If you’re wondering, Is there a monk fruit sweetener without any additives or fillers? or How do I find the best monk fruit with no erythritol? This guide is for you.
I get these questions all the time. There’s a lot of confusion around monk fruit extract – especially why some are so expensive, others taste off, and the labels don’t always help. So I’ve broken it down into 20 quick, scannable facts to help you understand what pure monk fruit extract really is—and how to find the best one for you.
What Is Monk Fruit?
This guide focuses on one type of monk fruit sweetener sold in stores: pure monk fruit extract. It contains just one ingredient — no erythritol, bulking agents, fillers, or additives. If you're looking for the purest form of monk fruit, this is it: 100% pure extract. It's sugar-free and zero-calories.
Monk fruit, also known as luo han guo, comes from the Siraitia grosvenorii vine, part of the melon family. The fruit is about the size of a lemon and grows mainly in China. The Guilin area, known for its monasteries, provides the perfect environment to grow monk fruit — moist soil, elevation, and rainfall.
The sweet part of monk fruit are compounds called mogrosides. Many mogrosides (named I, II, III, IV, V, and VI) are present in amounts that vary from 0.5 to 3.8% in the dried fruit.
Mogroside V is the sweetest and most abundant mogroside in ripe fruit. It's 100–250x sweeter than sugar. The more mogroside V in the extract, the sweeter, lighter color, and cleaner-tasting it is.
The higher the mogroside V concentration—50% vs. 7%, for example—the more raw fruit is required to produce it. A substantial amount of fruit is needed to produce even a small amount of high-purity extract. According to one producer, 85 pounds of monk fruit are needed to produce 1 pound of extract.
How Pure Monk Fruit Compares with Blends
Pure monk fruit extract is a bulk-free sweetener — extremely concentrated and used in tiny amounts. It's perfect whenever sweetness is all you need, like: – hot and cold drinks (coffee, tea, homemade lemonade) – smoothies and protein shakes – cocktails – yogurt – sprinkle over oatmeal or cereal – fresh fruits (like berries) – chia pudding – sugar-free jello – sugar-free gummy bears – nut butters (for a sweet spread) You can also take it on the go and keep it in your purse for easy sweetening anytime.
Pure monk fruit is often blended with bulk sweeteners (like allulose or erythritol) to mimic sugar’s texture. If you're looking for just sweetness — not bulk — pure extract is your best pick. But if you want something that also adds texture, volume, and browning, blends are the better fit.
Check out my Monk Fruit Buying Guide to compare all the products sold in stores side-by-side — from pure extract to blends.
How Do I Use Pure Monk Fruit?
Pure extracts are incredibly sweet, so a little goes a long way: Because they are super concentrated, it’s important to measure precisely when you start using them. Start with the recommended amount, then adjust to taste.
Most products include a mini measuring spoon, but they're not the same size: To find the right amount to use, read the label to see how sweet each serving is compared to sugar. Here's an example:
WhatSugar Organic Monk Fruit Extract A serving size (1 scoop = 48 mg) is as sweet as 1 tbsp or 3 tsp of sugar.
Can I Bake with Pure Monk Fruit?
Yes, pure monk fruit extract is a natural sweetener that can be used for baking, adding sweetness without the sugar or calories. But keep in mind that because it's used in such small amounts, it doesn't provide bulk (volume and weight). It won't change the texture, thicken, bind ingredients, or make them viscous — which is why it's considered a bulk-free sweetener.
Think of it like vanilla extract — used in small amounts to boost sweetness. If you need more than sweetness— like volume, texture, or browning — look for a blend with a bulking sweetener (like allulose, erythritol, or a fiber).
What Is Mogroside V in Monk Fruit Sweetener?
Nearly every extract on the shelf claims to be “100% pure monk fruit extract,” but they’re not all created equal. Sweetness level, color, aftertaste, solubility, and even price can vary greatly—and it all comes down to how much mogroside V the extract contains.
Mogroside V is the sweetest and most abundant sweet compound in monk fruit, and its concentration in extracts ranges anywhere from 7% to 50%. As the infographic below shows, that percentage makes all the difference.
The concentration of mogroside V (or “V” for short) is what determines the purity of the product, the sweetness level — how much you’ll actually need to use — and how much aftertaste you'll avoid.
Comparing Monk Fruit Extracts: 50%V vs 7%V
Sweetness level: Less pure extracts, like 7%, are cheaper per ounce, but you need to use a lot more to get the same sweetness. A 7%V extract is about 20x sweeter than sugar, while a 50%V extract is 240x sweeter.
Taste, solubility, color: Lower-purity extracts, like 7%V and 10%V, have a stronger melon rind taste, a mustard-like color, and don't dissolve as easily as the high-purity extracts.
About Mogroside V50
Mogroside V50 (or 50%V) is the highest-grade monk fruit extract you’ll find in stores. It contains nearly equal parts of mogroside V and fruit solids — that's over 7x more mogroside V than a 7% extract. That means it takes way more fruit to produce but delivers far more sweetness per ounce.
Mogroside V50 is the most expensive per ounce — but also the sweetest, so you use way less. It's the cleanest-tasting of all extracts, with less of a melon-rind taste, dissolves quickly, and is whiter than lower-grade options, which often have a mustard-like color.
How Do I Find the Best Pure Monk Fruit (No Fillers)?
This is one of the most common questions about monk fruit — and I get it. There’s a lot of confusion around pure monk fruit, especially when it comes to price. Why does one extract cost over $30 per ounce while another goes for just $4? It can be frustrating if you don’t know what to look for.
So, you'll find here a step-by-step guide to help you find the best monk fruit extract (one ingredient only). I also compared two products, our very own WhatSugar-Approved Organic Monk Fruit and a top seller on Amazon.
Step 1: How much sugar does each serving replace?
Every sweetener has a serving size, but not all serving sizes are equal in sweetness. To get a true comparison, check the label to see how sweet each serving is compared to sugar. This tells you the Sugar Equivalent Per Serving.
Examples:
WhatSugar Monk Fruit: 1 serving is as sweet as 3 tsp of sugar (1 Tbsp)
Durelife Monk Fruit: 1 serving is as sweet as 1 tsp of sugar
Step 2: How much sugar does the whole container replace?
Conversion: To convert teaspoons to cups, divide the total number of teaspoons by 48 (since 1 cup = 48 teaspoons).
Step 3: Compare the Price to Replace 1 Cup of Sugar
So summarizing:
WhatSugar is a 50%V extract.
– It costs $25 for 0.7oz.
– That's $36 per ounce.
– Just 0.7oz sweeten like 1,242 teaspoons of sugar (26 cups).
– It means it costs $0.92 to replace 1 cup of sugar.
Durelife is a 7%V extract.
– It costs $40 for 10oz.
– That's $4.00 per ounce.
– These 10oz sweeten like 908 teaspoons of sugar (19 cups)
– It means it costs $2.10 to replace 1 cup of sugar.
WhatSugar Organic Monk Fruit costs half as much to replace 1 cup of sugar because it's way more concentrated. Even with $5 shipping, it's $1.65 per cup of sugar that you swap, which is still more affordable than Durelife.
Is It Worth It to Buy Organic Monk Fruit?
Yes — especially with monk fruit. Here are 5 reasons why:
A certified organic monk fruit must meet a long list of strict standards — far beyond what’s required for a non-organic. Conventional sweeteners only need to meet the Food and Drug Administration's regulations for labeling. Organic sweeteners, however, must comply with both USDA’s organic standards and the FDA’s rules. This extra layer of oversight ensures that organic monk fruit goes through greater scrutiny than conventional ones.
For a monk fruit to be certified organic, every step in the supply chain must meet specific strict standards. That means the farmer must be certified, along with the processor, co-packers, distributors, and any other handler involved.
Organic farmers are required to use practices that maintain or improve soil and water quality, while also protecting wetlands, woodlands, and wildlife. Genetically modified (GM) seeds are not allowed, and organic methods are designed to minimize exposure to synthetic pesticides and fertilizers — making a difference for both you and the planet.
If the monk fruit is organic, it is non-GMO. The use of genetic engineering or genetically modified organisms (GMOs) is prohibited in organic products.
Monk fruit is not grown in the U.S. — about 95% comes from China. Before it reaches your kitchen, it passes through many hands: farmers, processors, transporters, warehouses, customs agencies, and more. Unlike conventional monk fruit, which may pass through multiple intermediaries with little oversight, organic sweeteners must be documented at every step — from the farm to package product.
These are just some of the advantages. Learn more by reading my post: Why Organic Sweeteners?
What is Your Favorite Sweetener?
People often ask me: "What’s your personal favorite?" So here it is. This is one.
I use it in my coffee every single morning. I make chia pudding and so much more.
After tasting hundreds of sweeteners, my top pick is a certified organic monk fruit extract with 50% mogroside V. It’s incredibly sweet, has no fillers, and offers the cleanest, best taste among all the extracts I’ve tried. And here’s something personal: I have a very sensitive stomach. Unlike many sugar alternatives that cause bloating or digestive issues, WhatSugar Organic Monk Fruit Extract is 100% guaranteed to be gentle on your stomach—so you can enjoy it without worry.
That’s exactly why I decided to offer my own. The only WhatSugar-approved monk fruit just launched in 2025: organic, 100% pure, the highest grade, and the best-tasting extract on the market.
How Does WhatSugar Source Its Monk Fruit?
WhatSugar pure monk fruit powder is the purest form of organic monk fruit that you can buy on the market. Unlike some brands that use solvents to extract and concentrate mogrosides, our monk fruit is made through a simple water extraction process:
The whole fresh fruit is crushed to release its natural juice.
The sweet juice is filtered to remove simple sugars (like sucrose and fructose) and non-sweet components (proteins). What’s left behind are mogrosides — the natural compounds that give monk fruit its sweetness.
The solution is then concentrated and dehydrated, resulting in a super sweet, zero-calorie, high-purity powder.
The final product is all about mogroside V — the sweetest mogroside. WhatSugar Organic Monk Fruit contains 50% mogroside V, making it one of the highest-purity extracts available.
The bottom line?
When shopping for 100% pure monk fruit, don’t just look at the price per ounce. Check the mogroside V concentration — and follow my 3 easy steps to find the best monk fruit for you. That way, you'll get:
✔️ Better value — use less, save more
✔️ Better taste — cleaner sweetness
✔️ Better solubility — dissolves fast
✔️ Better color — whiter, lighter powder
👉 WhatSugar Organic Monk Fruit Extract delivers all of that.