5 nutritional metrics — 5 honey varieties + 5 other sweeteners. Click any bar to expand details.
How fast a food raises blood glucose in a test, relative to pure glucose (= 100; white bread = 71). Low GI ≤ 55; medium 56–69; high ≥ 70. A ranking of test results, not of which sweetener is better for you.
Pick how much of each you actually use. The numbers scale the USDA tablespoon values (21 g of honey, 20 g of maple syrup); 1 tsp is a third of a tablespoon and ¼ cup counts as 4 tablespoons.
| Per pour | Honey1 tbsp | Maple syrup2 tbsp | Differencemaple − honey |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weight | 21 g | 40 g | +19 g |
| Calories | 64 kcal | 104 kcal | +40 kcal |
| Total carbohydrate | 17.3 g | 26.8 g | +9.5 g |
| Total sugars | 17.2 g | 24.2 g | +7.0 g |
With 1 tbsp of honey and 2 tbsp of maple syrup, the maple syrup has 7.0 g more total sugars and 40 more kcal.
Maple syrup reaches the total sugars of 1 tbsp of honey at about 1.4 tbsp.
Source: USDA FoodData Central SR Legacy records for honey (FDC 169640) and maple syrup (FDC 169661). Reference foods, not your jar's label; both sweeteners count as added sugars. This compares amounts and does not suggest how much to use.
Honey vs maple syrup: flavor, grades and substitutions →In this chart, agave nectar has the lowest GI (~19), because it is 85–92% fructose; among the honeys, acacia is lowest (~32). GI ranks how a food raised blood glucose in a test, not which sweetener is better for you, and every sweetener here is an added sugar. For diabetes meal planning, check the serving size and total carbohydrate on the Nutrition Facts label and follow your care plan.
This chart does not include an antioxidant number for maple syrup. The figure previously shown could not be traced to a findable primary source, so it was removed. Among the honeys, buckwheat scores highest on ORAC (~796 μmol TE/100g) and acacia lowest (~47). ORAC is a test-tube assay, and USDA withdrew its ORAC database in 2012, stating that the values have no relevance to effects on human health. Choose either sweetener for flavor, not for antioxidants.
On published GI values, yes for most honeys. Coconut sugar's GI (~35) is below clover (~69) and wildflower (~65) and close to acacia (~32). Its value is attributed to inulin-type fructans in the sap, while honey's GI varies with its fructose-to-glucose ratio. Coconut sugar still supplies about as many calories as refined sugar (~375 kcal/100g), and both count as added sugars.
The two numbers measure unrelated things. Buckwheat's ORAC value (~796 μmol TE/100g) reflects phenolic compounds such as chlorogenic acid; its GI (~83) reflects a glucose-dominant sugar composition (F/G ratio ~0.9). Across the sweeteners in this chart, ORAC and GI do not move together.
Honey (~17% water), agave (~25%), and maple syrup (~32%) all add significant moisture compared to granulated sugars (white sugar ~0%, brown sugar ~1.4%). Rule of thumb: for each cup of honey replacing one cup of sugar, reduce other liquids by about 3–4 tablespoons. For maple syrup, reduce by about 5–6 tablespoons. Use the Honey Baking Substitution Calculator for variety-specific adjustments.
Not for anything that happens in the body. ORAC (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity) is a test-tube assay that was widely used from the 1990s. USDA withdrew its ORAC database in 2012, stating that the values have no relevance to the effects of these compounds on human health. This chart uses ORAC only to compare laboratory results between sweeteners.
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