Liquid I.V. vs Gatorade vs Pedialyte vs DripDrop: Which to Buy
Buy Pedialyte AdvancedCare Plus. A packet has 650 mg of sodium and 840 mg of chloride, the most of these five: Liquid I.V. has 500 mg of sodium, Gatorlyte 420 mg and a DripDrop stick 330 mg. Want no sugar? Buy Liquid I.V. Sugar-Free.
By Erin Rose Updated October 13, 2026 Methodology
Our pick
Pedialyte AdvancedCare Plus
- Cost
- No brand list price we can cite
- Testing
- No public testing list
No sugar? Buy Liquid I.V. Sugar-Free. Same 500 mg of sodium and 370 mg of potassium, 0 g of sugar, $1.56 a stick at list price. Check the price.
Before you buy. These sticks are not a treatment for vomiting or diarrhea. Abbott, which makes Pedialyte, says it is made for dehydration (pedialyte.com); still, if you are sick, ask a doctor or pharmacist what to drink. If a child is sick or seems dehydrated, call the child’s pediatrician.
Ask your doctor first if you have high blood pressure, heart failure or kidney disease, are on a low-salt diet, or take a water pill (diuretic), an ACE inhibitor, an ARB or other blood pressure medicine. These drinks hold both sodium and potassium.
All five, side by side
Each brand’s main stick, plus Liquid I.V.’s sugar-free one. “Gatorade” here is Gatorlyte, Gatorade’s electrolyte stick.
| Per stick | Sodium | Potassium | Sugar | List price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Pedialyte AdvancedCare Plusmix with 16 fl ozCheck price | 650 mg | 370 mg | 10 g | No list price |
 Liquid I.V.mix with 16 fl ozCheck price | 500 mg | 370 mg | 11 g* | $1.56 |
 Liquid I.V. Sugar-Freemix with 16 fl ozCheck price | 500 mg | 370 mg | 0 g | $1.56 |
 Gatorlytemix with 16 to 20 fl ozCheck price | 420 mg | 300 mg | 9 g | No list price |
 DripDropmix with 8 fl ozCheck price | 330 mg | 180 mg | 7 g | $1.12 |
* Total carbohydrate: Liquid I.V.’s NIH label (292656) lists no sugar line. List price is each brand’s own regular price, checked September 29, 2026; Pedialyte and Gatorlyte have none we can cite.
The extras differ. Pedialyte lists 840 mg of chloride, the other half of salt. Gatorlyte lists chloride (640 mg), magnesium (95 mg) and calcium (100 mg). DripDrop lists 40 mg of magnesium. Liquid I.V. adds B vitamins and vitamin C. For sweeteners, Pedialyte uses dextrose with sucralose and acesulfame potassium; Liquid I.V. uses cane sugar, dextrose and stevia, and its Sugar-Free stick uses allulose and stevia. DripDrop uses sugar, fructose, dextrose and sucralose.
How much is in a 16 oz glass?
The sticks are made for different amounts of water, so a fair test is a 16 fl oz glass mixed the way each label says. DripDrop takes two 8 oz sticks for that glass. Gatorade’s listings say to mix a Gatorlyte stick with 16 to 20 fl oz, so we show both ends.
| 16 fl oz glass | Sodium | Sugar | List price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pedialyte AdvancedCare Plus | 650 mg | 10 g | No list price |
| Liquid I.V. | 500 mg | 11 g | $1.56 |
| Liquid I.V. Sugar-Free | 500 mg | 0 g | $1.56 |
| Gatorlyte | 336 to 420 mg | 7.2 to 9 g | No list price |
| DripDrop | 660 mg | 14 g | $2.25 |
Pedialyte and DripDrop have the most sodium per glass; Liquid I.V. has less, and Gatorlyte less again. As a yardstick only, the World Health Organization’s oral rehydration formula works out to about 816 mg of sodium and 6.4 g of glucose per 16 fl oz. Every stick here has more sugar than that, except Liquid I.V. Sugar-Free, which has none. That WHO formula is a medical treatment for dehydration from illness; a sports drink is not.
Price per 500 mg of sodium
Three of the five have a brand list price we can cite. Per 500 mg of sodium, Liquid I.V. Sugar-Free costs the least of them. Pedialyte and Gatorlyte are sold through stores, with no brand list price, so we leave them unpriced. For comparison, our overall pick for exercise, Transparent Labs Hydrate, costs $0.75 per 500 mg at list price (the full ranking).
| Box | List price | Sticks | Per 500 mg sodium |
|---|---|---|---|
| Liquid I.V. Sugar-Free | $21.84 | 14 | $1.56 |
| Liquid I.V. | $24.99 | 16 | $1.56 |
| DripDrop | $35.99 | 32 | $1.70 |
| Pedialyte AdvancedCare Plus | No list price | – | No list price |
| Gatorlyte | No list price | – | No list price |
Store prices differ from list prices. To check a box you see somewhere, divide its price by its sticks.
Testing: none of these boxes is on a public list
We searched NSF Certified for Sport, NSF/ANSI 173 and Informed Choice on October 12, 2026. None lists the boxes we price. NSF Certified for Sport does list Liquid I.V. Sugar-Free in Raspberry Lemonade and a larger 21 g DripDrop stick, but not the Lemon Lime or the 8 oz sticks here. USP Verified and Informed Sport blocked our searches, so we could not check them. If you are drug-tested for sport, pick a tested drink from the best electrolyte drinks instead.
How we checked this
We searched each program’s own list for each brand on October 12, 2026. “Not listed” means no listing for the box we price.
| Program | Result |
|---|---|
| NSF Certified for Sport | Liquid I.V. Sugar-Free Raspberry Lemonade (1760191) and DripDrop 21 g sticks (1204217). Not the boxes priced here. No Pedialyte or Gatorlyte. |
| NSF/ANSI 173 | None of the five brands |
| Informed Choice | None of the five brands |
| USP Verified, Informed Sport | Could not check (the sites blocked our searches) |
We compare only what the labels list, not what the boxes promise.
Who should buy which
- You want the most sodium a packetPedialyte AdvancedCare Plus
650 mg of sodium and 840 mg of chloride a packet.
- You want no sugarLiquid I.V. Sugar-Free
500 mg of sodium, 0 g of sugar, $1.56 a stick at list price.
- You want magnesium tooGatorlyte
420 mg of sodium and 95 mg of magnesium a stick.
- You drink smaller amountsDripDrop
Each stick makes 8 fl oz, at $1.12 at list price.
- Your workout is under an hour and not very hardWater
Harvard Health says plain water is fine for most moderate workouts under an hour.
More: LMNT vs Liquid I.V., Gatorade alternatives, every electrolyte formula compared and the best electrolyte drinks.
Questions
Is Liquid I.V. better than Gatorade?
It depends which Gatorade. Gatorlyte, Gatorade’s electrolyte stick, has less sodium than Liquid I.V. (420 mg vs 500 mg a stick) but adds 95 mg of magnesium. Regular Gatorade Thirst Quencher is a sports drink: Gatorade says it is for exercise longer than 60 minutes or high-intensity exercise, with “carbohydrate energy to help refuel working muscles.”
Is Liquid I.V. better than Pedialyte?
Not on the label. Pedialyte AdvancedCare Plus has more sodium (650 mg vs 500 mg) and lists chloride, in the same 16 fl oz of water. Liquid I.V. adds B vitamins and vitamin C; Pedialyte uses sucralose and acesulfame potassium along with sugar.
Is DripDrop or Pedialyte better?
In the glass they are close: per 16 fl oz, DripDrop (two 8 oz sticks) gives 660 mg of sodium and Pedialyte AdvancedCare Plus 650 mg. Two DripDrop sticks cost $2.25 at DripDrop’s list price; Pedialyte has no brand list price we can cite. Abbott says Pedialyte is made for dehydration. If you or a child is sick, ask a doctor what to drink.
Is Gatorlyte the same as Gatorade?
No. Gatorlyte is Gatorade’s electrolyte powder. A stick has 420 mg of sodium, 300 mg of potassium and 95 mg of magnesium with 9 g of sugar. Regular Gatorade Thirst Quencher is a sports drink; Gatorade says a single-serve powder packet has 230 mg of sodium.
Do I need an electrolyte drink at all?
Often not. Harvard Health says: “Most of the time, plain water is fine for rehydrating during or after any moderate-intensity activity that lasts under an hour.” Harvard suggests saving electrolyte drinks for hard exercise that lasts an hour or more, or for hot or humid weather. For babies, young children or anyone who is sick, ask a doctor what to give.
Sources
- Labels: the Nutrition Facts panel on each Amazon listing, read October 12, 2026: Pedialyte AdvancedCare Plus, 18 packets; Liquid I.V. Lemon Lime, 16 sticks; Liquid I.V. Sugar-Free Lemon Lime, 14 sticks; Gatorlyte Orange, 48 sticks; DripDrop Watermelon, 32 sticks. Gatorade Thirst Quencher sodium: gatorade.com. Water to mix: Liquid I.V. “Add 1 stick to 16 oz of water” (NIH DSLD 292656); Pedialyte AdvancedCare Plus, Abbott’s 1,380 mg of sodium per liter (650 mg in about 16 fl oz); DripDrop, “one stick … into 8oz of water” (dripdrop.com); Gatorlyte, “Add contents of one packet to 16 fl oz of water” (Cherry Lime packet, Giant listing) and “Makes 20 Fl Oz” (Amazon 48-pack). Gatorade Thirst Quencher use: gatorade.com.
- World Health Organization and UNICEF. Oral rehydration salts: production of the new ORS. WHO/FCH/CAH/06.1, 2006, Table 2. who.int
- Testing: NSF Certified for Sport 1760191 (Liquid I.V. Sugar-Free Raspberry Lemonade) and 1204217 (DripDrop Watermelon, 21 g); NSF/ANSI 173; Informed Choice. All searched October 12, 2026.
- Harvard Health Publishing. “Gatorade. Liquid IV. Do you need extra electrolytes?” health.harvard.edu, read October 12, 2026.