A medium apple (about 182 grams) contains 95 calories. That’s roughly the size of a tennis ball, which is what you’ll find at most grocery stores. Smaller apples come in closer to 75 calories, while large ones can reach 115 or more.
Calories by Apple Size
Apple calories scale predictably with weight. A small apple (about 150 grams) has roughly 77 calories. A medium apple (182 grams) has 95 calories. A large apple (around 220 grams) lands near 115 calories. If you’re tracking calories precisely, the simplest approach is to weigh your apple: raw apple flesh runs about 52 calories per 100 grams.
Do Different Varieties Have Different Calories?
The calorie difference between apple varieties is smaller than most people expect. A Fuji and a Granny Smith of the same weight will be within a few calories of each other. What does change noticeably is sweetness. Fuji apples have the highest sugar content among popular varieties, while Granny Smith apples carry more malic acid, which gives them that signature tart bite. Gala apples fall in between. But these sugar differences translate to only minor calorie shifts, maybe 5 to 10 calories for a whole fruit. If you’re choosing between varieties, pick the one you enjoy eating. The calorie gap is negligible.
What’s in Those 95 Calories
Almost all of an apple’s calories come from sugar, about 19 grams in a medium fruit. That sugar is a mix of three types: fructose makes up the largest share (roughly 12 grams), followed by sucrose (about 9 grams) and a smaller amount of glucose (around 3 grams). The exact proportions shift by variety. Golden Delicious apples, for example, are especially high in fructose, while Red Delicious apples contain more glucose than most.
Beyond sugar, a medium apple provides about 4.4 grams of fiber, 148 milligrams of potassium, and a modest 6 milligrams of vitamin C. The fiber content is worth noting because it’s a big part of why apples are more filling than their calorie count suggests.
Skin On vs. Skin Off
Peeling an apple drops its fiber content significantly. A cup of peeled apple slices contains only 1.4 grams of fiber, compared to the 4.4 grams you get from a whole unpeeled apple of similar weight. The calorie difference is minimal (peeled apple runs about 53 calories per cup of slices), but you lose much of the fiber that slows digestion and helps you feel full. If you’re eating apples as a snack to tide you over between meals, keep the skin on.
Why Apples Feel More Filling Than Other Snacks
Apples score remarkably well on the satiety index, a measure of how full a food makes you feel relative to its calories. In a well-known study published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, apples scored 197% compared to white bread (set at 100%). A chocolate bar scored just 70%. So an apple at 95 calories keeps you satisfied nearly twice as effectively as the same calories from bread, and almost three times as effectively as a candy bar. The combination of fiber, water content (apples are about 86% water), and the physical act of chewing all contribute to this effect.
Blood Sugar Impact
Despite containing 19 grams of sugar, apples have a low glycemic index of about 39 out of 100 and a glycemic load of just 6. That means the sugar enters your bloodstream gradually rather than all at once. The fiber in the flesh and skin acts as a brake, slowing digestion. For context, anything under 55 on the glycemic index is considered low, and a glycemic load under 10 is also low. Apples clear both thresholds comfortably.
How Cooking and Drying Change the Numbers
A raw apple and a baked apple made without added ingredients have essentially the same total calories. Cooking softens the fruit and concentrates flavor, but it doesn’t create new calories. The math changes when you add butter, sugar, or pastry. A single serving of apple pie can easily reach 300 to 400 calories.
Dried apples are where the calorie density shifts dramatically. Removing the water shrinks the volume but keeps all the sugar, so a handful of dried apple rings can pack the same calories as two or three whole apples. Commercial dried apples often have added sugar on top of that. You also lose most of the vitamin C during dehydration. Apple juice follows a similar pattern: the fiber is stripped out, the sugar is concentrated, and a cup of juice delivers more calories than eating a whole apple while being far less filling.