How many calories are in honey?

USDA numbers for honey per 100 g, per tablespoon, per packet and per cup, with sugar content and logging tips.

By the Cal.AI Team · Published November 8, 2026 · 3 min read

Short answer 100 g of honey has 304 calories (USDA). A typical serving, 1 tbsp (21 g), has about 64 calories with 0.1 g protein, 17 g carbs and 0 g fat. Nearly all of those carbs are sugar, about 17.2 g, so the drizzle on yogurt or in tea counts.

Honey is sugar in liquid form: 304 calories and 82.1 g of sugar per 100 g, with no fat and almost no protein. A tablespoon (21 g) is about 64 calories, a 0.5 oz packet (14 g) about 43, and a cup (339 g) about 1,031. It is often logged as "natural" and therefore skipped, but on a calorie count it behaves exactly like any other sweetener.

Calories in honey per 100 g

According to USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy entry “Honey”), 100 g of honey contains 304 calories (1,272 kJ), 0.3 g of protein, 82 g of carbohydrates and 0 g of fat.

Nutrient (per 100 g)	Amount
Calories	304
Energy (kilojoules)	1,272 kJ
Protein	0.3 g
Carbohydrates	82 g
Fiber	0.2 g
Sugars	82 g
Total fat	0 g
Saturated fat	0 g
Sodium	4 mg
Cholesterol	0 mg
Potassium	52 mg
Calcium	6 mg
Iron	0.4 mg
Vitamin C	0.5 mg

Calories per serving

Per-100 g numbers are only useful once you know your portion. Typical servings of honey:

Serving	Calories	kJ	Protein	Carbs
1 tbsp (21 g)	64	267	0.1 g	17 g
1 packet (0.5 oz, 14 g)	43	178	0 g	12 g
1 cup (339 g)	1031	4,312	1 g	279 g

Macro breakdown

By energy, honey is about 100% carbohydrate, 0% protein and 0% fat (using 4 kcal per gram of protein and carbohydrate and 9 kcal per gram of fat).

In practice that makes honey a sugar source and little else: 82.1 g of its 82.4 g of carbohydrate per 100 g is sugar. When you add it to food, a tablespoon's 17.2 g of sugar counts as added sugar, the same as table sugar, and it is already more than the 2025–2030 Dietary Guidelines advise for a whole meal, which is no more than 10 g of added sugars.

How honey compares with similar foods

Food (per 100 g)	Calories	Protein	Carbs	Fat
Marshmallows	318	1.8 g	81 g	0.2 g
Fruitcake	324	2.9 g	62 g	9.1 g
Maple syrup	260	0 g	67 g	0.1 g
Cherry pie	260	2 g	40 g	11 g
Pound cake	353	5 g	54 g	14 g

Is honey good for weight loss?

Honey is slightly lower in calories than table sugar per 100 g (304 versus 387), but a tablespoon still comes to about 64 calories, and nobody uses honey by the gram. In a deficit, treat it as a measured sweetener: a third of a tablespoon (7 g, about 21 calories) in tea or on oatmeal is fine, while a tablespoon on each of three foods a day is about 192. The yogurt-and-honey habit is the usual culprit: nonfat Greek yogurt is about 100 calories per 170 g container and a tablespoon of honey adds 64 on top. Use less and spread it thinner, or use fruit for sweetness and fiber.

How to log honey in Cal.AI

Search for honey in Cal.AI and log by the tablespoon (21 g, about 64 calories) or the 0.5 oz packet (14 g, about 43), using the serving − / + control for smaller amounts; a third of a tablespoon is 7 g and about 21 calories. Honey rarely shows in a photo of yogurt or tea, so add it with Fix Results after scanning the bowl. The common mistake is a heaped tablespoon logged as a level one, which can be 30 g and about 91 calories.

Scan it instead of searching it Cal.AI is free on iPhone, Apple Watch and Android. Snap a photo, scan a barcode or search any food, then fix anything the AI gets wrong.

Frequently asked questions

How many calories are in a tablespoon of honey?

A tablespoon of honey weighs about 21 g and has about 64 calories, essentially all from 17.3 g of carbohydrate, of which 17.2 g is sugar. A third of a tablespoon, 7 g, is about 21 calories, and a 0.5 oz packet (14 g) is about 43 calories. A cup of honey, as used in baking, is 339 g and about 1,031 calories.

Is honey lower in calories than sugar?

Per 100 g, yes: honey is 304 calories and granulated sugar is 387. Per spoon the gap is small, because a tablespoon of honey weighs 21 g and comes to about 64 calories, while three teaspoons of sugar (12.6 g) is about 49. Both are essentially all sugar, so for calorie tracking what matters is how much you use, not which one.

Does honey count as added sugar?

When you add it to food, yes. Honey is 82.1 g of sugar per 100 g, so a tablespoon adds about 17.2 g of added sugar, roughly a third of the FDA Daily Value of 50 g a day. The 2025–2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans advise that one meal contain no more than 10 g of added sugars, so one tablespoon already goes past that.

Sources

U.S. Department of Agriculture, FoodData Central, SR Legacy: “Honey” (FDC ID 169640). FoodData Central
U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2025–2030. Dietary Guidelines 2025–2030
U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Daily Value on the Nutrition and Supplement Facts Labels. FDA

Cal.AI TeamWe build Cal.AI, an AI calorie counter for iPhone, Apple Watch and Android. Every number in this article links to its source; see how we research and fact-check. This is general nutrition-tracking guidance, not medical advice.