Sweeteners guide
Honey, sugar, maple, agave, molasses and dates: an honest comparison
Key takeaways
- Every sweetener here except whole dates counts as added sugar. The 2025–2030 Dietary Guidelines recommend no more than 10 g of added sugars per meal.
- A tablespoon of honey has 64 calories and 17 g of sugars; a tablespoon of table sugar has 48 calories and 12.5 g. Honey is denser, so a spoonful carries more.
- Honey's glycemic index (61) is a little lower than table sugar's (65). The difference is small, and it varies by floral source.
- Maple syrup and molasses carry meaningful minerals (manganese; potassium and iron). Honey's minerals are trace amounts.
- Whole dates are fruit, not added sugar. Blended into a paste they bring fiber with their sweetness.
The short answer
Honey, table sugar, brown sugar, maple syrup, agave and molasses are all added sugars. They differ in taste, texture, mineral content and how fast they raise blood sugar, but none of them is a health food. The most useful difference is flavor: a stronger-tasting sweetener lets you use less. Whole dates are the exception. They are fruit, with fiber, and are not counted as added sugar.
Side by side, per tablespoon
Figures are from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy), calculated for one level tablespoon. A whole Medjool date is shown for comparison.
| Sweetener | Weight | Calories | Sugars | Main sugars | Glycemic index | Worth noting |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Table sugar | 12.5 g | 48 | 12.5 g | Sucrose | 65 | No minerals to speak of |
| Brown sugar (packed) | 13.8 g | 52 | 13.4 g | Sucrose | Not in the tables | Sugar with a little molasses |
| Honey | 21 g | 64 | 17.2 g | Fructose and glucose | 61 (varies by flower) | About 17% water; sweeter than sugar; trace minerals |
| Maple syrup | 20 g | 52 | 12.1 g | Sucrose | Not in the tables | 0.58 mg manganese, about 25% of the Daily Value |
| Molasses | 20 g | 58 | 14.9 g | Sucrose, glucose, fructose | Not in the tables | 292 mg potassium and 0.94 mg iron (6% and 5% DV) |
| Agave syrup | 21 g | 65 | 14.3 g | Mostly fructose (about 82%) | Low (fructose is 15) | Low GI because it is high in fructose |
| Medjool date (1 whole) | 24 g | 66 | 16 g | Glucose and fructose | Not added sugar | 1.6 g fiber and 167 mg potassium |
Glycemic index values are from the international GI tables (glucose ≈ 100). Maple, brown sugar, molasses and agave have no entry in those tables; published single studies vary, so we do not quote a number.
Why honey has more calories per spoon, but fewer per gram
Honey is about 17% water, and a tablespoon of it weighs 21 g, compared with 12.5 g for a tablespoon of granulated sugar. So a spoonful of honey carries more sugar and more calories (64 vs 48). Gram for gram, honey has fewer calories (about 3.0 per gram vs 3.9 for sugar), because some of that weight is water.
Honey also tastes sweeter than sugar, because much of its sugar is fructose. That is the practical advantage: in tea, on yogurt or in a dressing, many people find they need less of it.
Glycemic index: a small difference
The glycemic index (GI) measures how quickly a carbohydrate raises blood glucose compared with pure glucose. In the international GI tables, honey averages 61 and sucrose (table sugar) 65. Honey varies with its floral source: honeys richer in fructose, such as tupelo and sage, tend to sit lower than glucose-rich honeys such as clover.
A lower GI is not the same as healthier. Agave has a very low GI because it is mostly fructose, and diets high in added fructose are not recommended either. If you manage blood sugar, count every one of these as carbohydrate and talk to your doctor or dietitian about how much fits your plan.
Minerals: real in some, trace in others
- Molasses is the most mineral-rich: one tablespoon has 292 mg of potassium, 41 mg of calcium and almost 1 mg of iron.
- Maple syrup stands out for manganese: one tablespoon supplies about a quarter of the Daily Value.
- Honey contains small amounts of potassium, calcium and iron (about 11 mg of potassium per tablespoon). These are real but too small to matter in a normal serving.
- Table sugar has essentially none.
None of these amounts justify eating more of a sweetener. Fruit, vegetables, beans and dairy are far better sources of the same minerals.
Where dates fit
Dates are a whole fruit. A Medjool date has about as much sugar as a tablespoon of honey, but it also brings 1.6 g of fiber and 167 mg of potassium, and it is not counted as an added sugar. Blending whole dates into a paste keeps that fiber. U.S. labeling rules presume fruit pastes and purees not made from juice contain no added sugar. Here is how to make and use date paste.
Date syrup and date sugar sold as sweeteners are different: they are treated as added sugars.
How much is sensible
- The 2025–2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans say no amount of added sugar is recommended, and that a meal should contain no more than 10 g of added sugars. They advise children age 10 and younger to avoid added sugars.
- The American Heart Association suggests most women stay under about 25 g a day and most men under about 36 g.
- 10 g of sugars is about 1¾ teaspoons of honey, 2½ teaspoons of maple syrup, or 2½ teaspoons of table sugar.
- Babies under 12 months should never have honey of any kind, raw or processed, because of the risk of infant botulism.
Choosing between them
| If you want… | Try |
|---|---|
| A mild sweetener for tea and dressings | Clover or orange blossom honey; a little goes a long way |
| Deep flavor in baking and glazes | Buckwheat honey, molasses or dark maple syrup |
| Sweetness with fiber | Whole dates or date paste |
| A sweetener that dissolves in cold drinks | Honey or maple syrup (granulated sugar dissolves poorly when cold) |
| A crisp texture (meringue, shortbread) | Granulated sugar; liquid sweeteners change the texture |
Questions
Is honey better than sugar?
Not by much, nutritionally. Both are added sugars. Honey is sweeter, so you may use a little less, and its glycemic index is slightly lower (61 vs 65), but a tablespoon of honey has more calories than a tablespoon of sugar. Choose it for flavor and origin, and keep the amount small.
Which sweetener has the lowest glycemic index?
Of those here, agave syrup, because most of its sugar is fructose (fructose has a GI of about 15). A low GI does not make a sweetener healthier: agave is still an added sugar and is high in fructose.
Do dates count as added sugar?
Whole dates, and dates blended into a paste, are fruit and are not counted as added sugars on U.S. labels. Date syrup and date sugar sold as sweeteners are treated as added sugars.
How much added sugar is OK per day?
The 2025–2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans say no amount of added sugar is recommended, and that a meal should contain no more than 10 grams. The American Heart Association's limits are about 25 g a day for most women and 36 g for most men.
Sources
- FoodData Central: honey (169640), granulated sugar (169655), brown sugar (168833), maple syrup (169661), molasses (168820), agave syrup (170277), Medjool dates (168191) · U.S. Department of Agriculture
- International tables of glycemic index and glycemic load values: 2008 (Atkinson, Foster-Powell, Brand-Miller, Diabetes Care 31:2281) · American Diabetes Association
- Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2025–2030 · U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and USDA
- Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2025–2030: summary of recommendations · American Academy of Family Physicians
- Guidance for Industry: Declaration of Added Sugars on Honey, Maple Syrup, Other Single-Ingredient Sugars and Syrups (June 2019) · U.S. Food and Drug Administration
- Dietary sugars intake and cardiovascular health (scientific statement, 2009) · American Heart Association
We use government, scientific and industry sources and update this guide when they change. Read our editorial policy. This guide is general information, not medical advice.