The 10 Best Sports Drinks, Taste-Tested and Sports Dietitian-Approved

When you need some fast fuel before or during a tough training session or big race, there can be no better source than a sports drink. They are easy to consume when exerting yourself (Dry energy bars? Not so much.) and can simplify your nutrition needs.

The benefits of sports drinks for endurance athletes include:

• Fast-working carbohydrates like maltodextrin, sucrose, and dextrose to hit your system quickly – this keeps your muscles and brain properly fueled, so you’re less likely to smash into the wall.
• Electrolytes – namely, sodium – to help offset some of what is lost in sweat. While individual tolerances may dictate various concentrations, most sports drinks for triathletes should contain some carbohydrates as they are the primary substrate, or fuel source, for high-intensity efforts. (Note: electrolyte drinks that don’t contain any carbs should not be considered a so-called “sports drink.”)
• Liquid to help prevent performance-sapping dehydration.
• Flavor to encourage increased intake. After all, a sports drink only works if you actually consume it.

For these reasons, finding an endurance athlete who doesn’t use some form of sports drink during their training and racing is about as rare as a purple banana. If you’re only going out for a 30-minute easy run, you probably don’t need the kind of energy hit that sports drinks provide, but once the time and mileage add up, these beverages can serve as a vital lifeline for athletes.

But with so many options on the market that are marketed to hard-charging athletes, it can feel overwhelming to find the best drink for your needs. We spiked our bottles with several varieties of sports drink powders and picked out the best. These are our picks

The top sports drinks for running, cycling, and other endurance efforts

The best sports drink for you is the one that you will drink and that will meet your needs. These will get the job done.

The best sports drink for everyday training: Tailwind Endurance Fuel Mandarin

$40, Tailwind

This is a top pick for moderate- to high-intensity workouts thanks to its refreshing but not overpowering citrus flavor that goes down easily, providing a balance of carbohydrates and sodium. It also contains smaller amounts of other electrolytes, including potassium, calcium, and magnesium. The carbs come from dextrose and sucrose, which should enter your bloodstream quickly without stressing your digestive system.

The powder comes in a resealable stand-up pouch made for easy use for multiple workouts or as single-serve packets for when you’re on the go. In using this easy-to-mix formula, you’ll want to play around with the amount of powder that works for you. For starters, you can mix 1 scoop into 20 ounces of water for relatively shorter efforts, then bump up to two or three scoops for multi-hour endurance feats where carb and sodium demands are higher. Remember that efforts lasting two or more hours will likely require a minimum of 60g of carbs per hour to keep you going strong.

The best sports drink for easier workouts: Torq Hydration Red Berries

$30, Torq

Not every workout requires a big dose of carbohydrates. Torq’s formulation is a great option when you just need a few carbs and some sodium to get you through a short but sweaty workout. It’s also a great option for those of you who don’t want their drink to be so carb-dense, preferring to get carbs from other sources, like gels, during longer workouts.

Each scoop of Torq’s delightful fruit-flavored powder, mixed with two cups of water, provides a modest 15 grams of sugar from sucrose and dextrose, allowing you to absorb as many carbs as quickly as possible – minus the gut rot.  The 3% carb percentage in the drink, when mixed with two cups of water, should help optimize fluid absorption. Interestingly, some simple carbohydrates mixed into fluid will alter gut transport, so that you absorb fluids more rapidly than without carbs.

The powder also provides all the key electrolytes and has no added artificial flavors or colors. The range of flavors also includes watermelon, tangerine, and lemon.

The best sports drink for hard, sweaty workouts: Precision Fuel Carb & Electrolyte Drink Mix

$45, Amazon

Here’s a sports drink powder that certainly can lend a hand in meeting your overall fuel, sodium, and hydration needs during longer athletic pursuits. Two scoops, mixed with two cups water, gives you 30 grams of carbs in a useful 2:1 glucose-to-fructose ratio and a hefty 500mg of sodium. It’s possible to scale up for more fuel: three scoops in a 750ml bottle (45g carb, 750mg sodium), four scoops in a 1L bottle (60g carb, 1000mg sodium), eight scoops in a 2L bladder (120g carb, 2000mg sodium). In fact, there is enough drink mix in a bag to mix up 7.5 liters.

The sodium in the sports drink serves a few important purposes. It interacts with renal hormones to promote fluid balance. It functions as a co-transporter for glucose, facilitating energy production. It prevents a dangerous condition called hyponatremia, where sodium in the blood is diluted by drinking too much sodium-free fluid. Sodium also encourages the thirst mechanism, which helps athletes hydrate adequately during exercise.

The flavor is rather mild with only a very subtle citrus taste, which can help negate flavor fatigue. The powder is also Informed Sport certified, which is your guarantee that the powder isn’t spiked with ingredients prohibited in sport.

The best gas station sports drink: Powerade Fruit Punch

$20, Amazon

Sometimes you find your water bottle has run dry and you need to make haste to the nearest Kwik-E-Mart for some liquid fuel. Powerade is a reliable, ready-to-drink choice available at most gas stations and convenience stores at a fairly budget-friendly price. There is enough fluid and sodium to cover most needs, but you’ll need to drink more than the recommended 12 ounce serving to get enough carbs per hour if it’s your primary source of this substrate.

An entire 28-ounce bottle supplies 53 grams of sugary carbs, which equals to about a 6% carbohydrate solution. However, be warned: the carbs come solely from high-fructose corn syrup, which may or may not raise the risk for GI unrest when consumed during exercise in high amounts.

The best sports drink for huge efforts: Skratch Labs Super High-Carb Raspberry

$42, Skratch Labs

If your gut can handle a massive carb dose, this ultra-concentrated powder is for you. Perhaps you have heard of how many of today’s fastest pros are sucking back 100g or more of carbs an hour. It’s an option for age-groupers, too, if you’re putting in a herculean effort for a few hours.

The cluster dextrin used in the product has a unique molecular structure that enables it to pass through the stomach into the small intestine rapidly, which may improve tolerance compared to other carbohydrate sources. You can adjust the amount to your preferred calorie needs. The full serving will give you a whopping 400 calories and 100 grams of carbohydrates in a 16-24 oz bottle.

Skratch recommends that if athletes need additional sodium, a scoop of the Skratch Hydration Sports Drink can be added to five scoops of the Super High Carb to create 90g carbs and roughly 685mg sodium per bottle. Be sure to follow the mixing instructions on the package for optimal results.

The best sports drink for intolerant athletes: Flow Formulas Endurance Drink Mix 

$30, Flow Formulas

Made with a tapioca-based maltodextrin, agave powder, and sea salt, this is a game-changing sports drink mix for athletes who battle food sensitivities to corn-based sweeteners, which often includes maltodextrin. The ingredients come together for a drink that tastes like lightly flavored aqua. Use two scoops mixed with 16-24 ounces of water to give you 60g of carbs – enough to cover most training needs. Then up the ante with 3 scoops, 90g carbs, for race day or arduous multi-hour efforts.

Various studies have shown that solutions like this one, with multiple carbohydrate sources, increase gastric emptying and allow a higher carbohydrate solution to be used without additional GI distress. The brand makes a mix that delivers 780mg of sodium in a two-scoop serving if you have determined that you need electrolytes to perform and feel better.

The best no-frills sports drink: Neversecond C30

$40, Amazon

Sometimes less is more. This unflavored sports drink powder contains a pared-down ingredient list of maltodextrin (64%), fructose (32%), and acidity regulator (trisodium citrate), the latter of which is used to manage the acidity of the drink and provide some much-needed sodium. This sports drink is created for athletes who want their carbs without compromise or in-your-face saccharine flavors.

You may have guessed that the C30 in the title speaks to the amount of carbs in a serving. The 2:1 glucose-to-fructose ratio should expedite fuel delivery to your hard-working muscles with fewer GI issues. Want more rocket fuel? Simply add an extra scoop or two to your bottle and shake well.

The best sports drink for important races: Maurten Drink Mix 320

$51, Amazon

A favorite fuel source for record-smashing pros, Maurten’s mix forms a hydrogel when it reaches the stomach, allowing for easier digestion to slash the risk for gastro problems and increase carbohydrate oxidation rates. This is mportant when you are trying to suck back the 80 grams of carbs in 16 ounces of fluid.

However, the product is expensive compared to other sports drinks, so budget-conscious athletes will want to save its use for races and the most important training sessions leading up to these events. For other workouts, try Maurten’s Drink Mix 160, which contains 40g of carbs in a 500ml drink.

Maurten’s products do require a fair amount of shaking to form the hydrogel that gives a slight thickness to the water, but it is barely noticeable and certainly not a choking hazard. The drink has a very mild flavor with a slightly sweet aftertaste.

The best sports drink for ultras: Gu Roctane Lemon Berry

$54, Amazon

Going long (really long)? You might want to fill your bottle with this lemony drink mix. On top of supplying a good amount of carbs (from maltodextrin and fructose) and sodium, this sports drink contains some amino acids, which may help lessen the muscular breakdown that can occur during several hours of punishing exercise. This drink is most beneficial for workouts that are harder on your muscles, like trail running or mountain biking.

Additionally, a two-scoop serving contains 35mg of caffeine, which could give you a little extra push (though one could argue that this level of the stimulant is too low to have a major impact). Strawberry hibiscus and Summit Tea are two additional pleasant flavor options from Gu, should you be looking to mix it up over the miles.

The best sports drink for recovery: Osmo Rapid Recovery Chocolate

$45, Osmo

After a tough workout, it’s important to prioritize the replacement of fluids, carbs, and electrolytes. This chocolatey powder has a nutritional make-up to help make that happen. The carbs are from fast-working cane sugar, assuring a more rapid muscle glycogen replenishment, and the combination of whey and casein protein (fast-acting and long-lasting, respectively) will help halt muscle breakdown and kickstart repair.

Users are instructed to simply mix the powder with water (a shaker cup helps a lot) and send it down the hatch, but I like blending the product with milk and a frozen banana for a post-workout drink that tastes like a frosty chocolate milkshake.