Sugar price comparison Australia: white, raw, caster or brown?

Sugar price comparison: the type of sugar sets the price

The quick answer: compare sugar on the price per 100g, and pick the plainest sugar your recipe will take. On the Coles shelf we checked, plain white sugar in a big house brand bag was the lowest per 100g, while brown, icing and specialty sugars cost far more per 100g.

Sugar comes in bags from 250g to 2kg, and the shelf tag only tells you what one bag costs. The unit price is the number that lines up a 500g bag of caster with a 2kg bag of white.

We make Discount Trolley, so read this with that in mind. The app shows the unit price under the shelf price in search and on each product page. On the sugar we checked it reads per 100g, and you can tap it to switch to per 10g.

• Price per 100g beats the bag price.
• The type of sugar matters most.
• House brand white in a big bag sat at the bottom.

Which sugar is cheapest per 100g?

Here is how the Coles sugar shelf lined up in Discount Trolley on 20 October 2026, lowest first. None of these were on special that day.

The spread is wide. The cheapest bag on the list cost 13 cents per 100g and the CSR brown and icing sugar 500g bags cost 50 cents, nearly four times as much. Specialty sugars go further: CSR muscovado 250g worked out to about seven times the price per 100g of the CSR white sugar 1kg bag.

1. Coles white sugar 2kg: 13 cents per 100g.
2. Coles raw sugar 2kg: 15 cents.
3. Coles white sugar 1kg and Coles raw sugar 1kg: 18 cents.
4. CSR white sugar 2kg: 18 cents.
5. Coles caster sugar 1kg: 22 cents.
6. CSR white sugar 1kg: 23 cents.
7. Coles brown sugar 1kg: 31 cents.
8. CSR caster sugar 1kg: 32 cents.
9. CSR brown sugar 1kg: 49 cents.
10. CSR pure icing sugar 500g: 50 cents.
11. CSR demerara sugar 375g: 80 cents.

Brown, caster and icing sugar: what the type costs you

Brown sugar is the big jump. At Coles on 20 October 2026, CSR brown sugar 1kg cost 49 cents per 100g, more than twice the 23 cents for CSR white sugar 1kg. The house brand gap was smaller but still there: Coles brown sugar 1kg was 31 cents per 100g against 18 cents for Coles white sugar 1kg.

Caster sugar costs a little more than white. CSR caster sugar 1kg was 32 cents per 100g, about 9 cents more than CSR white sugar 1kg. Icing sugar sat near the top of the everyday range, with CSR pure icing sugar 500g at 50 cents per 100g.

So the cheapest move is simple. Buy white sugar for everyday use, and buy brown, caster or icing sugar in the amount the recipe needs.

• Brown sugar can cost more than twice white.
• Caster costs a little more than white.
• Buy specialty sugars in the amount you need.

Big bag or small bag: where it pays and where it does not

On white sugar, the big bag wins by a lot. CSR white sugar at Coles worked out to 39 cents per 100g in the 500g bag, 23 cents in the 1kg bag and 18 cents in the 2kg bag on 20 October 2026. The 500g bag cost more than twice as much per 100g as the 2kg bag.

On CSR brown sugar, the bigger bag barely helps. The 500g bag was 50 cents per 100g and the 1kg bag was 49 cents, a gap of one cent. Switching to the Coles brown sugar 1kg bag at 31 cents did far more than going up a size.

Sugar sticks are sold by the stick, so compare them per stick. The CSR white sugar sticks 50 pack at Coles worked out to 6 cents a stick on the same day. Handy for the office, but a bag and a spoon will cost far less.

• Big bags save most on white sugar.
• On CSR brown sugar, the bag size barely matters.
• A cheaper brand can beat a bigger bag.

House brand vs CSR sugar

House brand sugar cost less per 100g in each of the four types we compared at Coles on 20 October 2026. White sugar 1kg was 18 cents for Coles against 23 cents for CSR. Caster sugar 1kg was 22 cents against 32. Raw sugar 1kg was 18 cents against 29. Brown sugar 1kg was 31 cents against 49.

In the 2kg bags, Coles white sugar was 13 cents per 100g and CSR white sugar was 18 cents.

Sugar is about as plain as a pantry line gets, so the brand on the bag matters less here than on most groceries. If you like a particular brand, that is fine. Just compare it on the price per 100g.

• House brand was lower in all four types we compared.
• The gap was widest on brown sugar.
• Compare any brand on the price per 100g.

Same sugar, same price at Coles and Woolworths

Sugar is one aisle where the two big supermarkets often match. In Discount Trolley on 20 October 2026, Coles white sugar 2kg and Woolworths Essentials white sugar 2kg both worked out to 13 cents per 100g. CSR dark brown sugar 1kg was 46 cents per 100g at both, CSR raw caster sugar 750g was 47 cents at both and CSR demerara sugar 375g was 80 cents at both.

So sugar on its own is rarely a reason to make a second stop. Pick the type and bag at whichever store you are already shopping, and read the unit price there. To weigh a split shop for the rest of the list, read should you split your grocery shop across two stores, or see how Coles and Woolworths compare on unit prices and specials.

• Several sugars cost the same at both supermarkets.
• Sugar alone rarely justifies a second stop.
• Read the unit price wherever you shop.

Sugar specials: check the price history

Name brand sugar moves around more than you would think. In Discount Trolley price history, CSR white sugar 1kg at Coles has dropped to 20 cents per 100g again and again over the past year. Its usual price was 26 cents earlier in the year and has been 23 cents since late August.

CSR brown sugar 1kg at Coles has been on special at 39 cents per 100g several times this year, against its usual 49 cents. It was back at 49 cents on 20 October 2026. The Coles white sugar bags, by contrast, have held one shelf price for the whole of the history we hold, back to February.

Before you stock up on a name brand, open the product in Discount Trolley and check the price history. Dete, our koala, reads that history and holds up one sign: Good time, Wait if you can or About usual. When there is not enough history yet, the sign says Not sure yet. Tap the sign to see the chart.

For more on judging a deal, read how to spot a fake supermarket special and when a bulk buy grocery deal is worth it.

• CSR sugar goes on special often.
• House brand sugar held one price.
• Stock up on a real low, not on a tag.

Put sugar on one list with the rest of the shop

Sugar usually goes in the trolley with the flour, butter and eggs, so keep it on the same list. Add it to My List in Discount Trolley, and the list shows a count for each store so you can see where your lines sit before you leave. Save the bag you buy as a favourite so it is quick to find next time.

To check one bag at other stores, open the product page and scroll to Compare Stores. It shows the same product at other stores where data is available, and it tells you plainly when a product is not stocked somewhere.

Baking this week? See flour price comparison Australia, butter price comparison Australia and how to compare egg prices at Coles and Woolworths. For the habit on any staple, read how to use unit prices to find the cheapest groceries.

• One list for sugar and the rest of the bake.
• Compare Stores for the same bag elsewhere.
• Check while you have signal, then shop the list.

What Discount Trolley does (and does not) claim about sugar

Discount Trolley helps you check the price information that is available for the sugar on your list. It does not promise savings, crown one brand or store as the cheapest forever, give diet or nutrition advice, or carry the full range at all stores. Prices and specials change, so check again on the day you shop.

Woolworths, Coles, ALDI, IGA, Harris Farm, Priceline and Chemist Warehouse where data is available. Not affiliated with those stores. The shelf can differ from the screen. Live prices need a connection.

For more unit price comparisons, see peanut butter price comparison Australia and compare grocery prices Australia on one list.

• No invented savings or rankings.
• No diet or nutrition advice.
• No affiliation with the stores.

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