I Tried 21 Energy Drink Brands & Ranked Them Best To Worst
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The world relies on caffeine. The National Coffee Association claims that more Americans drink coffee daily than any other beverage—including water. Tea has been a source of energy for millennia. Coca-Cola included caffeine in its original recipe (alongside trace amounts of cocaine).
Caffeine is everywhere, but one particular niche in the beverage market gets an especially bad rap—energy drinks. And some of the criticism is warranted. Panera's caffeinated Charged Lemonades have been mired in controversy since they were released in 2022. Other energy-drink brands, like Prime, have faced serious backlash for targeting young consumers despite the serious potential side effects.
From a flavor and branding perspective, the energy-drink industry has historically missed the mark. Its aggressively hypermasculine advertising has created a boys club of sorts. But calling flavors "Hardcore Apple" and "Assault" was never enough to hide how gross they actually tasted.
Over the past several years, the energy-drink market has shifted. New brands have emerged with offerings that give you a boost of energy without tasting like battery acid. And now we can confidently say that some energy drinks are, in fact, refreshing and enjoyable.
Our team of editors tried energy drinks from 21 brands, sampling several flavors from each brand (whatever you do, do NOT try this at home). These are our unfiltered reviews of some of the most interesting brands on the market, ranked from worst to best:
21. Steaz
While we enjoy Steaz's mildly caffeinated green teas, their acerola- and coffeeberry-spiked yerba mate blends are rough. The 165 mg of caffeine is not enough to convince us to power through the funky, musty flavor. Don't get us wrong, we generally like yerba mate—but we don't like this.
20. Sambazon
Açaí is a superfood packed with antioxidants that tastes great in smoothies and bowls. We often reach for Sambazon's products when making those recipes, but we can't see ourselves ever buying their energy drinks. The use of natural flavorings is a definite plus, but none of their flavors are really refreshing.
19. Bang
You might know Bang energy drinks from their social media campaigns. Others may recognize the brand because of the lawsuits surrounding false advertising, copyright infringement, and the brand's founder embezzling company funds.
Bang is currently bankrupt (or Bang-rupt?), and in the words of T.S. Eliot, the company's legacy is ending not with a bang, but with a whimper. Flavors like Black Cherry Vanilla and Rainbow Unicorn were cloyingly sweet and artificially flavored. Their scandalous history also leaves a pretty bad taste in our mouths.
18. Gorgie
Gorgie is a relative newcomer, and we were initially excited that the lighthearted and feminine branding could break up the macho monotony of the market. The use of green tea-based caffeine is a definite plus, along with their use of natural flavors. But, unfortunately, it didn't taste natural at all. The Gorgie flavors we tried tasted generic and artificial with an aggressive chemical aftertaste (maybe from all the added supplements).
17. Alani Nu
One of our tasters described the packaging of Alani Nu energy drinks as "vape shop-coded." You might recognize Alani Nu as the company that partnered with Kim Kardashian for her own signature energy drink. We didn't get the chance to try the famous Kimade, but all the others we drank tasted like straight-up chemicals.
16. Reign
There's no better word to describe Reign's line of energy drinks than cloying. But, honestly, what else would you expect from flavors like Reignbow Sherbet and White Gummy Bear? This might have ranked higher spot on our list if it had more intense and refreshing carbonation to offset the sweetness.
15. Rockstar
You're probably familiar with Rockstar. It's been a mainstay since 2001, and as of 2020, had a 10 percent market share of the global energy-drink market. But we didn't exactly enjoy the flavors we tried. Just like with many other brands, Rockstar is far too sweet to be considered refreshing.
14. Ghost
Another energy drink with vape shop-style packaging. This is definitely a brand that would appeal to a young audience, with collaborations with Sour Warheads, Sour Patch Kids, and esports organization FaZe clan. And it's sweetened accordingly (i.e., heavily). But we will give the brand points for actually tasting like the candy on the labels.
13. Fast Twitch By Gatorade
When Gatorade announced that they were launching their own line of energy drinks in 2022, we were super excited. Our team was hoping for a caffeinated beverage that had the same refreshing hydration as Gatorade, but that was unfortunately not the case. One of our tasters said that "something's off" about Fast Twitch. Others added that you can taste the artificial sweeteners in every sip.
12. Monster
When we think of the intensely masculine branding of yesteryear, Monster is the first energy drink to come to mind. Some of the flavors are hit or miss, but the original recipe is actually not half bad. It's crisp and citrus-forward, which helps cut through some of the heavy sweetness. Getting past the packaging is still tough, though.
11. C4
C4 has positioned itself as the best energy drink for fitness and performance. While we can't exactly comment on that aspect of their products, we did generally enjoy the carbonated flavors they have to offer. Orange Slice was a particular favorite, with one taster describing it as tasting like Sunny D.
10. Prime
One of the founders of Prime is internet personality and public scourge Logan Paul. The beverage has received intense scrutiny over its caffeine content, including a scathing critique from Senator Chuck Schumer. The Canadian government even pulled it from shelves last year. But, scandal aside, it lowkey tastes pretty good. It's very carbonated and comes in interesting, albeit super sweet, flavors. We're not suddenly going to become fans of Logan Paul, but we'd drink Prime if it was around.
9. Riot
During this taste test we noticed that many sugar-free brands struggled to create natural-tasting flavors. Riot pleasantly surprised us. Even with the use of erythritol, their energy drinks actually tasted as advertised. The Strawberry Lemonade tasted like a drink from a sidewalk lemonade stand. The Mango actually tasted like real tropical fruit. And, most impressively, we could actually identify the berries in the Berry flavor.
8. Guayakí
Guayakí makes yerba mate for every type of consumer. There's the unsweetened and earthy tereré for tea lovers. They have the sparkling cola-esque sippers, like Classic Gold. And they have inventive flavors like Bluephoria for those who want yerba mate's energy without the taste. We love Guayakí for both the taste and the variety.
7. Oca
What sets Oca apart from its competitors is the use of tapioca for energy. We're not exactly sure how much better it is than other types of caffeine, but we do know that their products taste really good. Oca is super refreshing, not too sweet, and only contains ingredients that we recognize.
6. Vuka
Vuka uses cane sugar as its primary sweetener; in the realm of energy drinks, that's a good thing. You get the sweetness without the chemical aftertaste of sugar-free alternatives. Their flavors are super fresh, and the carbonation makes it perfectly refreshing. It tastes more like an artisanal soda than an energy drink.
5. Celsius
The brand on everybody's lips right now is Celsius, and for good reason. They have two-dozen flavors to choose from. Although we advise steering away from any of their flavors that have the word "Vibe" in them, the other cans we tried are genuinely delicious.
4. Clean Cause
Clean Cause was our favorite yerba mate-based energy drink by a mile. It contains cane sugar and erythritol, so you get the best of both worlds: relatively low in calories without intense chemical flavors. They also had some of our favorite flavors of all the brands we tried. Pick up a Watermelon Mint and thank us later.
3. Guru
We love Guru primarily because they use real fruit juice concentrates as a sweetener for their energy drinks. Beyond tasting more natural than a sugar substitute, it helps their flavors actually taste as advertised. The Guru Original tastes like straight up grape soda in the best way possible.
2. Red Bull
The origins of Red Bull date back to 1960s Thailand, but it began achieving widespread popularity as an après ski drink in Austria in the late-'80s. As of 2020, it's the most popular energy drink in the world. Even though they've expanded their lineup of flavors, we love the original Red Bull because it's equally sweet and tart, perfectly carbonated, and just downright nostalgic.
1. Ardor
We had never heard of Ardor before conducting this test, but sampling their energy drinks made us rethink the entire category. One of our tasters said it was the La Croix of energy drinks because there's no sugar or sugar substitutes. It's just sparkling water, subtle flavoring, electrolytes, and caffeine. Ardor is genuinely hydrating and refreshing, and we could easily see ourselves incorporating it into our beverage rotation.
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