LIQUID SWEETENER
2025 BUYING GUIDE
In my quest to help home cooks navigate the complex world of sugar alternatives, I’ve come across all kinds of liquid sweeteners—from syrups and nectars to sugar-free options dispensed by drops or squeezes. Whether you’re baking, drizzling, or sweetening your morning coffee, you’ll find them here, sorted into three simple categories to make choosing easier.
WHY CHOOSE LIQUIDS?
From super-concentrated sweeteners like stevia and monk fruit drops to simple syrup, fruit juice concentrate, honey, and maple syrup—liquid sweeteners come in many forms, and the options can feel overwhelming. And that’s without even touching on the endless flavored varieties like vanilla, chocolate, caramel, or hazelnut (which we won’t cover here).
Liquid sweeteners are convenient for sweetening coffee, tea, and more. Zero-calorie options are especially handy for travel—just toss one in your purse or bag.
They can be thin or thick in texture. Syrups, by definition, are viscous liquids—and are not typically calorie-free.
Like any sweetener, liquid options come with their own set of pros and cons. Here’s what to keep in mind before reaching for a syrup, dropper, or squeeze bottle:
✅ Pros of Liquid Sweeteners
-
Easy to mix – They dissolve instantly in iced cold or hot beverages resulting in a clear, grit-free solution.
-
Moisture boost – Great to add moisture and help prevent dryness in baking recipes.
-
Precise portioning – Many come in dropper or squeeze bottles, or pumps, making them easy to measure and control.
❌ Cons of Liquid Sweeteners
-
Harder to store – Sticky or drippy bottles can be messy and may require refrigeration.
-
Recipe adjustments needed – Their liquid form can throw off texture in baked goods if not accounted for. You can't use them in recipes that require creaming (beating softened butter and sugar) to trap air and build the light, fluffy texture needed for proper structure.
-
Shorter shelf life – Some contain water and may spoil faster than dry sweeteners unless preserved.
Before You Make the Switch: A Must-Read on Syrups
Before swapping sugar for a syrup, there’s a lot to consider. I put together a full post with tips and everything you need to know before making the switch—read it here to get the most out of your liquid sweeteners.
PICK YOUR LIQUID SWEETENER
Brands and Products
Keep scrolling to learn more, or if you're short on time, jump straight to one of the groups of liquid sweeteners by clicking below:
ZERO-CALORIE
Zero-calorie liquid sweeteners are often blends of a high-intensity sweetener and water. They contain fewer than 5 calories per serving.
You can choose between two types:
-
Natural or plant-derived – with stevia, monk fruit, or allulose
-
Artificial – with sucralose or saccharin
You'll find them with a variety of ingredients. To improve taste and maintain freshness, some products may have flavors, preservatives, or both. Syrups have glycerin, allulose, or gums to make them viscous.
They come in containers that allow you to measure the product by the number of drops, squeezes, or teaspoons, depending on the design of the bottle.
Liquids with stevia, monk fruit, sucralose, and saccharin share two key characteristics:
-
Super concentrated & travel-friendly
Just a few drops or a squeeze can replace a full teaspoon of sugar. Their compact size makes them perfect for sweetening on the go—easy to toss in your purse or travel bag.
-
Bulk-free sweeteners
They add sweetness without adding bulk. That means no impact on volume or texture. They do not thicken, bind, or make your recipe viscous. Ideal for boosting sweetness in baking, they're not meant to be the only sweetener in recipes that need structure.
In contrast, allulose-based sweeteners stand out because they offer bulk. That makes them useful in recipes where structure and volume matter, like baked goods. Some of these syrups are less sweet than sugar, but others measure like sugar.
REDUCED-CALORIE
Reduced-Calorie Sweeteners offer 50 to 75% fewer calories than sugar, typically providing less than 3 calories per gram—that’s fewer than 12 calories per teaspoon.
They fall into two main categories:
-
Low-Digestible Carbohydrates – These are mildly sweet carbs that resist full digestion, either because they’re slowly absorbed or only partially metabolized. This group includes sorbitol blends and sweet soluble fibers like yacon syrup and IMO (isomaltooligosaccharides).
-
Sugar Blends – These syrups contain sugar as the main ingredient, often blended with a high-intensity sweetener. Surprisingly, they may still be labeled as “sugar-free” depending on how the blend is formulated.
FULL-CALORIE (SUGARS)
Liquid sugars are sweeteners made from plant saps (nectar), starches, fruits, or milk, and provide about 4 calories per gram. They consist mainly of sugar and water, with over 50% sugar content—which adds up to about 22 calories per teaspoon.
This group includes familiar sweeteners like honey, maple syrup, agave nectar, and more. I’ve captured some of them in pictures and grouped them by source:
-
From Sugar Cane & Beets
-
From Other Plant Sources
-
Table Syrups From Corn
I included here simple syrup, cane syrups, and molasses—all derived from refined sugar.
-
Simple syrup is made by simply dissolving granulated sugar in water, usually in a 1:1 ratio (equal parts sugar and water). It’s commonly used in drinks as it blends effortlessly.
-
Cane syrups and molasses contain mainly sucrose along with "invert sugar" (this term refers to a one-to-one mixture of glucose and fructose that is formed when sucrose molecules break down).
-
Molasses—whether light, dark, or blackstrap—are by-products of the cane sugar refining process. They’re the thick, dark syrups left after sugar crystals are removed during multiple rounds of boiling and centrifugation.
Cane molasses have a myriad of compounds that together contribute to their characteristic brown color and flavor, which are products of two browning reactions: caramelization and a complex series of chemical reactions collectively known as the Maillard reaction.
1. Light (mild) molasses comes from the first boil and is the sweetest.
2. Dark (full) molasses comes from the second boil and has a richer, more robust flavor.
3. Blackstrap molasses is produced during the final boil. It’s the most concentrated, least sweet, most bitter, and highest in minerals.
Organic cane molasses is a by-product of the production of organic raw sugars, like turbinado and demerara. It's the thick, dark syrup left behind when organic cane juice is boiled in sugar mills.
Like the refined molasses above, it has sugar crystals removed using a centrifuge. The key difference is that organic molasses usually undergoes just one cycle of boiling and centrifugation, while traditional molasses (light, dark, and blackstrap) go through multiple cycles as part of full sugar refining. This means organic molasses is less processed and retains more of the original plant compounds and minerals, being sweeter and less bitter.
Want to learn more? Check out: Raw Sugar: From Turbinado to Demerara, Find out Exactly What it is
Unrefined cane syrups are made near cane fields by slowly simmering clarified cane juice in open kettles—a traditional process that retains much of the cane’s natural flavor and color.
Unlike the molasses listed above, these syrups are not by-products of sugar refining. They don’t have sugar crystals removed during production, making them less processed and closer to the original cane juice.
Unrefined molasses tend to have a milder, sweeter taste and less bitterness than highly refined molasses like blackstrap. They also retain more natural flavor compounds and have a more balanced, caramel-like profile.
Nutritionally, they contain about 25–30% sucrose and around 50% invert sugar (a mix of fructose and glucose).
Want to go deeper? Read my full post: Unrefined Sugar: 4 Myths and How it Compares with Common Sweeteners.
Golden syrup, also known as invert syrup, is made by boiling table sugar (sucrose)—from sugar cane or sugar beet—with an acid or the enzyme invertase. This process breaks sucrose down into its two components: glucose and fructose.
When sucrose breaks down during the making of golden or invert syrup, a few key technical terms are often used:
-
Inversion – The process of splitting a sucrose molecule into glucose and fructose.
-
Invert Sugar – The mixture of equal parts (50:50) of glucose and fructose that results from the inversion. Invert sugar is only found in liquid form—it’s never sold as a dry sweetener.
-
Invert Syrup – A blend of remaining sucrose and newly formed invert sugar (glucose + fructose).
Invert syrup contains both sucrose and invert sugar, and its composition can vary:
-
Full invert: ∼90% of sucrose is converted
-
Medium invert: ∼50% is converted.
-
Most commercial syrups (are slightly sweeter than table sugar):
30–40% sucrose
50% invert sugar (25% glucose + 25% fructose)
A syrup with around 75% total sugars (sucrose + glucose + fructose) matches the sweetness of regular sugar.
Golden syrup is valued in baking and candy-making for its smooth texture, moisture retention, and resistance to crystallization.
The sweeteners in this group are made from plant saps, fruits, cereals, and even milk—sources other than sugar cane or beet. Common sources include agave, coconut, and maple trees, sorghum, flower nectar, corn, barley, brown rice, dates, and fruit juices.
-
Nectars are naturally sweet plant liquids that become syrups when concentrated.
-
Honey is a special case: it’s flower nectar collected and thickened by bees into a syrup.
Table syrup—used for pancakes or waffles—is a blend of liquid sweeteners, primarily corn syrup and high fructose corn syrup (HFCS).
By law, table syrups may include additional ingredients (emulsifiers, stabilizers, color additives, salt, preservatives, flavorings). You’ll often see labels list “2% or less of” the following: cellulose gum, salt, caramel color, natural and artificial flavor, molasses, sodium benzoate, sorbic acid, citric acid, sodium hexametaphosphate, mono- and diglycerides.
The most commonly used table syrup brands in the U.S. are Pearl Milling (former Aunt Jemina), Mrs. Butterworth, Log Cabin, and Hungry Jack.
They contain 8 to 10g sugar and 50 to 60 calories per tablespoon (15mL).
Log Cabin Syrup is promoted to consumers for not being made with HFCS; it contains refined sugar or brown rice syrup instead.
Karo is predominantly corn syrup. Other ingredients: salt, vanilla, refiners (cane) syrup, caramel flavor, sodium benzoate.
Understanding Corn-Based Syrups
Two common sweeteners found in table syrups and processed foods are corn syrup and high fructose corn syrup (HFCS). While they both start with cornstarch, they’re made using different processes and have distinct sugar compositions. Here’s how they differ:
-
Corn Syrups
Corn syrups is a type of glucose syrup made from cornstarch (corn is the most economical and abundant source of starch in America). Their main components are glucose and maltose (two glucose molecules linked together), plus small amounts of other sugars. They are less sweet than table sugar.
Glucose syrups are produced by breaking down starch—a complex carbohydrate made out of glucose molecules joined together—splitting into glucose in a process called "hydrolysis."
-
High Fructose Corn Syrups (HFCS)
HFCS starts as a glucose syrup made from cornstarch, but part of the glucose is enzymatically converted into fructose, making it sweeter than regular corn syrups.
The name “high-fructose” can be misleading—the most common HFCS contain almost equal amounts of fructose and glucose and are about as sweet as table sugar. High-fructose corn syrup isn’t extremely high in fructose—it just contains more fructose than regular corn (glucose) syrup.
WhatSugar is reader-supported.
When you buy through Amazon links, this site may earn an affiliate commission.
A one-woman business relying on Amazon affiliate commission to avoid ads.
The list above is not intended to endorse, advertise or recommend products.
We present this listing simply as a service to our readers.
