Banana vs plantain: calories compared

Raw and ripe, plantain has more calories than banana, 123 against 97 per 3.5 oz (100 g). It is starchier: 13.6 g of starch against 3.7 g in USDA samples. It also has more vitamin C, 20.1 mg against 12.3 mg, and potassium, 396 mg against 326 mg.

One raw plantain is 6.3 oz (180 g) in the US survey and a banana 4.4 oz (126 g), so a whole plantain holds about 710 mg of potassium and a banana about 410 mg. Fried, plantain reaches 267 to 309 calories per 3.5 oz (100 g), against 121 boiled.

The trials are in sick children. Across 9 trials in children aged 8 to 34 months, green banana foods nearly doubled the rate at which diarrhea resolved versus standard treatment, and adults are untested. A plantain flour drink used instead of rehydration salts lowered blood sodium and potassium in some children, so it goes beside treatment, not in its place. The review cited for unripe plantain lowering blood sugar included no human studies. With chronic kidney disease, or on ACE inhibitors or potassium-sparing diuretics, even intakes below the adequate intake can push blood potassium too high, so check the amount with your clinician.

Eat a banana as fruit. Treat plantain as a starchy side, boiled or baked if calories matter.

Evidence behind this note

1. Level E Per 100 g raw, ripe plantain carried 13.6 g starch against 3.7 g in ripe banana, plus more potassium (396 vs 326 mg) and vitamin C (20.1 vs 12.3 mg). USDA FoodData Central, Foundation Foods, release 2026-04-30
2. Level E In the US survey database one banana weighs 4.4 oz (126 g), while one raw plantain is 180 g and one cooked plantain 235 g. USDA FNDDS, Banana raw 63107010, Plantain raw 71905000, Plantain cooked 71900100
3. Level E Ripeness rewrites the plantain: sugars run from 2.4 g per 3.5 oz (100 g) underripe to 19.2 g overripe, an eightfold move, while total carbohydrate barely shifts from 33.6 to 29.2 g. USDA FoodData Central, Foundation Foods, FDC 2710818, 2710817 and 2710843
4. Level E Boiling plantain cut its vitamin C from 15 to 9 mg per 3.5 oz (100 g) in the UK tables, while frying ripe plantain in oil raised energy to 267 calories. CoFID 2021, Public Health England, records 13-323, 13-324 and 13-569
5. Level E Frying is the step that changes the food: green fried plantain carries 309 calories per 3.5 oz (100 g) against 121 boiled, and its vitamin C falls to 3.4 mg from 20.1 in the raw ripe fruit. USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy, FDC 168199, 168200, 168216 and 169131
6. Level A Pooling nine randomized trials in 3996 children aged 8 to 34 months, green banana added to standard care nearly doubled the hazard of diarrhea resolving, 1.96, and worked hardest in persistent diarrhea at 2.34. Eur J Pediatr, 2024
7. Level A The meta-analysis of 9 RCTs covered only 3996 children aged 8 to 34 months, and its authors state the green banana effect still has to be confirmed in adults. Eur J Pediatr, 2024
8. Level B The same plantain flour rehydration trial recorded the cost of leaving out the standard salts: blood sodium and potassium fell in some of the 117 children who got it. Acta Paediatr, 1997
9. Level D A 2022 review cited for the idea that unripe plantain controls type 2 diabetes found heterogeneity of 98% across its 18 studies and reported that the combined effect sizes were not usable. Nutrients, 2022
10. Level D The same review states in its methods that no human studies were included, which is visible only in the full text and not in the abstract that gets quoted. Nutrients, 2022
11. Level E Potassium has no upper limit for healthy kidneys. That is exactly why a food carrying 289 to 507 mg per 3.5 oz (100 g), depending on how it is cooked, needs a caveat: with chronic kidney disease or certain drugs, even intakes below the adequate intake can cause hyperkalemia. NIH Office of Dietary Supplements, Potassium Fact Sheet for Health Professionals

Written from the studies and agency guidance we hold for both foods, reviewed by the Bioma editorial system. How we verify.

Read more about these foods

• Banana vs plantain: green fruit shortens diarrhea in small children
• Banana: the potassium fruit that barely qualifies
• Plantain: studied in hospital alongside standard care for children's diarrhea

What the studies say

• Are bananas good for weight loss? Only if they replace something else
• Do bananas lower blood pressure? Not shown in trials, though potassium can

Rankings and guides

• Calories: what it does and what the evidence shows
• Which foods give the most protein for the fewest calories?
• Dietary fat: what it does and how much you need
• Banana: full nutrition facts

• Banana: USDA FoodData Central, Bananas, ripe and slightly ripe, raw, FDC ID 1105314 · full profile · all forms of banana
• Plantain: USDA FoodData Central, Plantains, ripe, raw, FDC ID 2710817 · all forms of plantain

Each food is one USDA entry, chosen as it is usually eaten. Other cuts, brands and preparations differ; the links show them. % DV uses FDA Daily Values for adults. How we verify.