Starbucks Syrups Vs Sauces: What's The Difference?

Starbucks has a huge menu and offers seemingly countless ways to customize any drink. There are enough options that whole social media accounts are dedicated to exploring custom Starbucks orders. All of this may seem overwhelming at first, but understanding the differences between two core add-ons can go a long way.

Syrups and sauces aren't the same thing at Starbucks. Both are sweet, but sauces tend to be sweeter, thicker, and more strongly flavored. Syrups, on the other hand, are thinner and more subtly flavored.

There are more differences between the two than that, such as calorie counts, sugar content, and vegan-friendliness. One typically works better in cold drinks than the other. But one thing they do have in common is adding a pinch (or punch) of flavored sweetness to your drink. And ever since some major Starbucks rules changed in 2025, adding either flavoring to your drink now costs $0.80, regardless of how many pumps you request.

For a more subtle taste that won't overpower your actual coffee, syrups are the ideal choice for a flavored Starbucks drink. Thin and watery like simple syrup at a bar, they're easy to mix into any hot or cold beverage, from lattes to cold brews. They're especially crucial for adding flavor to cold drinks, which can become clumpy with thicker sweeteners — but that last word is key.

Syrups are, in fact, still sweeteners. Don't make the common Starbucks ordering mistake of adding both syrup and sugar to a custom drink. The syrup will likely have plenty of sweetness in addition to its flavor, so adding more sugar on top might render your coffee undrinkable.

Starbucks syrups are all about 20 calories per serving, making them easy to add to a beverage without significantly changing its nutritional content. And to appeal to a wide customer base, most of them are also vegan-friendly. Just ask your barista if you want to confirm that a specific syrup is vegan.

For a blast of rich flavor that coats your mouth with every sip, sauces are a go-to addition primarily meant for hot drinks. Their thick consistency needs the coffee's heat in order to melt into the drink, whether pumped in as sauce or added on top as a drizzle (yep, they're the same thing). In either case, their creaminess adds a silky-smooth texture you can't get otherwise.

For the most part, syrups aren't ideal for cold beverages, unless they're blended. Among the many ingredients you'll find in a Starbucks Frappuccino is almost always some kind of sauce, either blended in, drizzled on top, or both.

With their stronger and sweeter flavors, it's no surprise that Starbucks' sauces are more caloric than its syrups at 40-60 per pump. And their creaminess comes from dairy, present in all except the mocha sauce. Still, for a more decadent treat than a subtle syrup, they're hard to turn down.