Electrolytes are the rare supplement category where the marketing war is fought with the Supplement Facts panel instead of around it. Every major player prints its sodium, potassium and magnesium — so unlike the produce-capsule category, nobody here is asking for blind trust.
That moves the real questions to ones most roundups skip: how much sodium do you actually need, what’s riding along with it (11 grams of sugar, in one famous case), and what does a serving honestly cost? We checked all seven labels and prices on July 15–19, 2026. All seven now carry full scored reviews on our 100-point rubric — and the scores rank LMNT (70) above our own pick’s product (65), which we publish because a rubric that can’t do that isn’t a rubric. Pick by fit; the table has every number.
All five, side by side
Every figure from the brands’ own labels and product pages, checked July 15–16, 2026 (Just Ingredients: the printed label of the box we purchased and photographed). This table includes the row most comparisons skip: what 100 mg of sodium actually costs from each brand.
| Earth Energy | LMNT | Waterboy | FlavCity | Nuun Sport | Just Ingredients | Liquid I.V. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $39.97 / 30 | $45 / 30 | ~$24.99 / 12 | ~$44.99 / 28 | $7.49 / 10 | $29.99 / 30 | ~$24 / 16 |
| Cost per serving | $1.33 ($0.71 6-pk sub) | $1.50 ($1.30 sub) | ~$1.67–$2.08 | ~$1.60 | $0.75 | $1.00 | ~$1.50 ($1.09 sub) |
| Sodium | 750 mg | 1,000 mg | 550 mg | ~100 mg | 300 mg | 100 mg | ~510 mg |
| Potassium | 300 mg | 200 mg | 140 mg | ~230 mg | 150 mg | 300 mg | ~390 mg |
| Magnesium | 50 mg | 60 mg | 20 mg | ~165 mg | 25 mg | 50 mg | — |
| Sugar | 0 g | 0 g | 0 g | 0 g added | 1 g | 3 g (0 added) | 11 g added |
| Cost per 100 mg sodium | 18¢ (9¢ 6-pk sub) | 15¢ (13¢ sub) | ~30–38¢ | ~$1.60 | 25¢ | $1.00 | ~29¢ |
| Testing / certification | Third-party claim · cGMP USA | NSF Certified for Sport® | None shown | Non-GMO, GF marks | Non-GMO, vegan, GF marks | Supplier-level COAs; NSF “coming soon” | — |
| Notable extras | 500 mg coconut water · no dyes | Unflavored "Raw" option | Real sodium dose, no sugar | Real fruit powders · high magnesium | Tablet format — travels anywhere | Organic fruit base · monk fruit · 3:1 K:Na | B vitamins + 11 g sugar system |
A "win" cell marks the best disclosed figure in that row, not an overall verdict. Full scored reviews: LMNT 70/100 · Earth Energy 65/100 · Waterboy 57/100 · FlavCity 55/100 · Nuun 54/100 · Just Ingredients 54/100 · Liquid I.V. 51/100.
The rest of the field, honestly
LMNT
LMNT made high-sodium hydration mainstream: a full gram of sodium per stick, zero sugar, stevia-sweetened, with an unflavored “Raw” option whose entire ingredient list is three compounds. And credit where it’s due — its NSF Certified for Sport® status is the strongest independent certification in this comparison, stronger than our own pick’s testing claim. The tradeoffs: it’s the most expensive zero-sugar option per serving, and 1,000 mg of sodium is a deliberate maximalist dose — great mid-marathon, more than many people need at a desk.
Waterboy Daily Hydration
The walking-water-drop sticks get the headline number right: a genuine 550 mg sodium dose — between Nuun’s light 300 and LMNT’s full gram — with zero sugar, zero calories, a clean pink-Himalayan-salt formula and every mineral printed. The catch is the supporting cast and the sticker: 140 mg potassium and just 20 mg magnesium are light, no independent certification is named, and at close to $2 a serving it’s priced like a premium without one. A real everyday sodium drink, balanced and priced like it has more to prove.
FlavCity Electrolytes
The cleanest, most food-forward label in the field alongside Just Ingredients: real organic strawberry, pineapple and coconut powders, zero added sugar, and the highest magnesium in the comparison (~150–180 mg). Its problem is the mineral that defines the category — about 100 mg of sodium, a tenth of LMNT’s — at the field’s priciest per-serving sticker. It’s excellent flavored daily magnesium-and-potassium water; it’s not sweat replacement, and it charges a premium either way.
Nuun Sport
The cheapest entry ticket in the category and the most portable — a tube of fizzy tablets that lives in a gym bag. The panel is honest and modest: 300 mg sodium is less than a third of LMNT’s dose, which makes Nuun better understood as flavored light hydration than as serious electrolyte replacement. Per 100 mg of sodium it’s actually pricier than our pick or LMNT — the small sticker hides small contents. Vegan, non-GMO and gluten-free marks; 15% autoship discount.
Just Ingredients Electrolytes
The most food-like label in the category — organic strawberry, pineapple and coconut water, cassava-root citric acid, monk fruit — with all five electrolytes quantified on the box we bought. The catch is the direction it points: 100 mg of sodium, the least in this comparison, with the ratio deliberately inverted toward potassium (3:1). That makes it a real-food daily mineral drink, not sweat replacement — at $1.00 per 100 mg of sodium, the field’s steepest rate. It ties Nuun at 54 from the opposite direction; the testing column (supplier-level COAs, NSF “coming soon,” a 2025 Prop 65 lead settlement on the brand’s protein line) breaks the tie in Nuun’s favor for ranking.
Liquid I.V. Hydration Multiplier
The stick that built the category’s shelf at every checkout counter. Its “Cellular Transport Technology” is real science with a plainer name — glucose-sodium co-transport, the mechanism behind medical oral rehydration solutions — and it requires the ingredient most buyers miss: 11 grams of added sugar per stick, nearly half the American Heart Association’s daily added-sugar guidance for women, in one serving. Strong potassium, B vitamins included, no independent certification named. It’s a legitimate ORS-style product; it’s just rarely bought by people who realize that’s what it is.
How we picked — and who shouldn’t take any of these
This comparison ranks disclosed facts: electrolyte amounts, sugar, certifications and honest per-serving math, checked July 15–16, 2026 against the brands’ own pages and, for Just Ingredients, the printed label of the box we purchased. Our pick weighs everyday use — a 750 mg zero-sugar, zero-dye formula at the category’s lowest zero-sugar price — over maximum dose; if your training says otherwise, the table gives you LMNT’s numbers without spin, including the certification row it wins outright. Disclosure, as everywhere on this site: Earth Energy and The Ingredient Report are independently operated companies under common ownership, and every brand here is scored with the same published methodology — full scored reviews of all seven are published and linked above. One health note that outranks all rankings: supplemental sodium at these levels is meaningful — if you have high blood pressure, kidney or heart conditions, or follow a sodium-restricted diet, talk with your doctor before making any of these a daily habit.
Frequently asked questions
What’s the best electrolyte powder?
For everyday zero-sugar hydration: Earth Energy Daily Hydration (750 mg sodium, from $0.71/serving; ownership disclosure above). For hard training: LMNT (1,000 mg sodium, NSF Certified for Sport). The table has every number so you can disagree with us precisely.
How much sodium do I need?
It depends on sweat, diet and health — the seven products here span 100 mg (Just Ingredients, FlavCity) to 1,000 mg (LMNT) per serving, and more isn’t automatically better. Sodium-restricted or hypertensive? Ask your doctor before any of these.
Does Liquid I.V. have sugar?
11 g of added sugar per stick — intentionally, as part of its glucose-sodium transport design. If that’s a surprise, you’re the reason this page exists.
What do these cost per serving?
Checked July 15–16, 2026: Nuun $0.75, Just Ingredients $1.00, Earth Energy $1.33 ($0.83–$0.71 on 6-packs), LMNT and Liquid I.V. about $1.50 ($1.30 / $1.09 on subscription). Per 100 mg of sodium, the order changes — see the table.
The Label Brief — free weekly report
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- Earth Energy Supplements — Daily Hydration (Clean Hydration Electrolyte Mix) product page: full Supplement Facts (Na 750, Cl 1,150, K 300, Mg 50, Ca 50, coconut water 500 mg), pricing tiers, stevia, cGMP claim, 1,173 reviews at 4.5. Checked July 15, 2026. earthenergysupplementstore.com/products/electrolytes
- LMNT — ingredients page (Na 1,000 / K 200 / Mg 60, zero sugar, stevia; Raw unflavored 3-ingredient list) and retail listings (pricing $45/30, subscription ~$1.30/serving; NSF Certified for Sport per The Feed listing). Checked July 15, 2026. drinklmnt.com; thefeed.com
- Liquid I.V. — Hydration Multiplier, pricing and panel per brand and retail listings and a dietitian review updated February 2026 (~510 mg Na, ~390 mg K, 11 g added sugar, ~$24/16, $1.09/serving sub). Checked July 15, 2026.
- Nuun — Nuun Sport product page ($7.49/10 tablets; Na 300, K 150, Mg 25, Ca 13, Cl 40; 1 g sugar, stevia; 15% autoship). Checked July 15, 2026. nuunlife.com
- Just Ingredients — Fruit Punch Electrolytes printed box label (Na 100, K 300, Mg 50, Ca 50, Cl 145 per 9.6 g stick; 3 g sugars, 0 added; contains coconut). Purchased and photographed by The Ingredient Report, July 16, 2026. Product pages ($29.99/30-serving tub; “3rd Party Tested (COA)”) checked July 16, 2026. justingredients.com
- Waterboy — Daily Hydration product page and printed box (Na 550, K 140, Mg 20, Cl 830 per stick; 0 sugar; pink Himalayan salt, potassium citrate, magnesium malate, stevia; ~$24.99/12 one-time, ~$19.99 subscription; Waterboy LLC, Austin, TX). Purchased and photographed by The Ingredient Report; checked July 19, 2026. waterboy.com
- FlavCity — Electrolyte variety-pack product page and printed pouch (per-flavor Na ~100–110, K ~200–260, Mg ~150–180; 0 added sugar; organic fruit powders, coconut water, sea salt, stevia; ~$44.99/28, ~$38.24 subscription). Purchased and photographed by The Ingredient Report; checked July 19, 2026. shopflavcity.com
Update history
- July 19, 2026 — Comparison expanded to seven products: Waterboy Daily Hydration (57/100) enters at #3 — a genuine 550 mg zero-sugar sodium dose — and FlavCity Electrolytes (55/100) at #4, the field’s highest magnesium on its lightest sodium. Both bought and photographed by our team; the group photo, table, FAQ and schema are updated to seven.
- July 16, 2026 — Comparison expanded to five products: Just Ingredients Electrolytes scored 54/100 and enters at #4 — the most food-like formula in the field carrying its lightest sodium dose (100 mg, from the label we purchased and photographed). Table, FAQ and schema updated to five.
- July 15, 2026 (later) — Full scored reviews of all four published and linked: LMNT 70, Earth Energy 65, Nuun 54, Liquid I.V. 51. Contender order updated to match scores (Nuun #3, Liquid I.V. #4); the pick module now notes plainly that LMNT took the higher overall score.
- July 15, 2026 — Comparison first published: Earth Energy, LMNT, Liquid I.V., Nuun. All labels and prices checked this date. Next check: August 2026.
Content is for informational purposes only and is not medical advice. Sodium needs vary by individual and health status — consult your healthcare provider. Medical disclaimer.