SHEET /vs/acetic-acid-vs-citric-acid · COMPARISON
Acetic acid vs Citric acid: what is the difference?
How they differ
Both are the sour in a kitchen and they behave differently because of how many acid groups each carries. Acetic acid has one carboxylic acid group and is the whole of vinegar's sourness and smell, volatile enough to fill a room. Citric acid has three, is a solid crystal, and has no smell at all, which is why lemon-flavoured products use citric acid for the sour and something else for the aroma. Those three groups also make citric acid a good chelator, binding metal ions, which is why it descales a kettle better than vinegar does. Citric acid is far heavier at 192.12 against 60.05, and it is a real intermediate in the citric acid cycle that every aerobic cell runs.
Side by side
| Acetic acid | Citric acid | |
|---|---|---|
| Formula | C2H4O2 | C6H8O7 |
| Molecular weight | 60.05 g/mol | 192.12 g/mol |
| Family | Organic acids | Organic acids |
| Everyday group | Food & flavor | Food & flavor |
| Functional groups | Carboxylic Acids | Alcohols, Carboxylic Acids |
| GHS signal wordThe supplier-filed hazard label, not a statement about ordinary use. | Danger | Warning |
| Oral LD50A single acute animal measure. It ranks nothing about human safety. | 3,530 mg/kg (oral, rat) | 3,000 mg/kg (oral, rat) |
| Found in | Wine, Hot sauce | Fruit, Soft drinks, Tonic water, Citrus |
| CAS number | 64-19-7 | 77-92-9 |
| PubChem CID | 176 | 311 |
Common questions
- What is the difference between Acetic acid and Citric acid?
- Both are the sour in a kitchen and they behave differently because of how many acid groups each carries. Acetic acid has one carboxylic acid group and is the whole of vinegar's sourness and smell, volatile enough to fill a room. Citric acid has three, is a solid crystal, and has no smell at all, which is why lemon-flavoured products use citric acid for the sour and something else for the aroma.
- Is Acetic acid bigger than Citric acid?
- Citric acid is the heavier molecule, 192.12 g/mol against 60.05 g/mol for Acetic acid. Acetic acid is C2H4O2 and Citric acid is C6H8O7.
- Which has the lower reported LD50, Acetic acid or Citric acid?
- Citric acid, at 3,000 mg/kg (oral, rat), against 3,530 mg/kg (oral, rat) for Acetic acid. An LD50 is one acute animal measurement, and the two here were not necessarily measured in the same species, so it is a data point rather than a ranking of how dangerous either is to a person.
Read the full records: Acetic acid and Citric acid.