Sugar Content Calculator - Grams, Teaspoons & WHO Limit

Pick a product, count the cubes

Select from over 50 products across six categories - drinks, dairy, sweets, sauces, breakfast cereals and fruit. The calculator returns the sugar in grams, teaspoons, sugar cubes, percentage of the 25 g WHO daily limit and total calories. A visual progress bar shows how close a single serving brings you to the threshold.

The WHO recommends less than 25 g of free sugars per day

That is 6 teaspoons or 6 sugar cubes. A single can of cola (35 g) already exceeds it by 40%. Most people consume 60-80 g without realizing it.

How to use this calculator - step by step

Category - pick one of six: drinks, dairy, sweets & snacks, sauces & dressings, breakfast cereals, or fruit.
Product - the dropdown updates to show items in that category. Select the one closest to what you ate or drank.
Number of servings - optional. Default is 1. Enter 2 for two cans of cola, 0.5 for half a bar, 3 for three tablespoons of ketchup.
Read the results: grams of sugar, teaspoons, sugar cubes, WHO limit percentage and a color-coded progress bar.

Sugar content reference - sorted by sugar per serving

The products with the most sugar per standard serving come first:

Product	Serving	Sugar (g)	Tsp	% WHO
Gummy bears	100 g bag	46	11.5	184%
Fanta / Mirinda	330 ml	39	9.8	156%
Bubble tea	400 ml	38	9.5	152%
Apple juice 100%	330 ml	36	9.0	144%
Coca-Cola	330 ml	35	8.8	140%
Snickers bar	50 g	27	6.8	108%
Dried cranberries	30 g	22	5.5	88%
Cola Zero	330 ml	0	0	0%

Practical examples

1. A can of Coca-Cola (330 ml) - 35 g sugar, 8.8 teaspoons, 140% of the WHO limit. One can and your daily budget is already gone.

2. Flavoured quark dessert (140 g) - 16 g sugar, 4.0 teaspoons, 64% of the WHO limit. Marketed as a healthy snack, but it eats up nearly two-thirds of your allowance.

3. Two tablespoons of Nutella on toast - 16 g sugar, 4.0 teaspoons, 64% of the limit - and you have not left the kitchen yet.

4. Bubble tea (400 ml) - 38 g sugar, 9.5 teaspoons, 152% of the WHO limit. More sugar than a can of cola.

5. A medium apple (180 g) - 19 g sugar, but it is natural fructose bound to fiber. WHO does not count whole-fruit sugar as "free sugar". Dried fruit, however, counts.

FAQ - Frequently asked questions

What counts as "free sugar" according to WHO?

Free sugars include all added sugars (sucrose, glucose, fructose, corn syrup) plus sugars naturally present in juices, syrups and honey. Sugar in whole fruit and plain milk does not count. So a glass of orange juice counts, but eating an orange does not.

Is 100% fruit juice as bad as cola?

In terms of sugar, nearly yes. A 330 ml glass of apple juice has 36 g of sugar versus 35 g in cola. The difference is that juice also delivers vitamins and minerals. But WHO classifies juice sugar as "free" because juicing removes the fiber that slows absorption in whole fruit.

Why is the WHO limit only 25 grams?

The 25 g target (5% of daily energy for a 2,000 kcal diet) is the "conditional recommendation" from WHO's 2015 guideline, based on evidence linking free sugar intake above this level to increased risk of dental caries and weight gain. The "strong recommendation" ceiling is 50 g (10%), but 25 g provides additional health benefits.

Does honey count as added sugar?

Yes. WHO classifies honey, maple syrup and agave as free sugars despite being "natural". One tablespoon of honey has 17 g of sugar - 68% of the daily limit. It also has trace minerals, but the sugar load is the same as from table sugar.

Are dried fruits high in sugar?

Very high. Removing water concentrates the sugar: 30 g of dried dates has 20 g of sugar (80% of the WHO limit), while 30 g of dried cranberries has 22 g. WHO counts dried fruit sugar as "free" because the structure is broken down during drying.

How accurate are these values?

Values are averages across major brands. Actual sugar content can vary by 5-15% between brands and batches. Craft or artisanal products may differ more. For precise values, check the nutrition label on the specific product you are consuming.

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