Vegan vs Vegetarian vs Flexitarian: What's the Difference?

A vegetarian doesn't eat meat, poultry or fish but usually eats eggs and dairy. A vegan avoids all animal products, including eggs, dairy and honey. A flexitarian eats mostly plant-based food but still has meat sometimes. Pescatarians skip meat but eat fish, and reducetarians simply aim to eat less meat over time. None of these labels is better than the others: the right one is the one that fits your life and that you can keep doing.

The main labels, defined

People use these words loosely, which causes confusion at dinner tables and on menus. Here is what each one usually means.

Vegetarian

A vegetarian doesn't eat meat, poultry, fish or seafood. Most American vegetarians are what is technically called lacto-ovo vegetarian, meaning they eat dairy (lacto) and eggs (ovo). A lacto-vegetarian eats dairy but not eggs, and an ovo-vegetarian eats eggs but not dairy.

Vegetarians generally also avoid ingredients that come from slaughtered animals, such as gelatin, animal rennet in some cheeses, and meat-based broths. How strict people are about those varies a lot.

Vegan

A vegan eats no animal products at all: no meat, fish, eggs, dairy or honey, and no animal-derived ingredients such as gelatin, whey or casein. For many people, veganism also extends beyond food to things like leather, wool and products tested on animals. Others follow a vegan diet without applying it to the rest of their lives.

Plant-based

"Plant-based" is the most flexible of the terms. Sometimes it means the same as a vegan diet. Often it means a diet built mostly or entirely around plants, without the ethical or lifestyle side that veganism can carry. You will also see "whole-food plant-based," which emphasizes unprocessed foods like beans, grains, vegetables, fruit, nuts and seeds, and limits processed products.

Pescatarian

A pescatarian doesn't eat meat or poultry but does eat fish and seafood, and usually eggs and dairy too. It is a common stepping stone for people who want to stop eating meat but find seafood easier to keep.

Flexitarian

A flexitarian (a blend of "flexible" and "vegetarian") eats a mostly vegetarian diet with occasional meat or fish. There is no fixed rule about how often. Some flexitarians eat meat once a week, others only at special occasions or when eating out.

Reducetarian

A reducetarian aims to eat less meat, without a fixed endpoint. The term was popularized by the Reducetarian Foundation, which focuses on gradual reductions in meat, dairy and eggs rather than all-or-nothing rules. It is less a diet than a direction: fewer animal products this month than last.

A quick comparison

The easiest way to see the differences is by what each one includes:

• Vegan: plants only. No meat, fish, eggs, dairy or honey.
• Vegetarian: plants plus, usually, eggs and dairy. No meat or fish.
• Pescatarian: vegetarian plus fish and seafood.
• Flexitarian: mostly vegetarian, with meat or fish occasionally.
• Reducetarian: any diet, with a goal of steadily eating fewer animal products.
• Plant-based: mostly or entirely plants, often used without the lifestyle side of veganism.

Which one should you choose?

The best label is the one you will still be following in six months. That sounds obvious, but many people pick the strictest option on day one and burn out by week three, then decide the whole thing doesn't work for them.

A few questions help:

What is your main reason? If it is animal welfare, you may find vegetarian or vegan most aligned with what you care about. If it is health, a flexitarian or whole-food plant-based approach can get you a lot of the benefit with less friction. If it is the environment or cost, cutting the highest-impact foods first, such as beef, may matter more than which label you use.

What does your daily life look like? If you cook most meals at home, going vegetarian or vegan is easier to manage. If you travel constantly, eat at work events, or live with people who eat meat, a flexible approach might be what lets you keep going. Our guide on eating vegan at family dinners and restaurants has practical help for those situations.

How do you respond to rules? Some people do better with a clear line: "I don't eat meat." No negotiating, no daily decisions. Others feel trapped by rules and do better with a softer target: "I eat vegetarian on weekdays." Neither is a character flaw. Pick the structure that suits you.

Gradual paths that work

You don't have to choose once and forever. Many people move through stages, and each stage is a legitimate place to be. Some common routes:

• Meatless days. Start with one or two plant-based days a week, then add more as your recipe list grows.
• Cut by animal. Drop red meat first, then pork, then poultry, then fish. Each step is smaller than quitting everything at once.
• Cut by meal. Make breakfast and lunch plant-based, keep dinner flexible for a while, then switch dinner too.
• Home vs out. Eat vegetarian at home, where you control the food, and stay flexible at restaurants until you are confident ordering.
• Vegetarian to vegan. Once vegetarian feels normal, replace dairy milk, then cheese, then eggs, one swap at a time.

The gradual approach gives you time to build the habits that make meat-free eating easy: a handful of reliable meals, a few go-to orders when eating out, and a sense of which substitutes you actually like. We cover this in more detail in how to go vegetarian without quitting cold turkey.

What labels don't capture: the craving moment

Whatever you call yourself, the hardest part is rarely the plan. It is the moment on a Thursday night when you are tired, hungry, and the craving for a specific meat dish shows up. Those cravings tend to peak and fade within 10 to 20 minutes, which means the real skill is getting through a short window.

The Spared app is designed for that moment: you open it instead of the fridge, ride out the craving, and it counts each one you get through, along with your days and the animals spared. Seeing those numbers climb is a good reminder that progress isn't measured by a label. It is measured by all the small moments that went the way you wanted.

You don't need to announce a label at all

It is worth saying: you don't owe anyone a label. Plenty of people just say "I don't eat much meat" or "I'm eating more plants these days" and leave it there. Labels are useful for ordering food, finding recipes and explaining yourself quickly. They are not a test, and switching between them as your habits change is normal.

Common questions

Do vegetarians eat eggs and dairy?

Most do. The most common type of vegetarian in the US is lacto-ovo, which includes both eggs and dairy. Some vegetarians skip one or the other, and vegans skip both.

Is a pescatarian a type of vegetarian?

Not technically, since vegetarians don't eat fish. Pescatarian is its own category, though many people use it as a step on the way to vegetarian.

Is flexitarian the same as reducetarian?

They overlap but aren't identical. A flexitarian eats a mostly vegetarian diet with occasional meat. A reducetarian is focused on steadily lowering the amount of animal products they eat, from wherever they are starting.

Is plant-based the same as vegan?

Sometimes, but not always. "Plant-based" usually refers only to diet, and some people use it for a diet that is mostly but not entirely plants. "Vegan" typically means no animal products at all and often extends to non-food choices too.