Liver vs Beef: which has more purines?
Liver is higher: 247 mg of purines per 100 g against 105.7 mg for Beef — about 2.3× as much. That is a difference of 141.3 mg per 100 g, and it puts the two in different bands.
247mg per 100 g
Very high · 200–300 mg
A 150 g serving works out to 371 mg. Across 16 measured preparations, 80–398.7 mg.
105.7mg per 100 g
Fairly high · 75–150 mg
A 150 g serving works out to 159 mg. Across 36 measured preparations, 4–251.9 mg.
Liver vs Beef purine content, per serving
Per 100 g is how the databases publish, and it is not how anyone eats. At the default servings above, Liver contributes 371 mg and Beef contributes 159 mg. The gap between two foods matters much less than how much of either one ends up on the plate — which is the argument for weighing the portion rather than memorising a chart.
It is also why the single number at the top of a purine chart misleads. Liver at 247 mg per 100 g and Beef at 105.7 mg swap places the moment one portion is half the size of the other, and portions of liver and beef are rarely the same weight in practice.
Why the two numbers differ
Purine content tracks cell density and the tissue's metabolic activity, which is why organ meats sit far above muscle meats and why drying anything moves it up the scale. Liver measures 141.3 mg per 100 g above Beef, roughly 2.3 times as much. Whether that is a difference worth acting on depends on portion size and on how often either appears in a week.
Every measurement behind the two liver and beef figures
The headline numbers are medians across the preparations each database measured, and the spread underneath them is the part most charts hide. Here are the highest and lowest measured preparations of each, with the database that produced them.
Liver — 16 measurements, 80–398.7 mg per 100 g
| Food as measured | Per 100 g | Level | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monkfish liver, steamed | 398.7 mg | Extremely high | ODS-NIH 2.0 |
| Duck liver (cooked) | 398 mg | Extremely high | NHC 2024 |
| Goose liver | 377 mg | Extremely high | NHC 2024 |
| Fish liver | 185 mg | High | NHC 2024 |
| Monkfish liver, raw | 104.2 mg | Fairly high | ODS-NIH 2.0 |
| Pate, liver | 80 mg | Fairly high | ODS-NIH 2.0 |
Showing 6 of 16. All 16 measurements of liver.
Beef — 36 measurements, 4–251.9 mg per 100 g
| Food as measured | Per 100 g | Level | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beef, ground, 93% lean meat / 7% fat, cooked | 251.9 mg | Very high | ODS-NIH 2.0 |
| Beef, ground, 73% lean meat / 27% fat, cooked | 233.3 mg | Very high | ODS-NIH 2.0 |
| Beef shoulder roast, choice, boneless, cooked | 193.4 mg | High | ODS-NIH 2.0 |
| Corned beef | 46.9 mg | Fairly low | ODS-NIH 2.0 |
| Beef tendon | 40 mg | Fairly low | NHC 2024 |
| Beef bone broth (before hotpot) | 4 mg | Low | NHC 2024 |
Showing 6 of 36. All 36 measurements of beef.
Why other charts rank liver and beef differently
Because the band lines move between countries. The same milligram figure is called different things depending on whose scheme you read, which is most of the reason two purine charts can disagree about a food without either being wrong. Here is what each published scheme calls these two:
Liver, 247 mg
| Scheme | This food is | Band covers |
|---|---|---|
| NHC dietary guidelineChina | High | over 150 mg |
| Common three-tier chartEnglish-language | High | over 150 mg |
| Gout treatment guidelineJapan | High | 200–300 mg |
- NHC dietary guideline — Dietary Guideline for Adults with Hyperuricaemia and Gout (2024 Edition), National Health Commission of China
- Common three-tier chart — The split used across English-language dietetic handouts and purine charts A widely repeated convention rather than a scheme published by one named body.
- Gout treatment guideline — Guideline for the Management of Hyperuricaemia and Gout, Japanese Society of Gout and Uric & Nucleic Acids, as published by the Gout and Uric Acid Foundation of Japan The guideline names four bands and leaves 100–200 mg unnamed; Japanese charts commonly fill that gap with an informal 'moderate'.
Beef, 105.7 mg
| Scheme | This food is | Band covers |
|---|---|---|
| NHC dietary guidelineChina | Fairly high | 75–150 mg |
| Common three-tier chartEnglish-language | Moderate | 50–150 mg |
| Gout treatment guidelineJapan | Unnamed in the guideline | 100–200 mg |
- NHC dietary guideline — Dietary Guideline for Adults with Hyperuricaemia and Gout (2024 Edition), National Health Commission of China
- Common three-tier chart — The split used across English-language dietetic handouts and purine charts A widely repeated convention rather than a scheme published by one named body.
- Gout treatment guideline — Guideline for the Management of Hyperuricaemia and Gout, Japanese Society of Gout and Uric & Nucleic Acids, as published by the Gout and Uric Acid Foundation of Japan The guideline names four bands and leaves 100–200 mg unnamed; Japanese charts commonly fill that gap with an informal 'moderate'.
Lower-purine alternatives to Liver
If the reason for the comparison is to bring a meal down rather than to settle which of two foods wins, these measure lower than both and sit in the same part of the shop:
A purine number is not a risk score
Worth saying on any page that ranks two foods against each other. Beer measures low and is the drink most consistently linked with gout attacks, because alcohol slows how quickly the kidneys clear urate. Sugary soft drinks contain essentially no purines and are associated with substantially higher risk, because fructose prompts the body to manufacture uric acid after the drink.
So this comparison answers exactly what it says: which of these two foods delivers more purines per 100 g. More on the gap between the number and the risk.
Where these values come from
- USDA and ODS-NIH Database for the Purine Content of Foods, Release 2.0 (2025)
- Dietary Guideline for Adults with Hyperuricaemia and Gout (2024 Edition)
Every preparation measured for each food, with its own citation, is on the two food pages: Liver and Beef. You can also compare any two of the 372 foods or add up a whole day.
Reference information only. Purine values describe foods, not people: they cannot tell you what is safe for you to eat, and nothing here diagnoses or treats gout. Talk to your doctor or dietitian about your own diet and medication.
Common questions
Which has more purines, liver or beef?
Liver is higher: 247 mg of purines per 100 g against 105.7 mg for Beef — about 2.3× as much. That is a difference of 141.3 mg per 100 g, and it puts the two in different bands.
Is beef a safe swap for liver with gout?
On purines alone it is a step down: 141.3 mg less per 100 g. Whether that matters for you is a different question — purine content is one property of a food, and it does not account for alcohol slowing urate clearance or fructose prompting the body to make its own. Your own diet is a question for your doctor or dietitian.
Do these numbers change with cooking?
Substantially. Boiling moves purines into water that is then poured away, while grilling and drying remove water and concentrate what is left. Both foods here list every preparation measured, with the source for each — the range within one food is often wider than the gap between the two.