Which soda has the most caffeine? 30 sodas ranked by mg

Among widely sold sodas, Mountain Dew Zero Sugar has the most caffeine at 68mg per 12oz can, tied with Diet Sun Drop. Regular Sun Drop is right behind at 64mg. So the winner is a diet Dew, not a cola, which throws most people. Those numbers come from PepsiCo's own product facts page for Mountain Dew Zero Sugar and cross-check against Caffeine Informer's soda database.

If you have been told Pepsi Zero Sugar is the king, that was true until 2023. PepsiCo reformulated it to be sweeter with less caffeine, dropping the US version from around 69mg to 38mg per 12oz. A lot of ranked lists floating around still quote the old number. It is wrong now, so ignore it.

Why the diet and zero versions punch above the sugar ones

Here is the part that trips people up behind the counter. Zero-sugar and diet sodas often carry more caffeine than their full-sugar siblings, not less. Sweetener has nothing to do with caffeine. The two are added separately during formulation. Mountain Dew Zero Sugar was built as its own recipe and landed at 68mg, while regular Mountain Dew sits at 54mg. Same story with Sun Drop, where the diet version reads 68mg against 64mg for regular.

Caffeine also splits hard by soda type, not by brand loudness. Citrus sodas like Mountain Dew and Sun Drop were formulated with more caffeine than most colas. A regular Coca-Cola Classic is only 34mg, less than half of a Dew Zero. And plenty of sodas people assume are wired, like orange and root beer, carry little or none. So the answer to "which soda keeps me up" is almost always a citrus soda, then a pepper-type soda, then a cola, then nothing.

30 sodas ranked by caffeine, per 12oz can

Numbers are compiled from manufacturer product facts pages at pepsicoproductfacts.com and coca-cola.com, cross-checked against the Caffeine Informer soda database. A couple of figures carry small rounding: Surge lists 69mg per 16oz, which works out to about 52mg for a 12oz pour, and Cheerwine rounds from its per-ounce figure to about 47mg. Caffeine-free versions of Coke, Pepsi, Diet Coke, and Barq's all sit at 0mg despite the parent brand carrying caffeine, so read the can if that matters to you.

For context, the FDA cites 400mg of caffeine a day as an amount generally not associated with negative effects in healthy adults. How caffeine affects you depends on your own tolerance and health, so treat these numbers as information, not advice.

One frame that helps customers: even the strongest soda on this list, at 68mg, still sits below a standard 12oz cup of drip coffee, which runs roughly 95mg. So a Mountain Dew Zero has real caffeine, but it is not out-dosing your morning coffee. Two of them will, though, and that is where people underestimate soda. Grab a couple of citrus sodas across an afternoon and you are past a large coffee without noticing.

Related caffeine breakdowns

For the full cola-by-cola picture, see our Coca-Cola caffeine breakdown and the Dr Pepper caffeine numbers. Everything ties back to the Barista Life caffeine database if you want to compare against coffee, tea, and energy drinks.

FAQ

What soda has the most caffeine? Among mainstream sodas, Mountain Dew Zero Sugar leads at 68mg per 12oz, tied with Diet Sun Drop. Regular Sun Drop follows at 64mg.

Does Pepsi Zero Sugar have the most caffeine? Not anymore. It carried around 69mg before 2023, but PepsiCo reformulated it down to 38mg per 12oz, so the older rankings that crown it are out of date.

Which sodas have no caffeine? Sprite, 7UP, Fanta Orange, A&W Root Beer, Mug Root Beer, Fresca, and any caffeine-free version of Coke or Pepsi all sit at 0mg.