Cappuccino vs Frappuccino is hot versus frozen. A cappuccino is espresso topped with steamed milk and a thick layer of foam, served hot in a small cup. A Frappuccino is Starbucks’ trademarked blended beverage: coffee or a crème base, milk, syrup and ice, often finished with whipped cream. One is a classic coffee; the other is closer to a milkshake.

The two share part of a name and very little else. At Starbucks, a grande cappuccino has more caffeine than a grande Coffee Frappuccino and only about a quarter of its sugar. For where the cappuccino sits among other café drinks, see our chart of types of espresso drinks.

The short answer

Cappuccino Frappuccino
What it is Espresso with steamed milk and thick foam Starbucks’ blended drink of coffee or crème base, milk, syrup and ice
Temperature Hot Frozen, blended with ice
Coffee Espresso shots Frappuccino Roast coffee; none in crème versions
Sweetener None unless you add it Built in (syrup, sauces)
Texture Airy foam over hot milk Thick, icy, slushy
Topping Foam, sometimes cocoa Often whipped cream and drizzle
Where to get it Almost any café Starbucks (trademarked name)
Starbucks grande (16 fl oz) 140 kcal, 12 g sugar, 150 mg caffeine Coffee Frappuccino: 230 kcal, 45 g sugar, 95 mg caffeine

Starbucks figures come from its official nutrition pages for the default recipe of each drink.

What is the difference between a cappuccino and a Frappuccino?

The difference between a cappuccino and a Frappuccino starts with the category: one is an espresso drink, the other a blended ice drink.

  • Cappuccino: an Italian espresso drink. The Istituto Espresso Italiano’s certified cappuccino is about 0.8 oz (25 ml) of espresso and 3.4 oz (100 ml) of steamed milk, much of it turned into foam. Starbucks describes its version as espresso under a thick, stretched layer of milk foam.
  • Frappuccino: a Starbucks product rather than a traditional drink. Starbucks launched the first two, Coffee and Mocha, in the US in 1995, describing them as a blend of coffee, milk and ice. The name is a registered trademark, so other cafés sell similar drinks as frappés or blended coffees.

Is a Frappuccino just a frozen cappuccino?

No. A cappuccino depends on espresso and foamed milk. A standard Coffee Frappuccino has neither espresso shots nor steamed milk: it is ice, cold milk, a sweet Frappuccino syrup and Frappuccino Roast coffee, blended together. The crème versions contain no coffee at all.

The name sounds like a mix of frappé and cappuccino, but the drink is its own thing. If you want a cold drink that really behaves like a cappuccino, an iced cappuccino is the closer match.

What is in a Frappuccino? Coffee vs crème base

Hands holding a blender lid down and turning the dial while it blends a light brown drink

A Frappuccino is milk, ice and a sweet Frappuccino syrup blended with Frappuccino Roast coffee or, in crème versions, no coffee at all. Starbucks publishes its recipes: a grande Coffee Frappuccino is whole milk, ice, Coffee Frappuccino syrup and three pumps of Frappuccino Roast coffee. The syrup lists sugar, water, natural flavor, salt, xanthan gum (a thickener) and preservatives.

There are two families:

  • Coffee Frappuccinos contain Frappuccino Roast coffee: 2 pumps in a tall, 3 in a grande and 4 in a venti. Coffee, Mocha and Caramel are examples.
  • Crème Frappuccinos use the same kind of blended base without coffee. The Vanilla Bean Crème Frappuccino lists 0 mg of caffeine.

Flavored versions add sauces or syrups and, usually, sweetened whipped cream. Starbucks also suggests ordering some of them “affogato-style,” with a hot espresso shot poured over the top.

Starbucks, grande (16 fl oz, whole milk) Coffee Mocha Caramel Vanilla Bean Crème
Coffee 3 pumps Frappuccino Roast 3 pumps 3 pumps None
Flavoring Coffee Frappuccino syrup + 3 pumps mocha sauce + 3 pumps caramel syrup, caramel drizzle Vanilla bean powder
Whipped cream No Yes Yes Yes
Calories 230 370 380 380
Sugars 45 g 51 g 54 g 52 g
Caffeine 95 mg 100 mg 90 mg 0 mg

Cappuccino vs Frappuccino caffeine

Bar chart of caffeine in Starbucks grande drinks: cappuccino 150 mg, Mocha Frappuccino 100 mg, Coffee Frappuccino 95 mg, Caramel Frappuccino 90 mg and Vanilla Bean Crème Frappuccino 0 mg, with a grande Pike Place Roast brewed coffee at 315 mg for reference

A cappuccino has more caffeine than a Coffee Frappuccino of the same size: at Starbucks, 150 mg against 95 mg in a grande. A cappuccino’s caffeine comes entirely from its espresso. USDA data puts espresso at about 212 mg of caffeine per 100 g, or roughly 63 mg in a 1 oz single shot. Starbucks lists its tall (12 fl oz) cappuccino, made with one shot, at 75 mg and its grande (16 fl oz), made with two shots, at 150 mg.

A Coffee Frappuccino gets its caffeine from the Frappuccino Roast pumps. Starbucks lists 65 mg for a tall, 95 mg for a grande and 125 mg for a 24 fl oz venti. The gap is only 10 mg at tall size and grows to 55 mg at grande.

Neither drink is especially strong next to brewed coffee. Starbucks lists a grande Pike Place Roast at 315 mg, and USDA data puts an 8 oz cup of brewed coffee at about 95 mg, the same as a grande Coffee Frappuccino. For shot-by-shot numbers, see how much caffeine is in an espresso shot.

Cappuccino vs Frappuccino calories and sugar

A Frappuccino has far more calories and sugar than a cappuccino. At Starbucks, a grande Coffee Frappuccino lists 230 kcal and 45 g of sugar, against 140 kcal and 12 g for a grande cappuccino.

Starbucks size Cappuccino (2% milk) Coffee Frappuccino (whole milk, no whip)
Tall 12 fl oz: 100 kcal, 9 g sugar 12 fl oz: 160 kcal, 31 g sugar
Grande 16 fl oz: 140 kcal, 12 g sugar 16 fl oz: 230 kcal, 45 g sugar
Venti 20 fl oz: 200 kcal, 19 g sugar 24 fl oz: 310 kcal, 59 g sugar

A Starbucks cappuccino lists only two ingredients, milk and brewed espresso, so its sugar is the lactose naturally present in milk. The Frappuccino’s comes mostly from its syrup. Add whipped cream and a sauce, and a grande Mocha or Caramel Frappuccino reaches 370–380 calories and 51–54 g of sugar.

At home, a small Italian-style cappuccino is lighter still. The certified recipe’s 100 ml of whole milk weighs about 103 g, which USDA figures put at roughly 63 kcal, so the whole drink lands around 65 kcal. That is an estimate that assumes plain whole milk and no sugar.

How do a cappuccino and a Frappuccino taste?

Cappuccino with cocoa-dusted foam in a grey ceramic cup on a saucer with a spoon

A cappuccino tastes hot and coffee-forward, while a Frappuccino tastes cold, thick and sweet, with the coffee in the background.

  • Cappuccino: hot and coffee-forward. The foam is light and airy, the espresso comes through clearly, and the only sweetness is the natural sweetness of steamed milk. If you like more or less foam, see our guide to wet vs dry cappuccino.
  • Frappuccino: cold, thick and sweet, somewhere between a milkshake and a slushy. The coffee is a background flavor under the sugar, milk and toppings, and the icy texture melts and thins as it sits.

A cappuccino is something you finish in a few minutes while it is hot. A Frappuccino is something you sip through a straw on a warm afternoon.

Frappé, iced cappuccino and other cold cousins

The Greek frappé, the iced cappuccino and the iced Americano are the cold drinks most often confused with a Frappuccino, and none of them is blended with ice:

  • Frappé: the Greek iced coffee. Nescafé traces it to the 1957 Thessaloniki International Fair in Greece, where instant coffee was shaken with cold water and ice. It is frothy and shaken rather than thick and blended, and it is only as sweet as the sugar you add.
  • Iced cappuccino: espresso and cold milk over ice with a frothy foam on top. It keeps the cappuccino’s coffee-forward taste; Starbucks describes its version as having less milk than a latte and a stronger espresso flavor.
  • Iced Americano: espresso, cold water and ice, with no milk or sugar at all. It is the lightest cold option; see our iced Americano guide.

How to make a Frappuccino-style blended coffee at home

Glass of coffee topped with whipped cream and chocolate shavings

The Frappuccino name belongs to Starbucks, but a Frappuccino-style blended coffee is easy to make. Starbucks’ own at-home recipe for a Mocha Frozen Blended Coffee works as a template:

  1. Pull 1 shot of espresso and let it cool briefly so it melts less ice.
  2. Add to a blender: 1.5 cups of ice, 3/4 cup of whole milk, 2 tablespoons of chocolate sauce and the espresso.
  3. Blend on low to start, then on high for 30 seconds.
  4. Pour into a 16 oz glass and top with whipped cream and chocolate shavings, if you like.

For a plain coffee version, replace the chocolate sauce with a sweetener to taste. No espresso machine? Starbucks’ caramel version of the recipe blends instant coffee into the mix instead.

A rough estimate for the mocha version: 3/4 cup of whole milk (183 g) is about 112 kcal and 2 tablespoons of chocolate syrup (39 g) about 110 kcal, per USDA, so the drink is roughly 225 kcal before whipped cream. A single shot adds about 63 mg of caffeine; the syrup adds only about 2 mg. These numbers assume the exact amounts above.

Which one should you order?

Order a cappuccino when you want a hot coffee that tastes of espresso with little or no added sugar, and a Frappuccino when you want a cold, sweet, dessert-style treat.

Choose a cappuccino if you… Choose a Frappuccino if you…
Want to taste the espresso Want a cold, sweet treat
Prefer little or no added sugar Like dessert-style drinks
Want a hot drink Want something icy on a hot day
Want a bit more caffeine per cup Want less caffeine, or none (crème versions)
Are ordering at any café Are ordering at Starbucks

If chocolate is what draws you to a Mocha Frappuccino, the hot caffè mocha is its espresso-based relative; we compare it with the smallest espresso drink in macchiato vs mocha.

The bottom line

A cappuccino is hot espresso with steamed milk and thick foam: small, coffee-forward and unsweetened. A Frappuccino is Starbucks’ blended ice drink: cold, thick and sweet, with coffee as one flavor among several, or none at all in crème versions. At Starbucks, a grande cappuccino has more caffeine, fewer calories and about a quarter of the sugar of a grande Coffee Frappuccino.

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