Avocado oil vs grapeseed oil: calories compared

We have no smoke point data and no frying study for either oil, so this page cannot settle high-heat cooking or seasoning cast iron. Calories are the same, about 120 per tablespoon.

The difference is the kind of fat. A composition review puts avocado oil at 71 percent monounsaturated fat. In meal trials, grapeseed oil served as the polyunsaturated, omega-6 fat. In 20 healthy men, a grapeseed oil meal raised triglycerides less over four hours than the same meal with olive oil, and in 20 healthy adults it did not raise endotoxin above an olive oil control. Those were single meals. A 3-week trial in 13 young men that left LDL higher used a spread of 90 percent butter and 10 percent grapeseed oil, so it mostly tested butter.

In 11 adults, avocado oil on a salad raised absorption of carotenoids, the pigments in colorful vegetables, about as well as whole avocado. Grapeseed oil was not tested that way. And a lab analysis found three products sold as avocado oil that matched soybean oil.

Choose by flavor and price. In trials, swapping butter for several plant oils lowered LDL cholesterol by 9 to 16 mg/dL (0.23 to 0.42 mmol/L), though neither of these two oils was among them. We have no data on allergy, pregnancy or medicines for either oil.

Evidence behind this note

1. Level D A review gives avocado oil as 71% monounsaturated, 13% polyunsaturated and 16% saturated fat. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr, 2013
2. Level B A mixed meal built on 1.4 oz (40 g) of grapeseed oil gave a lower 4-hour triglyceride response than the same meal built on olive oil in 20 healthy men. Eur J Nutr, 2018
3. Level B A meal carrying 7.4 g of grapeseed oil as omega-6 fat did not raise postprandial serum endotoxin above the olive oil control meal in 20 healthy adults. Lipids Health Dis, 2016
4. Level B Replacing 65 g of habitual dietary fat with a 90:10 butter and grapeseed oil spread for 3 weeks left total and LDL cholesterol higher than rapeseed-based spreads in 13 healthy young men. Eur J Clin Nutr, 1999
5. Level C Adding 24 g avocado oil to a salad raised absorption of alpha-carotene, beta-carotene and lutein similarly to 5.3 oz (150 g) of avocado, which gave up to 15 times the avocado-free salad. Unlu NZ et al., J Nutr 2005;135(3):431-436
6. Level D An NMR analysis of commercial and lab-made avocado oils found three products sold as avocado oil clustered with soybean oil, indicating adulteration. Molecules, 2021, Analysis and Authentication of Avocado Oil Using High Resolution NMR Spectroscopy
7. Level A A 2018 network meta-analysis of 54 randomized trials found liquid plant oils such as olive, rapeseed and sunflower lowered LDL by 8.9 to 16 mg/dL (0.23 to 0.42 mmol/L) compared with butter. J Lipid Res, 2018

Written from the studies and agency guidance we hold for both foods, reviewed by the Bioma editorial system. How we verify.

Read more about these foods

• Avocado oil: a cooking fat with almost no research of its own
• Grapeseed oil: six small studies and no long view

What the studies say

• Is avocado oil good for cholesterol? Untested itself, but its oil family lowers LDL

Rankings and guides

• Calories: what it does and what the evidence shows
• Which foods give the most protein for the fewest calories?
• Dietary fat: what it does and how much you need

More comparisons

• Avocado oil vs olive oil

• Avocado oil: USDA FoodData Central, Oil, avocado, FDC ID 173573 · all forms of avocado oil
• Grapeseed oil: USDA FoodData Central, Oil, grapeseed, FDC ID 171028 · all forms of grapeseed oil

Each food is one USDA entry, chosen as it is usually eaten. Other cuts, brands and preparations differ; the links show them. % DV uses FDA Daily Values for adults. How we verify.