The yield and quality of sugar beet pulp pectin obtained by ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) were compared to those obtained by conventional heating. Extraction temperature (70–90) °C, extraction time (2–4) h and pH (1–1.5) were considered as the variables for the conventional extraction while ultrasound frequency (20–60) kHz, time (10–30) min and amplitude (60–100%) were considered as the variables for UAE. The optimal conditions for maximum yield of pectin for conventionally and ultrasonically extracted pectin were determined by the central composite design and the Box Behnken design, respectively. The optimum conditions of conventional extraction were the temperature of 90 °C, time of 4 h and pH of 1. The optimum conditions of UAE were ultrasound frequency of 20 kHz, time of 10 min, and ultrasound amplitude of 96%. Extraction using the optimized conditions of conventional heating and UAE achieved the best yield of 20.75% and 20.85%, respectively. The degree of methyl esterification, ferulic acid content and molecular weight of UAE pectin were higher than conventionally extracted pectin but the content of galacturonic acid in UAE pectin was lower than that of conventionally extracted pectin. The infrared spectra of both pectins revealed the occurrence of polysaccharide component. The pectin achieved by UAE had higher lightness value than conventionally extracted pectin, confirming its application in different products partially in bright food products. The UAE pectin possessed higher viscosity than conventionally extracted pectin. The addition of UAE pectin increased all of the DSC gelatinization parameters. Overall, UAE could be a promising scalable and economical approach to obtain pectin with unique characteristics.