Can I simply replace sugar with sweetener in any recipe?

Not always. Sugar does more than sweeten — it adds bulk, moisture, browning, and structure. Granulated sweeteners like erythritol and xylitol work best as direct replacements. Liquid sweeteners like honey and agave require reducing other liquids in the recipe. Concentrated sweeteners like stevia need a bulking agent to replace the lost volume.

How sweet is stevia compared to sugar?

Stevia is approximately 200 times sweeter than sugar by weight. This means you need just 0.5g of stevia powder to replace 100g of sugar in terms of sweetness. However, you will need to make up the lost bulk with another ingredient.

Does erythritol bake the same as sugar?

Erythritol bakes similarly to sugar but does not caramelise or brown. It is about 70% as sweet, so you need about 1.4 times the quantity. It can have a slight cooling effect on the tongue and may crystallise if the batter or dough is cold.

How do I adjust a recipe when using honey instead of sugar?

Use about 80% of the sugar weight in honey (since honey is 25% sweeter). Reduce other liquids by about 25ml for every 100g of honey used. Lower the oven temperature by about 10°C as honey browns faster than sugar.

Is xylitol safe for baking?

Xylitol is safe for humans and works as a 1:1 sugar replacement by weight. It bakes well and tastes very similar to sugar. However, it is extremely toxic to dogs — never use xylitol in baking if dogs may have access to the finished product.

BakeCalcs

Sugar to Sweetener Converter

Convert sugar quantities to common sweetener alternatives and vice versa, accounting for sweetness intensity.

Conversion Direction

Sweetener Type

Sugar Quantity

How We Calculate This

This converter calculates the equivalent quantity of sweetener based on its sweetness relative to sugar. Each sweetener has a different sweetness multiplier that determines how much you need.

Sweetness Multipliers

Stevia: 200x sweeter — use 1/200th the quantity
Erythritol: 0.7x sweetness — use 1.4x the quantity
Honey: 1.25x sweeter — use ~80% the quantity
Maple syrup: 0.9x sweetness — use ~110% the quantity
Agave: 1.5x sweeter — use ~67% the quantity
Xylitol: 1.0x — direct 1:1 substitute

Frequently Asked Questions

Related Calculators

Chocolate Tempering Calculator

Calculate target temperatures for tempering dark, milk, and white chocolate.

Chocolate Coating Calculator

Calculate how much melted chocolate you need to coat truffles, biscuits, or fruit by quantity.

Sugar Syrup Stage Calculator

Look up temperatures and sugar concentrations for each candy-making stage.

Fondant Coverage Calculator

Calculate how much rolled fondant you need to cover a cake based on tin size.

Buttercream Calculator

Calculate butter, icing sugar, and milk quantities for buttercream by cake size and coverage.

Last updated: February 2026

All calculations are based on standard ratios and conversions. Results may vary with specific ingredients, equipment, and conditions.