Potato chips calories come to 149 for a 1 oz (28 g) serving and 532 per 100 g of plain, salted chips. Fat drives that count, supplying 56% of the calories. The real swing is portion size: one ounce is a modest snack, but a full 8 oz bag holds 1,208 calories.
149kcal
1 1 oz serving · 28 g, plain, salted
5%protein
1.8 gProtein
15 gCarbs
9.5 gFat
How to burn off 149 kcal
—Walking, brisk
—Jogging
—Cycling, moderate
—Swimming
Skip the math. BodyPal counts these calories from your steps and workouts automatically.
Nutrition facts
Plain, salted · per 28 g
Calories
149 kcal
Protein
1.8 g
Carbohydrate
15.1 g
Fat
9.5 g
Saturated fat
1 g
Cholesterol
0 mg
Sodium
148 mg
Potassium
335 mg
Iron
0.4 mg
Source: USDA FoodData Central
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Verified nutrition data
Numbers on this page come from USDA FoodData Central, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s food composition database, and from manufacturer labels where a branded product is named. Last verified September 2026. How we verify our data →
Potato chips: calories, protein and sodium by serving
Percent of daily value uses the FDA reference of 2,000 kcal a day.
Serving
kcal
Protein
Carbs
Fat
Sodium
% DV kcal
1 oz (28 g)
149
1.8 g
15.1 g
9.5 g
148 mg
7%
2 oz bag (57 g)
303
3.6 g
30.7 g
19.4 g
300 mg
15%
100 g
532
6.4 g
53.8 g
34 g
527 mg
27%
8 oz bag (227 g)
1,208
14.5 g
122.2 g
77.1 g
1,196 mg
60%
3 × 1 oz (28 g)
447
5.4 g
443 mg
5 × 1 oz (28 g)
745
8.9 g
738 mg
An 8 oz bag holds 1,208 calories
The standard 1 oz (28 g) serving is 149 calories, or 7% of the daily value. That is a small handful, and chips are so light that a pile which looks generous in a bowl may still weigh only an ounce or so. A 2 oz bag (57 g) roughly doubles it to 303 calories, 15% of the daily value.
Grazing from a large bag is where the total runs away. Three ounces add up to 447 calories, five ounces to 745. Finish an 8 oz bag (227 g) and you have eaten 1,208 calories, 60% of the daily value, while getting only 14.5 g of protein and 7 g of fiber for all that energy.
The fix is mechanical, not heroic. Pour one ounce into a bowl and put the bag back in the cupboard before you sit down. If you buy chips often, single 2 oz bags cap each sitting at 303 calories, which is far easier to plan around than a family-size bag that is open on the couch.
Fat supplies 56% of the calories
Chips look like a carb snack, but fat wins the calorie count. Per 100 g there are 34 g of fat, 53.8 g of carbs and 6.4 g of protein. By calories, that works out to 56% fat, 39% carbs and only 5% protein.
Most of that fat is not saturated. Saturated fat is 3.4 g per 100 g out of 34 g total, and a single ounce carries 9.5 g of total fat. Cholesterol is 0, since the snack is built from potato and oil rather than any animal ingredient.
Sugar barely registers at 0.3 g per 100 g, or 0.1 g per ounce, so the carbs are almost entirely starch and fiber. Fiber is 3.1 g per 100 g, about 0.9 g per ounce. Protein is the weak spot: 1.8 g per ounce, just 4% of the daily value. That is a thin return for 149 calories, and it explains why one ounce so easily turns into three.
Sodium climbs fast past the first ounce
One ounce of plain, salted chips carries 148 mg of sodium, 6% of the daily value. Per serving, that is lower than the salty taste suggests, and lower than many people expect from a snack with this reputation.
The bag tells a different story. A 2 oz bag has 300 mg (13% of the daily value), 100 g has 527 mg (23%), and an 8 oz bag reaches 1,196 mg, 52% of the daily value in one sitting. If you watch sodium, portion is the lever that matters most, because the per-ounce figure does not change. Flavored chips are a separate question; this page covers the plain, salted baseline.
Potassium is the surprise row. Per 100 g, chips list 1,196 mg of potassium, more than double the 527 mg of sodium. The potato is the source, and it is one of the few rows on the label where chips look better than you might expect.
Make chips the side, not the snack
Chips fit a day of eating best as an add-on rather than the main event. One ounce next to a sandwich or a bowl of soup adds 149 calories and some crunch, while the rest of the meal supplies the protein the chips lack.
If you snack on them alone, pair the ounce with something that brings protein or fiber: a cheese stick, a handful of nuts, hummus, or a pile of cut vegetables. That adds volume and staying power the chips cannot provide, and it costs less than reaching for a second ounce at another 149 calories. Crunchy raw vegetables also scratch the same itch for texture.
Kettle styles and flavors vary by brand, so check the brand table for Pringles, Utz, Zapp's or Dirty Potato Chips if you buy a specific bag. BodyPal can log a bowl of chips from a photo, which helps most when the portion came out of a large bag and you are not sure how many ounces landed in the bowl.
How does potato chips compare?
Here is how plain, salted potato chips stack up against Lay's chips, corn chips and Cheetos, per 100 g and per usual serving.
Verdict: Plain potato chips and Lay's are identical at 149 calories an ounce, and corn chips barely differ at 151, so pick whichever you enjoy most and control the portion. Skip Cheetos if you watch sodium: they carry 928 mg per 100 g against 527 mg here, plus 159 calories per bag.
Most popular potato chips brands in the United States
Ranked by popularity in the BodyPal database
# Productkcal / 100 g
1Pringles Original Potato Chips1 oz · 28 g536 kcal
How many calories are in a serving of potato chips?
A 1 oz serving (28 g) of plain salted chips is 149 calories. A 2 oz bag is 303 calories and 100 g is 532.
Are potato chips good for weight loss?
They are calorie dense: 532 calories per 100 g with 34 g of fat, so even a small 2 oz bag is 303 calories.
Do baked potato chips have fewer calories than regular ones?
Baked restructured chips are 469 calories per 100 g and reduced-fat chips 471, against 532 for plain salted chips. Per 1 oz that is 131 versus 149 calories.
How much fat is in potato chips?
100 g has 34 g of fat, of which 3.4 g is saturated. A 1 oz serving has 9.5 g of fat and 149 calories.
How many calories are in 100 g of potato chips?
100 g of plain, salted potato chips has 532 calories, about 27% of the daily value. That amount also brings 34 g of fat, 53.8 g of carbs, 6.4 g of protein and 527 mg of sodium.
How many calories are in a bag of potato chips?
A 2 oz bag (57 g) of potato chips has 303 calories, and an 8 oz bag (227 g) has 1,208. The large bag also carries 77.1 g of fat and 1,196 mg of sodium, 52% of the daily value.
How much saturated fat is in potato chips?
Potato chips have 3.4 g of saturated fat per 100 g, a small slice of the 34 g of total fat. Most of the fat in plain, salted chips is unsaturated, and cholesterol is 0.
Is there sugar in potato chips?
Plain, salted potato chips have just 0.3 g of sugar per 100 g and 0.1 g per 1 oz (28 g) serving. Nearly all of their 53.8 g of carbs per 100 g come from starch and fiber instead.
What does USDA list for 1 ounce of potato chips?
USDA FoodData Central lists 149 calories for 1 oz (28 g) of potato chips, under the row 'Snacks, potato chips, plain, salted'. That ounce has 9.5 g of fat, 15.1 g of carbs and 1.8 g of protein.
