Sheep milk has the most protein of any common milk, with roughly 15 grams per cup, nearly double the 8 grams you get from cow milk. But the answer shifts depending on whether you’re comparing animals, plant-based options, or specialty products. Here’s how they all stack up.
Cow Milk: The 8-Gram Baseline
A standard 8-ounce cup of cow milk delivers about 8 grams of protein, regardless of fat content. Whole, 2%, 1%, and skim all land in the same range because removing fat doesn’t change the protein. That 8 grams covers roughly 14% of the daily recommended intake for adult men (56 grams) and about 17% for adult women (46 grams).
Cow milk contains two types of protein, casein and whey, both considered “complete” proteins because they supply all nine essential amino acids your body can’t make on its own. This is why dairy milk has long been a go-to recovery drink after exercise.
Sheep Milk Leads Among Animals
If you’re comparing milk straight from the animal, sheep milk is the clear winner. It contains about 6.3% protein by weight, which translates to roughly 15 grams per cup. That’s nearly twice what cow milk offers. Goat milk comes in at around 3.3% protein (about 8 grams per cup), making it comparable to cow milk. Camel milk trails slightly at about 3% protein, or around 7 grams per cup.
Sheep milk is thicker and richer than cow milk, with a notably higher fat content as well. It’s commonly used for cheese (Roquefort, feta, Pecorino Romano) rather than drinking straight. Finding it in a grocery store carton is harder than finding cow or even goat milk, and it tends to cost significantly more.
Ultra-Filtered Milk: More Protein, Same Source
Ultra-filtered cow milk is the highest-protein option you’ll commonly find in a regular grocery store. Brands like Fairlife push the protein up to 13 grams per cup by running milk through a fine membrane that concentrates the protein while filtering out much of the sugar (lactose). The process doesn’t add anything artificial. It simply separates milk’s natural components and keeps a higher proportion of protein in the final product.
Some ultra-filtered products go even further. Milk processed with an additional step called diafiltration can reach protein concentrations of 16 to 17% by dry weight, though these are more common as ingredients in protein shakes and dairy-based foods than as something you’d pour over cereal.
Soy and Pea Milk Match Cow Milk
Among plant-based milks, soy milk and pea milk are the protein leaders. A cup of unsweetened soy milk provides about 8.7 grams of protein, actually edging out cow milk by a small margin. Pea milk (sold under brands like Ripple) delivers about 8 grams per cup.
If you’ve heard that pea protein is “incomplete” because peas are low in one amino acid, that’s technically true in isolation but largely irrelevant in practice. As long as you eat a reasonably varied diet throughout the day, your body gets what it needs. Both soy and pea milk are solid choices for anyone avoiding dairy who still wants meaningful protein from their milk.
Fortified Plant Milks Can Beat Dairy
Some plant milk brands add extra protein isolates to push their numbers above what even cow milk provides. Silk Protein, for example, packs 13 grams of protein per cup by blending soy and other plant proteins. That matches ultra-filtered cow milk and exceeds regular dairy milk by more than 60%.
No other major plant milk brand currently tops that 13-gram mark, but several soy and pea protein milks reliably hit the 8-gram level. If protein is your priority, check the nutrition label rather than trusting the front of the carton. The difference between brands within the same category can be significant.
Almond, Oat, and Other Milks Fall Short
Not all plant milks are created equal when it comes to protein. Oat milk contains about 4 grams per cup, half of what cow milk offers. Almond milk is even lower at just 1 gram per cup. Rice milk and coconut milk are similarly low, typically landing between 0 and 1 gram of protein per serving.
These milks have their own appeal (oat milk’s creaminess in coffee, coconut milk’s flavor in smoothies), but they’re poor choices if you’re counting on your milk to contribute meaningful protein to your diet. You’d need to drink 8 cups of almond milk to match one cup of soy milk.
Quick Protein Comparison Per Cup
- Sheep milk: ~15 g
- Ultra-filtered cow milk: 13 g
- Fortified plant milk (Silk Protein): 13 g
- Soy milk: ~8.7 g
- Cow milk (any fat level): 8 g
- Pea milk: 8 g
- Goat milk: ~8 g
- Camel milk: ~7 g
- Oat milk: 4 g
- Almond milk: 1 g
Your best pick depends on what’s available and what fits your diet. For most people browsing the dairy aisle, ultra-filtered cow milk or soy milk offers the best protein per cup without hunting down specialty products. If you can find sheep milk and don’t mind the price, nothing in a glass beats it.