The best sugar free drinks at the grocery store quench your thirst for something sweet without being loaded with calories—and bonus points if they don’t have a crummy fake-sugar aftertaste. Here at Sporked, we’ve set out to find everything from the best zero sugar soda to the best zero sugar energy drink. Whether you’re on a strict low-sugar diet or simply trying to consume less sugar on a daily basis, here are the best tasting sugar free drinks we’ve found so far.
- Diet Coke
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You know it. You love it. It’s Diet Coke, the queen of sugar free drinks. When we taste tested and ranked cola brands, Diet Coke was the only zero sugar soda to make the cut. It’s refreshing. It’s iconic. It doesn’t really taste like Coke, but that’s okay because it’s fully its own thing at this point. And, yes, Diet Coke is better than Coke Zero.
Read the full ranking of the best cola
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- Fresca Original Citrus
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Fresca may seem like a holdover from another era—like, if you checked the garage fridge at your grandparents’ house in 1987 or today, you’d find some Fresca—but it also happens to be among the best zero sugar soda. Its fresh, zippy, rindy flavor does a good job of masking the flavor of artificial sweeteners. And we love that it really tastes like grapefruit, not just generic citrus. Your grandparents were onto something!
Read the full ranking of the best grapefruit soda
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- Diet Stewart’s Root Beer
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Not only does Stewart’s diet root beer come in a quaint glass bottle that makes it a joy to drink, it’s one of the best tasting sugar free drinks by virtue of tasting nothing like fake sugar. This stuff is downright refreshing, and has a cinnamony, nutmeggy flavor profile that reminds us of the best full-sugar root beers on the market. This is a craft soda and it shows.
Read the full ranking of the best diet root beer
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- Sprite Zero Sugar
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The best sugar free sodas taste almost exactly like their sugar-packed counterparts, and that’s the case with Sprite Zero Sugar. Yes, it lacks some of Sprite’s addictive crispness, but it’s way better than most sugar free lemon lime sodas. This stuff tastes great, especially out of an ice-cold can.
Read the full ranking of the best lemon lime soda
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- Reed’s Real Ginger Ale Zero
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If you’re on the hunt for a sugar free drink with a little bit of bite, Reed’s makes a good zero sugar soda. Their Zero Ginger Ale doesn’t taste quite as good as their full-sugar ginger ale, but we still like its crisp, clean flavor profile. All in all, this is a refreshing sip if you can’t or don’t consume sugar.
Read the full ranking of the best ginger ale
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- Sunkist Orange Zero Sugar
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When you’re looking for the best sugar free drinks, picking a citrus soda is a safe bet. Fresca slaps, and so does Sunkist Orange Zero Sugar. Taste tester Jordan Myrick loves its fresh, orange-y taste. Drink this over ice and you can hardly detect the flavor of artificial sweeteners.
Read the full ranking of the best diet soda
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- Q Club Soda
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We know, we know. Club soda seems like a boring pick for our list of the best sugar free drinks, but not all plain bubbly water is created equal. Q Club Soda landed in the top spot in our ranking because of its small, prickly bubbles and rounded flavor. A lot of club soda tastes almost acidic, but not this one. If you’re stocking your home bar with mixers (this stuff tastes really good with whiskey) or simply need a refreshing, fizzy alternative to still water, this is the way to go.
Read the full ranking of the best club soda
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- Essentia
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You may not want to hear this, but water is the best sugar free drink of them all. It’s hydrating. It’s refreshing. It quenches your thirst like nothing else. And if the filtered water from your kitchen tap just isn’t hitting or you need to buy bottled water on the go, Essentia is the water to grab. Sporked editor-in-chief Justine Sterling compared drinking this to “drinking a clear blue sky.” This stuff is pure liquid hydration.
Read the full ranking of the best bottled water
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- Tejava Unsweetened Original Black Tea
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If you grew up in the South, unsweetened tea may be anathema to you, but, believe us, Tejava unsweetened tea is one of the best sugar free drinks on the market. It’s earthy and floral and actually tastes like tea. If you don’t like the tannic bitterness of tea leaves, you won’t like this, but if you’re into genuine tea flavor, buy this stuff and see if you even miss the sugar.
Read the full ranking of the best iced tea
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- Spindrift Half Tea & Lemon
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Spindrift is one of our favorite sparkling water brands because their bevs contain actual fruit juice rather than artificial flavorings, but somehow they still manage to be sugar free drinks. How? Don’t ask us; we just taste test the stuff. Anyway, the next time you’re shopping for zero sugar drinks, pick up a 12 pack of Spindrift Half Tea & Lemon. It’s like an unsweetened Arnold Palmer with fizz. It’s so refreshing and it makes a great mixer with vodka.
Read the full ranking of the best Spindrift flavors
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- Good & Gather Pear & Hibiscus Caffeinated Sparkling Water
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Like a little kick of caffeine in your sugar free drinks but don’t want the artificial sweeteners that come in diet cola? This caffeinated sparkling water from Target is the way to go. It gives the impression that it’s sweet without really being sweetened, and, trust us, this doesn’t taste like a bath product despite sounding like one.
Read the full ranking of the best caffeinated sparkling water
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- Bubly Grapefruit
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If Fresca is just too sweet for you, give Grapefruit Bubly a shot. This tastes and smells like a really good grapefruit soda, minus the saccharine sweetness that accompanies so many sugar free drinks. This is a highly refreshing canned seltzer and one of the best tasting sugar free drinks at the grocery store.
Read the full ranking of the best Bubly flavors
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- Celsius Sparkling Orange
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So, so many energy drinks are absolutely packed with sugar. That’s what makes Celsius great. It’s light and fizzy and has 200 milligrams of caffeine per can, but it doesn’t have any sugar to make you crash later. We particularly love their Sparkling Orange flavor, which reminded our taste testers of the juice inside a can of mandarin oranges—it’s not super tangy or rindy, which makes it easy to guzzle. This is the best sugar free energy drink we found in our taste test and it’s one of the best sugar free drinks, period.
Read the full ranking of the best sugar free energy drinksCredit: Merc / Walmart
- Zero Sugar Monster Energy Ultra Paradise
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If you’re a monster for Monster but don’t want to consume upwards of 20 grams of sugar with every can you drink, try Ultra Paradise. This sugar free energy drink has the light, Monster fizz you love, plus a pleasant flavor that reminded us a bit of a N/A pear cider from a better brewery. This stuff is still sweet and satisfying without any sugar—plus, you look cool drinking it out of its aggressively green can.
Read the full ranking of the best Monster energy drinks
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Best Cola
Best Grapefruit Soda
Best Root Beer
Best Lemon Lime
Best Ginger Ale
Best Orange Soda
Best Club Soda
Best Bottled Water
Best Iced Tea
Best Spindrift
Best Caffeinated Water
Best Bubly
Best Energy Drink
Best Monster
