How do Sweeteners In Stores Compare? | WhatSugar Blog

SORTING THE SWEETENER AISLE

With hundreds of new options constantly hitting shelves, this page gives you a bird’s-eye view of all the sweeteners available in stores. To help you navigate the choices with ease, I've sorted products into three simple categories—each with its own benefits and potential drawbacks. Click to jump straight to the type of sweetener you want to explore.

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0 cal

< 12 cal/ tsp

15 to 21 cal/ tsp

PICK YOUR ZERO-CALORIE SWEETENER

Zero-Calorie Sweeteners can be natural, synthetic, or artificial, all providing fewer than 5 calories per serving. Both natural and synthetic options are plant-derived. Natural sweeteners include stevia and monk fruit, which are directly extracted from plants. Synthetic sweeteners, like allulose and erythritol, occur in nature but are commercially produced through enzymatic or fermentation processes. Artificial sweeteners—such as sucralose, aspartame, and saccharin—are entirely man-made and do not exist in nature.

Stevia | Pure Extract

Stevia leaf extracts are food ingredients with GRAS status. The leaf extracts go through a great deal of processing and purification until they become palatable and free of impurities. They provides zero calories and are 200 to 400 times sweeter than table sugar. Find here a variety of brands of pure stevia leaf extract.

Stevia | Liquid

Stevia leaf extracts are food ingredients with GRAS status. The leaf extracts go through a great deal of processing and purification until they become palatable and free of impurities. They provides zero calories and are 200 to 400 times sweeter than table sugar. Find here brands of liquid stevia. The most common carriers include glycerine, erythitol, alcohol, and cellulose. Some are sold as dietary supplements and allow health claims on labels.

Stevia | Dried Leaf

The whole-leaf Stevia is dried, cut, and turn into a green powder. It has a very mild sweet taste and does not dissolve well. Extracts (highly refined with > or = 95% purity) from the leaf are approved by the FDA but the leaves itself are not due to inadequate toxicological information.

Stevia | with Erythritol

Stevia leaf extracts are food ingredients with GRAS status. The leaf extracts go through a great deal of processing and purification until they become palatable and free of impurities. They provides zero calories and are 200 to 400 times sweeter than table sugar. Find here a variety of brands of stevia-erythritol blend.

Stevia | with Allulose

Stevia with allulose sweeteners brands and products in stores

Stevia | with Inulin

Stevia leaf extracts are food ingredients with GRAS status. The leaf extracts go through a great deal of processing and purification until they become palatable and free of impurities. They provides zero calories and are 200 to 400 times sweeter than table sugar. Find here a variety of brands of stevia-inulin blend.

Stevia | with Maltodextrin or Glucose

Stevia leaf extracts are food ingredients with GRAS status. The leaf extracts go through a great deal of processing and purification until they become palatable and free of impurities. They provides zero calories and are 200 to 400 times sweeter than table sugar. Find here brands of stevia-carbohydrates blends. Most common carbohydrates include maltodextrin, glucose, and cellulose.

Stevia | with Xylitol

Stevia and Monk Fruit Blend

Stevia is the term used to refer to steviol glycosides (highly refined extracts from the leaves of the stevia plant) Monk fruit is the term used to refer to mogrosides (extracts obtained from the luo han guo fruit)

Stevia Powdered

Maltodextrin-based sweeteners that measure like sugar on a 1:1 ratio are included with 'blends with less sugar'. Maltodextrin is not a sugar, but is broken down into sugars (maltose & glucose) in our mouth, stomach, and small intestine, being absorbed as pure glucose.

Stevia to Replace Brown Sugar

Stevia Brown Sugar Substitute & Stevia Powdered Sugar Substitute

Stevia | with Benefits

Benefits of stevia | In general, stevia sweeteners offer no benefits, but the sugar substitutes I list here contain beneficial ingredients added to stevia (vitamins, dietary fibers, etc).

Monk Fruit | Pure Extract

Monk fruit, also called luo han guo fruit, is a small green fruit of the Chinese plant Siraitia grosvenorii Swingle. The sweet components in the fruit, referred to as mogrosides, are 230 to 425 times sweeter than table sugar.

Monk Fruit | Liquid

Monk fruit, also called luo han guo fruit, is a small green fruit of the Chinese plant Siraitia grosvenorii Swingle. The sweet components in the fruit, referred to as mogrosides, are 230 to 425 times sweeter than table sugar.

Monk Fruit | with Erythritol

Monk fruit extract blended with erythritol sweeteners

Monk Fruit | with Allulose

Monk fruit extract blended with allulose or tagatose sweeteners

Monk Fruit | with Inulin

Monk fruit extract blended with inulin sweeteners

Monk Fruit | with Glucose

Monk fruit extract blended with glucose or maltodextrin sweeteners

Monk Fruit Powdered

Powdered sugar substitute made with monk fruit.

Monk Fruit to Replace Brown Sugar

Brown Sugar Substitute made with monk fruit is called Golden Monk Fruit.

Monk Fruit Packets

Brands of monk fruit that come in packets, sticks, and cubes

Allulose | Pure

Allulose | Pure Liquid

Allulose | Liquid Blend

Allulose | with Natural Flavors

Allulose | with Monk Fruit

Allulose | with Monk Fruit and Stevia

Allulose | with Erythritol

Allulose to Replace Brown Sugar

Allulose Powdered

Erythritol | Pure Organic

Erythritol is sold in powdered, crystallized, and blended with other ingredients. You can buy it as a brown sugar replacement and powdered sugar replacement.

Erythritol | Pure Granulated

Erythritol | Pure Powdered

Erythritol | with Stevia

Erythritol | with Monk Fruit

Erythritol | with Allulose

Erythritol | with Fibers

Erythritol Powdered

Erythritol to Replace Brown Sugar

Liquid | Artificial Sweetener

Artificial Sweetener | Tablet

Pure | Artificial Sweetener

Sucralose | Blend

Aspartame | Blend

Saccharin | Blend

Sucralose | Packet & Stick

Aspartame | Packet & Stick

Saccharin | Packet & Stick

PICK YOUR REDUCED-CALORIE SWEETENER

Reduced-Calorie Sweeteners provide 25 to 75% fewer calories than sugar, with 0.4 to 3 calories per gram (1.2 to 12 calories per teaspoon). They are divided into two groups: sugar blends (which are not sugar-free) and low-digestible carbohydrates. The second group is sugar-free and includes polyols and sweet fibers.

Low-Digestible Sweeteners

25 - 75% fewer calories than sugar

Sugar-free

Pure Xylitol | From Birch Wood

Pure Xylitol | From Corn

Pure Xylitol | From Kabocha

Pure Xylitol | Packets

Xylitol Blend

Xylitol Blend | Packets

Sorbitol | Pure

Sorbitol and mannitol were the first polyols to become available as sweeteners. Both are about half as sweet as table sugar. Sorbitol provides about 8 calories per teaspoon (3g). Mannitol provides about 7 calories per teaspoon (4g).

Sorbitol | Blend

Sorbitol and mannitol were the first polyols to become available as sweeteners. Both are about half as sweet as table sugar. Sorbitol provides about 8 calories per teaspoon (3g). Mannitol provides about 7 calories per teaspoon (4g).

Mannitol

Sorbitol and mannitol were the first polyols to become available as sweeteners. Both are about half as sweet as table sugar. Sorbitol provides about 8 calories per teaspoon (3g). Mannitol provides about 7 calories per teaspoon (4g).

Isomalt

Sorbitol and mannitol were the first polyols to become available as sweeteners. Both are about half as sweet as table sugar. Sorbitol provides about 8 calories per teaspoon (3g). Mannitol provides about 7 calories per teaspoon (4g).

Erythritol

Erythritol is a polyol or sugar alcohol - a type of carbohydrate that, unlike sugar, is digested slowly. It is less sweet than sugar (~70% the sweetness of regular sugar) and requires a 'laxation claim' in food labels. It is offered as a natural sweetener as it is produced by a natural fermentation process. It is considered a low-calorie sweetener as it provides 0.2 kcal/g.

Rare Sugar | Allulose & Tagatose

Inulin or FOS | with Stevia

Inulin or FOS | with Monk Fruit

Inulin | Pure

Yacon Syrup

Isomalto-oligosaccharide

Tapioca Fiber | Pure & Blend

Sugar Blends

25 - 75% fewer calories than the sugar or syrup they replace.

Contain sugars or maltodextrin.

Not calorie-free. Not sugar-free.

Reduced-Calorie Refined Sugar

White Sugar Blend contains white cane sugar blended with a reduced calorie sweetener and/or a high intensity sweetener. Brown Sugar Blend contains regular brown sugar instead. It helps consumers reduce regular sugar intake. It is designed for baking and cooking as it gives the benefits of sugar (familiar taste, rising, browning, moisture) with less calories per serving. 1/2 cup of white or brown sugar blends sweetener is typically equal 1 cup of regular white or brown sugar

Reduced-Calorie Sugars

Raw Cane Sugar Blend: is a raw cane sugar blended with one or more reduced calorie sweetener and/or high intensity sweetener. Also called baker's blend or baking blend, it maintains almost the same role of raw cane sugars in baking, but with less calories. Is typically twice as sweet as regular refined sugar.

Reduced-Calorie Syrups

Liquid Blends (syrups) are often 2x as sweet as the pure caloric sweetener. Some of these blends contain honey or agave blended with stevia. It maintains some of honey or agave's role, but with less calories. Pancake syrup, waffle syrup or simply 'syrup' may be (1) LITE, LIGHT; (2) LOW CALORIE caloric sweeteners (sugar, cane syrup, corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, etc) are blended with high-intensity sweeteners (sucralose, stevia, etc)

Replace Sugar 1:1 | + Maltodextrin

Are sweeteners that measure spoon-for-spoon (or cup-for-cup) like regular sugar, and mantain some of sugar's role in baking but with less calories. When substituting this sweetener for sugar, consumer must substitute 'equal volume', not 'equal weight', because this sweetener is much lighter than sugar. Do not contain a sugar but have as main ingredient carbohydrates (maltodextrin) that breaks down into sugar

PICK YOUR CALORIC SWEETENER

Caloric sweeteners, also known as sugars, provide 4 calories per gram. This category includes not only table sugar but also honey, maple syrup, agave nectar, and over 70 other sweeteners is stores. Chemically, they consist of two main components—sugar and water. Solid sweeteners contain over 90% sugar and provide 16 calories per teaspoon, while liquids have more than 50% sugar and 22 calories per teaspoon.

Refined Sugar

Explore here almost twenty types of refined sugar from sugarcane and sugarbeet plants, starting by the favorite of all sweeteners - the table sugar

Raw Sugar

Explore raw sugars. They retain trace amounts of the original cane molasses, which gives them a delicate flavor and blond to light brown color

Unrefined Sugar

Unrefined sugars retain most or all the original cane molasses. They have between 8 to14 percent molasses content, which gives them a strong flavor and intense brown color.

Sap- and Nectar-Derived Sugar

Sources of sugar include tree sap, flower nectar (collected by bees in the case of honey), fruit, cereal (starch), and milk. Find here sugar obtained from the agave plant, coconut and maple trees, sorghum, corn, barley, brown rice, dates, fruit juices, and more.

Starch-Derived Sugar

Fruit- and Milk-Derived Sugars