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Grabbing an electrolyte-packed sports drink during or after an intense workout can help rehydrate you, fight fatigue, and speed up recovery. There are plenty of ready-to-chug solutions out there, but they can be packed with sugar. Enter, electrolyte and hydration packets and tablets, which are great alternatives to sports drinks.
Electrolyte powders—often called hydration powders or hydration packets—contain varying amounts of electrolytes, as well as carbohydrates, vitamins, and both real and artificial sweeteners. “Determining which powder is right for you will mostly depend on your level of activity and need for electrolyte replacement,” says registered dietitian Valerie Gately, MS, RDN, LD.
Mid-workout you may lean towards an electrolyte powder with carbs to fuel your workout, for example. After a gym session, a pick with plenty of sodium will help replenish lost fluids.
Since choosing an electrolyte powder when you’re planning a workout—or you’re already sweaty and exhausted—is the last thing you want to do, we did the heavy lifting for you. These are the best electrolyte and hydration powders you can buy.
About the Expert
Valerie Gately is a registered dietitian nutritionist who specializes in sports nutrition and nutrition counseling. She has an MS in Human Nutrition from the University of Houston, and serves as a Sports Performance Dietitian at the University of New Mexico.
What Are Electrolytes?
Electrolytes are electrically charged minerals that help with everything from regulating muscle and nerve function to maintaining pH levels and balancing fluids. Four big ones you may see on many labels:
Sodium, which helps with muscle and nerve function
Chloride, which regulates pH levels
Potassium, which supports muscle contractions and fluid balance
Magnesium, which promotes muscle and nerve function, and plays a role in energy production
During a workout where you sweat excessively, your body can lose some of these essential minerals. If electrolytes are not replenished, during and after, you risk may dehydration, reduced muscle function, and decreased brain power, says Gately.
Look for a powder or tablet that has some carbohydrates, since that’s your body’s go-to-source of fuel when you exercise. Consuming them mid-workout can help delay fatigue and keep your intensity high during longer training sessions (1). After a workout, an electrolyte product with carbs can help replenish your glycogen stores.
This NASA-developed goo (astronauts swapped their Tang for this more than a decade ago) comes highly recommended by nutrition experts because it’s certified for sport by the National Sanitation Foundation (NSF), an organization that focuses on health standards for consumer products.
This zero-cal gel is great for heavy sweaters because the more you sweat, the more salt you lose. The Right Stuff puts enough salt back into your body to help with muscle function and fluid balance (3).
Tasting Notes:
We like the Berry Blend flavor; it has a light raspberry taste and dissolves easily in water. If the salty aftertaste is too strong, mix it into a 20-ounce bottle of water instead of the recommended 16-ounces.
Precision Hydration offers a fast-absorbing formula packed with 15 grams of carbs, which will fight fatigue and help you work out longer if you sip it during your gym session.
Tasting Notes:
One packet of NSF-certified for sport powder tastes like lemonade-flavored Vitamin Water: a mild citrus flavor without a lot of sweetness. Despite a thicker consistency (think: the syrup at the bottom of a snow cone), it won’t upset your stomach mid-workout.
Each packet of this doctor-created electrolyte powder has ample electrolytes plus 1.5 mg of zinc, a nutrient that helps boost immunity and supports your metabolism.
Tasting Notes:
DripDrop tastes like Kool-Aid, minus all the sugar. The consistency is thinner than some picks on this list, though you may have to shake your water bottle while you’re drinking; we found that some of the powder tends to settle at the bottom of the glass.
While time is a hangover’s number one cure, a packet of Liquid I.V. offers fast fluids and carbs to kickstart your morning-after recovery and help alleviate symptoms like nausea, headaches, and anxiety.
Liquid I.V. has 11 grams of carbs to help increase sodium and water absorption (dehydration is behind most of your hellish hangover symptoms) (4). Plus, the brand claims its Cellular Transport Technology gets these nutrients into the bloodstream faster and more efficiently than water alone.
Tasting Notes:
Liquid I.V. is tart, with a sweet, sugary taste that lingers on your taste buds. While it mixes well, it’s still on the syrupy side so if you’ve been cursed with a sensitive stomach, you may want to add more water.
Pedialyte AdvancedCare Plus offers more electrolytes than the kid’s Pedialyte you’re used to grabbing off the shelf. Plus, added prebiotics—fiber that feeds healthy gut bacteria—support digestive health and help protect against intestinal inflammation (5).
Tasting Notes:
One stick of Pedialyte produces a super sweet drink that packs a ton of flavor (the Berry Frost flavor reminds us of a Blue Raspberry Jolly Rancher). One downside: the consistency of this drink is almost as thick as if you melted down that Jolly Rancher.
Nuun fits easily into your bag or pocket for on-the-go convenience. One tablet dissolves in just under a minute and delivers your four key electrolytes.
If you need an energy boost, Nuun also offers caffeinated flavors; each contains 80 mg of caffeine, just under the amount in a cup of coffee (6).
Tasting Notes:
We compare the Tri-Berry flavor to a can of Triple Berry Polar Seltzer: although not as carbonated, there’s still a nice fizz and a subtle berry flavor with minimal sweetness.
Cure’s plant-based hydration mix includes coconut water powder, which is high in potassium. With 300 grams of potassium (which lands Cure 4th place for potassium content on our list), plus other key electrolytes like sodium, Cure can quickly help replenish lost nutrients and restore fluids (7).
Tasting Notes:
The Berry Pomegranate flavor has a super sweet aftertaste. This could be from the added monk fruit extract, a sugar alternative 250 times sweeter than sugar itself (8).
This electrolyte powder packs in plenty of vitamins to aid in those short workout needs—vitamin E may help ease muscle cramps, vitamin C may decrease recovery time, and vitamin B12 may help boost your energy and fight fatigue.
Tasting Notes:
If you’ve ever had a bottle of Propel, this is exactly what you’ll get. The Berry flavor is reminiscent of licking a Ring Pop, with a sweet aftertaste despite having zero sugar. It has the consistency of drinking water so you don’t feel nauseous as you fly through a short workout.
Along with solid amounts of sodium, magnesium, and potassium, Emergenc-C Hydration+ has 250 mg of vitamin C. Why that matters: One study found vitamin C reduced exercise-induced tissue damage and inflammation in elite Taekwondo athletes (9).
The Orange Spritz flavor also includes glucosamine, a natural compound found in cartilage. Glucosamine may help reduce arthritis pain and reduce joint swelling and stiffness (10).
Tasting Notes:
Similar to a traditional Emergen-C immune boosting packet, this is sweet, but not overpowering, with an aftertaste that lingers for a few minutes. The only downside we found: it failed to fully dissolve.
Zero-sugar BioSteel has an ingredient that helps it stand out from the pack: amino acids—molecules considered the building blocks of protein–to help produce energy, build muscle, and may help boost immunity.
Tasting Notes:
The Blue Raspberry flavor tasted like a piece of the sour blue raz Hubba Bubba gum. The best part; it was quick and easy to gulp down with only 12 ounces of water.
There’s nothing worse than taking a drink and swallowing more powder than actual liquid. With Ultima, that problem doesn’t exist. This powder mixes fully with water (no gritty texture here). With zero calories, carbs, and sugars, this is also one of the healthiest electrolyte powders on the list.
Tasting Notes:
The Raspberry flavor tasted like raspberry lemonade. It wasn’t too sugary and not one grain of powder was left undissolved.
Hydrating sufficiently shouldn’t come at the expense of our blood sugar. Which is why WaterBoy is our go-to choice for daily electrolytes. At just 10 calories a pack, 0g sugar, 0g carbs, and a nice middle-of-the-road amount of sodium (500mg), it’s the perfect daily addition to jazz up your water intake without adding a bunch of sugar. It’s still sweet thanks to organic Stevia, and if you’re not the biggest Stevia fan, rest assured that the aftertaste is minimal.
TastingNotes:
The Strawberry Lemonade flavor is reminiscent of those powder mixes from childhood—without a single speck of sugar to show for it.
Hydration powders provide an easy way to replenish electrolytes that are lost during exercise, due to sickness, or after sweating for any reason. While you can take them any time you choose, their real power lies in their ability to bring your hydration levels into equilibrium after the above circumstances. Take them to prep for a tough, sweaty workout, to prevent dehydration due to vomitting or diarrhea, the morning after having one-too-many beverages, doing yardwork, or even just relaxing on the beach. Any time you sweat, your body loses electrolytes, and electrolyte powders are formulated to replenish your stores, no matter the circumstances.
Is It Good to Drink Electrolyte Powder Every Day?
Taking electrolyte powder every day isn’t a necessity, but it can help as needed, especially if you’re consistently clocking sweaty workouts. But just like any supplement, you can have too much of a good thing, especially if you’re keeping tabs on your sodium intake. If you aren’t regularly sweating, adding an electrolyte powder do your daily supplement stack could drive your sodium levels up. And if you’re not careful, added sugar could lead to weight gain, unbalanced energy levels, and even increase your risk for more serious diseases like heart disease and diabetes (11).
The Bottom Line
Electrolyte powders are convenient supplements to help hydrate you quickly and replenish lost nutrients after an intense workout. Ask your healthcare provider about whether electrolyte supplements would benefit you. The best powder for you lies in determining your level of physical activity and specific needs. These 12 electrolyte powders can help ensure proper hydration and healthy living so you perform and feel better.
