Sweet Tea vs Lemonade: Calories and Nutrition Compared (2026)

Sweet tea contains 35 calories and 0.0 g of protein, while lemonade has 40 calories and 0.1 g of protein. Lemonade is higher in calories and protein.

Sweet tea and lemonade are both refreshing beverages enjoyed by many. They differ in their nutritional content, particularly in calories, sugar, and protein.

What Is the Difference Between Sweet Tea and Lemonade?

Sweet tea is a beverage made by brewing black tea and adding sugar, often served chilled. It is popular in the southern United States. Lemonade is a drink made from lemon juice, water, and sugar, known for its tart and sweet flavor. It is often consumed during warm weather.

Sweet Tea vs Lemonade: Nutrition Side by Side

Below is a side-by-side comparison of the nutritional values of sweet tea and lemonade.

Nutrient (per 100 g)	Sweet tea	Lemonade
Calories	35 kcal	40 kcal
Protein	0.0 g	0.1 g
Carbs	8.6 g	10.4 g
Sugar	8.3 g	10.0 g
Fat	0.1 g	0.0 g
Fiber	0.1 g	0 g
Sodium	2 mg	4 mg

Which Is Better, Sweet Tea or Lemonade?

For weight loss: Sweet tea has 35 calories per 100 g, while lemonade has 40 calories. Sweet tea is lower in calories.

For muscle and protein: Sweet tea contains 0.0 g of protein, while lemonade has 0.1 g of protein. Lemonade has more protein.

For low-carb or low-sugar: Sweet tea has 8.6 g of carbohydrates and 8.3 g of sugar, while lemonade has 10.4 g of carbohydrates and 10.0 g of sugar. Sweet tea is lower in both.

How to Track Sweet tea and Lemonade Accurately

Portion sizes and macros can often be misjudged, leading to inaccurate assessments of nutritional intake. Nutrola is an AI nutrition tracking app that identifies foods from a photo and returns calories and macros from a database of more than 1.8 million foods. It also supports barcode scanning and voice logging. Nutrola is available from EUR 2.50 per month and shows no ads on any tier.

How We Compiled These Numbers

The numbers presented are rounded reference values for educational use and should not be considered medical advice. This comparison is based on per-100 g measurements. Values are per 100 g from USDA FoodData Central.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Which beverage has fewer calories?

Sweet tea has 35 calories per 100 g, while lemonade has 40 calories. Therefore, sweet tea has fewer calories.

Which beverage has more protein?

Lemonade contains 0.1 g of protein per 100 g, while sweet tea has 0.0 g of protein. Lemonade has more protein.

What is the sugar content in sweet tea?

Sweet tea contains 8.3 g of sugar per 100 g. This is a significant amount of sugar.

What is the carbohydrate content in lemonade?

Lemonade has 10.4 g of carbohydrates per 100 g. This includes its sugar content.

How much sodium is in each beverage?

Sweet tea has 2 mg of sodium per 100 g, while lemonade has 4 mg of sodium. Lemonade has more sodium.

Which beverage is lower in sugar?

Sweet tea contains 8.3 g of sugar per 100 g, whereas lemonade has 10.0 g of sugar. Sweet tea is lower in sugar.

Key Takeaways

• Sweet tea has 35 calories per 100 g.
• Lemonade has 40 calories per 100 g.
• Sweet tea contains 0.0 g of protein.
• Lemonade contains 0.1 g of protein.
• Sweet tea has 8.6 g of carbohydrates.
• Lemonade has 10.4 g of carbohydrates.