Avocado Oil vs Olive Oil for Food Businesses

Avocado oil and olive oil have a lot in common. Both are pressed from the flesh of a fruit rather than from a seed, both are rich in monounsaturated oleic acid, and both come in refined and unrefined grades. For a food business, though, they fill different roles and carry different risks. This guide compares them side by side.

At a glance

	Avocado oil	Olive oil
Made from	The flesh of the avocado fruit	Whole olives
Main grades	Refined; extra virgin	Extra virgin, virgin, refined, olive oil (blend) and olive pomace oil
Oleic acid	About 50–74%	About 55–85%
Flavor	Refined: neutral. Extra virgin: green and buttery	Extra virgin: fruity, often bitter and peppery. Olive oil and pomace oil: mild
Heat use	Refined avocado oil has one of the highest smoke points of any cooking oil	Extra virgin about 177–210 °C; olive oil about 199–242 °C
Unopened shelf life	Refined: up to 24 months	About 18 months from bottling
International standard	Added to the Codex standard for named vegetable oils in 2024	Long-established IOC trade standard and EU rules
Price	Follows avocado harvests and demand; extra virgin costs more than refined	Follows olive harvests; varies widely by grade

Olive oil smoke points are those given by the North American Olive Oil Association.

Flavor and grades

Refined avocado oil is light yellow and neutral, so it suits cooking and manufacturing where you want avocado oil on the label without avocado flavor. Extra virgin avocado oil is green, with a buttery avocado taste, and is best for dressings, finishing and moderate heat.

Olive oil has a wider ladder of grades, from flavorful extra virgin to mild “olive oil” and economical pomace oil, so it can cover more uses at more price points. Our guide to olive oil grades explains each one.

Cooking and frying

• High-heat searing, roasting and frying: refined avocado oil is the stronger performer, with a very high smoke point and a neutral taste. Olive oil (the refined and virgin blend) and pomace oil are more economical choices for everyday frying.
• Moderate-heat cooking: both work well; extra virgin olive oil is widely used for everyday cooking at moderate heat.
• Dressings and finishing: extra virgin olive oil, with its fruit, bitterness and pepper, or extra virgin avocado oil, with its buttery flavor, depending on the dish.

Both are rich in oleic acid, which helps them resist breakdown. See our smoke point chart for other oils.

Purity and standards

Olive oil has had an international trade standard, from the International Olive Council, for decades, with chemical and tasting tests that define each grade. Avocado oil has not. In 2023, researchers at UC Davis tested 36 private-label avocado oils sold in the US and Canada and found that only 31% were pure and only 36% met quality standards; many were rancid or mixed with cheaper oils, most often high-oleic sunflower or safflower oil.

In 2024, the Codex Alimentarius Commission added avocado oil to its Standard for Named Vegetable Oils, giving buyers an international reference for the first time. When buying avocado oil:

• Ask for the fatty acid composition on the Certificate of Analysis. Avocado oil’s relatively high palmitoleic acid content is one of the markers used to detect blending with other oils.
• Check free fatty acids and peroxide value for freshness, and specify the grade you need.
• Be cautious of avocado oil priced well below the market.

Every lot of our avocado oil is tested for purity and freshness before packing. Our guide to reading a Certificate of Analysis explains the results.

Shelf life and storage

Refined avocado oil keeps for up to 24 months unopened, stored at about 18–24 °C (65–75 °F). Olive oil keeps for about 18 months from bottling. Both unrefined grades are best used within a few months of opening, and both should be kept sealed and away from light. See our guide to cooking oil shelf life.

Which to choose

• For high-heat cooking with a premium, neutral oil: refined avocado oil.
• For classic Mediterranean flavor, dressings and finishing: extra virgin olive oil.
• For economical everyday cooking and frying: olive oil (the refined and virgin blend) or olive pomace oil.
• For better-for-you snacks and products: refined avocado oil is a favorite of better-for-you brands, for example for frying and baking premium chips and crackers.
• For retail: many shops stock both, with extra virgin olive oil as the core line and avocado oil as a premium option.

You can order both, in any grade, on one quote, from 1-liter bottles to 20,000-liter flexitanks. Prices for each follow their harvests; see our guide to what drives cooking oil prices. Add the oils you need to your quote list to get a quotation.

Sources

• Phys.org: UC Davis study finds most private-label avocado oil rancid or mixed with other oils (2023)
• FAO/WHO: Codex Alimentarius Commission adopts new standards, including avocado oil (2024)
• International Olive Council: Trade standard for olive oils and olive pomace oils
• North American Olive Oil Association: Understanding cooking oil smoke points