15 Powerade Flavors, Ranked Worst To Best

Are you team Gatorade or Powerade? Now owned by PepsiCo, Gatorade may have been the first electrolyte-packed sports drink to rush out of the gates in 1965. But Powerade — the Coca-Cola Company's rebuttal beverage released in 1988 – competes bottle to bottle with the trailblazing brand, perhaps even outperforming it in some areas.

Let's start with its name. Unlike its rival, which gets its name from the college football team it was originally created for, the University of Florida Gators, Powerade is named for the athletic performance of all. It may not have a brand deal with the NFL or NBA, but it does dominate the podium as the official sports drink of the Olympics, FIFA, Team USA, the MLS, and the NCAA. And it gets extra points with 50% more electrolytes, fewer calories, and the addition of more B vitamins and magnesium.

When it comes to flavors, the two giants share a similar game plan. They match up on tastes like orange, fruit punch, lemon-lime, and grape. But Powerade also throws in some fruity and hydrating curveballs. I recently gathered a collection of these classics and more unique bottles, not to test against Gatorade's (though a few comparisons inevitably surfaced), but to rank against one another. From starting gun to finish line, I evaluated each based on how sweet, artificial, and refreshing it was, eventually landing on the best of recipes.

I was shocked to see this new take on Powerade lining the shelves. In the summer of 2024, the brand released a line of sour drinks in flavors of Blue Razz, Watermelon Lime, and Green Apple. And now, in 2025, it has decided to double down with Xtra Sour Powerade, but in new flavors of Grape Shocker, Peach Pucker, and Cherry Kicker.

I don't know what I was expecting from these sour sips, but they didn't tickle my fancy, and the grape was the worst of the bunch. It smells like standard grape and looks like normal grape, donning a deep purple hue. However, as soon as it hit my tongue, alarm bells started going off in my brain that something was off. It's not pucker-inducing or overly tart, but rather it tastes as though it's gone bad, leaving sharp pangs everywhere it goes. The grape flavor itself was watered down and timid, so this strange mouthfeel makes up the entirety of the experience. It's a small shock to the system. But also a letdown — all fizzle and no pop.

Most classic Powerade flavors come equipped with a zero-sugar sidekick. These pairings differ slightly in terms of ingredients (namely, swapping high fructose corn syrup for sucralose and acesulfame potassium), and therefore also differ slightly in terms of taste profile. However, you can typically see the leap that was taken to get from one to the other ... with the exception of Fruit Punch to Fruit Punch Zero.

From that first whiff, I could tell that Fruit Punch Zero was a far cry from its predecessor. It doesn't have that conventional blend of fruity flavors. Instead, it leads heavily with layers of strawberry and cherry candy. Despite its zero-sugar promises, the sweetness level is cranked up a notch in a more synthetic kind of way that does the opposite of quenching your thirst. It left me pining for that nostalgic taste of archetypal fruit punch. And because of its considerable deviation, it plummeted to the bottom of the rankings — even behind a few of the new questionable Xtra Sours.

The story of Peack Pucker is similar to that of Grape Shocker. The sourness is not nearly as pungent as one may have expected or even hoped. I'd say if a Warhead was a 10 out of 10 on the pucker scale, then this drink reaches a two (maybe). It has a bite and light tingles — especially when you take big gulps — but overall it's shy in terms of tangy delivery.

Despite this likeness, I do prefer it over Grape Shocker because it introduces us to a flavor that we don't often get to see in Powerade — or in other sports drinks, for that matter. As soon as you unscrew the lid, there's no denying it's peach-splashed. The wave of fruity aroma is overwhelming, but it settles into a much lighter taste on the tongue — similar to that of the peach White Claw hard seltzer (hold the alcohol and carbonation). If you're listening, Powerade, I would vote to keep the peach and ditch the pucker. But as is, I'm not 100% on board with a beverage that falls short of its advertising.

Cherries and tartness go together like peanut butter and jelly — the reason why this Xtra Sour refreshment outshines the grape and peach versions. Sour peaches and sour grapes just don't sound natural, do they? Sour cherries, on the other hand, are true-to-life creations that happen to make for great pies ... and a semi-decent Powerade flavor, it seems.

Like the peach, the Cherry Kicker helps us to dip our toes into a taste we don't often get to experience. At first, it's a bit maraschino-like, but any hints of almond or spices quickly dissipate in exchange for a more traditional cherry essence. The sour edge hits you when you're just about to swallow rather than right away or all the way through. It's not too shabby, but more syrupy than I would like. My largest issue is that I'm struggling to think of a good use case for it. Sourness is not the most refreshing sensation during bouts of physical activity — sure to leave you grabbing for a bottle of pure H20. That leaves it floundering as a casual summer sipping beverage — one that I won't be particularly sad to wave goodbye to at the end of the season.

If the bright neon color of this bottle isn't enough to tip you off that something unnatural is occurring here (seriously, I thought I might start glowing in the dark after taking a few guzzles), then the taste will finish the job. You know how you can just tell when a drink makes use of artificial sweeteners rather than real sugar? That's exactly what's going on with Powerade Orange Zero.

Perhaps I'm more sensitive to it than others, but I couldn't get over that manufactured taste that was also accompanied by an oily, nectar-like consistency. With all this going on, flavors of citrusy orange take a back seat and even fall flat. I would never expect the distinctively fresh and juicy tastes of real oranges in a sports drink — since real fruit is most often not involved in the making. But I do hope for at least some attempt to mimic that bright and zesty sweetness, and this beverage does not deliver.

Powerade doesn't get as blue-happy as its top competitor (cough cough, Gatorade). I swear there are always at least five blue, lightning bolt-slashed bottles lining the grocery shelves — Cool Blue, Glacier Freeze, Blue Cherry, Icy Charge, the list goes on and on. Powerade takes a walk on the simple side with just Mountain Berry Blast and Mixed Berry Zero Sugar.

Mountain Berry Blast is a crisp and cool crowd pleaser that we'll get to much later. But the zero sugar? It doesn't make as large a splash. Thanks to a generous dose of sucralose, it is much closer to cloying than the original, giving it more of a candied blue raspberry bite rather than a balanced blend of blueberries, strawberries, and the like. Artificiality isn't a glaring problem, but it looms in the background, cutting down on the smoothness just enough for you to notice. Overall, Mixed Berry Zero is passable, but it can't swim with some of Powerade's bigger fish. I do have to give it props, though, for its shimmering and pure lagoon-like color, compliments of the food dye Blue 1.

Berry and citrus unite for what is typically the refreshing drink of the summer. But fused together in a plastic Powerade bottle, it's not quite up to its normal level of juicy charm. A spot-on coloring of glimmering light pink lures you in. Then, it's off to the races with the astringent taste of lemon that engulfs your taste buds and then settles into a kind of fuzzy mouthfeel. When teamed up with the real flavors of sweet strawberry, these sensations balance out into a pleasing tug of war of sweet and sour. However, it seems that strawberry's invitation to the party got lost in the mail. The fruit is nowhere to be found, leading me to believe that this is closer to a pink lemonade with a subdued sweetness.

Under this new designation, the beverage wouldn't be too bad. What puts it back into question for me, though, are the unmistakable notes of bubblegum that you get on the backend of every swig. Kids may love this flavor solely because of this surprise. But, for people like me who aren't necessarily interested in a sour-spiked stick of Bazooka, it's just so-so.

I couldn't help but draw comparisons to Gatorade's fruit punch as I sipped on this rendition and found a few inferior qualities. Compared to other Powerade flavors, though, it's a step in the right direction.

Orange is a very obvious ingredient in this medley. But from there, I would chalk it up to just generic fruit. I could see a few berries and cherries being involved, or maybe some more citrus fruits as well, like limes and lemons. I didn't pick up on anything more tropical, though, so no whiffs of pineapple, mango, or guava. Whatever the real concoction may be, it comes off diluted. The first taste makes a good impression, then the flavor begins to rapidly level off. I need a bit more punch with that fruit, a bit less of that bitter aftertaste, and this Powerade would be brimming with potential.

Powerade orange isn't my main squeeze, but it's a reliable recipe. Despite its 21 grams of added sugars, it cuts down significantly on the sweetness compared to its zero-sugar copycat. It drinks like a light juice, but the bright citrus notes reminded me more of a crisp orange soda. It creates a great balance overall that makes for easy sipping. I think I could get all the way to the bottom of the 28 ounces and not get tired of it, which is more than I can say for most of the previous options.

Another quality that I like about the orange is that I truly do feel like I'm getting some health benefits from it (again, aside from the high sugar content). The fresh presence of orange gives you that vitamin C rush — one bottle does, in fact, give you 20% of your daily dose of the vitamin. Additionally, I could almost feel the energizing electrolytes coursing through my veins as the vibrant orange liquid made its way through my body.

Lemon Lime is a Powerade mainstay. It's an essential building block of the brand, unlikely to ever be pulled out from the lineup for fear that everything else would come toppling down in its absence. So, love it or hate it, it's not going anywhere anytime soon.

Somewhere along the line, someone decided that two citrus fruits were better than one, and the tart yet bitter duo has been ruling the beverage world ever since. I tend to prefer the Sprite version of the pairing, but Powerade's sports drink also manages to do it justice. On the palate, it leans more lemon than lime. But the bitter green fruit makes its presence known, additionally preventing the beverage from becoming too sweet or one-dimensional. It goes down smoothly, despite all the piggybacked zest — and despite its murky, slime-like hue that might make you raise an eyebrow. I was surprised that I didn't find a zero-sugar lemon lime buddy to compare this one to. But with such a timeless and classic taste, I would bet money that the original would have had it beat by a landslide.

Powerade Grape Zero — finally a zero-sugar bottle worth talking about. I get it. It's difficult to strip out sugar and still find a way to make a beverage tasty using various substitutes. People can spot sucralose and other artificial sweeteners from a mile away. But, in this purple drink, it's far less forthcoming.

The Grape Zero is refreshing and light yet bold enough to mask most whiffs of artificiality. As is the case with most grape-flavored potables, I fail to see the resemblance to the real fruit — seriously, where did this deep purply flavor come from? But I appreciate the level of sweetness, similar to that found in grape juice or soda, and the lack of a strange aftertaste.

Of all the zero-sugar doppelgangers, this one stands out. Its taste is almost identical to its full-sugar counterpart — keyword: almost. But even on its own, it makes for a crisp and revitalizing sports drink in its own right.

Grape edges out its zero-sugar spin-off by the purple skin of its teeth. If I had tried them separately, I don't think I would have even noticed a difference at all. But going sip for sip, the minute differences start to show themselves.

First off, the coloring here is much darker (darker than the earlier Xtra Sour Grape Shocker as well), encroaching on eggplant or wine-colored territory. It's the kind of shade that guarantees you'll end up with a painted tongue and maybe even stained teeth. Luckily, the flavor is more than enough to justify the purple-washed grins. It's robust and one of the sweetest of the original flavors, but naturally sweet and not nearing anywhere close to saccharine. Its distinct profile brought me back to childhood summers filled with Kool-Aid, melted popsicles, and simplicity. The nostalgia factor is one that's hard to beat, and with a juicy upper hand over the zero-sugar bottle, this one fared extremely well in the rankings.

I thought Strawberry Smash Zero was perhaps a sister product to the Strawberry Lemonade — similar to the way that Mixed Berry Zero and Mountain Berry Blast are linked despite their difference in name. But it turns out that the two have little to no relation, beyond a shared use of strawberry.

Strawberry Smash drops the citrus act altogether, placing all the emphasis on the red, seed-speckled berry. A bold move, but one that paid off. Like the Grape Zero, it reins in the synthetic sweetness, but at the same time gives you just enough of a succulent zip. The strawberry taste itself is somewhat fabricated, which is to be expected to some degree. But it's more reminiscent of a strawberry snow cone that went light on the syrup than a sugar-packed strawberry bonbon. It's satisfying and miles ahead of many of the other no-sugar options. Plus, it doesn't finish off with a crescendo of questionable tastes like the strawberry lemonade. So, in my opinion, these characteristics make it a smash hit.

The color of Mountain Berry Blast alone is enough to compel me towards a purchase. The translucent crystal blue liquid looks as though it were scooped from the deepest part of the sea. Glowing in its plastic container, it could pass as a life-giving elixir, and that first sip only reinforces these aquatic illusions — petition to change the name from Mountain Berry Blast to Ocean Berry Blast.

Berries are obviously the inspiration for this sports drink, though it doesn't quite match this description. If anything, raspberries and blueberries lead the pack. However, it's more of an array of fruity flavors all mixed into one. It carries the perfect amount of sugary sweetness coupled with the slightest hint of a sour tang. The greatest description for it — and the one that I will continue to stand by — is that it simply tastes like the color blue. It captures the essence of the shade in every way possible, and with no discernible faults that I can see, it lands in my second-place spot — beat out by just one underdog flavor.

An unexpected winner bursts onto the scene. Powerade added Island Burst to its portfolio in February of 2024, and it's already made some serious waves.

A clever play on the more outdone tropical punch, it hits you with immediate pineapple notes in the bouquet. Then, as you go to slug it, you're met with a tsunami of other exotic fruit flavors. Sharp pineapple mixes with juicy oranges mixes with more laid-back mango. If you really try, you might even be able to pick out some hints of banana. The sweetness draws you in, but then you stick around thanks to its dynamic nature — every sip seems to be just a smidge different from the last. It's tasty enough to pique the taste buds but also chuggable enough to keep you hydrated. From start to finish, Island Burst exudes sunshine and good vibes. So, step aside, Mountain Berry Burst, we're officially on island time now.

A sports drink's main job is to refuel you and replenish fluids and electrolytes after periods of performance. So if I couldn't fathom taking more than a few swigs of a Powerade, that flavor wasn't going to fare well. Extra-sour or extra-sweet drinks landed near the bottom of the rankings, as did anything that leaned too heavily into artificial sweeteners or strayed far from its flavor description. The best beverages kept their sweetness in check, delivering crisp, refreshing, and juicy flavors that almost felt fresh-squeezed. A few tried-and-true classics topped the list, but my favorite ended up being a more quirky tropical recipe that breathes new life into the Powerade name.