Drywall vs Plaster Walls: Pros, Cons & Cost Comparison

If you’re building new walls or renovating an older home, you’ve likely encountered the drywall vs. plaster debate. Both materials have been used to finish interior walls for decades, but they differ significantly in cost, installation process, durability, and performance. This guide provides a comprehensive comparison to help you make the right choice.

What Is Drywall?

Drywall (also known as gypsum board, wallboard, or by the brand name Sheetrock) is a panel made of gypsum plite pressed between two thick sheets of paper. It comes in standardized 4-foot-wide sheets in lengths of 8, 10, and 12 feet, and in thicknesses from 1/4” to 5/8”.

Drywall was introduced in the 1910s but didn’t become the dominant wall finishing material until after World War II, when the construction boom demanded faster building methods. Today, drywall accounts for over 95% of new wall and ceiling finishes in North American construction.

What Is Plaster?

Traditional plaster walls consist of three layers applied wet over a framework of wood lath (thin strips of wood nailed to studs) or metal lath (expanded metal mesh). The three layers are:

Scratch coat: The base layer pressed into the lath, scored (scratched) to provide grip for the next layer.
Brown coat: The second layer that builds up thickness and creates a relatively flat surface.
Finish coat: The final thin layer that provides a smooth, hard surface ready for paint.

Modern plaster alternatives include veneer plaster (a single thin coat over special gypsum board) and plaster-over-blue-board systems that combine some benefits of both materials.

Installation Comparison

Drywall Installation

Drywall is a dry process. Sheets are measured, cut with a utility knife, and screwed to wood or metal studs. Joints are covered with tape and joint compound (mud), which requires 2-3 coats with drying time between each. A skilled two-person crew can hang drywall in a standard room in a few hours, with finishing taking 2-3 additional days (mostly waiting for compound to dry).

Time to complete a 12x12 room: 3-5 days (including drying time)

Plaster Installation

Traditional three-coat plaster is a wet process that requires significantly more skill. Each coat must dry completely before the next is applied, and the plasterer must work quickly with the wet material before it sets. The entire process requires specialized tools and years of experience to achieve a smooth finish.

Time to complete a 12x12 room: 7-14 days (including drying time for each coat)

Cost Comparison

Cost is often the deciding factor, and drywall wins decisively on price.

Cost Category	Drywall	Three-Coat Plaster
Materials per sq ft	$0.50-$0.75	$1.50-$3.00
Labor per sq ft	$1.50-$3.50	$5.00-$10.00
Total per sq ft	$2.00-$4.25	$6.50-$13.00
12x12 room (walls only)	$680-$1,445	$2,210-$4,420

Veneer plaster (a one-coat system over special drywall) falls between the two at approximately $3.50-$6.00 per square foot installed, offering some of plaster’s benefits at a lower cost.

Durability and Damage Resistance

Plaster Advantages

Harder surface: Traditional three-coat plaster creates an extremely hard wall surface that resists dents, dings, and punctures far better than drywall. This is why many homeowners in older houses love their original plaster walls.
Compression strength: Plaster can withstand more force before being damaged. You can hang heavy items directly into plaster without the crumbling that happens with drywall.
Longevity: Well-maintained plaster walls can last 100+ years. Many pre-1950s homes still have their original plaster in excellent condition.

Drywall Advantages

Easier to repair: When drywall does get damaged, repairs are straightforward. Small holes can be patched with compound, and larger damage can be fixed by cutting out the damaged section and installing a new piece.
Moisture-resistant options: Specialized drywall types (green board, purple board, cement board) provide moisture resistance for bathrooms and kitchens that plaster doesn’t inherently offer.
Won’t crack from settling: Drywall is more flexible than plaster and better tolerates the natural movement of a house’s framing over time.

Soundproofing

Plaster walls generally provide better sound insulation than standard drywall due to their greater density and mass. A traditional three-coat plaster wall on wood lath can provide an STC (Sound Transmission Class) rating of 40-45, compared to a standard single-layer drywall wall at STC 33-35.

However, drywall catches up when you use sound-reduction techniques:

Double-layer drywall: Two layers of 5/8” drywall with Green Glue compound between them can achieve STC 50+.
Staggered stud walls: Building a staggered-stud wall with drywall achieves STC 45-50.
Resilient channel: Adding resilient channel between studs and drywall provides STC 42-48.

For most residential applications, properly installed drywall with sound-dampening techniques equals or exceeds plaster’s acoustic performance.

Aesthetics

This is where personal preference plays the biggest role.

Plaster Finish

Plaster can achieve a perfectly smooth, glass-like finish that many consider superior to drywall. The surface has no tape lines, no screw dimples, and a subtle hardness that feels different to the touch. Some decorative plaster techniques (Venetian plaster, textured lime plaster) create stunning visual effects impossible to replicate with drywall.

Drywall Finish

Modern drywall finishing, when done well, produces a smooth, uniform surface that most people cannot distinguish from plaster in daily use. The key is skilled taping and sanding, particularly at butt joints. Various textures (orange peel, knockdown, skip trowel) can be applied to drywall for decorative effects.

The honest truth: in a finished, painted room with good lighting, 95% of people cannot tell the difference between well-finished drywall and plaster.

Fire Resistance

Both materials offer good fire resistance, as gypsum (the core of both drywall and plaster) is naturally fire-resistant. The water molecules trapped in gypsum crystals absorb heat and release steam when exposed to fire, slowing heat transfer.

5/8” Type X drywall: 1-hour fire rating
Traditional three-coat plaster (7/8” thick): 1-hour fire rating
Double-layer 5/8” Type X drywall: 2-hour fire rating

For new construction, drywall’s standardized fire ratings make it easier to comply with building codes. Fire-rated assemblies using drywall are well-documented and accepted by all building departments.

When to Choose Drywall

New construction: The clear winner on cost and speed.
Renovations on a budget: Significantly cheaper, even with high-quality Level 5 finishing.
DIY projects: Much more forgiving of beginner mistakes. Errors can be sanded and re-mudded.
Bathrooms and wet areas: Moisture-resistant drywall options exist; plaster absorbs moisture.
Fire-rated assemblies: Standardized ratings and documented assemblies simplify code compliance.
Any project where cost and timeline matter more than old-world character.

When to Choose Plaster

Historic home restoration: Matching existing plaster walls for continuity and period authenticity.
High-end custom homes: Where budget is not a constraint and the tactile quality of plaster is desired.
Curved walls and archways: Plaster can be applied to any shape without the cutting and bending required for drywall.
Maximum durability: In high-traffic areas where wall damage is a concern (though double-layer drywall approaches plaster’s durability).
Acoustic priority rooms: Studios, home theaters, or music rooms where every STC point matters.

The Middle Ground: Veneer Plaster

If you want some of plaster’s benefits without the full cost, consider veneer plaster. This system uses a special gypsum board (blue board) instead of lath, with one or two thin coats of plaster applied over it. The result is a wall that’s harder and smoother than standard drywall tape-and-mud finishing, at roughly 1.5-2x the cost of standard drywall (versus 3-4x for traditional three-coat plaster).

Veneer plaster is particularly popular in the Northeast United States, where the plastering tradition runs deep and skilled plasterers are more readily available.

Bottom Line

For the vast majority of projects — new construction, renovations, additions, basement finishing — drywall is the practical choice. It’s faster, cheaper, easier to repair, and produces excellent results when properly finished. Use our free drywall calculator to estimate exactly how many sheets and supplies you need.

Plaster makes sense for specific scenarios: historic restoration, high-end custom builds, and situations where its unique aesthetic or acoustic properties justify the significant cost premium. For everything else, modern drywall delivers professional results at a fraction of the cost.