Monk Fruit vs Allulose: Which Is Better (and Which Can You Actually Buy in the UK)?
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The short answer
Monk fruit and allulose are both low-glycaemic sugar alternatives, but they’re quite different: monk fruit is an intensely sweet fruit extract with virtually no calories, while allulose is a “rare sugar” that tastes and bakes remarkably like ordinary sugar at a fraction of the calories. The catch for UK shoppers is simple — allulose isn’t currently approved for sale as a sweetener in Britain, whereas monk fruit is widely available. So for now, monk fruit is the practical natural choice here.
If you spend any time watching keto or low-carb content, you’ve probably heard allulose talked up as the sweetener that finally tastes like the real thing. A lot of that content is American, though, and the UK picture is different. Let’s compare the two fairly — taste, baking, calories, blood sugar and digestion — and clear up the availability question, so you know exactly where you stand.
What is monk fruit?
Monk fruit (luo han guo) is a small green melon from southern China. Its sweetness comes from natural compounds called mogrosides rather than sugar, so current evidence indicates it has no meaningful effect on blood glucose. In concentrated form it’s many times sweeter than sugar and carries essentially no calories, which is why a little goes a long way. Its main limitation is that it has no bulk, so it doesn’t brown or add body to bakes the way sugar does.
What is allulose?
Allulose is what’s known as a “rare sugar” — it occurs naturally in tiny amounts in foods like figs, raisins and kiwi. It’s about 70% as sweet as table sugar and provides roughly 0.4 calories per gram, around a tenth of sugar’s calories. The body absorbs it but largely doesn’t use it for energy, passing most of it out unchanged, so studies to date suggest little to no impact on blood glucose or insulin.
Its standout feature is that it behaves like sugar in the kitchen: it dissolves cleanly, browns and even caramelises. That’s something monk fruit and erythritol can’t really do, and it’s the main reason bakers get excited about it.
Important for UK readers: you can’t buy allulose here (yet)
Allulose is approved and sold in the United States, Australia and several Asian markets, but it is not currently authorised for sale as a sweetener in the UK or EU. It’s still going through the novel-foods approval process, and a safety assessment has yet to be completed here. So while you’ll see it praised in US recipes and videos, you won’t find it legitimately on British shelves for now. If you want a natural, low-carb sweetener you can actually buy today, monk fruit is the answer.
Monk fruit vs allulose at a glance
| Monk fruit | Allulose | |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Fruit-derived sweetener | Rare sugar |
| Sweetness vs sugar | Far sweeter (intense) | ~70% as sweet |
| Calories | Zero to very low | ~0.4 kcal/g (very low) |
| Glycaemic impact | Minimal | Minimal |
| Browns / caramelises | No | Yes (sugar-like) |
| Aftertaste | Clean (can be bitter if poor quality) | Very clean, sugar-like |
| Available in the UK | Yes | Not currently |
Taste and baking
On pure taste, both are excellent. Allulose is prized for a clean, genuinely sugar-like flavour with no cooling effect and no bitterness. Good-quality monk fruit is also clean and neutral, though cheaper high-purity extracts can carry a slight bitterness.
Baking is where allulose has a real edge: because it browns and caramelises, it’s brilliant for things like cookies, caramel and toppings that need that golden finish. Monk fruit doesn’t brown on its own, so for baking it’s usually paired with a bulking sweetener such as erythritol to give body and texture. It’s a genuine point in allulose’s favour — one that only matters in the UK once it’s actually approved for sale.
Blood sugar and calories
Both are strong choices for keto and low-carb diets. Monk fruit contributes essentially no calories and current evidence indicates it doesn’t meaningfully raise blood glucose. Allulose provides only about 0.4 calories per gram, and studies have found little to no effect on blood sugar or insulin — some research even suggests it may modestly blunt the glucose response to a meal, though this evidence is still developing. As always with health topics, treat these as current best understanding rather than the final word, and speak to a professional if you’re managing a condition.
Digestion
Monk fruit, used in small amounts, is gentle on digestion. Allulose is generally well tolerated too, but larger quantities can cause bloating or a laxative effect in some people — which is why, in markets where it’s sold, products often carry a note about excess consumption. Moderation is sensible with any sugar alternative.
Which should you choose?
If you’re shopping in the UK, the decision is made for you for now: allulose isn’t legally available, so monk fruit is the natural, low-carb sweetener you can actually buy and use today. The good news is that it does the job beautifully — clean sweetness, negligible calories, no blood-sugar spike.
For clean sweetness in drinks
Our Monk Fruit Decoction Powder (No Erythritol) (100g, £11.99) is pure monk fruit with just a touch of soluble tapioca fibre — no sugar alcohols, no cooling note. About 3× sweeter than sugar, so you use roughly a third. Perfect in coffee, tea, porridge and yoghurt.
For a 1:1 sugar swap in baking
Our Monk Fruit Decoction & Erythritol Sweetener (500g, £9.99) measures spoon-for-spoon like sugar, with zero net carbs and zero calories — the easy choice when you want to swap straight into recipes.
You can see both in our Monk Fruit Sweeteners collection.
Curious about the rules around newer sweeteners in Britain? Our guides on whether monk fruit is legal in the UK and why monk fruit was restricted in Europe explain how the novel-foods process works — the same process allulose is going through now. For the full monk fruit picture, see our complete UK guide to monk fruit sweetener.
Frequently asked questions
Is allulose available in the UK?
Not currently. Allulose is still going through the UK and EU novel-foods approval process and isn’t authorised for sale as a sweetener here yet. It is approved in the US, Australia and several other markets.
Is monk fruit or allulose better for keto?
Both suit keto well, with minimal calories and little blood-sugar impact. In the UK the practical answer is monk fruit, because it’s the one you can actually buy.
Which tastes more like sugar?
Allulose is especially prized for a clean, sugar-like taste, and it browns and caramelises in baking. Good-quality monk fruit is also clean and neutral, but doesn’t brown on its own.
Does allulose raise blood sugar?
Studies to date suggest little to no effect on blood glucose or insulin, and some research indicates it may even slightly blunt the glucose response to a meal. This evidence is still developing.
What can I use instead of allulose in the UK?
Monk fruit is the closest natural, low-carb alternative you can buy in Britain — either as pure monk fruit powder or as a 1:1 monk fruit and erythritol blend for baking.
