Ghee and coconut oil are both almost pure fat, but they are built differently. Coconut oil is the more saturated of the two, at about 82.5 g of saturated fat per 100 g against about 62 g for ghee, and its largest single component is lauric acid; ghee's largest are palmitic and oleic acid. In the pan, the bigger differences are flavour and how refined the fat is.
This is a comparison, not a ranking: composition, Indian food standards, heat and flavour. If you are choosing between them for a medical reason, follow your doctor's advice; a composition table cannot make that call for you.
At a glance
- Coconut oil is the more saturated fat: about 82.5 g of saturated fat per 100 g on USDA figures against 61.9 g for anhydrous butter oil, the analysed stand-in for ghee.
- Coconut oil's largest fatty acid is lauric acid (41.8 g per 100 g); ghee's are palmitic (26.2 g) and oleic acid, and only ghee carries cholesterol (256 mg) and vitamin A.
- FSSAI's limits do not overlap: an iodine value of 25 to 38 for ghee against 7.5 to 10 for coconut oil, and a saponification value of 205 to 235 against at least 250.
- A commercial coconut oil smoked at 193 °C in one laboratory study; no checkable laboratory smoke point for ghee was found.
- ICMR-NIN counts more than 10 g a day of visible saturated fat as high use; on USDA weights a tablespoon of ghee carries about 7.9 g and a tablespoon of coconut oil about 11.2 g.
What is the main difference between ghee and coconut oil?
Ghee is milk fat with the water and milk solids removed. Coconut oil is pressed from the kernel of the coconut. Both are close to 100 per cent fat, but their fatty acids differ sharply: coconut oil is led by lauric acid, ghee by palmitic and oleic acid, and only ghee carries cholesterol and vitamin A.
The figures below come from USDA FoodData Central. One caution about the ghee column. USDA's entry titled "clarified butter (ghee)" is a sparse record with rounded figures (60 g saturated fat, 100 g total fat), so we use its fully analysed record for anhydrous butter oil instead. FSSAI's standard for milk fat products covers butter oil and ghee together, and the figures match those in our guide to ghee nutrition per tablespoon.
| Per 100 g (USDA FoodData Central) | Ghee (anhydrous butter oil) | Coconut oil |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 876 kcal | 892 kcal |
| Total fat | 99.5 g | 99.1 g |
| Saturated fat | 61.9 g | 82.5 g |
| Monounsaturated fat | 28.7 g | 6.3 g |
| Polyunsaturated fat | 3.7 g | 1.7 g |
| Lauric acid (C12) | 2.8 g | 41.8 g |
| Myristic acid (C14) | 10.0 g | 16.7 g |
| Palmitic acid (C16) | 26.2 g | 8.6 g |
| Butyric acid (C4) | 3.2 g | trace (0.009 g) |
| Cholesterol | 256 mg | 0 mg |
| Vitamin A (RAE) | 840 µg | 0 µg |
The three fat classes do not add up to the total fat in either column. That is normal: part of the weight of any fat is glycerol, the backbone that holds the fatty acids together. If you count only the fatty acids, saturated fat makes up about 66 per cent of ghee's (61.9 out of 94.3 g) and about 91 per cent of coconut oil's (82.5 out of 90.5 g).
Why is coconut oil more saturated than ghee?
Because of which fatty acids each fat is built from. In coconut oil the largest single component is lauric acid, a saturated fatty acid 12 carbons long, at about 42 g in every 100 g. Ghee carries far more unsaturated oleic acid, so roughly a third of its fatty acids are unsaturated, against under a tenth in coconut oil.
The Indian standards show the same split from a different angle. FSSAI sets an iodine value range for each fat it regulates. The range for ghee is 25 to 38. For coconut oil it is 7.5 to 10, and 4.0 to 11.0 for virgin coconut oil. Coconut oil's range sits far below ghee's, in line with the USDA figures above showing much less unsaturated fat.
Chain length matters too. Lauric acid is often described as a medium-chain fatty acid, and a Sri Lankan laboratory study of coconut oil calls it exactly that. Ghee has small amounts of shorter fatty acids of its own, including butyric acid (four carbons), which is close to absent from coconut oil. But its main saturated fat is palmitic acid, 16 carbons long. FSSAI's fatty acid table for ghee allows 22 to 38 per cent palmitic acid and only 1.5 to 4 per cent lauric acid.
How do FSSAI standards tell ghee and coconut oil apart?
FSSAI regulates the two fats in separate chapters, and the tests it sets differ because the fats differ. Ghee must be at least 99.5 per cent milk fat with no more than 0.5 per cent moisture. Coconut oil must be pressed from copra and pass limits for saponification value, iodine value and Polenske value that milk fat would fail.
The main numbers, all from the Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Regulations:
- Iodine value: ghee 25 to 38; coconut oil 7.5 to 10.
- Saponification value: ghee 205 to 235; coconut oil not less than 250.
- Polenske value: ghee 0.5 to 2.0; coconut oil not less than 13.
- Moisture: ghee no more than 0.5 per cent; virgin coconut oil no more than 0.5 per cent by weight.
- Origin: ghee must come only from milk or milk products, with no added flavour, colour or preservative. Coconut oil must be free of added colouring, flavouring and mineral oil, and the test for argemone oil must be negative.
On all three of the first measures, the permitted ranges for the two fats do not overlap. A sample that meets the ghee limits cannot also meet the coconut oil limits, as you would expect from fats this different.
Which has the higher smoke point, ghee or coconut oil?
The honest answer is that it depends on the sample. In one laboratory study, a commercial Sri Lankan coconut oil began to smoke at 193°C, give or take 3°C. We have not found a published laboratory measurement of ghee's smoke point that we could check, so we give no figure for ghee here rather than set an unverified number beside a measured one.
A smoke point belongs to a sample, not to a name. The same Sri Lankan study found that coconut oil flavoured with spice oleoresins smoked at 157°C, well below the plain oil. The authors also note that edible coconut oil comes in two types, refined, bleached and deodorised (RBD) oil and virgin oil, which are different products. A single number for "coconut oil" or "ghee" hides that variety.
For most home cooking this matters less than it seems. Our article on ghee's smoke point and when it matters explains where the margin counts: deep frying, hard searing and tadka. ICMR-NIN's advice on repeatedly heated oils and fats is worth following with either: avoid using the same oil for frying again, filter used oil, use it within a day or two and do not store it for long.
How do ghee and coconut oil taste, and which dishes suit each?
Flavour is where the choice usually gets made. Ghee tastes of cooked milk fat, and FSSAI's own definition says its flavour and texture come from how it is made. Virgin coconut oil, which FSSAI defines as fit to eat without refining, keeps its coconut aroma. Refined coconut oil tastes of very little, because refining removes odour.
A practical way to choose:
- Follow the recipe's own fat. A dish written for coconut oil usually counts on that coconut note, and a dal or halwa written for ghee counts on the dairy one. Swapping is possible, but the dish will taste different.
- Pick refined coconut oil where you want neutrality. It behaves like a plain saturated fat with little taste of its own.
- Save good ghee for where you can taste it. A spoon over rice or dal, or a tadka poured on at the end, shows ghee off far better than a long fry.
Is ghee healthier than coconut oil, or the other way round?
We do not make that call, and the composition table cannot make it either. ICMR-NIN's Dietary Guidelines for Indians place ghee, butter, coconut oil and palm oil in the same group of saturated fats, and advise keeping visible saturated fat within limits whichever of them you use.
The guidelines put a number on it: saturated fat use counts as high above 10 g a day of visible saturated fat on a 2,000 kcal diet. On USDA weights, a tablespoon of ghee (12.8 g) carries about 7.9 g of saturated fat, and a tablespoon of coconut oil (13.6 g) about 11.2 g. One spoon of ghee comes close to that line, and one spoon of coconut oil passes it. That is a reason to measure, not a verdict.
Each fat also has things the other lacks. Ghee carries vitamin A and cholesterol. Coconut oil carries neither, and has much less unsaturated fat. Which of those matters for you depends on your own health and the rest of your diet. If you are managing cholesterol, a heart condition or any other diagnosis, follow your doctor's advice.
Does it matter which ghee or coconut oil you buy?
Yes. Both fats come in grades. FSSAI writes separate standards for coconut oil and virgin coconut oil, and requires ghee to come only from milk and milk products, without added flavour or colour. A test report is how you check what is in the jar.
For coconut oil, the label tells you whether it is virgin or ordinary oil, and the flavour follows from that. For ghee, the useful checks are the milk fat, moisture and free fatty acid lines on a batch report, which you can compare with FSSAI's limits for ghee: at least 99.5 per cent milk fat, no more than 0.5 per cent moisture and no more than 2.0 per cent free fatty acids as oleic acid. At Himdhara we publish the laboratory report for each batch of our A2 bilona ghee before it ships, so you can read what was tested rather than take it on trust.
The short version
Ghee and coconut oil are both about 99 per cent fat, but coconut oil is the more saturated, at about 82.5 g per 100 g against about 62 g for ghee, and its largest single component is lauric acid. FSSAI's iodine, saponification and Polenske limits reflect that difference, and the ranges for the two fats do not overlap. A smoke point belongs to a particular sample, and refined and virgin coconut oil are different products. ICMR-NIN treats both as saturated fats to keep within limits, so choose by flavour and dish, measure what you use, and leave health decisions to your doctor.
Sources
Further reading behind the figures above. Himdhara's own numbers — yields, batch results — come from our production records and the batch reports on the lab reports page.
- U.S. Department of Agriculture (2019). Butter oil, anhydrous. FoodData Central (SR Legacy).
- U.S. Department of Agriculture (2019). Oil, coconut. FoodData Central (SR Legacy).
- Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (2022). Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Regulations, 2011 (2.1.8 Standard for Milk Fat Products; 2.2.1 Oils: coconut oil and virgin coconut oil). FSSAI compendium, version XXVI.
- Perera DN, Hewavitharana GG, Navaratne SB (2020). Determination of Physicochemical and Functional Properties of Coconut Oil by Incorporating Bioactive Compounds in Selected Spices. Journal of Lipids.
- ICMR-National Institute of Nutrition (2024). Dietary Guidelines for Indians. ICMR-National Institute of Nutrition.