LMNT vs Liquid I.V. vs Gatorade: electrolyte drinks compared per litre

Powerade vs Gatorade

Similar drinks, with one real difference: per litre, Powerade is the saltier. By the current US labels a litre of Powerade carries 676 mg of sodium (29.4 mmol/L) against Gatorade’s 457 mg (19.9 mmol/L), and more potassium, 225 mg against 135. Sugar is level at 59.2 and 57.5 g per litre. The Gatorade bottle shows the bigger sodium number only because it is the bigger bottle: 20 fl oz against a 12 fl oz serving.^2,1 Both sit in the lower half of the range sweat usually runs at¹⁸, and far below the WHO rehydration formula’s 75 mmol/L.

The zero-sugar versions keep their siblings’ sodium — 457 mg per litre for Gatorade Zero and 676 mg for Powerade Zero^4,5. One research group measured Gatorade Zero at 49 mOsm/kg against 343 for Gatorade Thirst Quencher²³. The Powerade Zero that group tested measured 61 mOsm/kg, but its sodium came in at 18 mmol/L, well below the 29 mmol/L this US label works out at, so it was a different recipe and its osmolality says little about this one^23,5. The only Powerade Mountain Blast measurement we have, 285 mOsm/kg, is from a Swiss survey in 2016–17²⁵, not the US product on the label above, so the sugared pair cannot be compared on that.

LMNT vs Liquid I.V.

They are built for different jobs. A stick of LMNT has 1,000 mg of sodium, twice Liquid I.V.’s 500 mg, no sugar and 60 mg of magnesium. A stick of Liquid I.V. adds 11 g of sugar and 370 mg of potassium^10,8.

Per litre, the answer turns on the water. Liquid I.V. says 16 fl oz, which makes 1,057 mg of sodium per litre (46 mmol/L). LMNT’s label and product page give no volume; LMNT’s science site says a stick’s 1 g of sodium is meant for 16–32 fl oz (473–946 mL) of water²¹. At 32 fl oz that makes 1,057 mg per litre (46 mmol/L) — the same as Liquid I.V. — and at 16 fl oz 2,114 mg (92 mmol/L), which is saltier than the WHO rehydration formula¹⁷. If you want the salt without the sugar, LMNT or Liquid I.V. Sugar-Free (1,057 mg per litre, sweetened with allulose and stevia leaf extract) does it. If you are fuelling a long session, Liquid I.V.’s sugar is under half a sports drink’s per litre (23.3 g against Gatorade’s 57.5). Neither has an osmolality measurement in our evidence file.

Liquid I.V. vs Gatorade: is Liquid I.V. better?

It depends what “better” is for. Mixed as the labels say, Liquid I.V. has 2.3 times Gatorade’s sodium per litre (1,057 mg against 457), nearly 6 times the potassium (782 mg against 135), and less than half the sugar (23.3 g against 57.5) and calories (106 against 237)^8,1. For a heavy, salty sweater in a long, hot session, that is more of what is being lost. For fuel, Gatorade carries more carbohydrate. For sessions under an hour, the athletic trainers’ position is that water should be all you need¹⁹.

One thing Liquid I.V. is not, by the WHO’s numbers, is a full-strength oral rehydration solution: at 46 mmol/L its sodium sits below the formula’s 75¹⁷.

Gatorlyte vs Gatorade

Gatorlyte is the same company’s saltier, lower-sugar line. Per litre it carries 829 mg of sodium (36.1 mmol/L) against Gatorade’s 457 (19.9), 592 mg of potassium against 135, and 20.3 g of sugar against 57.5. It also lists magnesium, calcium and chloride^3,1. Its calories are in a panel we could not read, so the table leaves them blank rather than guess. The trade is simple: Gatorlyte for more salt and less sugar, the original for more carbohydrate. Neither reaches the WHO formula’s 75 mmol/L.

Propel vs Gatorade

Propel is, near enough, Gatorade’s electrolytes without the sugar. One stick of the powder in 20 fl oz of water — the maker’s directions — makes 440 mg of sodium per litre (19.1 mmol/L) and 135 mg of potassium, against Gatorade’s 457 and 135, with no sugar and, in the page’s own words, no calories^6,1. That puts it beside Gatorade Zero (457 mg per litre), and both are sweetened with sucralose and acesulfame potassium. What Propel does not have is carbohydrate, so it is not fuel for a long session. The bottled Propel waters are not in this comparison: their nutrition panel loads from a PepsiCo site that refused our checks, and we do not print numbers we could not read.

Pedialyte vs Gatorade: exercise or illness?

They are built for different losses. Pedialyte Classic carries 1,080 mg of sodium per litre (47 mmol/L) with 780 mg of potassium and 13 g of sugar; AdvancedCare Plus has 1,380 mg (60 mmol/L). Gatorade has 457 mg (19.9) and 57.5 g of sugar^13,14,1. More salt and much less sugar is the shape of an oral rehydration solution, which is built to replace what diarrhoea takes out: the WHO formula sets sodium at 75 mmol/L, chloride at 65, glucose at 75, potassium at 20 and citrate at 10, for a total of 245 mOsm/L¹⁷.

Measured in a 2019 study, Pedialyte Classic came in at 313 mOsm/kg and Gatorade orange at 334²⁴. Pedialyte’s current ingredient list differs from the one that study printed, so today’s recipe may measure differently²². For exercise, a sports drink’s sugar is fuel as well as flavour; Pedialyte gives you salt with little fuel. Neither is better in general. They answer different problems.

DripDrop vs Liquid I.V.

Both are sugar-and-salt powders, DripDrop describes itself as built on oral rehydration science, and it is the stronger drink as directed: one stick in 8 fl oz makes 1,392 mg of sodium per litre (60.6 mmol/L), against Liquid I.V.’s 1,057 (46) in 16 fl oz. Per stick the order flips — DripDrop is 330 mg of sodium and 7 g of sugar, Liquid I.V. 500 mg and 11 g — which is exactly why this page compares per litre. Potassium per litre is close (759 against 782 mg), and DripDrop also lists 40 mg of magnesium and some zinc per stick^12,8.