Does plant protein powder build muscle as well as whey?

Short answer

Nearly the same. Strength showed no difference, and where whey came out ahead on muscle mass, pooled studies found about 0.41 kg in younger people. In trials using 24-50 g a day of pea, rice or soy-pea powder, muscle grew no differently from whey.

Does plant protein powder build muscle as well as whey?
'Plant = fewer amino acids = less muscle' — does this formula hold?
A common claim is that pea and rice protein carry fewer of the essential amino acids that build muscle, so they work worse than whey. We checked each step, from what reaches the blood to how much muscle people actually gained.
Whey put more amino acids in the blood
But muscle building ran at the same speed
10 people took 32 g of whey or a plant protein blend after training, on separate days. Over 4 hours, essential amino acids in the blood were about 44% higher with whey. Yet the rate at which muscle protein was built showed no difference between the two.
Pea vs whey for 12 weeks
No difference in muscle thickness or strength
161 people trained their arms for 12 weeks while taking pea protein, whey or a dummy powder, 25 g twice a day (137 finished). Arm muscle thickness and strength showed no difference between pea and whey.
Rice protein was no different
48 g or 24 g, no gap with whey
24 people took 48 g of rice or whey protein after training for 8 weeks. Lean mass (muscle and everything except fat) rose 2.5 kg and 3.2 kg, with no difference between them. In another study of 24 people using 24 g, changes in body composition and strength also showed no difference.
What about a soy-pea blend?
Lean mass rose 2.4 kg vs 2.5 kg in 12 weeks
44 people trained for 12 weeks while taking 15 g three times a day of either a soy-pea blend or whey. Lean mass rose 2.4 kg and 2.5 kg, and their heaviest leg press went up 64 kg and 63 kg. There was no difference.
So does whey ever win?
Pooled together, it edged ahead on muscle mass
An analysis that pooled 16 studies found protein type did not matter for strength. A muscle mass gap appeared only in younger adults, and it was 0.41 kg. A 2025 analysis of 30 studies also found less muscle with plant proteins like rice, oat and potato than with animal protein, while soy showed no difference from milk.
Bottom line: plant powder builds muscle too
No gap in strength, a small gap in muscle mass
At the same dose, strength showed no difference and whey was slightly ahead on muscle mass. In trials where people took 24-50 g a day of pea, rice or soy-pea powder, muscle grew with no difference from whey. Among plant proteins, soy came closest to whey and milk.