Shear walls are fundamental structural elements within mid- and high-rise buildings, mitigating lateral forces such as wind and seismic forces. In recent years, numerous research endeavors have emerged, focusing on the integration of non-conventional materials such as ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC) into shear wall construction, as alternatives to conventional materials. Despite the known strength-increasing benefits, there were questions regarding the design requirements, structural performance characteristics, and sustainability of this novel type of shear wall. This study aims to assess the benefits of employing UHPC, in contrast to conventional materials like normal strength concrete (NSC). The analysis consisted of a nonlinear static (pushover) analysis applied to two verified finite element models representing conventional and nonconventional materials. The results indicate that UHPC outperforms its counterpart in damage tolerance and load-bearing capacity. Additionally, an assessment was conducted to determine if increasing the thickness of the NSC shear wall could reach UHPC's performance. The results confirmed that even with enhanced thickness, NSC lagged significantly behind UHPC in performance metrics, thus offering a reliable material choice for structural applications that involve extreme loading effects.