How Much Sugar Is in Orange Juice?
A cup of orange juice has about 21 g of sugar — natural, but concentrated from several oranges with the fibre removed.
in 1 cup (248 ml) · about 5 teaspoons
- Per serving
- 21 g
- Per 100 g
- 8.4 g
- Type
- Natural sugar
- In teaspoons
- ≈ 5 tsp
A big chunk of a day's sugar in one serving.
A cup of 100% orange juice has about 21 g of sugar. It's technically natural fruit sugar, but it takes 3–4 oranges to fill the glass, and juicing throws away the fibre that would normally slow everything down. The result behaves a lot more like soda than like fruit.
'Not from concentrate' and 'no added sugar' labels don't change this — the sugar is inherent to the juice. A whole orange gives you the vitamin C for a fraction of the sugar hit and actually fills you up.
Lower-sugar swaps
- Eat a whole orange instead of drinking the juice
- Water with a splash of juice for flavour rather than a full glass
Frequently asked questions
- Is freshly squeezed orange juice healthier than store-bought?
- Only marginally. Even fresh-squeezed juice concentrates the sugar of several oranges and loses the fibre — the whole fruit is the better choice.
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Sugar values from USDA FoodData Central; actual amounts vary by brand, ripeness, and recipe. Last updated 2026-07-21.