Cytokinesis in plant and animal cells differs mainly in how the cell physically divides and what structures are used to do it. Animal cells “pinch” in from the outside using a contractile ring, while plant cells build a new wall from the inside using a cell plate.

Quick Scoop

  • In animal cells, cytokinesis happens by forming a cleavage furrow that tightens like a drawstring.
  • In plant cells, cytokinesis happens by assembling a cell plate that becomes a new cell wall.
  • The key reason for the difference is the rigid cell wall in plants versus the flexible membrane in animals.

What is cytokinesis?

Cytokinesis is the final step of cell division where the cytoplasm splits to form two separate daughter cells. It usually follows mitosis and ensures each new cell gets cytoplasm, organelles, and a nucleus.

Animal cell cytokinesis

  • Animal cells form a contractile ring of actin and myosin just under the plasma membrane at the cell’s equator.
  • This ring tightens and creates a cleavage furrow that deepens until the cell is pinched into two separate cells.

Plant cell cytokinesis

  • Plant cells cannot pinch inwards because a rigid cell wall surrounds the plasma membrane.
  • Instead, vesicles from the Golgi apparatus move along microtubules to the center of the cell to form a phragmoplast and then a cell plate , which expands outward and becomes the new separating cell wall.

Side‑by‑side differences (HTML table)

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Feature Animal cell cytokinesis Plant cell cytokinesis
Basic mechanism Division by constriction from outside in (cleavage furrow).Division by building a new wall from inside out (cell plate).
Main structure involved Actin–myosin contractile ring beneath the membrane.Phragmoplast (microtubules + vesicles) and forming cell plate.
Role of cell wall No rigid cell wall, membrane is flexible and can be indented.Rigid cell wall prevents inward constriction, so a new partition must be built.
Direction of division “Outside-in” pinching toward the center.“Inside-out” expansion of the cell plate to the existing walls.
End result Two cells separated by their plasma membranes.Two cells separated by a new section of cell wall and membrane.
Timing (relative to mitosis) Begins in late anaphase or telophase and completes quickly.Begins in telophase as vesicles accumulate and fuse; cell plate gradually matures into wall.

Mini story to remember it

Imagine an animal cell as a soft balloon with a string tied around its middle; pulling the string tighter makes one balloon become two. Now imagine a plant cell as a sturdy box: you cannot pinch the box in half, so you slide a new cardboard divider in from the inside until it reaches the sides, creating two compartments.

TL;DR: Animal cells divide by tightening a contractile ring to form a cleavage furrow, while plant cells assemble a phragmoplast and cell plate that grow into a new wall between two daughter cells.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.