Lowest-Calorie Fruits Ranked (USDA): 25 Fruits per 100g and per Cup
Quick answer
Which fruits have the fewest calories?
The lowest-calorie fruits in Calorique's USDA-based dataset are Lemon (29 kcal), Watermelon (30 kcal), Star Fruit (Carambola) (31 kcal), Strawberry (32 kcal) and Cantaloupe (34 kcal) per 100g.
Per real portion, the cheapest are lemon (17 kcal per 1 fruit (2-1/8" dia)), star fruit (carambola) (28 kcal per 1 medium (3-5/8" long)) and plum (30 kcal per 1 fruit (2-1/8" dia)). Every fruit in the table is under 60 calories per 100g.
Ranking: calories per 100g (raw fruit)
Sorted by calories per 100g of edible raw fruit. Portion calories use the household measure USDA publishes for the matching record (a cup, a medium fruit, or half a grapefruit); fruits without a matched USDA portion show a dash rather than an estimated weight.
| # | Fruit | kcal /100g | Sugar /100g | Fiber /100g | USDA portion | kcal /portion | Fiber % DV /portion | FDC ID |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lemon | 29 | 2.5g | 2.8g | 1 fruit (2-1/8" dia) (58g) | 17 | 6% | 167746 |
| 2 | Watermelon | 30 | 6.2g | 0.4g | 1 cup, diced (152g) | 46 | 2% | 167765 |
| 3 | Star Fruit (Carambola) | 31 | 4g | 2.8g | 1 medium (3-5/8" long) (91g) | 28 | 9% | 171715 |
| 4 | Strawberry | 32 | 4.9g | 2g | 1 cup, whole (144g) | 46 | 10% | 167762 |
| 5 | Cantaloupe | 34 | 7.9g | 0.9g | 1 cup, cubes (160g) | 54 | 5% | 169092 |
| 6 | Pomelo | 38 | 8.6g | 1g | 1 cup, sections (190g) | 72 | 7% | 167754 |
| 7 | Peach | 39 | 8.4g | 1.5g | 1 medium (2-2/3" dia) (150g) | 58 | 8% | 169928 |
| 8 | Grapefruit | 42 | 7g | 1.6g | 0.5 fruit (3-3/4" dia) (123g) | 52 | 7% | 174673 |
| 9 | Blackberries | 43 | 4.9g | 5.3g | 1 cup (144g) | 62 | 27% | 173946 |
| 10 | Papaya | 43 | 7.8g | 1.7g | 1 cup 1" pieces (145g) | 62 | 9% | 169926 |
| 11 | Mulberry | 43 | 8g | 2g | 1 cup (140g) | 60 | 10% | 169913 |
| 12 | Gooseberry | 44 | 6g | 4g | 1 cup (150g) | 66 | 21% | 173030 |
| 13 | Nectarine | 44 | 7.9g | 1.7g | 1 medium (2-1/2" dia) (142g) | 62 | 9% | 169914 |
| 14 | Cranberry | 46 | 0.1g | 5g | 1 cup, whole (100g) | 46 | 18% | 171722 |
| 15 | Plum | 46 | 10g | 1.4g | 1 fruit (2-1/8" dia) (66g) | 30 | 3% | 169949 |
| 16 | Orange | 47 | 9.4g | 2.4g | 1 fruit (2-5/8" dia) (131g) | 62 | 11% | 169097 |
| 17 | Apricot | 48 | 9.2g | 2g | 1 cup, halves (155g) | 74 | 11% | 171697 |
| 18 | Blood Orange | 50 | 0.2g | 2g | , | , | , | , |
| 19 | Pineapple | 50 | 10g | 1.4g | 1 cup, chunks (165g) | 82 | 8% | 169124 |
| 20 | Raspberries | 52 | 4.4g | 6.5g | 1 cup (123g) | 64 | 29% | 167755 |
| 21 | Apple | 52 | 10g | 2.4g | 1 medium (3" dia) (182g) | 95 | 16% | 171688 |
| 22 | Tangerine | 53 | 10.6g | 1.8g | 1 medium (2-1/2" dia) (88g) | 47 | 6% | 169105 |
| 23 | Quince | 57 | 8g | 2g | , | , | , | , |
| 24 | Blueberry | 57 | 10g | 2.4g | 1 cup (148g) | 84 | 13% | 171711 |
| 25 | Pear | 57 | 10g | 3.1g | 1 medium (178g) | 101 | 20% | 169118 |
Ranking: calories per USDA portion
Per-100g rankings reward low density, but a lemon wedge and a cup of melon are not the same decision. This table sorts the same fruits by the calories in one USDA household portion.
| # | Fruit | Portion | Weight | kcal | Fiber | Potassium |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lemon | 1 fruit (2-1/8" dia) | 58g | 17 | 1.6g | 80mg (2% DV) |
| 2 | Star Fruit (Carambola) | 1 medium (3-5/8" long) | 91g | 28 | 2.5g | 121mg (3% DV) |
| 3 | Plum | 1 fruit (2-1/8" dia) | 66g | 30 | 0.9g | 104mg (2% DV) |
| 4 | Watermelon | 1 cup, diced | 152g | 46 | 0.6g | 170mg (4% DV) |
| 5 | Strawberry | 1 cup, whole | 144g | 46 | 2.9g | 220mg (5% DV) |
| 6 | Cranberry | 1 cup, whole | 100g | 46 | 5g | 80mg (2% DV) |
| 7 | Tangerine | 1 medium (2-1/2" dia) | 88g | 47 | 1.6g | 146mg (3% DV) |
| 8 | Grapefruit | 0.5 fruit (3-3/4" dia) | 123g | 52 | 2g | 166mg (4% DV) |
| 9 | Cantaloupe | 1 cup, cubes | 160g | 54 | 1.4g | 427mg (9% DV) |
| 10 | Peach | 1 medium (2-2/3" dia) | 150g | 58 | 2.3g | 285mg (6% DV) |
| 11 | Mulberry | 1 cup | 140g | 60 | 2.8g | 272mg (6% DV) |
| 12 | Blackberries | 1 cup | 144g | 62 | 7.6g | 233mg (5% DV) |
| 13 | Papaya | 1 cup 1" pieces | 145g | 62 | 2.5g | 264mg (6% DV) |
| 14 | Nectarine | 1 medium (2-1/2" dia) | 142g | 62 | 2.4g | 285mg (6% DV) |
| 15 | Orange | 1 fruit (2-5/8" dia) | 131g | 62 | 3.1g | 237mg (5% DV) |
| 16 | Raspberries | 1 cup | 123g | 64 | 8g | 186mg (4% DV) |
| 17 | Gooseberry | 1 cup | 150g | 66 | 6g | 297mg (6% DV) |
| 18 | Pomelo | 1 cup, sections | 190g | 72 | 1.9g | 410mg (9% DV) |
| 19 | Apricot | 1 cup, halves | 155g | 74 | 3.1g | 401mg (9% DV) |
| 20 | Pineapple | 1 cup, chunks | 165g | 82 | 2.3g | 180mg (4% DV) |
| 21 | Blueberry | 1 cup | 148g | 84 | 3.6g | 114mg (2% DV) |
| 22 | Apple | 1 medium (3" dia) | 182g | 95 | 4.4g | 195mg (4% DV) |
| 23 | Pear | 1 medium | 178g | 101 | 5.5g | 206mg (4% DV) |
What the ranking does and does not tell you
Water is the whole story. Watermelon, strawberries and melon are 30-35 calories per 100g because they are mostly water; their calories are almost entirely natural sugar. Berries with seeds (raspberries 6.5g, blackberries 5.3g fiber per 100g) cost a few more calories but return far more fiber, which is why they rank highest on fiber per calorie.
Dried fruit is not in this list on purpose. Removing water multiplies calories per gram: dates, raisins and prunes are 240-300 calories per 100g in the same USDA database, so they belong in the potassium ranking, not here.
Banana is not low-calorie by weight (89 kcal per 100g, 105 per medium fruit) but it is still only about 5% of a 2,000-calorie day; the banana calorie chart covers every size.
Data sources and method
- Calories, protein, carbohydrate, fat and fiber per 100g come from Calorique's food dataset, which standardizes USDA FoodData Central reference values. Potassium, household portion weights and dry-bean values are read directly from the USDA SR Legacy release; the FDC ID column links to each record.
- Percent Daily Values use the FDA reference amounts for adults (protein 50g, dietary fiber 28g, potassium 4,700mg, sodium 2,300mg) published at fda.gov. The FDA label guide treats 20% DV or more per serving as high and 5% DV or less as low.
- Rankings are generated by a script (
scripts/rank-usda-foods.py) from the dataset, not hand-typed, so the tables match the individual food pages. Generated 2026-09-17. - Fruit pages such as cherries and strawberries show the same values scaled to USDA cup and piece weights with % Daily Value columns.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the lowest-calorie fruit?
By weight, lemon is the lowest at 29 calories per 100g, but nobody eats 100g of lemon. Among fruits eaten in bulk, watermelon (30 kcal per 100g, 46 per USDA cup diced) and strawberry (32 kcal per 100g, 46 per cup of whole berries) are the practical answers; star fruit (31 kcal) and cantaloupe (34 kcal per 100g) sit right beside them.
How many calories are in a cup of strawberries?
A USDA cup of whole strawberries weighs 144g and has about 46 calories, 2.9g fiber and 7.1g natural sugar (USDA FDC ID 167762). Sliced strawberries pack tighter, so a sliced cup weighs more and carries more calories than a cup of whole berries.
Are low-calorie fruits also low in sugar?
Mostly, because water is what makes them low in calories. The lowest-sugar fruits in this list are cranberry (0.1g per 100g), blood orange (0.2g per 100g), lemon (2.5g per 100g), star fruit (carambola) (4g per 100g), raspberries (4.4g per 100g). Watermelon and cantaloupe are low in calories but their calories are almost entirely sugar, while berries such as raspberries and blackberries pair 4-5g sugar with 5-6.5g fiber per 100g.
Which fruit is best for weight loss?
The fruits with the best fiber-to-calorie ratio are raspberries (6.5g fiber, 52 kcal per 100g), blackberries (5.3g fiber, 43 kcal per 100g), cranberry (5g fiber, 46 kcal per 100g), gooseberry (4g fiber, 44 kcal per 100g), pear (3.1g fiber, 57 kcal per 100g). Any fruit in this table costs less than 60 calories per 100g, so the practical question is portion size: a cup of berries or melon is 45-85 calories, which is easy to fit inside a 500-calorie daily deficit.
Fit fruit into your calorie budget
Find your maintenance calories and deficit first; then a cup of berries or melon is an easy 45-85 calorie line in the plan.
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