilding training, for example, an extra-high protein intake might be helpful. And if you’re trying to build muscle with intense CrossFit workouts, protein continues to be a big factor for muscle protein synthesis — or, your muscles converting the protein you’ve consumed into muscle.

Take advantage of BarBend’s protein intake calculator to ensure that your daily protein needs are being met.

Whey Protein Pros and Cons

While your choice of protein may boil down to preference, here are some of the pros and cons of whey protein sources from digestibility to environmental impact. (5)(6)

Plant Protein Pros and Cons

The kinds of plant protein sources you’ll find in many of the best vegan protein powders are often used by vegans, vegetarians, and those who struggle with lactose or milk consumption. Here are some pros and cons of plant proteins, from their fiber content and environmental impact to their amino acid profile. (7)(8)(4)

Whey Protein Vs. Plant Protein for Overall Health

To a certain extent, protein is protein. You need it to survive, and you also need it to help you pack on muscle mass. But you might have particular concerns about your body’s ability to process different proteins and their impact on your health beyond muscle growth.

[Read More: How to Increase Strength]

Research suggests that chronic use of whey protein without consulting a medical professional may lead to negative impacts on liver and kidney function, as well as your skin and gut microbiome. (9) 

But it’s not all bad news. Limited research suggests that whey protein can contribute to improved insulin response and reduced blood pressure. (10)(11) As such, it may possibly have some helpful impacts on the symptoms of metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular risk factors. (10)(12) However, more research is needed on the subject. (11)

On the other hand, there seems to be more evidence that plant-based proteins can reduce markers of cardiovascular disease more effectively than animal-based protein. (13) This effect may be particularly pronounced with soy protein. (14) Plant protein has even been recommended as a substitute for animal protein as one way to help improve cardio-metabolic health. (15)

Still, researchers warn that this evidence doesn’t mean that animal protein is automatically inferior when it comes to cardiovascular health. (16) So you don’t have to chuck out your whey protein just yet.

The Winner

While research doesn’t seem to suggest a downside to plant-based protein for your overall health, there may be limited negative impacts of chronic whey protein supplementation. However, those results were found when it was not used in recommended amounts or with consultation with medical professionals.

The edge seems to belong to plant protein in this case, but if you’re using whey protein within recommended amounts, it’s not necessarily an inferior choice.

Whey Protein Vs. Plant Protein for Muscle Growth

If you’re trying to figure out how to gain muscle most effectively, you may well be on the search for the right protein powder.

However, you may not be faced with an either-or situation. Plant protein seems to support muscle growth on the same level as animal protein. Research suggests that soy protein and whey protein supplements both support similar increases in lean muscle mass when an athlete pairs supplementation with resistance training. (17)

Another study suggests that supplementing with 19 grams of whey protein or 26 grams of soy protein isolate — both containing 2 grams of the BCAA leucine — can promote similar levels of muscle growth. (18) 

Similarly, supplementing with 30 grams of a corn-, wheat-, and pea-protein blend may yield similar muscle synthesis rates as an equivalent amount of high-quality animal-based protein. (19)

The Winner

Research seems to support the idea that supplementing with plant-based protein can support hypertrophy as whey protein supplementation. In this case, it seems that either supplement will support your goals. This one might come down to personal preference, cost, or whether you’re vegan.

Whey Protein Vs. Plant Protein for Athletic Performance

Which type of protein is going to help you perform better in the gym? Studies suggest that both whey and plant-based protein can be helpful.

Research suggests that vegan protein blends consumed post-workout can positively impact muscle recovery, and that vertical jump and squat performances may potentially improve following a previous tough workout. (20) So if you’re stacking back-to-back workouts, vegan protein powder may come to the rescue and help ensure continued levels of high performance.

Studies also show that whey protein may help cisgender men increase strength for the squat, pull-up, bench press, and overhead press. (21)

According to research, soy protein and whey protein support similar strength increases in both the squat and bench press. (22) During high-intensity training, supplementation with both types of protein may positively impact max strength, force production, and general gym performance. (23)

However, research including young adult athletes of more than one gender has suggested that protein supplementation as a whole might not directly support strength increases. (24)

The Winner

Once again, both plant protein and whey protein may support your performance in the gym. However, if you’re specifically aiming to get stronger, supplementing with protein may not directly help your cause. Still, if it’s supporting overall health, muscle growth, and recovery, you might experience increases in athletic performance as an indirect effect.

Whey Protein Vs. Plant Protein for Recovery

When taken both immediately post-exercise and also the morning after a tough workout, whey protein may improve muscle recovery. (24) Research suggests that keeping your protein levels high with this pattern of supplementation may help stave off next-day decreases in endurance, power, and max strength after intense training. (24) 

For maximal potential muscle recovery benefits, it might be more effective to supplement with whey protein after strenuous exercise than before. (25)

But don’t sleep on plant protein. Vegan protein blends have also been found to improve muscle recovery and function over 24 hours. (20)(26)

The Winner

Protein may not necessarily be the first supplement you might think of when you want to bolster muscle recovery. But it can still be a valuable part of an overall strategy of nutrition for athletes. Supplementing with either type of protein seems like it may help bolster your recovery and get you back into top lifting form.

Your Takeaways

Which protein type takes home the overall win? Check out these key takeaways:

• Whey protein and plant protein powders are both refined and distilled so that they’re stripped of most nutritional content other than protein.
• Whey protein is milk-based, while plant protein can come from a variety of vegan sources, like peas, hemp, and oats.
• Plant protein may be more beneficial to an athlete’s overall health, but whey protein supplementation may also help improve insulin responses and blood pressure reduction. Especially if you’re concerned about liver or kidney function, consider consulting a medical professional along with your whey protein (or any) supplementation.
• In terms of muscle growth, gym performance, and recovery, both plant and whey proteins seem to benefit athletes on similar levels.

If you’re vegan, you’ll, of course, err on the side of plant protein. But otherwise, research suggests that they’ll both get the job done.

More Nutrition Articles

In the debate of whey protein versus plant protein, there doesn’t seem to be a clearly defined winner. And that’s not a bad thing — it simply means that there are a lot of options for strength athletes to boost their gym performance with protein supplements. (Unless you’re vegan. In that case, it’s plant protein for you all the way.)

As you search for yet another potential competitive edge in supplement form, check out these nutrition articles and supplement round-ups from BarBend’s archives.

• Intuitive Eating for Strength & Physique Athletes — Everything You Need to Know
• How to Eat for CrossFit — A CrossFitter’s Guide to Nutrition
• How to Improve Your Gut Health — Evidence-Based Guidance for a Strong Stomach

Whey Protein vs. Plant Protein FAQs

References

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2. Woodland, Rosee. (2022) How Protein Powder Is Made. LiveScience.
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28. ​​Lynch, H. M., Buman, M. P., Dickinson, J. M., Ransdell, L. B., Johnston, C. S., & Wharton, C. M. (2020). No Significant Differences in Muscle Growth and Strength Development When Consuming Soy and Whey Protein Supplements Matched for Leucine Following a 12 Week Resistance Training Program in Men and Women: A Randomized Trial. International journal of environmental research and public health, 17(11), 3871. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17113871