Butter vs olive oil: fats compared by the numbers

Butter and olive oil are the two fats most home cooks reach for, and they could hardly be more different once you read the numbers. One is a dairy fat, solid at room temperature and rich in saturated fat. The other is a plant oil, liquid and built mostly on unsaturated fats. Put Butter, salted and Oil, olive, salad or cooking on the same USDA yardstick and the contrasts are easy to see. This guide compares them on the three numbers that matter most: saturated fat, vitamin E, and calories, and then covers when each one earns its place in the pan.

Saturated fat: the biggest gap

This is where the two fats separate most sharply. Per 100 grams, salted butter carries 51.4 grams of saturated fat out of 81.1 grams of total fat, so roughly two thirds of its fat is saturated. Olive oil, which is 100 grams of fat per 100 grams, carries just 13.8 grams of saturated fat. In other words, the same weight of butter delivers nearly four times the saturated fat of olive oil. The rest of olive oil's fat is largely monounsaturated, the type that dominates a Mediterranean-style pattern of eating.

Butter also brings 215 milligrams of cholesterol and 684 micrograms of vitamin A per 100 grams, neither of which olive oil contains. Olive oil, by contrast, is essentially pure fat with almost nothing else riding along except vitamin E. If you are watching saturated fat specifically, the numbers point clearly toward olive oil.

Vitamin E: olive oil pulls ahead

Vitamin E is a fat-soluble antioxidant, and here olive oil has a decisive edge. Olive oil provides 14.4 milligrams of vitamin E per 100 grams, which is a meaningful share of the daily reference value in a single ingredient. Butter provides only 2.32 milligrams per 100 grams, roughly one sixth as much. If your goal is to add a little vitamin E to a dish through the fat you cook with, olive oil does far more of that work.

Butter answers with vitamin A, a nutrient olive oil lacks entirely, so the two are not strictly ranked on micronutrients. But on the vitamin most closely tied to the fat itself, olive oil wins by a wide margin.

Calories: closer than you might think

Fat is the most energy-dense macronutrient, so both of these are calorie-heavy. The surprise is that olive oil is the denser of the two by weight. Olive oil carries 884 calories per 100 grams, while butter carries 717. The difference comes down to composition: olive oil is 100 percent fat, while butter is about 81 percent fat with the balance made up of water and trace solids. So gram for gram, olive oil is actually the higher-calorie choice, even though it is the leaner option on saturated fat.

In everyday cooking the gap narrows, because a tablespoon of either is a small amount and both add up quickly. The practical takeaway is simple: neither fat is a low-calorie ingredient, and portion size matters more than which one you pick.

How they score, and why both rank low

On the NutriVerdict Nutrient Density Score, a per-calorie 1 to 100 scale, olive oil earns a 34 and salted butter earns a 10. Both sit near the bottom of the field, which is exactly what you would expect from nearly pure fats: they pack a great many calories into every serving, so the denominator of the ratio is large. Olive oil scores higher than butter largely because it carries vitamin E and no cholesterol, while butter's heavy saturated fat load pulls its score down. You can see where every fat lands on our fats and oils ranking, where olive oil sits among the stronger performers in an inherently low-scoring category.

A low score here is not a verdict of bad. Fats are meant to be used in small amounts, and they help your body absorb the fat-soluble vitamins in vegetables. The score simply reflects that no cooking fat is nutrient-dense per calorie.

When each one is the right choice

The numbers do not crown a single winner, because the two fats are good at different jobs. Olive oil is the better default for everyday cooking, dressings, and finishing, thanks to its low saturated fat, its vitamin E, and its mild flavor that suits most savory dishes. Use it for sauteing vegetables, whisking a vinaigrette, or drizzling over a finished plate.

Butter earns its place where flavor and texture are the point. It browns, it carries aroma, and it creates the structure that baking and certain sauces depend on. There is no substitute for real butter in a laminated pastry or a pan sauce. The sensible approach is not to banish one fat, but to match the fat to the task and to keep an eye on the amount either way.

The bottom line

By the numbers, olive oil is leaner on saturated fat, richer in vitamin E, and higher in calories per gram, while butter brings vitamin A, flavor, and cooking properties that oil cannot match. Reach for olive oil as your everyday fat and treat butter as the specialist you deploy when its taste and texture do real work.