Potato vs rice: carbs, fiber and net carbs
Full comparison · Calories · Carbs
Per 3.5 oz (100 g), potato has 21.1 g of carbohydrate (18.9 g net) and rice has 28.2 g (27.8 g net).
Net carbs = total carbohydrate minus fiber.
| Potato | Rice | |
|---|---|---|
| Total carbohydrate, 100 g | 21.1 g | 28.2 g |
| Fiber, 100 g | 2.2 g | 0.4 g |
| Net carbs, 100 g | 18.9 g | 27.8 g |
| Total sugars, 100 g | 1.2 g | 0.05 g |
| Carbs per serving | 31.3 g in 1 serving (5.2 oz, 148 g) | 44.5 g in 1 cup (5.6 oz, 158 g) |
| Net carbs per serving | 28 g | 43.9 g |
Net carbs is total carbohydrate minus fiber; it is a common counting convention, not an FDA label term. Total sugars include natural and added sugar; USDA does not separate them for these foods.
What the numbers don't tell you
Per 3.5 oz (100 g), baked potato has 93 calories and cooked white rice 130. In a trial in 14 adults, potato left people less hungry than rice with the same 45 g of carbohydrate, in a portion over twice as heavy. In another, 26 adults ate 13 to 16% less total energy when their unlimited side was baked fries or instant mash rather than rice. Both were single-meal tests.
For blood sugar, the clearest signal is fries. In US cohorts, each extra three servings of fries a week went with 20% more type 2 diabetes, baked, boiled or mashed potato showed no significant link, and swapping those potatoes for white rice went with higher risk. Another pooled review found 5% more with unfried potato. High white rice intake was linked to diabetes in Asian cohorts, not significantly in Western ones. In pregnancy, pooled studies tie each daily 2.8 oz (80 g) of unfried potato to a 26% higher risk of gestational diabetes. All are observational.
Rinse rice, which removed the most arsenic in lab studies. Don't leave cooked rice at room temperature: Bacillus cereus spores can survive cooking and make a toxin that brief reheating does not destroy. EFSA found a health concern for babies and toddlers from potato glycoalkaloids. Peel their potatoes, which removes 25 to 75%.
Per 3.5 oz (100 g), cooked white rice has 28.2 g of carbohydrate and baked potato 21.2 g. In one meal trial in healthy adults, replacing a third of the rice carbohydrate with firm-cooked potato lowered the glucose rise and peak, while soft-cooked potato made glucose swing more. The effect did not reach the next meal.
Evidence behind this note
- Level B In a meal trial in 14 adults, 12 oz (337 g) of potato felt more filling than 5 oz (142 g) of rice carrying the same 45 g of carbohydrate. Nutrients, 2018
- Level B In a crossover trial in 26 healthy adults, meals with potatoes instead of rice led people to eat 13 to 16 percent less total energy. J Nutr, 2024
- Level C Three servings of chips a week tracked with a fifth more diabetes, and the same amount of boiled or baked potato tracked with nothing. BMJ, 2025
- Level C Cohort data link French fries but not baked, boiled or mashed potatoes to type 2 diabetes, and swapping these potatoes for white rice was linked to higher risk. BMJ, 2025
- Level C The largest pooled review found potatoes unrelated to blood pressure, heart disease or stroke, and weakly related to diabetes whether fried or not. Nutr Rev, 2025
- Level C Cohort data link the highest white rice intake to a 55 percent higher risk of type 2 diabetes in Asian populations, with no significant link in Western populations. BMJ, 2012
- Level C Pooled studies link each daily 2.8 oz (80 g) serving of unfried potato to a 26 percent higher risk of gestational diabetes. Clin Nutr, 2021
- Level D Laboratory data across 15 studies suggest cooking lowers arsenic in rice by about 0.04 mg/kg, with rinsing most effective. Int J Environ Health Res, 2024
- Level E CDC notes that B. cereus is often present in uncooked rice and its spores may survive cooking. If cooked rice is then held at room temperature, the bacteria multiply and make a heat-stable toxin that can survive brief heating such as stir frying. In a 1993 fried rice outbreak at two day care centers, 12 of the 14 cases were children aged 2.5 to 5 years. CDC, MMWR 1994, Bacillus cereus food poisoning associated with fried rice at two child day care centers
- Level E Europe assessed the natural toxins in potato and found a health concern for babies and toddlers at ordinary intakes, and for adults only at the high end. Peeling removes a quarter to three quarters of them. EFSA, Glycoalkaloids in potatoes: public health risks assessed, 2020
- Level B In an acute randomized trial, replacing one third of rice carbohydrate with hard-cooked potato lowered post-meal glucose and insulin, while soft-cooked potato increased glucose variability. Nutrients, 2026
- Level C A 2026 trial is titled for improving glucose across two meals, and its own abstract says the effect did not reach the second meal. The title and the result disagree, and the result is the part that counts. Nutrients, 2026
Written from the studies and agency guidance we hold for both foods, reviewed by the Bioma editorial system. How we verify.
Keep exploring
Read more about these foods
- Potato and rice: which starch fills you up
- Potato: chilling it, and the enzyme before surgery
- Rice: the arsenic question, and the water you pour away
Rankings and guides
- Carbohydrates: what it does and how much you need
- Fiber: what it does and how much you need
- Which foods are highest in dietary fiber?
- Which foods are highest in carbohydrate?
- Added sugar: what it does and what the evidence shows
- Potato: full nutrition facts
- Rice: full nutrition facts
More comparisons
Where the numbers come from
- Potato: USDA FoodData Central, Potatoes, baked, flesh and skin, without salt, FDC ID 170093 · full profile · all forms of potato
- Rice: USDA FoodData Central, Rice, white, long-grain, regular, enriched, cooked, FDC ID 168878 · full profile · all forms of rice
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.