Ghee and olive oil are both almost pure fat, but they are built very differently. On USDA figures ghee is about 62 g saturated fat per 100 g, while olive oil is about 73 g monounsaturated fat, most of it oleic acid, and only about 14 g saturated. The rest of the choice comes down to grade, heat and flavour.
This is a comparison, not a ranking. If you are choosing between them for a medical reason, follow your doctor's advice rather than any general comparison.
At a glance
- On USDA figures ghee is about 62 g of saturated fat per 100 g; olive oil is about 73 g monounsaturated, mostly oleic acid, and only 14 g saturated.
- Only ghee carries cholesterol (256 mg per 100 g) and vitamin A; olive oil carries about 14 mg of vitamin E per 100 g against 2.8 mg in ghee.
- FSSAI and the International Olive Council both cap extra virgin olive oil's free acidity at 0.8 g per 100 g; "olive oil" on its own means a blend that includes refined oil, and pomace oil cannot be sold as olive oil.
- Virgin olive oils smoked at 157 °C to 215 °C in a 2025 study of 48 oils, falling as free acidity rose; no checkable laboratory measurement of ghee's smoke point was found.
- ICMR-NIN counts both inside one visible-fat allowance and says to limit ghee or butter to one to two teaspoons a day; choose by flavour and dish.
What is the main difference between ghee and olive oil?
Ghee is milk fat with almost all the water and milk solids removed. Olive oil is pressed or extracted from the fruit of the olive tree. Both are close to 100 per cent fat. The difference is which fatty acids they carry: ghee is mostly saturated, olive oil mostly monounsaturated, and only ghee carries cholesterol and vitamin A.
For ghee we use USDA's record for anhydrous butter oil, which has a full fatty acid breakdown, as in our ghee and coconut oil comparison; FSSAI covers butter oil and ghee in one standard. USDA's "olive, salad or cooking" record names no grade. Its separate record for extra virgin olive oil lists fatty acids and plant sterols but not energy, cholesterol or vitamins, so it fills only the fatty acid rows of the last column.
| Per 100 g (USDA FoodData Central) | Ghee (anhydrous butter oil) | Olive oil (salad or cooking) | Extra virgin olive oil |
|---|---|---|---|
| Energy | 876 kcal | 884 kcal | not listed |
| Total fat | 99.5 g | 100 g | different basis |
| Saturated fat | 61.9 g | 13.8 g | 15.4 g |
| Monounsaturated fat | 28.7 g | 73.0 g | 69.2 g |
| Polyunsaturated fat | 3.7 g | 10.5 g | 9.1 g |
| Oleic acid (C18:1) | 25.0 g | 71.3 g | 67.8 g |
| Palmitic acid (C16:0) | 26.2 g | 11.3 g | 12.1 g |
| Butyric acid (C4:0) | 3.2 g | 0 g | not listed |
| Cholesterol | 256 mg | 0 mg | not listed |
| Vitamin A (RAE) | 840 µg | 0 µg | not listed |
| Vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol) | 2.8 mg | 14.4 mg | not listed |
Counting only the fatty acids, saturated fat is about 66 per cent of ghee's (61.9 out of 94.3 g) and about 14 per cent of olive oil's (13.8 out of 97.3 g). Monounsaturated fat runs the other way: about 30 per cent of ghee's fatty acids and 75 per cent of olive oil's. Per tablespoon, using USDA's weights of 12.8 g for butter oil and 13.5 g for olive oil, that is about 7.9 g of saturated fat in ghee and about 1.9 g in olive oil.
How do FSSAI standards tell ghee and olive oil apart?
FSSAI sets separate chemical limits for each fat, and on iodine and saponification value the ranges do not overlap. Ghee's iodine value must fall between 25 and 38; olive oils must fall between 75 and 94, and pomace oils between 75 and 92. Ghee's saponification value is 205 to 235; olive oil's is 182 to 196, depending on grade.
The fatty acid tables say the same thing. FSSAI allows ghee 19 to 32 per cent oleic acid and 22 to 38 per cent palmitic acid. For olive oils it allows 55 to 83 per cent oleic acid and 7.5 to 20 per cent palmitic. The International Olive Council's trade standard gives a similar oleic range of 55 to 85 per cent.
FSSAI also requires β-sitosterol, a plant sterol, to be absent from ghee, and names the test as a method for finding vegetable oil in ghee. Olive oil carries it: USDA lists 126 mg of beta-sitosterol per 100 g of extra virgin olive oil.
What do extra virgin, virgin, refined and pomace olive oil mean?
They are legal grades. Virgin olive oils come from the fruit by mechanical or physical means only, with no treatment beyond washing, decanting, centrifuging and filtering. Refined olive oil is refined from virgin oils; pomace oil is extracted from the pressing residue. Free acidity limits separate the grades, and FSSAI and the International Olive Council use the same numbers.
The limits, as free acidity expressed as oleic acid:
- Extra virgin olive oil: virgin oil with no more than 0.8 g per 100 g. The IOC also requires a tasting panel to find no defects and some fruitiness.
- Virgin olive oil: no more than 2.0 g per 100 g.
- Ordinary virgin olive oil: no more than 3.3 g per 100 g.
- Refined olive oil: refined from virgin oils, no more than 0.3 g per 100 g.
- Olive oil: a blend of refined and virgin olive oils, no more than 1 g per 100 g.
- Refined olive pomace oil: refined from crude oil extracted from pomace with solvents or other physical treatments, no more than 0.3 g per 100 g.
- Olive pomace oil: a blend of refined pomace oil and virgin olive oils, no more than 1 g per 100 g. The IOC says pomace oil cannot be sold as "olive oil".
As a grade name, "olive oil" on its own, without "virgin", means a blend that includes refined oil.
Which has the higher smoke point, ghee or olive oil?
We cannot give an honest answer, because we found no laboratory measurement of ghee's smoke point that we could check. Olive oil has been measured, and the results vary widely. In a 2025 University of Barcelona study of 48 Spanish virgin olive oils, smoke points ran from 157°C to 215°C.
That study, a laboratory analysis using the AOCS method with adjusted lighting, found free fatty acid content was the strongest predictor of smoke point: the more free acidity, the lower the smoke point. Its 19 extra virgin oils smoked between 195°C and 215°C. Its 29 virgin oils ranged from 157°C to 215°C, and the lowest, at 157°C, had free acidity of about 1.5 g per 100 g. The authors also note that the test relies on someone watching for the first thin stream of smoke, which makes it subjective.
Refined oils vary too. In a 2021 Spanish laboratory study, three batches of olive pomace oil from one refiner smoked at 190°C to 194°C, against 230°C to 234°C for refined sunflower oils tested alongside. Different laboratories and samples, so the two studies are not one table.
For ghee, a 2024 review of ghee research gives a smoke point of about 250°C, but a review is not a measurement and we did not find the laboratory figure behind it. We do not set that number against the olive oil results. Our article on ghee's smoke point and when it matters explains where heat headroom counts in Indian cooking: deep frying, hard searing and tadka.
How do ghee and olive oil taste in Indian cooking?
Flavour usually decides it. FSSAI's standard says ghee has a flavour developed by its method of making. Extra virgin olive oil must taste of the fruit to earn its grade. ICMR-NIN notes that refining removes odour from vegetable oils, and the IOC asks only that refined olive oil and refined pomace oil smell and taste "acceptable".
A practical way to choose:
- Keep ghee where you want to taste it. A spoon over dal or rice, or a tadka poured on at the end, is where its flavour carries.
- Use extra virgin olive oil where fruitiness suits the dish. Salads, raita-style dressings or a finish on grilled vegetables work; in a dal or halwa it changes the flavour of the dish.
- Do not reuse frying oil or fat. ICMR-NIN advises against frying again in oil already used for frying; filtered, it may go into a curry within a day or two, and used oil should not be stored long.
Is ghee or olive oil healthier?
We do not make that call. The table shows two very different fats, but composition alone cannot say which suits a particular person. ICMR-NIN's Dietary Guidelines for Indians put every cooking fat, oils and ghee alike, inside one visible-fat allowance: about 27 to 30 g a day on a 2,000 kcal diet.
Within that allowance the guidelines also say, in their own words, to limit ghee or butter to 1 to 2 teaspoons a day or avoid it if possible, and to limit fats high in saturated fat, such as ghee and butter. Those lines do not mention olive oil. A tablespoon of either is about 112 to 119 kcal on USDA's figures, so both count fully against the same allowance.
If you are managing cholesterol, a heart condition or any other diagnosis, follow your doctor's advice.
How do you compare cost per use without being misled?
Compare by spoon, not by bottle. The International Olive Council's standard has retail olive oil declare its contents by volume, so check whether each pack states volume or weight. On USDA figures a tablespoon of olive oil weighs about 13.5 g and one of butter oil about 12.8 g, so a spoon of either delivers similar fat.
Then compare grade with grade: extra virgin and pomace oil are different products. For ghee, the useful check is the batch report: milk fat, moisture and free fatty acid set against the FSSAI limits. At Himdhara we publish the laboratory report for each batch of our A2 bilona ghee before it ships, so those numbers can be checked.
The short version
Ghee is mostly saturated fat and olive oil mostly monounsaturated, at about 62 g against 14 g of saturated fat per 100 g on USDA figures. FSSAI and the International Olive Council grade olive oil by free acidity, from extra virgin at no more than 0.8 g per 100 g to refined and pomace oils. Virgin olive oils smoked at 157°C to 215°C in one study, falling as free acidity rose; we found no checkable measurement for ghee. Choose by flavour and dish, keep all cooking fats within ICMR-NIN's daily allowance, 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, olive, salad or cooking. 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: olive oil). FSSAI compendium, version XXVI.
- International Olive Council (2026). Trade Standard Applying to Olive Oils and Olive Pomace Oils (COI/T.15/NC No. 3/Rev. 22). International Olive Council.
- Díez-Betriu A, Quintanilla-Casas B, Masdemont JJ, Tres A, Vichi S, Guardiola F (2025). Deciphering the Complexity of Smoke Point in Virgin Olive Oils to Develop Simple Predictive Models. Foods.