How Much Sugar Is in Lemonade?
A cup of lemonade has about 25 g of added sugar — real lemon juice is barely sweet, so most of a glass is straightforward sugar and water.
in 1 cup (240 ml) · about 6 teaspoons
- Per serving
- 25 g
- Per 100 g
- 10 g
- Type
- Added sugar
- In teaspoons
- ≈ 6 tsp
A big chunk of a day's sugar in one serving.
A cup of lemonade carries about 25 g of added sugar, close to a full day's recommended limit. Lemon juice itself has almost no sugar — it's intensely sour — so virtually everything sweet in the glass was added, usually as plain table sugar or high-fructose corn syrup.
Because it's marketed as a fresh, natural drink, lemonade's sugar load is easy to underestimate next to a can of Coca-Cola — but cup for cup, the numbers land in a similar place. A homemade batch lets you dial the sugar back without losing the tartness.
Lower-sugar swaps
- Make your own with fresh lemon, water, and a light sweetener you control
- Sparkling water with a squeeze of lemon for the flavour with none of the sugar
Frequently asked questions
- Is lemonade healthier than soda?
- Not by sugar content — a cup of lemonade has about 25 g of added sugar, in the same range as soda. It only feels healthier because it's marketed as fresh and natural.
- Does homemade lemonade have less sugar than store-bought?
- It can, since you control how much sugar goes in. Store-bought and restaurant lemonade is usually sweetened to a fixed recipe, often on the high end.
More foods
Learn more
Sugar values from Typical nutrition label; actual amounts vary by brand, ripeness, and recipe. Last updated 2026-08-09.