Honey vs maple syrup: calories compared

Neither one is a health food. The FDA declined to exclude honey and maple syrup from the definition of added sugars, so on a Nutrition Facts label both count like table sugar. A tablespoon is about 64 calories of honey or 52 of maple syrup.

On blood sugar, we hold no glycemic index for either and no trial comparing them. In 55 adults, some with impaired glucose tolerance, 50 g of carbohydrate a day from honey for two weeks did the same to blood sugar, blood fats and inflammation as table sugar or corn syrup. In one crossover trial in 42 overweight adults, swapping 5% of calories from added sugars to maple syrup for 8 weeks lowered systolic pressure by 2.7 mmHg, against a 0.9 mmHg rise on a sugar syrup. One small trial cannot crown a winner.

One difference is firm. The CDC says honey given to a baby under 12 months may cause botulism, a severe food poisoning, so none before the first birthday. Honey is also not fully absorbed, and in healthy adults ordinary doses may cause stomach complaints.

Choose by taste and count either as sugar. A tablespoon of maple syrup, about 12 g of sugars, uses a quarter of the 50 g daily value for added sugars. A tablespoon of honey, about 17 g, uses a third.

Evidence behind this note

1. Level E FDA declined to exclude maple syrup and honey from the definition of added sugars on the Nutrition Facts label. FDA, Food Labeling: Revision of the Nutrition and Supplement Facts Labels, final rule, FR Doc. 2016-11867, 2016
2. Level E A tablespoon of maple syrup (20 g) carries about 52 calories and 13.4 g carbohydrate, almost all of it sucrose, plus 0.58 mg manganese. USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy, FDC 169661, 2019
3. Level B Two weeks of honey did the same to blood sugar, blood fats and inflammation as the same amount of table sugar or corn syrup. J Nutr, 2015
4. Level B In 42 overweight adults, swapping 5% of calories from refined sugars to maple syrup for 8 weeks lowered systolic pressure by 2.7 mmHg against a 0.9 mmHg rise on sucrose syrup. J Nutr, 2024
5. Level E No honey at all before a baby's first birthday, and that includes a taste on a pacifier. CDC, Foods and Drinks to Avoid or Limit (Infant and Toddler Nutrition), page captured 2026-09-22
6. Level B Honey is not fully absorbed, and in a tenth of a jar's worth about ten grams of it never gets taken up. Am J Clin Nutr, 1995
7. Level E FDA sets the label daily value for added sugars at no more than 50 g a day, so one tablespoon of maple syrup at about 12 g sugars uses roughly a quarter of it. FDA, Food Labeling: Revision of the Nutrition and Supplement Facts Labels, final rule, FR Doc. 2016-11867, 2016

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

• Honey: the strongest result is a wound dressing in clinical care
• Maple syrup: counted as added sugar, with one small trial behind it

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
• Honey: full nutrition facts

More comparisons

• Honey vs pancake syrup

• Honey: USDA FoodData Central, Honey, FDC ID 169640 · full profile · all forms of honey
• Maple syrup: USDA FoodData Central, Syrups, maple, FDC ID 169661 · all forms of maple syrup

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.