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Coco Pops Vs. Rice Krispies (What’s the Difference?)

Coco Pops and Rice Krispies are both favorites with kids (and adults too), and it’s only natural that we want to opt for the healthier choice when it comes to nutrition, but is one better than the other when it comes to nutrition?

This article will compare both kinds of cereal head-to-head in various categories, including ingredients, nutrition, and price, to find an overall winner.

Also, take part in our poll to tell our readers and us which is your favorite for flavor so we can build a picture of public opinion.

Ingredients Comparsion

When you compare the ingredients in Coco Pops and Rice Krispies, both have the same main ingredients, rice, and sugar, because both are rice-based cereals.

Coco Pops have more ingredients to help produce the chocolatey flavor compared to Rice Krispies, which contain simple ingredients.

Both kinds of cereal are fortified with extra vitamins and minerals, which are the same for each type.

Cereal TypeIngredients Vitamins and Minerals
Kellogg’s Coco PopsRice, sugar, glucose syrup, fat-reduced cocoa powder, salt, cocoa mass, barley
 malt extract, flavorings.
Niacin, iron, vitamin B6, riboflavin, thiamin, folic acid, vitamin D, vitamin B12.
Kellogg’s Rice KrispiesRice, sugar, salt, barley malt extract.Niacin, iron, vitamin B6, riboflavin, thiamin, folic acid, vitamin D, vitamin B12.
rice krispes on the left and coco pops on the right to show a comparison

Coco Pops Vs. Rice Krispies Nutritional Comparison

In this nutritional comparison, I’ll be comparing Kellogg’s brand Coco Pops against Kelloggs Rice Krispies. Both kinds of cereal have the same recommended serving size of 30g, so all comparisons are weight-for-weight and accurate.

Best for Calorie Content

The first category is calorie content, and the numbers are very close, but Coco Pops just wins by being one calorie less per serving at 116kcal per 30g.

Both kinds of cereal are relatively low calorie if you stick to the serving amount compared to some other breakfasts.

Cereal TypeCalories Per 30g Serving
Kellogg’s Coco Pops116kcal
Kellogg’s Rice Krispies117kcal

Best for Carbohydrate & Sugar Content

When it comes to carbohydrates, neither cereal can be classed as low-carb, and again the figures are very close, but Coco Pops contain 1g fewer carbs per serving.

On the flip side, Coco Pops are higher in sugar than Rice Crispies and contain just over double the amount per 30g.

Cereal TypeCarbohydrates Per 30g ServingOf Which Are Sugars
Kellogg’s Coco Pops25g5.1g
Kellogg’s Rice Krispies26g2.4g

Best for Protein Content

When it comes to protein, neither cereal is particularly high in this nutrient, but Rice Krispies contain slightly more protein than Coco Pops per serving.

Cereal TypeProtein Per 30g Serving
Kellogg’s Coco Pops1.9g
Kellogg’s Rice Krispies2.1g

Best for Fat Content

If fat content is a consideration for you, I can confirm that both kinds of cereal are low in fat and saturated fat. The cereal which is slightly higher in fat is Coco Pops; however, it’s important to know the difference is a nominal amount.

Cereal TypeFat Per 30g ServingOf Which is Saturated Fat
Kellogg’s Coco Pops0.6g0.3g
Kellogg’s Rice Krispies0.4g0.1g

Best for Fiber Content

Neither Coco Pops nor Rice Krispies can be classed as high-fiber cereals because they’re rice-based and not made with whole-grain ingredients that high fiber cereals contain (such as bran flakes or All-Bran).

When comparing Coco Pops and Rice Krispies for Fiber content, the cereal with slightly more fiber per serving is Coco Pops; however, the difference is nominal because both kinds of cereal are low in fiber.

Cereal TypeDietary Fibre per 30g Serving
Kellogg’s Coco Pops1.1g
Kellogg’s Rice Krispies0.9g

Best for Salt/Sodium Content

The cereal with the lower salt content per serving is Coco Pops which contain 0.1g less salt than Rice Krispies.

Neither type of cereal are particularly high in salt, and to put this into context, a serving of Coco Pops contains 3% of the recommended daily amount, whereas Rice Krispies contain 5%.

Cereal TypeSodium/Salt per 30g Serving
Kellogg’s Coco Pops0.2g
Kellogg’s Rice Krispies0.3g

Best for Vitamins/Minerals

Both Coco Pops and Rice Krispies are fortified with the same vitamins and minerals and contain identical amounts of each type of nutrient.

The table below shows the added vitamins and minerals and the daily value percentage you get for each type per serving.

Vitamin/Mineral TypeKellogg’s Coco Pops Daily Value PercentageKellogs Rice Krispies Daily Value Percentage
Vitamin D50%50%
Thiamin (Vitamin B1)25%25%
Riboflavin (Vitamin B2)25%25%
Niacin25%25%
Vitamin B625%25%
Folic Acid25%25%
Vitamin B1225%25%
Iron17%17%

Best for Flavor/Texture

When it comes to flavor, there is a clear difference between Coco Pops and Rice Krispies in that one is plain and the other has added ingredients to add a chocolate flavor; however, both textures are very similar.

Deciding on the best cereal for flavor is difficult, and to get an accurate answer, we need to do a poll over a broad demographic of people.

Help us find the best in this category by taking part in the poll below, and once you vote, you’ll be able to see the voting results so far.

Which do you prefer?

Best for Price

Pack weights of Coco Pops and Rice Krispies are slightly different for each cereal, so we need to work out a cost per serving to make a fair comparison.

At the time of writing this article (in March 2022), a family-sized box of Kellogg’s Coco Pops weighs 720g and costs an average of £3.50 in UK stores. A family-sized box of Kellogg’s Rice Krispies weighs 700g and costs an average of £3.50.

A smaller 480g box of Coco pops costs an average of £3, and a 510g box of Rice Krispies costs £2.90.

A serving of Coco Pops from a Family-Sized pack costs 14p, and a serving from a smaller box costs 19p.

A serving of Rice Krispies from a Family-Sized pack costs 15p, and a serving from a smaller box costs 17p.

Based on this information, there is no conclusive winner because Coco Pops are cheaper if you buy a larger pack, whereas Rice Krispies are cheaper the Coco Pops if you buy a smaller box.

Overall Winner

All of the categories have been compared, and it’s time to announce a winner based on nutrition and price, this was a very close contest, but the winner is – Rice Krispies.

Rice Krispies came out on top for being lower in sugar, slightly lower in fat and salt, and slightly higher in protein.

It’s worth pointing out that in most cases, Coco Pops’ nutritional information is very similar, and in most categories, there are minimal differences between the two.

Comparison CategoryWinner (Kelloggs Coco Pops or Rice Krispies)
Best for Calorie ContentCoco Pops
Best for Carbohydrate ContentCoco Pops
Best for Sugar ContentRice Krispies
Best for Protein ContentRice Krispies
Best for Fat ContentRice Krispies
Best for Fiber ContentCoco Pops
Best for Salt ContentRice Krispies
Best for Vitamins/MineralsJoint winners
Best for PriceJoint winners
Overall WinnerRice Krispies

Related Articles

I hope this article has helped you to find the information you were looking for; you might also find the following articles helpful too:

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Rice Krispies Vs. Corn Flakes (Which is Best?)

Frosted Mini-Wheats Vs. Cheerios (Which is Best?)

Raw Carrots Vs. Cooked (What’s the Difference?)

References Used for this Article

To ensure the nutritional information used in this article is accurate, I have used data from both the original producers and the USDA; the links below contain the source information:

Kelloggs Coco Pops Manufacturer Nutritional Information

Kelloggs Rice Krispies Manufacturer Nutritional Information