Sugar in drinks calculator

Sugar in drinks is easy to miss, because drinks do not fill you up. Add the size and the sugar per 100 ml and see it in teaspoons.

Your details

Sugar in your drinks

35 g

8.7 teaspoons, 117% of an adult's daily limit

Sugar per 100 ml11 g
Sugar levy band now8 g or more (higher rate)
Levy in each drink9.2p, paid by the maker (£2.78 per 10 litres)
From January 20288 g or more (higher rate)
Over a year at this rate12.8 kg of sugar, £33.49 of levy in the price

Sugars in soft drinks, juices and smoothies all count as free sugars, but the sugar in plain milk does not. Water, milk and diet or no added sugar drinks are the easy swaps.

The working

Size times sugar per 100 ml

Grams of sugar = ml × sugar per 100 ml ÷ 100 × how many. A 330 ml can at 10.6 g per 100 ml holds 330 × 10.6 ÷ 100 = 35 g, about 9 teaspoons and more than the whole adult daily limit of 30 g.

The sugar tax

How the levy works

Since 2018, UK soft drinks makers pay the Soft Drinks Industry Levy: a higher rate on drinks with 8 g or more of sugar per 100 ml and a lower rate on 5 to 8 g. Many brands cut sugar to dodge it, which is why so many drinks now sit just under 5 g. Milk based drinks and pure juices are exempt for now.

Changes confirmed at Budget 2025 start on 1 January 2028: the lower threshold falls from 5 g to 4.5 g per 100 ml, and pre-packaged milk based and plant milk drinks with added sugar (bottled milkshakes, ready to drink coffees) come into scope. Natural milk sugar is not counted.

The levy in pence

What it adds per drink

From 1 April 2026 the levy is £2.08 per 10 litres on the lower band and £2.78 per 10 litres on the higher band. The maker pays it, and it usually shows up in the price. A 330 ml can at 10.6 g is in the higher band: 0.33 × 27.8p = 9.2p a can, or £33.49 over a year at one a day, alongside 12.8 kg of sugar.

Typical drinks

Roughly how much

Drink	Sugar per 100 ml
Cola, full sugar	10.6 g
Orange juice	8 to 9 g
Lemonade, reduced sugar	3 to 5 g
Squash, no added sugar (diluted)	under 1 g
Flavoured water	0 to 5 g
Diet or zero drinks	0 g

Read with care

What this cannot tell you

Milk sugarsPlain milk's sugar (lactose) is not a free sugar.
SweetenersDiet drinks use sweeteners, which are considered safe.
TeethEven low sugar drinks can be acidic.

Questions

Common questions

How much sugar is in a can of cola?

About 35 g in a full sugar 330 ml can, roughly 9 teaspoons.

Do diet drinks count as sugar?

No. They use sweeteners and have little or no sugar.

Are fruit juices healthy?

They bring vitamins but count as free sugar. 150 ml a day with a meal is the NHS suggestion.

Sources

Last checked 21 October 2026. Spotted something wrong? Tell us and we will fix it.

If food feels hard

If eating, weight or food is on your mind a lot, you are not alone. Your GP can help, and Beat has a free helpline on 0808 801 0677 (England, weekdays 3pm to 8pm).