Sodium chloride vs Potassium chloride: what is the difference?
Both taste salty, but sodium chloride is table salt while potassium chloride, used in salt substitutes, has a metallic, faintly bitter edge.
Sources and notes
- The sentence under the titlefrom sourceMoleculeFinder comparison notesThe pair's answer line.
- The two drawingscomputedMoleculeFinder rule (RDKit MCS)Each molecule's own drawing, as its page shows it. The common core, 0 of 0 atoms, is too small to align on.
Side by side
| Sodium chloride | Potassium chloride | |
|---|---|---|
| Molecular weightCalculated PubChem | 58.44 g/molClNa | 74.55 g/molClK |
| Hydrogen-bond donorsCalculated PubChem | 0 | 0 |
| Where each turns upEditorial MoleculeFinder food and product lists |
Also on our processed snacks and soy sauce lists | Not on our lists |
| FamilyEditorial MoleculeFinder curated | Other | Other |
| Everyday groupEditorial MoleculeFinder curated | Food & flavor | Food & flavor |
| Chemical groupsCalculated Found by rule (RDKit) | Halogenated | Halogenated |
| Hazard labelReported ECHA, EU CLP Regulation via PubChem | Danger | Not recorded |
| The supplier-filed hazard label's signal word, not a statement about ordinary use. | ||
| Oral LD50Measured HSDB via PubChem | 3,000 mg/kgpure sodium chloride, rat, oral | 383 mg/kgpure potassium chloride, mouse, oral |
| A single acute animal measure, here in two different species. It ranks nothing about human safety. | ||
Sources and notes
- Molecular weightcomputedPubChemComputed from the structure; the formula is under each weight.
- Hydrogen-bond donorscomputedPubChemThe hydrogens on nitrogen or oxygen that each molecule can lend to a hydrogen bond, counted from its structure.
- Where each turns upfrom sourceMoleculeFinder food and product listsEach amount is an editorial figure from our lists, not a measurement of any one product. Each mark is set by hand on the list, never inferred.
- Familyfrom sourceMoleculeFinder curated
- Everyday groupfrom sourceMoleculeFinder curated
- Chemical groupscomputedFound by rule (RDKit)Each group is found in the structure by a chemical pattern.
- Hazard labelfrom sourceECHA, EU CLP Regulation via PubChem
- Oral LD50from sourceHSDB via PubChem
- ECHAfrom sourceAttributionSource: European Chemicals Agency, echa.europa.eu.
- EU CLP Regulationfrom sourceAttributionSource: EUR-Lex, Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008, © European Union.
- Identifiersfrom sourcePubChemPubChem CID 5234 (Sodium chloride) and 4873 (Potassium chloride).
In more detail
Both are simple salts of chloride. Potassium chloride is the main ingredient in the salt substitutes sold as NoSalt and LoSalt, and it carries a metallic, faintly bitter edge that gets stronger with concentration, which is why substitutes are usually blends rather than straight potassium chloride. The saltiness is read by different mechanisms: the sodium ion passes through an ion channel on the taste cell directly, and the potassium ion is a poorer fit for it. The reported oral LD50 values differ sharply, 3000 mg/kg in rats for table salt against 383 mg/kg in mice for potassium chloride, measured in different species but pointing at a real difference: potassium load matters to the heart in a way sodium load does not.
Sources and notes
- The paragraphfrom sourceMoleculeFinder comparison notes
Questions
- What is the difference between Sodium chloride and Potassium chloride?
- Both taste salty, but sodium chloride is table salt while potassium chloride, used in salt substitutes, has a metallic, faintly bitter edge.
- Is Sodium chloride bigger than Potassium chloride?
- Potassium chloride is the heavier molecule, 74.55 g/mol against 58.44 g/mol for Sodium chloride. Sodium chloride is ClNa and Potassium chloride is ClK.
- Which has the lower reported LD50, Sodium chloride or Potassium chloride?
- Potassium chloride, at 383 mg/kg (oral, mouse), against 3,000 mg/kg (oral, rat) for Sodium chloride. 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.
Sources and notes
- The answersfrom sourceMoleculeFinderThe first is the pair's answer line; the others are read off the table above.