Which is the most sweetest artificial sweetener?

November 19, 2025 •

3 min read

Advantame, a powerful, zero-calorie option, is approximately 20,000 times sweeter than table sugar, making it the most potent on the market. Understanding which is the most sweetest artificial sweetener involves more than just a number, as aftertaste and application also play crucial roles.

Quick Summary

Advantame is the most potent artificial sweetener, tasting up to 20,000 times sweeter than sugar. This guide examines its properties and compares it with other high-intensity sweeteners like Neotame, Sucralose, and Stevia to help inform your choice.

Key Points

Advantame is the sweetest: At up to 20,000 times sweeter than sugar, Advantame is the most potent artificial sweetener currently approved.
Neotame is a powerful runner-up: Offering 7,000 to 13,000 times the sweetness of sugar, Neotame is another ultra-potent option.
Heat stability is key for baking: Advantame, Neotame, Sucralose, and Saccharin are stable at high temperatures, unlike Aspartame.
Aftertaste varies widely: Saccharin can have a metallic taste, while Stevia can be bitter. The cleanest tastes are often found in Advantame and Neotame.
Natural doesn't mean less sweet: The natural protein Thaumatin is intensely sweet (2,000-3,000x), though not as potent as Advantame.
Small amounts go a long way: Due to their extreme potency, only minuscule amounts of high-intensity sweeteners are required for food and beverage production.
Safety is evaluated by the FDA: All approved artificial sweeteners have been extensively studied and deemed safe for consumption within established limits.

The Absolute Sweetest: Advantame

Among all high-intensity artificial sweeteners, Advantame reigns supreme with a sweetness intensity reported to be as much as 20,000 times that of sucrose, or regular table sugar. Approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2014, advantame is derived from the sweetener aspartame but modified with vanillin. This modification gives it several key advantages over its predecessor, including significantly higher stability and potency.

How Sweet is Advantame?

The extraordinary potency of Advantame means that only very small amounts are required to achieve the desired level of sweetness in food and beverages. This trace-level use contributes a negligible amount of calories, effectively making it a zero-calorie sweetener. Unlike aspartame, its processing in the body releases only minimal phenylalanine, meaning it does not carry the warning label for individuals with the rare genetic disorder phenylketonuria (PKU). This heat-stable sweetener can also function as a flavor enhancer, improving the taste profile of fruits like berries and citrus.

Runner-Up and Other Super-Intense Sweeteners

While Advantame holds the record, other artificial sweeteners are also incredibly potent. Neotame, also derived from aspartame, is another formidable competitor, with a sweetness level ranging from 7,000 to 13,000 times that of sugar. Like advantame, neotame is heat-stable and a flavor enhancer, making it useful in a variety of applications, from baked goods to dairy products.

Lists of other popular high-intensity sweeteners include:

Sucralose (brand name Splenda): 600 times sweeter than sugar. It is derived from sugar through a multi-step process.
Saccharin (brand name Sweet'N Low): An older artificial sweetener, it is 200 to 700 times sweeter than sugar. It can have a bitter or metallic aftertaste, especially at higher concentrations.
Stevia (plant-derived): Ranges from 200 to 400 times sweeter than sugar. Some may detect a slight licorice-like aftertaste.
Aspartame (brand names Equal, NutraSweet): Around 200 times sweeter than sugar and not heat-stable, so it loses sweetness when heated. It also contains phenylalanine, making it unsuitable for individuals with PKU.

Beyond Sweetness: Important Considerations

Choosing the right artificial sweetener depends on more than just its sweetness level. Other factors to consider include taste profile, application, heat stability, and potential aftertaste.

Aftertaste: Saccharin is well-known for its metallic aftertaste, leading it to be combined with other sweeteners. Stevia can sometimes have a bitter or herbal aftertaste. Advantame and Neotame generally have a clean taste profile that enhances other flavors.
Heat Stability: For recipes involving cooking or baking, heat stability is essential. Advantame, Neotame, Sucralose, and Acesulfame Potassium (Ace-K) are all heat-stable, while Aspartame is not.
Safety: The FDA and other health organizations have deemed approved artificial sweeteners safe for consumption within established acceptable daily intake (ADI) levels. These levels are set to provide a wide margin of safety. For more information, you can reference the FDA's page on sweeteners here: Aspartame and Other Sweeteners in Food - FDA.

Comparing the Sweetest Artificial Sweeteners


Sweetener	Sweetness vs. Sugar	Taste Profile	Heat Stability	Common Uses
Advantame	Up to 20,000x	Clean, sugar-like, flavor enhancing	Yes	Baked goods, gum, drinks, confections
Neotame	7,000–13,000x	Clean, sugar-like, flavor enhancing	Yes	Baked goods, frozen desserts, drinks, dairy
Thaumatin (Natural)	2,000–3,000x	Licorice-like taste, flavor modifier	Yes	Gum, drinks, confections, supplements
Sucralose	~600x	Pure, sugar-like	Yes	Tabletop, drinks, baking, desserts
Saccharin	200–700x	Can have bitter/metallic aftertaste	Yes	Tabletop, drinks, jams, baked goods
Stevia (Natural)	200–400x	May have slight herbal/bitter aftertaste	Yes	Tabletop, drinks, baking
Aspartame	~200x	Clean, sugar-like	No	Drinks, yogurt, gum, tabletop

Conclusion

While Advantame is the definitive winner for the most potent sweetness by a wide margin, its availability in consumer products is still limited compared to common alternatives like Sucralose (Splenda). For most people, the choice of the 'best' or 'most sweetest' artificial sweetener comes down to a balance of intensity, taste, aftertaste, and the specific application, such as baking, where heat stability is required. Both Neotame and Advantame offer extremely high sweetness and excellent stability for food producers, but for home use, widely available options like sucralose and stevia often suffice. Your taste preference and how you plan to use the sweetener should ultimately guide your decision.

Frequently Asked Questions

Yes, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Advantame in 2014 after reviewing extensive safety data. It is considered safe for the general population when used within the established acceptable daily intake (ADI) levels.

Yes. Advantame is heat-stable, meaning it can be used in cooking and baking applications without losing its sweetness. However, due to its extreme potency, it is primarily used by commercial food and beverage manufacturers.

Neotame is the second most potent artificial sweetener, but it is significantly less sweet than Advantame. While Neotame is 7,000 to 13,000 times sweeter than sugar, Advantame can be up to 20,000 times sweeter.

The 'best' taste is subjective and depends on individual preference. Many find that Advantame, Neotame, and Sucralose have a clean, sugar-like taste. Older sweeteners like Saccharin are more likely to have a bitter aftertaste.

Yes, Sucralose is significantly sweeter than Stevia. Sucralose is approximately 600 times sweeter than sugar, while Stevia (plant-derived) typically ranges from 200 to 400 times sweeter.

No natural sweetener is as potent as Advantame. However, Thaumatin, a natural protein from the Katemfe fruit, is intensely sweet at 2,000 to 3,000 times sweeter than sugar.

Natural sweeteners, such as Stevia and Monk Fruit, are derived from plants and are generally less processed, though high-purity extracts still exist. Artificial sweeteners are synthetic, or man-made, chemical compounds developed in laboratories.