Natural Sweeteners Compared: Allulose, Erythritol, Monk Fruit and Stev

Cutting sugar sounds simple until you try to actually bake with a substitute. Some sweeteners collapse under heat, some leave a cooling aftertaste, some are 200 times sweeter than sugar and need to be measured in fractions of a teaspoon. Choosing the right one depends less on which is "best" and more on what you are making.

This guide covers the sweeteners we supply in Australia, plus erythritol, which we no longer produce but which comes up in almost every comparison and is worth understanding.

Quick Comparison

Sweetener	Sweetness vs sugar	Energy	Browns and caramelises	Best for
Allulose	About 70%	2 kJ/g	Yes	Baking, caramel, ice cream
Monk fruit	150 to 200 times	Zero	No	Drinks, blends
Stevia Reb-A	200 to 350 times	Zero	No	Drinks, small-dose sweetening
Date sugar	About the same	Similar to sugar	Yes	Unrefined baking, wholefood recipes
Sucralose	About 600 times	Zero	No	Drinks, commercial formulation
Erythritol (not stocked)	About 70%	Near zero	No	Bulk replacement, cold uses

Allulose

Allulose is a rare sugar found naturally in small amounts in figs, raisins and wheat. Structurally it is close to fructose, which is why it behaves like sugar in ways the others do not, but the body absorbs it without metabolising it for energy in any meaningful quantity.

It is roughly 70% as sweet as sucrose, so you use a little more by volume. The important difference is what happens under heat: allulose browns and caramelises. If you are making caramel, cookies that need to spread and colour, or anything where the Maillard reaction matters, it is the only zero-energy option that does the job properly.

It also stays soft after baking and depresses the freezing point, which is why it works well in ice cream where crystalline substitutes tend to go icy.

Regulatory position in Australia: FSANZ approved D-allulose as a novel food in August 2024, gazetted under Amendment No. 233 to the Food Standards Code in October 2024. It is permitted as a table-top sweetener and in specified food categories up to maximum permitted levels. For manufacturers, one detail is worth knowing: allulose is excluded from the sugars figure declared in the nutrition information panel, and products containing it can still carry no-added-sugar claims. Labels do need to carry an advisory statement about laxative effect at high intakes in some food classes.

Shop allulose

Monk Fruit

Monk fruit, or luo han guo, gets its sweetness from mogrosides rather than sugars. It is 150 to 200 times sweeter than sucrose, which means a recipe calling for a cup of sugar needs a fraction of a teaspoon of pure extract.

That intensity is why monk fruit is usually sold blended with a bulking agent. On its own it contributes sweetness but no volume, and a cake needs volume.

Flavour-wise monk fruit is cleaner than stevia, with less of the bitter edge at higher doses. It suits drinks, sauces and anything where you want sweetness without changing the texture. Pairing it with allulose gives you both the sweetness and the bulk.

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Stevia

Stevia comes from the leaves of Stevia rebaudiana. The sweetness sits in compounds called steviol glycosides, of which Rebaudioside A, usually written Reb-A, is the one most commonly isolated because it has the cleanest taste.

Reb-A is 200 to 350 times sweeter than sugar. Like monk fruit it contributes no bulk, so it is used either in tiny amounts or blended.

The known drawback is a liquorice or bitter note that becomes noticeable at higher concentrations. Purer Reb-A extracts reduce this considerably compared with whole-leaf or lower-grade stevia, which is why the grade you buy matters more with stevia than with the others.

Shop organic stevia or Stevia Extract Reb-A 99.9%

Date Sugar

Date sugar is different in kind to the others. It is simply whole dried dates ground to a powder, so it is not a zero-energy sweetener and it carries the sugars, fibre and minerals of the fruit it came from.

It measures close to one for one with sugar and browns readily, but it does not dissolve, which rules it out for drinks and smooth batters. Where it works is anything with texture already: crumbles, cookies, muffins, granola.

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Sucralose

Sucralose is an artificial sweetener, around 600 times sweeter than sugar, heat stable and with no bitter aftertaste at normal use levels. We stock it because commercial formulators ask for it, particularly in drinks and protein products where cost per serve matters and only tiny quantities are needed.

If you are specifically looking for naturally derived options, the ones above are the place to start.

Shop sucralose

Erythritol, and Why We Do Not Stock It

Erythritol is a sugar alcohol produced by fermentation, around 70% as sweet as sugar, and for years it was the default bulk sugar replacement. We no longer produce it.

It is worth understanding because most recipes and most comparisons still reference it. Its strengths are bulk and a near one-for-one measure. Its weaknesses are a distinct cooling sensation on the tongue, no browning or caramelisation, recrystallisation as it cools which leaves baked goods drier and firmer, and grittiness in frozen applications.

For most of what people used erythritol for, allulose does the same job and handles heat properly. Read the full comparison.

Which Should You Use

Baking that needs to brown - allulose, or allulose with a small amount of monk fruit to lift sweetness without adding bulk.

Coffee, tea and cold drinks - monk fruit or stevia. No bulk needed, no texture to preserve.

Ice cream and frozen desserts - allulose, because it stays softer and resists graininess.

Wholefood baking where calories are not the point - date sugar.

Commercial food production - depends on your label claims and cost per serve. Allulose has the labelling advantage in Australia; sucralose is the cheapest per serve where a high-intensity sweetener suits.

A Note on Tolerance

Rare sugars and sugar alcohols are not fully absorbed, and consumed in large amounts they can cause digestive discomfort in some people. This varies considerably between individuals. If you are introducing any of these into your diet or your menu, start with smaller quantities and increase from there.