Ever found yourself staring at a recipe that calls for 100 grams of something and your kitchen scale is dead? Or maybe you’ve never owned one to begin with.
Don’t worry – you’re not alone.
Last Tuesday I was making brownies and my scale battery died right when I needed to measure chocolate.
That’s when I realized I’d memorized enough random objects that I didn’t even need the thing. Grabbed some coins from my wallet, weighed out the chocolate, and the brownies turned out perfect.
That got me thinking – why not share all these everyday items that weigh 100 grams?
This could save someone else from the same headache and help to find the answer how heavy is 100 grams.
How Heavy is 100 Grams?
Before we jump into the list, let’s talk about what this weight actually means. If you’ve held a deck of cards, that’s pretty close – most decks weigh around 90-100 grams. Your phone? That’s heavier, usually 150-200 grams.
Honestly, 100 grams is lighter than most people expect. It’s about the weight of a small smartphone case or a candy bar. Not heavy at all when you’re holding it.
| Unit | Equals 100 Grams | Useful For |
| Kilograms | 0.1 kg | Weighing food ingredients |
| Ounces | 3.527 oz | Using American recipes |
| Pounds | 0.220 lbs | Shipping packages |
| Milligrams | 100,000 mg | Medication or lab work |
The interesting thing is how often 100 grams shows up. Nutrition labels on FDA websites use it. Recipes on AllRecipes mention it constantly. Even postal services have rate changes at 100-gram marks.
17 Common Items That Weigh 100 Grams
I’ve tested most of these with my kitchen scale. Some are spot-on perfect, others are close enough for practical use. Here’s what I found:
1. Two Tennis Balls
Each tennis ball weighs around 57-58 grams. Pick up two and you’ve got roughly 114 grams in your hands.
We’ve got a bucket of old tennis balls in our garage from when my son tried tennis lessons (lasted exactly three weeks). Those balls are hollow rubber with felt covering, filled with pressurized air. The International Tennis Federation actually regulates the weight between 56-59.4 grams.
Not exact, but close enough when you’re cooking and just need a ballpark figure.
2. Twenty Nickels
This one’s my go-to because it’s completely accurate. Each US nickel weighs exactly 5 grams. The mint doesn’t mess around with these measurements.
Twenty nickels = 100 grams. Period.
I keep a roll of nickels in my kitchen drawer now just for this. Way easier than digging through the junk drawer looking for batteries for the scale. Plus it’s great for teaching my daughter math – she can see that 20 × 5 = 100 right there in her hands.
3. Twenty 20-Pence Coins
If you’ve got British coins hanging around from a vacation or you live in the UK, these work identically to nickels. Every 20p coin is exactly 5 grams.
My brother-in-law lives in Manchester and when he visits he always leaves coins everywhere. I weighed them once out of curiosity and realized they’re perfect for this. Twenty coins, 100 grams, done.
4. Medium Kiwi or Small Avocado
Here’s where natural variation comes in. A large kiwifruit usually weighs 100-120 grams. Small avocados – the ones labeled “size 84” at stores – hit almost exactly 100 grams.
I buy avocados every week for toast (yeah, I’m that millennial). The small ones that fit perfectly in your palm without your fingers overlapping? Those are your 100-gram avocados. Bigger ones can go up to 200+ grams.
Kiwis are similar but they vary more depending on the variety and ripeness.
5. School Glue Bottle
Those white Elmer’s glue bottles you used in elementary school? The standard size is 100 grams of actual glue. The plastic bottle adds maybe 10 grams but the glue itself is spot on.
Found this out helping with my niece’s school project. The bottle literally had “100g” printed on the back label. Can’t believe I never noticed before.
6. One Stick of Butter
American butter sticks weigh 113 grams (4 ounces). That’s a bit over but it’s close and everyone has butter.
Each stick is also half a cup by volume. If you mentally trim off about 10-15% from one end, you’re looking at 100 grams. Not laboratory-precise but fine for cooking.
European butter comes in 250g blocks so you’d need roughly 40% of one block.
7. Two Golf Balls (With a Tee)
Golf balls can’t weigh more than 45.93 grams according to tournament rules. Two balls gets you to about 92 grams. Toss in a wooden tee and you’re basically at 100.
My dad golfs religiously and mentioned this to me. Those dimples covering golf balls? They’re engineered to reduce air resistance and make the ball fly farther. There’s like 300-500 dimples on each ball.
8. 100 Paper Clips
Regular paper clips weigh 1 gram each. I actually counted out and weighed 100 of them to verify this.
A full box of 100 standard size paper clips = 100 grams (not counting the box itself).
Simple math but surprisingly useful. Teachers use this trick all the time for classroom demonstrations about multiplication and weight.
9. Half Cup of Sugar or Salt
Half a cup of white granulated sugar weighs almost exactly 100 grams. Table salt is similar though it depends on grain size.
Brown sugar (packed lightly) also hits 100 grams per half cup. This conversion has saved me so many times when following European baking recipes.
Professional bakers always weigh ingredients instead of using cups because it’s more accurate. King Arthur Baking has a whole chart about this – volume measurements can vary wildly depending on how you scoop or pack ingredients.
10. Medium Banana
A medium banana (about 7-8 inches long) weighs 100-120 grams with the peel. The peel itself is roughly 30-40% of that weight.
I pack bananas in my kids’ lunchboxes every single day so I’ve gotten pretty good at eyeballing which ones are “medium.” The ones that fit in a kid’s hand comfortably are usually in this range.
Bananas vary more than manufactured items obviously, but medium-sized ones are surprisingly consistent.
11. Newborn Kitten
Weird reference I know, but hear me out. Healthy newborn kittens weigh 85-115 grams when born.
We fostered a litter last spring and had to weigh them daily on a kitchen scale to track their growth. Holding something that tiny that weighs 100 grams really puts the measurement in perspective. They’re unbelievably light and fragile.
They double their weight by the end of the first week which is absolutely wild to watch.
12. Basic Pocket Knife
A standard folding knife with a 3-inch blade and plastic or aluminum handle weighs right around 100 grams.
I carry a small Swiss Army knife that the specs say is 99 grams. Knife makers balance weight carefully because too light feels cheap but too heavy is uncomfortable to carry. That 100-gram range hits the sweet spot.
13. Two Medium Eggs
Medium eggs weigh about 50 grams each with the shell on. Two eggs = 100 grams.
Large eggs are 57-64 grams so you’d need roughly 1.5 large eggs to hit 100 grams. The shell is about 10% of total weight, egg white is 60%, yolk is 30%.
When a recipe specifies eggs by weight instead of quantity (European recipes do this a lot), knowing these numbers helps.
14. Apple Magic Mouse
The first-gen Apple Magic Mouse weighs 99 grams with batteries installed. Essentially perfect for our purposes.
I used one for about four years before switching to a trackpad. It’s noticeably lighter than most computer mice which range from 60-180+ grams. Gaming mice especially can get really heavy.
15. Standard LED Bulb
LED bulbs that replace old 60-watt incandescent bulbs weigh 90-110 grams. The older incandescent bulbs were lighter but LEDs have more internal electronics.
Noticed this changing bulbs in my kitchen last month. The new LED felt heavier than I expected. Checked the box – 105 grams. Now I think about it every time I change a bulb.
16. Small Apple or Orange
Small apples typically weigh 100-120 grams. Small navel oranges are similar.
When grocery stores label fruit as “small,” they’re usually referring to this weight range. The ones that fit in a kid’s hand without being too big are your 100-gram fruits.
I’ve gotten decent at estimating fruit sizes from years of buying produce for the family.
17. Bar of Soap
Brand new bars from Dove, Irish Spring, Ivory – they usually weigh 90-110 grams fresh out of the package. Obviously they shrink as you use them but a new bar is a reliable reference.
Saw “100g” on a soap package while unpacking groceries a few months ago and added it to my mental list.
When This Actually Comes in Handy
You might wonder when you’d actually use this information. Here’s where I’ve found it legitimately helpful:
Cooking international recipes – Half the recipes I find online are European and list ingredients in grams. No scale needed if you know these references.
Shipping items – I sell stuff on eBay occasionally. Knowing what 100 grams feels like helps estimate shipping costs before driving to the post office.
Teaching kids about measurement – My daughter’s teacher asked parents to explain measurements at home. Showing with actual objects worked way better than abstract explanations.
Portion control – Nutrition labels use 100g servings constantly. Eyeballing it helps with diet tracking without obsessively weighing every meal.
Packing for camping – When every gram counts in your backpack, knowing which items weigh about 100 grams helps make smart packing choices.
How Heavy is 100 Grams: Quick Reference Table
Here’s everything in one place for easy reference:
| Item | Weight | Accuracy | How Easy to Find |
| 20 Nickels | 100g exactly | Perfect | Check your change jar |
| 20 x 20p Coins | 100g exactly | Perfect | UK/travel coins |
| 100 Paper Clips | ~100g | Perfect | Any office |
| Butter Stick | 113g | Very close | Your fridge |
| 2 Tennis Balls | ~114g | Very close | Garage/closet |
| Medium Kiwi | 100-120g | Close | Grocery store |
| Small Avocado | 95-105g | Very close | Grocery store |
| 2 Golf Balls + Tee | ~100g | Very close | If you golf |
| Apple Mouse | 99g | Perfect | If you own Apple products |
| Bar of Soap | 90-110g | Close | Bathroom |
| ½ Cup Sugar | ~100g | Very close | Kitchen pantry |
| Medium Banana | 100-120g | Close | Grocery store |
| 2 Medium Eggs | ~100g | Very close | Your fridge |
| Pocket Knife | 95-105g | Very close | EDC gear |
| LED Bulb | 90-110g | Close | Light fixtures |
| Small Apple | 100-120g | Close | Grocery store |
| Glue Bottle | 100g | Perfect | Craft supplies |
Getting Better at Estimating
Practice makes perfect here. Start with something exact like 20 nickels. Hold them in your palm. Close your eyes and focus on that specific weight feeling.
Then pick up random stuff around your house and guess if it’s more or less than 100 grams. Check with a scale if you have one.
Your brain learns patterns faster than you’d think. After doing this a few times your hand basically becomes a portable scale. Not lab-accurate but definitely good enough for everyday cooking.
How Heavy is 100 Grams: Common Mistakes to Avoid
Volume isn’t weight – A cup of flour weighs different from a cup of water. Density matters. This confuses people constantly.
Package weight vs contents – That 100g glue bottle? The glue inside is 100 grams but the total package weighs more. Always account for containers.
Moisture changes weight – Fruits dry out. A banana sitting on your counter for three days weighs less than a fresh one.
Natural products vary – Two “medium” bananas can easily differ by 20-30 grams. They’re not factory-made so expect variation.
How Heavy is 100 Grams: Questions People Usually Ask
Is 100 grams considered heavy?
Depends what you’re measuring. For gold or spices, that’s quite a bit. For flour in a recipe, it’s not much. In your hand it feels fairly light – less than a quarter pound.
What’s the most accurate household reference?
Twenty nickels or twenty 20p coins. These are minted to exact specifications by government mints so they’re completely consistent.
Can you actually cook without a scale using these methods?
For most everyday cooking, absolutely. Obviously don’t try this for super finicky baking like French macarons where precision matters. But normal recipes? No problem.
Final Thoughts About How Heavy is 100 Grams
I started paying attention to all this because I got tired of my kitchen scale dying at inconvenient moments. What surprised me was how many common objects weigh almost exactly 100 grams once you start looking.
Two tennis balls. Twenty nickels. A stick of butter. A banana. These aren’t just random trivia – they’re actually useful tools.
Next time you need to measure something and don’t have a scale handy, grab a couple reference items from this list. Feel that weight. Your brain remembers it better than you’d expect.
And honestly there’s something satisfying about being able to estimate measurements accurately. Makes you feel capable in a small but real way.
Try it yourself. Stack up twenty nickels or grab two tennis balls. That’s 100 grams. You’ll remember it.