How Much Sugar Is in a Pear?
A medium pear has about 17 g of natural sugar, offset by roughly 6 g of fibre — one of the highest fibre counts of any common fruit.
in 1 medium pear (178 g) · about 4 teaspoons
- Per serving
- 17 g
- Per 100 g
- 9.8 g
- Type
- Natural sugar
- In teaspoons
- ≈ 4 tsp
A big chunk of a day's sugar in one serving.
A medium pear carries around 17 g of sugar, which puts it in the 'high' band on paper. What tips the balance back is fibre: a pear has about 6 g, more than an apple or a banana, much of it the soluble kind that slows digestion and keeps you full.
Ripeness changes the eating experience more than the sugar count — a firm pear tastes crisp and mild, a soft one tastes sweeter, but the total sugar barely moves. Eaten whole with the skin on, a pear is a filling, naturally sweet fruit rather than a sugar bomb.
Lower-sugar swaps
- Half a pear with a few walnuts for more staying power
- A crisp apple if you want a slightly lower-sugar option
Frequently asked questions
- Is a pear high in sugar?
- It's on the higher side for fruit at about 17 g per pear, but it also carries roughly 6 g of fibre — among the most of any common fruit — which slows how fast that sugar hits you.
- Which has more sugar, a pear or an apple?
- They're close — a pear has slightly less sugar per 100 g than an apple, but because a pear is larger, the two end up with a similar total per piece of fruit.
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Sugar values from USDA FoodData Central; actual amounts vary by brand, ripeness, and recipe. Last updated 2026-08-09.