In recent years, the consumption of cheeses with reduced fat content has experienced growth due to health concerns. However, these products are associated with a hard and rubbery texture, poor melting properties and excessive development of acidity. In the manufacture of Gouda cheese, some whey is removed and replaced with water to decrease the residual lactose content and hence to control pH. This step is also known as whey dilution (WD) and may be a cause of high variability depending on the amount of water added, temperature, holding times and stirring rates. As an alternative, the standardization of lactose content in cheesemilk by ultrafiltration (UF) prior cheese manufacture could potentially reduce the residual lactose content in cheese and thus control the final pH. This study aimed to compare the effect of WD during cheese manufacture, with the alternative approach of adjustment of the lactose content of cheesemilk using UF, on the composition, texture, functionality and sensory properties of reduced-fat (RF) and low-fat (LF) Gouda-type cheeses during 6 mo of ripening. A stirred curd direct-salted cheese manufacture was used, differing in the levels of WD at 30, 15 and 0% (WD₃₀, WD₁₅ and WD₀, respectively). The RF and LF milks used in WD₃₀ and WD₁₅ had a lactose-to-casein (L:C) ratio of ~1.8, which is the typical ratio found in milk. The WD₀ treatments were made with UF standardized milks to L:C ratio of ~1.1. Similar trends between treatments were observed in both RF and LF treatments. WD₀ exhibited lower residual lactose and lactic acid contents than WD₃₀ and WD₁₅, leading to higher pH values (P < 0.05). WD₀ had softer texture and were more meltable (P < 0.05), probably due to a lower proportion of insoluble Ca caused by the addition of water required to achieve the lower L:C ratio in UF milks. Sensory analysis also indicated that WD₀ cheese had lower acidity and softer texture. These results suggest that UF standardization of the L:C ratio of cheesemilk could be a useful alternative to WD to reduce the acidity, improve texture and functionality of reduced- and low-fat Gouda cheese.