Sugar Grams to Teaspoons Converter
Convert sugar between grams, teaspoons, sugar cubes, and calories instantly — both directions — and see how any amount compares to the WHO daily target.
25 g of sugar is 100% of the WHO ideal daily target of 25 g — and 50% of the 50 g ceiling (based on a 2,000-kcal diet).
Quick reference: common sugar amounts
| Grams | Teaspoons | Cubes | Calories | Context |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 g | 1.2 tsp | 1.3 | 20 kcal | UK 'green' label cutoff (food, per 100 g) |
| 10 g | 2.4 tsp | 2.5 | 40 kcal | ≈ a small 120 ml glass of orange juice |
| 25 g | 6 tsp | 6.3 | 100 kcal | WHO ideal target · AHA limit for women |
| 36 g | 8.6 tsp | 9 | 144 kcal | AHA limit for men |
| 50 g | 11.9 tsp | 12.5 | 200 kcal | WHO ceiling at 2,000 kcal |
| 100 g | 23.8 tsp | 25 | 400 kcal | ≈ 3 cans of cola (330 ml each) |
1 level teaspoon = 4.2 g · 1 sugar cube ≈ 4 g · sugar = 4 kcal per gram. Figures are guideline-based estimates.
How the conversion works
Three constants do all the work. A level teaspoon of granulated sugar weighs 4.2 grams, a standard sugar cube weighs about 4 grams, and sugar delivers 4 calories per gram. Every conversion on this page is just those three numbers applied in whichever direction you need.
A worked example: a 330 ml can of regular cola lists about 35 g of sugar. Divide by 4.2 and that's 8.3 teaspoons; divide by 4 and it's almost 9 sugar cubes; multiply by 4 and it's 140 calories — all from one can, before you've eaten anything.
Why bother converting grams to teaspoons?
Nutrition labels report sugar in grams, but almost nobody has an intuition for what 27 g feels like. Teaspoons and cubes fix that: 27 g becomes "6½ spoonfuls stirred into one drink," which is a picture your brain can actually act on. It's the same trick public health campaigns use — and it's why the statistic that the average US adult eats about 17 teaspoons (~70 g) of added sugar a day lands harder than the gram figure ever does.
The four numbers worth memorising
- 4.2 g = 1 teaspoon — the core conversion (US labels sometimes round to 4 g).
- 25 g ≈ 6 teaspoons — the WHO's ideal daily target for free sugars, and the AHA's suggested limit for women.
- 36 g ≈ 8.5 teaspoons — the AHA's suggested limit for men.
- 50 g ≈ 12 teaspoons — the WHO ceiling of 10% of energy on a 2,000-kcal diet.
All of these are guideline-based estimates for generally healthy adults, not individual medical advice. If you want the limits scaled to your own calories rather than the 2,000-kcal reference, the Daily Sugar Intake Calculator does exactly that — and to see what the calories mean in exercise terms, try the Sugar to Calories Calculator.
Once grams start meaning something to you, the natural next step is counting them: the Sugar Intake Tracker applogs your day against your limit in about thirty seconds.
Frequently asked questions
How many teaspoons is 10 grams of sugar?+
10 grams of sugar is about 2.4 level teaspoons, since one level teaspoon of granulated sugar weighs 4.2 g. It's also roughly 2.5 sugar cubes and 40 calories.
How many grams of sugar are in one teaspoon?+
A level teaspoon of granulated sugar weighs 4.2 grams. Many US nutrition resources round this to 4 g for simplicity, which is why you'll sometimes see slightly different teaspoon counts for the same food — this converter uses the more precise 4.2 g figure.
Is a sugar cube the same as a teaspoon of sugar?+
Almost. A standard sugar cube weighs about 4 grams while a level teaspoon holds 4.2 grams, so a cube is roughly 95% of a teaspoon. For visualising labels, treating them as interchangeable is fine — 35 g in a can of cola is about 8–9 of either.
How many calories are in a gram of sugar?+
Sugar provides 4 calories per gram. That means one teaspoon (4.2 g) is about 17 kcal, a sugar cube (4 g) is 16 kcal, and the 35 g in a 330 ml can of regular cola works out to roughly 140 kcal.
How many teaspoons of sugar per day is OK?+
On a 2,000-calorie diet the WHO ceiling of 50 g of free sugars is about 12 teaspoons, and its ideal target of 25 g is about 6 teaspoons. The American Heart Association suggests roughly 6 teaspoons (25 g) for women and 9 teaspoons (36 g) for men. These are population guidelines, not medical advice — anyone with diabetes or another condition should follow their clinician's individual targets.
Now track it daily
Knowing the number is step one — seeing it every day is what changes it. Sugar Intake Tracker, our iOS app in development, logs added sugar from a photo of your food: snap it, confirm the AI estimate, done.
Meet the appAI estimate · You confirm · Your log stays on your device