Comparing Potassium Chloride To Potassium Gluconate

Thanks for your question! It can sometimes be difficult to understand the difference in potassium products, as we are dealing with different units of measure (mEq vs. mg) and different salt forms (chloride vs. gluconate).

We'll first start with the main differences between the two.

What Is The Difference Between Potassium Chloride And Potassium Gluconate

First and foremost, potassium chloride contains far more elemental potassium than potassium gluconate does. Potassium chloride is 52% potassium by mass while potassium gluconate contains 16.7% elemental potassium by mass. I discuss this in more detail in the sections below.

Other differences between the two include:

• Potassium chloride is often the potassium salt of choice for most individuals as chloride loss is very common in those taking diuretic medications (e.g. hydrochlorothiazide) or in those who have excessive diarrhea/vomiting.


• Potassium chloride has better GI absorption than other potassium salts.


• Potassium gluconate may be an option for those looking to restrict chloride intake.


• Potassium gluconate is alkaline (compared to potassium chloride, which is acidic). The alkaline characteristics may help in those with metabolic acidosis, or in those susceptible to kidney stones.


• Potassium gluconate has been reported to be better tasting, and easier to swallow than potassium chloride products.

Converting Potassium Chloride To Potassium Gluconate

Below, I get into the specifics regarding how to discern how much elemental potassium is in each product. Overall:

• 2,350 mg of potassium gluconate is equivalent to 10 mEq of potassium chloride in terms of elemental potassium content (390 mg of elemental potassium).

• 4,700 mg of potassium gluconate is equivalent to 20 mEq of potassium chloride in terms of elemental potassium content (780 mg of elemental potassium).

As you can see here, there is far more elemental potassium in potassium chloride than there is in potassium gluconate.

Potassium Chloride To Elemental Potassium

Potassium chloride, as a prescription, is measured in mEq or milliequivalents. The most common strengths are:

• 8 mEq
• 10 mEq
• 15 mEq
• 20 mEq

Each milliequivalent of potassium chloride contains 75 mg. Therefore:

• 8 mEq of potassium chloride contains 600 mg

• 10 mEq of potassium chloride contains 750 mg

• 15 mEq of potassium chloride contains 1,125 mg

• 20 mEq of potassium chloride contains 1,500 mg

Now, even though we have the total milligram quantity of potassium chloride, we need to do a further conversion to find out how much elemental potassium is contained within potassium chloride.

Potassium chloride contains 52.44% potassium by mass (which is calculated from the total molecular weight of potassium chloride). Therefore:

• 600 mg of potassium chloride contains 314 mg of elemental potassium.

• 750 mg of potassium chloride contains 393 mg elemental potassium (often rounded to 390 mg).

• 1,125 mg of potassium chloride contains 590 mg elemental potassium.

• 1,500 mg of potassium chloride contains 786 mg elemental potassium (often rounded to 780 mg).

Below is the complete breakdown of the common potassium chloride strengths:

• Potassium Chloride 8 mEq = 600 mg of potassium chloride = 314 mg of elemental potassium

• Potassium Chloride 10 mEq = 750 mg of potassium chloride = 393 mg elemental potassium

• Potassium Chloride 15 mEq = 1,125 mg of potassium chloride = 590 mg elemental potassium

• Potassium Chloride 20 mEq= 1,500 mg of potassium chloride = 786 mg elemental potassium

Potassium Gluconate To Elemental Potassium

Potassium gluconate contains much less potassium by mass than potassium chloride. It contains only 16.69% potassium by mass. Therefore, if your potassium gluconate supplement contains 550 mg, it only contains around 91 mg of elemental potassium.

To illustrate how much elemental potassium is in potassium gluconate, let's look at the label of the supplement you mentioned (Nature Made Potassium Gluconate 550 mg):

The label confirms what we have above, that there is approximately 16.69% elemental potassium by mass in potassium gluconate (550 * 0.1669 = 91).

Additional Information

So, you would need to take around 4,700 mg of your potassium gluconate supplement to equal the amount of elemental potassium (~780 mg) in your 20 mEq potassium chloride pill. Since your potassium gluconate supplement contains 550mg per pill, that equates to about 8.5 tablets.

Final Words

Although we have provided rough conversions and compared potassium chloride and potassium gluconate, it is important to note that you should not try to take prescription strengths of potassium if you are not under the supervision of a doctor. Taking too much potassium can cause serious side effects like heart arrhythmias.