Cell Based Milk
Comparisons

Cell-based milk vs. oat, soy and other plant milks

Plant milks are cheap, available and low-impact. Cell-based milk's case rests on something they can't offer: being actual dairy.

Updated 4 min readBy the Cell Based Milk team
Illustration of several milk glasses of different sizes

Key takeaways

  • Soy milk is the closest plant milk to dairy nutritionally. Oat, almond and rice milk are much lower in protein.
  • Plant milks have a far smaller footprint than dairy, and they're available today.
  • Cell-based milk's advantage is real dairy proteins and fat, which matter most for cheese, coffee and baking.
  • Choose by what matters to you: nutrition, cooking, environment, allergies, or price.

Plant milks have changed the dairy aisle. Oat, soy, almond and rice milk now sit beside cow’s milk in most stores. So where would cell-based milk fit?

The short answer: plant milks are alternatives to milk, while cell-based milk is milk made a different way. That shapes every comparison below.

The full comparison

Cell-based Cow’s milk Soy Oat Almond Rice
Protein per cup (approx.) ~8 g (target) ~8 g ~7 g ~3 g ~1 g <1 g
Complete protein Yes Yes Yes No No No
Works for cheesemaking Expected Yes Limited No No No
CO₂e per liter Unproven 3.15 kg 0.98 kg 0.90 kg 0.70 kg 1.18 kg
Fresh water per liter Unproven 628 L 28 L 48 L 371 L 270 L
Land per liter Unproven 8.95 m² 0.66 m² 0.76 m² 0.50 m² 0.34 m²
Main allergen Milk Milk Soy Usually none* Tree nuts Usually none
Available now No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

Environmental data: Poore & Nemecek (2018) via Our World in Data. Protein values are typical and vary by brand. *Oat milk may be processed with gluten-containing grains unless labeled gluten-free.

Nutrition

Soy milk is the nutritional standout among plant milks, with protein close to dairy and a complete amino acid profile. Oat milk is creamy and popular in coffee, but it’s lower in protein and higher in carbohydrates. Almond and rice milk are mostly water, with very little protein.

Most plant milks rely on fortification for calcium, vitamin D and B12. Fortified soy milk, for example, contains about 299 mg of calcium per cup, matching nonfat cow’s milk, according to the NIH.

Cell-based milk aims to match cow’s milk, with protein, fat and lactose produced by the cells themselves. See taste and nutrition for details.

Cooking and coffee

This is where real dairy proteins matter most.

  • Cheese depends on casein, which forms curds. Plant milks can’t do this without significant processing and additives.
  • Coffee foam relies on milk proteins. Barista-style oat milks get close with added oils and stabilizers.
  • Baking and sauces benefit from milk’s fat and proteins, which brown, thicken and emulsify.

Cell-based milk should behave like dairy in all three. That’s why many in the industry expect its first big market to be cheese and dairy ingredients rather than drinking milk.

Environmental impact

On today’s evidence, plant milks win clearly. Every common plant milk produces roughly a third or less of dairy’s emissions per liter and uses a small fraction of the land. Soy and oat are especially water-efficient; almond and rice use more.

Cell-based milk could compete on these measures, but its footprint hasn’t been independently measured at scale. Our environmental analysis explains why the answer depends heavily on energy and growth media.

Allergies and diets

  • Milk allergy or vegan: plant milks. Cell-based milk contains real milk proteins.
  • Soy or nut allergy: avoid soy or almond milk respectively. Oat, rice, cow’s and cell-based milk avoid those allergens.
  • Lactose intolerance: all plant milks are lactose-free. Cell-based milk is expected to contain lactose unless treated. More in our lactose and allergy guide.

Price and availability

Plant milks are available everywhere at prices close to, or a bit above, conventional milk. Cell-based milk isn’t sold in stores yet, and early products are expected to be expensive. See when you can buy cell-based milk.

Which is right for you?

If you care most about… Best choice today
Lowest environmental impact Oat or soy milk
Protein from a plant milk Soy milk
Avoiding all animal products Any plant milk
Real dairy taste and cooking, without a cow Cell-based milk, once available
Lowest cost Conventional or store-brand plant milk

For a closer look at one pairing, read cell-based milk vs. almond milk.

Sources

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