The 5 Best Energy Drinks in 2023: Our Tested Reviews
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Our product testing team uses the full 30 day serving amount in container before reviewing. Learn more about our review process here.
The global energy drink sales are estimated to reach $53.1 billion by the end of 2022. That's billion, with a "b". Energy drinks have quickly become one of the most consumed beverages by humans.
The category is dominated by your big player like Red Bull and Monster, but there are a lot of other brands that are focusing on energy drinks with a purpose. We say this because traditionally energy drinks were just canned water with caffeine and flavoring. Now, energy drinks are putting performance ingredients in the drink, at respectable dosages, to give users more than just a caffeine high.
While caffeine content ranges in energy drinks from 150 to 300mg, we look at more than just caffeine. We look at flavoring, ingredients, distribution (can you actually find them anywhere) and price point.
Our reviews below may not reflect the published reviews on FitnessInformant.com because our rating system on product reviews weights all attributes evenly (example: a flavor rating holds the same weight as ingredient profile). Rather than copy those directly, our experts rate the drinks based on their own experience and what they feel are the most important attributes.
A Comparison of the Best Energy Drinks
Here's the top 5 picks for the best energy drinks that money can buy:
Product Name | Highlights | Rating |
|---|---|---|
#1 GHOST Energy | Best Overall Energy Drink Highlights:
| Our #1 Rated  9.5 out of 10 |
#2 RYSE Fuel | Highlights:
| Our #2 Rated 9.1 out of 10 |
#3 Lost and Found Energy | Highlights:
| Our #3 Rated 9.0 out of 10 |
#4 RedCon1 Energy Use coupon code INFORMANT to save 20% | Highlights:
| Our #4 Rated 8.9 out of 10 |
#5 C4 Smart Energy | Highlights:
| Our #5 Rated 8.8 out of 10 |
There are hundreds of different brands and variations of pre-workout supplements out there.
How did these 5 make Fitness Informant's top 5 list? Read on and we'll tell you:
#1 GHOST Energy
- Rating: 9.5 out of 10
- Servings: 16oz
- Best For: Top Overall Product
Pros
Cons
In just a few short years, GHOST Energy has become a top 10 selling energy drink in the entire United State. Yes, they are on the list with the monsters (pun intended) like Red Bull, Monster and Rockstar Energy. How did they do that? With their best-in-class flavors, can design and distribution network, GHOST Energy quickly became the fastest growing energy drink brand in America.
GHOST Energy was the first, to our recollection, to offer a fully transparent label on an energy drink. GHOST Energy was more than just caffeinated flavored water. It actually had benefits above and beyond energy that could help in the gym, office or just being more productive in life.
GHOST Energy quickly added more and more flavors and the brand grew. Authentic flavor collaborations with Swedish Fish, Sour Patch Kids, Warheads and Bubblicious gave GHOST an edge over the competition as consumers flocked to buy their favorite candy branded flavors within the GHOST Energy series.
GHOST Energy combines amazing flavors with a quality label, containing the sweet spot of 200mg caffeine. On top of all of that, they entered into agreement with Anheuser Busch to help distribute the energy drink in c-stores, grocery and more.
Who Makes It?
GHOST is one of the fastest growing sports nutrition brands on earth. The brand lives on the value of authenticity. Everything the brand does they do as a brand, which resonates with consumers. GHOST was the Fitness Informant Brand of the Year three times in a row in 2019, 2020 and 2021. GHOST makes reputable supplements in both powders and pills (capsules), but GHOST Energy has really catapulted this brand into a household name.
What's in it?
One can contains:
- 200mg Natural Caffeine - promotes energy
- 1g Acetyl-L-Carnitine (ALCAR) - promotes energy as well as cognitive improvement
- 1g Taurine - aids in regulating electrolytes for hydration and endurance
- 200mg Neurofactor - this comes from coffee fruit and promotes improvement in focus and memory
- 150mg Alpha-GPC - one of the most effective cognitive boosting ingredients on the market
- 25mg AstraGin - promotes ingredient uptake
Bottom Line:
GHOST Energy is the best energy drink on the market today. In terms of label and flavors, they are nearly untouchable at this point. GHOST set the new standard for energy, pushing other brands to put more than just caffeinated water in a can. GHOST Energy would be our top choice to grab if you want a pick-me-up on the run, or just because you enjoy kick-ass flavors.
#2 RYSE Fuel
- Rating: 9.1 out of 10
- Servings: 16oz
Pros
Cons
RYSE Fuel by RYSE Supplements hit the energy drink scene running. The brand quickly jumped on their already established flavor collaborations and brought those to life in canned beverage. On top of their flavors collaborations, which includes Kool-Aid and Sunny D, RYSE Fuel is available in a series of RYSE inspired flavors.
RYSE Fuel gained distribution quickly launching into Vitamin Shoppe, Walmart and many C-Stores around the country. It is one of the most sought out carbonated energy drinks today.
RYSE Fuel bodes a fully transparent formula which indicates the amount of caffeine, Choline Bitartrate and Taurine. As previously mentioned, many brands put these ingredients down below the facts panel, RYSE includes it so the user knows what they are getting. At 200mg caffeine, RYSE Fuel is a beverage you can have multiple per day.
If you're a fan of highly carbonated drinks, this one is it. The one piece of feedback is the carbonation is high enough where we think it tames the flavoring slightly, but we know many of you like that carbonation.
Who Makes It?
RYSE is one of the fastest growing company's in sports nutrition. The brand has solid products across their pills, caps and powder line, but energy is really what is catapulting the brand forward. RYSE is one of four brands that have authentic collaboration on their energy line, securing some of the most nostalgic brands we have come to know and love.
What's In It?
One can contains:
- 200mg Natural Caffeine - natural caffeine tends to have a better impact on people; at 200mg you can consume more than one can per day
- 500mg Choline Bitartate - aids in improving focus and memory
- 500mg Taurine - helps with hydration and potentially reducing the negative side effects of caffeine (jitters)
Bottom Line:
RYSE came out swinging and they hit a home run with their series of energy drinks. RYSE Fuel continues to become readily available and has plans to keep adding more and more flavors to their arsenal. RYSE Fuel is a must-try if you're a fan of nostalgia and flavors.
#3 Lost and Found Energy
- Rating: 9.0 out of 10
- Servings: 16oz
Pros
Cons
Lost and Found Energy, from Primeval Labs, may be a brand you have not heard of before, but you will. Lost and Found is from the makers of Primeval Labs. The brand did basically the opposite of what other sports nutrition brands did and created a beverage with a unique personality that is authentic to them.
The flavors of Found Energy are great. Their offering is currently not that large, with four flavors (Grape, Orange, Glacier Burst and Blue Raspberry) but we're told the brand has plans to expand flavors. All the flavors are great, with the perfect amount of carbonation.
The one thing that we really like about Found Energy is that it contains only 150mg caffeine. While some energy drinks contain up to 300mg caffeine, Found Energy formulated this to have about 2x the amount of caffeine in a cup of coffee and traditional soda, so you can have several in the day and not feel stimed out.
Distribution is the only thing lacking for Lost and Found Energy today. The brand recently partnered with a distributor to help with this, and can be found at national retailers like Vitamin Shoppe, Walmart and Hy-Vee. As they get more and more distribution, and can crack into C-Stores, this will be a brand to really watch out for.
Who Makes It?
Primeval Labs, which it really isn’t known, but the brand does great things in sports nutrition and now brought that to energy. This isn’t their first rodeo with beverage as they have some of the best RTDs in the space. Primeval elected to brand this differently to make it bigger than sports nutrition, and our bet is that it will be.
What's In It?
One can contains:
- 150mg Caffeine - provides energy at an adequate level
- Taurine - aids with hydration
Bottom Line:
The one main reason this finds itself in the top 5 energy drinks is due to the flavoring. It is flavored and carbonated extremely well. While we are not traditionally fans of a blue raspberry flavor, Found Energy's impressed us. Their orange flavor is one of the best we've ever tried. The best part, in our opinion, comes in the form of 150mg caffeine. We consume too much caffeine as it is, so having an option below 200mg is a great change of pace.
#4 RedCon1 Energy
- Rating: 8.9 out of 10
- Servings: 16oz
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Pros
Cons
RedCon1 Energy was an impressive entrant into the canned beverage market for RedCon1. The brand launched several of their staple flavors in powder into canned beverage and it is starting to become a big hit.
RedCon1 Energy features a label with transparency, an impressive thing to do for RedCon1 coming into the space. With that said, the label is rather impressive for an energy drink as well featuring 200mg caffeine, 200mg Alpha-GPC, 1g Carnitine and 1g Taurine. This makes the beverage one of the best dosed energy drinks on the market today.
Flavors are decent across the board. The brand features no authentic collaborations, nor do they need them. The flavoring system is better than a lot of drinks out there, especially with additional add on ingredients found in RedCon1 Energy.
The pitfall to RedCon1 Energy today is it is still fairly new, so it does not have a lot of access to it. Users can get it online at Amazon and Vitamin Shoppe, but it has not yet made its way into other major retail or C-stores.
Who Makes It?
RedCon1, one of the fastest growing sports nutrition brands ever, finally launched a canned energy drink. Although they were later to the game, given their growth, the brand was able to learn from other drink manufactures to make their version. RedCon1, as a brand, is distributed nationally at many major retailers and broadly online.
What's In It?
One can contains:
- 200mg Caffeine - caffeine from Green Coffee Beans providing natural caffeine
- 1g Taurine - for hydration purposes
- 1g Carnitine - a non stimulant ingredient that may aid in fat loss and energy production
- 200mg Alpha-GPC - a choline molecule that improve memory and focus
Bottom Line:
RedCon1 Energy could very well be placed anywhere in anyone's top five. We like it here as we are impressed with the profile and the various flavors they offer. While we do like some other brands' flavoring better, the ingredients selected for RedCon1 Energy are quite impressive with a transparent label. If/when RedCon1 increases its footprint, many more will discover this drink.
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#5 C4 Smart Energy
- Rating: 8.8 out of 10
- Servings: 16oz & 12oz
Pros
Cons
C4 Smart Energy hit the scene and immediately caught our attention due to the use of two key ingredients. Cellucor injected InnovaTea Caffeine and Cognizin Citicoline into a 16oz and 12oz can to give us a very clean energy drink with REAL benefits above energy.
Most of the energy drink market was doing the same thing. The race to a higher caffeine amount with mediocre flavors. C4 Smart Energy looked at the landscape and realized that it was saturated with a lot of the same things, so when everyone was taking a right turn, they went left. What we got was one of our favorite "energy" drinks on the market today.
Yes, the formula isn't fully transparent, but they do clue us in on the dosages of InnovaTea Caffeine and Cognizin, which is extremely important. Cellucor was the first brand that we saw to start using some name-brand ingredients with proven benefits.
On top of a solid formula for an energy drink, the flavors of C4 Smart Energy are solid. Freedom Ice is a clean smooth flavor while Peach may quickly become one of your favorites. Cotton Candy leaves something to be desired but then again we don't think Cotton Candy should ever be a flavor. Electric Sour may very well be the best "sour" candy flavor on the market.
Who Makes It?
Cellucor is the maker of C4 Smart Energy. C4 gets a lot of flack from this world because everyone thinks of the Costco special 2-pack, which, admittedly, is a water-downed formula that we would never suggest here, but their energy line and a lot of the other things they are coming out with are solid AF. Cellucor is putting a lot of effort into their beverage line and they are not half-assing it.
What's In It?
One can contains:
- 200mg Caffeine from InnovaTea - this is caffeine produced from tea leaves which is an all-natural source of clean energy
- 250mg Cognizin Citicoline - brand name cognitive enhancing ingredient proven to improve focus and memory
- N-Acetyl-L-Tyrosine - improves focus
Bottom Line:
Smart Energy from Cellucor is better than the C4 yellow can, in our opinion. The use of natural caffeine and nootropics makes this a great choice for a pick-me-up beverage early morning or mid-day. The flavors are smooth without any bad aftertaste. We liked every flavor we tried. C4 Smart Energy should get more love, so give it some!
Are Energy Drinks Bad For You?
As with anything in the world, too much of one thing can be bad for you. If you have an energy drink here and there we would say there is not much to worry about. However, many of the drinks on the market today are 300mg caffeine. If you have 2-3 of these a day that is a lot. Toss in a pre-workout at 300-400mg and you are on caffeine overload.
If you need a pick-me-up or just want something different, go for it. It is not going to hurt you or kill you. Consume all energy drinks with caution as too many at one time can and will impact your health.
What To Look For In An Energy Drink
The biggest thing to look for in an energy drink is the ingredient responsible for energy: caffeine. If they can does not disclose this amount, put it back down. Try to keep your energy drink caffeine amounts betweeen 150-300mg. We personally like the ones around 200mg as 300mg gets a bit high, especially with other sources of caffeine throughout our day.
Other things you should look for are ingredients that can actually promote a benefit above and beyond energy. Look for cognitive enhancing ingredients like Alpha-GPC, Cognizin, Neurofactor, Choline, ALCAR, Tyrosine and more. Look for REAL dosages as it is always good to know what you get.
You can also look for hydration and electrolyte ingredients like Taurine and Potassium Citrate. These are beneficial to have.
Overall, an energy drink is just that, but it has potential to be so much more. Put your trust in a can that gives you more, not less. The more info, the better.
Our Energy Drink Testing Process
We examined five different areas of each energy drink when we compiled our rankings:
- Ingredients Profile
- Effectiveness
- Taste
- Value
Ingredients Profile
When we review each energy drink on their ingredient profile, we look at the active ingredients being used and their dosages. Somestimes we do not get the amounts listed so this makes it hard for us to give a lot of credit to those energy drinks.
Many energy include a variety of beneficial ingredients, but under dose them proving to be non-effective.
Effectiveness
Effectiveness is an extension of ingredient profile. Do you get adequate energy without the crash? Are there other ingredients that can improve our focus?
Everyone is different. Everyone takes to different ingredients differently at varying dosages. We have tried and tested each of these products throughout the full duration of their container to ensure these products are effective over their life.
Taste
We review taste on two different components. First, how close does the energy drinks taste to the actual name printed on the label. For example, does Blue Raz actually taste like blue raspberry. Second, we review it on overall taste (in our opinion) versus others in the same flavor category.
Value
Value is a combination of ingredient profile, effectiveness, taste, and cost. We do not just look at the price tag like a lot of others do. If a product is priced at a premium, we inform you if it is worth the premium price or not based on all the categories. We look at the overall picture of the energy drink and how it compares to other energy drinks on the market.
Please Note: Many of the “top 10” lists you find online are written by content writers with no in-gym or supplement experience who are paid by the word count to write an article for a website trying to generate money.
These lists are influenced by brands who pay for placement. These lists contain energy drinks that are, for the lack of a better word, garbage.
These products on our "best of: list were used by the author of this article. He used each of the energy drinks listed.
Stop relying on faulty information that is influenced by outside writers and money. This list is the real deal. Here at Fitness Informant, we don’t steer you wrong. Be Informed. Live Fit.
