Calories and Protein in Milk: Cow vs Buffalo, From a Glass to a Litre
"How many calories are in milk?" has no single answer: it depends on whether the milk is cow or buffalo, and on whether you mean a glass, a paav, half a litre or a litre. What is solid is the per 100 g figure. The figures in this guide's tables come from the Indian Food Composition Tables 2017 (IFCT 2017) of the National Institute of Nutrition (ICMR-NIN), and the kJ to kcal conversion is our arithmetic. Treating a millilitre as a gram and the size of a glass are our assumptions, written out below.
Calories in 100 g of milk: cow and buffalo
IFCT 2017, Table 1 (Proximate Principles), PDF page 57, per 100 g; both figures are means over 6 regions. IFCT prints energy in kilojoules (kJ); we converted with 1 kcal = 4.184 kJ.
| Milk (whole) | Energy per 100 g | Protein | Fat | Carbohydrate | IFCT code |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cow milk (Milk, whole, Cow) | 73 kcal (305 kJ) | 3.26 g | 4.48 g | 4.94 g | L002 |
| Buffalo milk (Milk, whole, Buffalo) | 107 kcal (449 kJ) | 3.68 g | 6.58 g | 8.39 g | L001 |
Grams per 100 g is also a percentage by weight: cow milk is about 4.48% fat and buffalo milk about 6.58%. The food-group table in India's Dietary Guidelines for Indians 2024 (ICMR-NIN, PDF page 25) also lists milk at 3.1 g protein, 4.2 g fat and 72 kcal per 100 g, which is close to the cow milk row.
Calories and protein in a glass, a paav, half a litre and a litre
Method: volume (ml) x the IFCT value / 100, taking 1 ml = 1 g (our simplification: milk is a little heavier than water, so real figures are slightly higher). "One glass = 200 ml" is also our assumption. The Dietary Guidelines for Indians 2024 (PDF page 129) define the medium katori as 200 ml, page 136 lists 100 ml of milk directly as one small steel glass, and page 134 lists 150 ml as one and a half small steel glasses. A paav is a quarter of a litre.
| Quantity | Cow: kcal | Cow: protein | Buffalo: kcal | Buffalo: protein |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100 ml (one small steel glass) | ~73 kcal | ~3.3 g | ~107 kcal | ~3.7 g |
| 150 ml (one and a half small steel glasses) | ~109 kcal | ~4.9 g | ~161 kcal | ~5.5 g |
| 200 ml (one glass / medium katori) | ~146 kcal | ~6.5 g | ~215 kcal | ~7.4 g |
| 250 ml (one paav) | ~182 kcal | ~8.2 g | ~268 kcal | ~9.2 g |
| 500 ml (half a litre) | ~364 kcal | ~16.3 g | ~537 kcal | ~18.4 g |
| 1000 ml (1 litre) | ~729 kcal | ~32.6 g | ~1073 kcal | ~36.8 g |
What this table does not cover
The two IFCT rows are for whole cow milk and whole buffalo milk only. Packet toned or double-toned milk, tea, haldi milk, sweetened milk and almond milk are not in them, so we give no numbers for those: use the pack label and add sugar separately. For curd, buttermilk and mango lassi see Is curd (dahi) good for weight loss?, Masala chaas vs plain buttermilk and Aamras vs mango lassi vs mango shake.
Cow milk vs buffalo milk
By IFCT 2017, buffalo milk has more calories (about 107 vs 73 kcal per 100 g) and more fat (6.58 vs 4.48 g), while the protein difference is small (3.68 vs 3.26 g). This article does not say which milk you should drink.
3 common mistakes
- Treating "a glass" as one fixed number. A 200 ml and a 250 ml glass differ by about 36 kcal (cow) and 54 kcal (buffalo).
- Mixing up cow and buffalo milk. The calories per 100 g differ a lot (about 73 and 107 kcal).
- Forgetting sugar, tea leaves or malai. The numbers above are for plain whole milk.
NYUS does the milk maths for you
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Get NYUS (Android)Frequently asked questions
How many calories are in a glass of milk?
Glasses differ. Taking a 200 ml glass and 1 ml = 1 g (our simplification), IFCT 2017 whole cow milk (305 kJ per 100 g) gives about 146 kcal and whole buffalo milk (449 kJ) about 215 kcal.
What is the difference between cow and buffalo milk?
Per 100 g IFCT 2017 lists 3.26 g protein, 4.48 g fat and about 73 kcal for cow milk, and 3.68 g protein, 6.58 g fat and about 107 kcal for buffalo milk. Buffalo milk has more calories and fat; the protein difference is small.
How many calories are in half a litre and a litre of milk?
With 1 ml = 1 g: 500 ml of cow milk is about 364 kcal and buffalo milk about 537 kcal; 1 litre is about 729 and 1073 kcal.
How much protein is in milk?
IFCT 2017 gives 3.26 g protein per 100 g for cow milk and 3.68 g for buffalo milk. In a 200 ml glass that is about 6.5 g and 7.4 g.
What about packet (toned, Amul) milk, or milk with tea, haldi or sugar?
The two IFCT 2017 rows used here cover only whole cow and buffalo milk, so we give no numbers for packet, toned, tea, haldi or sweetened milk. Check the pack label for those and add sugar separately.
Sources (checked 21 October 2026)
- Longvah T., Ananthan R., Bhaskarachary K., Venkaiah K., Indian Food Composition Tables 2017, National Institute of Nutrition (ICMR), Hyderabad, Table 1 "Proximate Principles and Dietary Fibre", PDF page 57 (group L, milk; codes L001 and L002; energy kJ, protein, fat, carbohydrate): IFCT 2017 (PDF, nin.res.in)
- ICMR-NIN, Dietary Guidelines for Indians, 2024 (food-group nutrient table, milk 3.1 g protein, 4.2 g fat, 72 kcal per 100 g: PDF page 25; katori sizes: PDF page 129; 150 ml milk = one and a half small steel glasses: PDF page 134; 100 ml milk = one small steel glass: PDF page 136): full guidelines (PDF, nin.res.in)
- kJ to kcal (1 kcal = 4.184 kJ), 1 ml = 1 g, glass = 200 ml, paav = 250 ml and every quantity total: NYUS arithmetic and assumptions.