How Many Calories in a Lollipop?
The worst thing at the till, being pure sugar? Flip it: a small lollipop is about 31 calories (8 g, Chupa Chups size) and even the big ones stop at 67 — because at 392 kcal per 100 g there is barely any 100 g to eat. How many calories in a lollipop is a grams question, and the grams are tiny.
You'd need to walk about 6 minutes to burn the 31 calories in a small lollipop (8 g).
How long does it take to burn off a lollipop?
A small lollipop (8 g) is 31 kcal. Enter your weight and the amount you ate to see how long it takes you to burn that off:
lb
| Activity | Time to burn 31 kcal |
|---|---|
| Walking, brisk | 6 min |
| Cycling, moderate | 4 min |
| Swimming, moderate | 4 min |
| Jogging | 4 min |
| Weight training, moderate | 7 min |
Times are for a 154 lb (11 st) adult at a steady pace; change the weight to see yours. The amount is set to the portion in the text (8 g); change it to what you actually ate. BodyPal works this out from your steps automatically.
Alt: Colourful lollipops on a stick - 31 calories per small lollipop
On this page
- Quick facts
- Lollipop sizes
- The slowest sugar in the shop
- Sugar-free lollipops
- How does a lollipop compare?
- Most popular lollipop brands
- FAQ
Quick facts
| Per 100 g | Amount | % RI* |
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 392 kcal (1,640 kJ) | 20% |
| Protein | 0 g | 0% |
| Carbohydrates | 98 g | 38% |
| — of which sugars | 65 g+ | 72% |
| Fat | 0 g | 0% |
| Fibre | 0 g | — |
| Salt | 0 g | 0% |
*RI = reference intake of an average adult (8,400 kJ / 2,000 kcal). Sugars vary by recipe; 65 g per 100 g is the floor, not the ceiling.
Verified nutrition data
Numbers on this page come from CoFID, the UK government’s Composition of Foods Integrated Dataset, and from manufacturer labels where a branded product is named. Last verified August 2026. How we verify our data →
Lollipop sizes
A lollipop is boiled sugar on a stick, so the calorie count is simply the weight of the sugar. Nobody sells them by the 100 g.
| Portion | Weight | Calories |
|---|---|---|
| Small lollipop (Chupa Chups size) | ~8 g | 31 kcal |
| Large lollipop | ~17 g | 67 kcal |
Those are the numbers that matter. A small lolly costs less than a third of a Freddo, and the large one still comes in under most single biscuits.
Alt: BodyPal app scanning a lollipop showing calories and macros
The slowest sugar in the shop
Here is the odd advantage: time. A chocolate bar disappears in a minute; a lollipop takes something like twenty. That makes it the slowest way to eat sugar on the confectionery shelf — 31 kcal stretched across a quarter of an hour of actually having a sweet in your mouth.
The same slowness is the catch, and it has nothing to do with calories. Dentists dislike lollipops precisely because they bathe the teeth in sugar for so long — the NHS is blunt about sugar being the main cause of tooth decay. On the energy ledger the lollipop is close to trivial; on the dental one it is not.
For scale: the WHO recommends keeping free sugars under 10% of daily energy, and the NHS puts the adult figure at 30 g a day. A small lollipop's roughly 5 g of sugar fits inside that easily. A habit of five a day does not.
Sugar-free lollipops
Alt: Lollipop variants calories comparison - small 31, large 67 kcal
Sugar-free versions swap the sugar for bulk sweeteners. They are lower in calories, not calorie-free — sweeteners still carry energy, and recipes differ enough that the label on the specific bag is the only honest source. The bigger practical difference is for teeth, which is exactly why they exist.
How does a lollipop compare?
| Sweet | Portion | Calories |
|---|---|---|
| Lollipop | small (8 g) | 31 kcal |
| Malteser | one | ~10 kcal |
| Caster sugar | 1 tsp | 16 kcal |
| Drumstick lolly | one (11.1 g) | 46 kcal |
| Freddo | one bar | 96 kcal |
The verdict: per item, nothing on this table beats the lollipop except a single Malteser — and nobody eats a single Malteser. A Freddo delivers three lollipops' worth of calories in a tenth of the time, which is the whole argument in one line.
Most popular lollipop brands in the United Kingdom
Ranked by how widely each product appears among foods sold in the United Kingdom, from the BodyPal food database of over 3.3 million products. Calories are the figures printed on each label.
| Product | Calories (per 100 g) |
|---|---|
| Chupa Chups Lollipop | 387 kcal |
| Chupa Chups Crazy Dips | 386 kcal |
Brand popularity: BodyPal food database. Nutrition: manufacturer labels.
FAQ
How many calories in a Chupa Chups?
About 31 kcal — the classic small lollipop weighs around 8 g, and boiled-sugar lollies run 392 kcal per 100 g. That makes it one of the smallest single sweets you can buy, despite being essentially pure sugar.
How much sugar is in a lollipop?
Roughly 5 g in a small 8 g lollipop, since the recipe is at least 65 g of sugar per 100 g. A large one carries about 11 g. Against the NHS guideline of 30 g of free sugars a day for adults, one small lolly uses about a sixth.
How many calories in a large lollipop?
About 67 kcal for a large lolly of around 17 g. The rule of thumb is simple: lollipops are close to 4 kcal per gram, so weigh the sweet and multiply. Even novelty sizes rarely reach the calories of a single chocolate bar.
Are sugar-free lollipops calorie-free?
No — they are lower, not zero. Bulk sweeteners still contribute energy, and recipes vary widely, so the bag's own label is the number to trust. Their real advantage is dental: no sugar sitting on the teeth for twenty minutes.
Are lollipops better than chocolate?
On calories per item, clearly: 31 kcal for a small lollipop against 96 for a Freddo. On teeth the picture reverses — twenty minutes of sugar contact is exactly what NHS dental advice warns about. Fewest calories: lollipop. Kindest to teeth: neither, but the chocolate is gone sooner.
Lollipop vs Drumstick lolly — which is lighter?
The plain lollipop, at 31 kcal for a small one against 46 for a Drumstick. The Drumstick is heavier and its chewy base carries fat (4 g per 100 g), which hard boiled lollies do not have at all.
Do lollipops contain fat or protein?
No — 0 g of both. A hard lollipop is sugar, glucose syrup, flavouring and colour, which is why the nutrition panel reads 98 g of carbohydrate per 100 g and nothing else. Every calorie in it is a sugar calorie.
How long does a lollipop last?
Around twenty minutes for a small one, which is the point: 31 kcal spread over the longest eating time of any sweet in the shop. If the goal is making a treat last rather than making it big, nothing else on the shelf competes.
Similar foods
- Drumstick lolly — 46 kcal each
- Wagon Wheel — 160 kcal per wheel
- Rice Krispies Square — 119 kcal a bar
- Rich tea biscuit — 38 kcal per biscuit
- Milky Way — 96 kcal per 21.5 g bar
- Marshmallow — 327 kcal per 100 g
Count it without the maths
Point the camera and BodyPal logs the sweet from one photo, calories and sugar included.
