Buying guide · Hip vs rib

Sirloin vs ribeye

Top sirloin and ribeye come from opposite ends of the back. Top sirloin, the American sirloin steak, is the gluteus medius over the hip: lean, firm and usually the cheaper of the two. Ribeye is the longissimus of the rib with its marbled spinalis cap, the cut on which carcasses are graded. In Britain and Australia “sirloin” means a third cut, the striploin.

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Also known as: Sirloin và ribeyeLast reviewed 25 Oct 202611 sources

Which sirloin is being compared?

The word sirloin names two different cuts. In the United States it is the section behind the short loin and in front of the round, over the hip bone; its tender upper part is sold as top sirloin. In Britain, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, “sirloin” is the boneless loin muscle behind the ribs, which Americans call the striploin or New York strip.

This guide compares the American top sirloin with the ribeye. A British “sirloin steak” is a striploin: the same long back muscle as the eye of the ribeye, taken further back, and much closer to it than top sirloin is. In British and Australian butchery the American top sirloin is sold as rump steak.

Where on the animal does each one come from?

The ribeye is cut from the rib, usually ribs 6 to 12, in front of the short loin; top sirloin is cut from the hip, behind it. Between the two lies the short loin, with the striploin and the tenderloin.

The ribeye's centre is the longissimus dorsi, a back muscle that does little work, with the spinalis dorsi curled over the top as a thin, marbled cap and a seam of fat between them. In American boxed beef it is the ribeye roll (IMPS 112A), cut into boneless steaks of 250–400 g or kept on the bone as rib steaks.

Top sirloin is the top sirloin butt (IMPS 184), whose centre is the gluteus medius, the main muscle over the hip; with the cap (the picanha) removed it is centre-cut top sirloin, and steaks cut across it are IMPS 1184. A steak labelled only “sirloin” may also come from the bottom sirloin, which is why the word “top” matters on the label.

How much fat does each one carry?

Raw and trimmed of external fat, ribeye has nearly twice the fat of top sirloin: 7.5 g against 4.1 g per 100 g of lean meat in USDA data, with the same 22 g of protein. Counting the fat left on a steak trimmed to 3 mm (⅛ in), the figures are 18.7 g and 12.7 g.

Grade does not close the gap. The USDA reads marbling on the ribeye, between the 12th and 13th ribs, and that grade is applied to the whole carcass; a Choice top sirloin is therefore graded by the ribeye of the same animal and, in the USDA data, carries 4.6 g of fat per 100 g of lean against 8.3 g for a Choice ribeye. On the grill, top sirloin steaks kept 80 % of their raw weight and boneless ribeye steaks 84 %.

How is each one cooked?

Both are cooked hot and fast, but the ribeye is usually taken further: top sirloin comes off at 52–54 °C / 126–129 °F and rests to 54–57 °C / 129–135 °F, while ribeye is pulled at 54–57 °C / 129–135 °F, where its fat has begun to soften.

The ribeye's intramuscular fat starts to render around 50–55 °C / 122–131 °F and protects the meat, so it tolerates medium; pulled too early, the fat is still waxy. Top sirloin has little fat to protect it and firms up quickly past medium, 60 °C / 140 °F. Thick steaks of either, 3–4 cm and more, suit the reverse sear.

Slicing matters more with top sirloin, whose gluteus medius has a coarser fibre: it is cut thin across the grain. A ribeye's cap and eye cook at different rates, and the cap is often carved off and sliced on its own. The USDA minimum for whole cuts of beef is 63 °C / 145 °F with a three-minute rest; doneness targets are in Steak temperatures.

Which one costs more?

Ribeye. In the USDA survey of supermarket advertised prices published on 23 October 2026, boneless ribeye steak averaged USD 18.46 per lb (about USD 40.70 per kg) and boneless top sirloin steak USD 12.04 per lb (about USD 26.54 per kg), conventional, regular-priced features.

Prices move week to week and by market, and the figures are advertised prices in the United States, not a world average. Bought whole, a boneless ribeye roll gave 81 % of its weight as steaks across 61 rolls measured by the Steakpedia Field Kitchen (83.9 % usable with the trim); top sirloin has not been measured.

What are they called in each country?

Outside the United States, top sirloin is usually sold as rump steak or under the local name for the rump, and ribeye as scotch fillet, entrecôte or ojo de bife.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

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1. USDA Agricultural Marketing Service. Institutional Meat Purchase Specifications: Fresh Beef Series 100. Washington, DC, 2014. www.ams.usda.gov/sites/default/files/media/IMPS_100_Fresh_Beef%5B1%5D.pdf
2. Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (UK). Beef Meat Purchasing Guide. Kenilworth, 2016. ahdb.org.uk
3. AUS-MEAT Limited. Handbook of Australian Meat, 7th ed. (International Red Meat Manual). Brisbane, 2005. www.ausmeat.com.au
4. USDA Agricultural Marketing Service. United States Standards for Grades of Carcass Beef. 2017. www.ams.usda.gov/grades-standards/carcass-beef-grades-and-standards
5. USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service. Safe Minimum Internal Temperature Chart. 2023. www.fsis.usda.gov/food-safety/safe-food-handling-and-preparation/food-safety-basics/safe-temperature-chart
6. McGee, Harold. On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen, rev. ed. New York: Scribner, 2004.
7. Steakpedia Field Kitchen. Butchery records, July–October 2026: 279 sheets, 1,604.6 kg of meat processed, weighed piece by piece on a calibrated scale and logged per cut. Open data, CC BY 4.0. steakpedia.com/field-data
8. USDA Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, SR Legacy (National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference). Beltsville, MD, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov
9. Showell, B. A.; Williams, J. R.; Duvall, M.; Howe, J. C.; Patterson, K. Y.; Roseland, J. M.; Holden, J. M. USDA Table of Cooking Yields for Meat and Poultry. Beltsville, MD: USDA Agricultural Research Service, Nutrient Data Laboratory, 2012. www.ars.usda.gov/ARSUserFiles/80400525/Data/retn/USDA_CookingYields_MeatPoultry.pdf
10. Huerta-Leidenz, Nelson. International Nomenclature Guide of Beef Cuts for the U.S.A. and Other Countries Targeted by the U.S. Meat Export Federation. Denver: U.S. Meat Export Federation, 2013. www.usa-beef.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/1064.GUIDE_beef-cuts_ingl%C3%A9s_09oct13.pdf
11. USDA Agricultural Marketing Service, Livestock, Poultry and Grain Market News. Weekly Grocery Store Beef Feature Activity (AMS 3228), report of 23 October 2026. www.ams.usda.gov/mnreports/AMS_3228.pdf