In case you haven’t heard, energy drinks are back — big time. According to data from Circana, energy drink sales were up 14.6 percent in 2023, amassing a whopping $14.1 billion. Driven in part by the public’s growing interest in functional beverages, the energy drink industry isn’t expected to slow down anytime soon. Custom Market insights predicts that the category will grow by a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.3 percent through 2033.
But despite their popularity, buzz-inducing drinks have continued to come under fire for their often-extreme caffeine content. Panera Bread faced two wrongful death lawsuits in 2023 involving its since-discontinued Charged Lemonade, and the year prior, Logan Paul-backed Prime Hydration was sued for purportedly misleading customers regarding its caffeine content and alleged inclusion of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), a.k.a. “forever chemicals.” With so many energy drinks on the market — and so much controversy surrounding them — it’s important to know just how much caffeine is in the nation’s most popular cans.
In what may come as a shock to some, Red Bull, the U.S.’s largest energy drink brand, actually ranks fairly low in terms of caffeine content with just 80 milligrams per 8.4 ounce can. (The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommends a maximum daily caffeine intake of 400 milligrams for healthy adults.) Comparatively, Celsius — one of the category’s fastest-growing brands — packs a whopping 200 milligrams of caffeine per can. And major player Monster Energy has a wide range of offerings with caffeine contents ranging from 140 milligrams to a colossal 300 milligrams, making it even more challenging to parse out exactly how much of a boost each can contains. (Scroll down for the full rundown.)
Curious to see how much juice is in your favorite pick-me-up? Check out the most popular energy drink brands and their caffeine content below!
The Most Popular Canned Energy Drinks, Ranked by Caffeine Content (Per Standard Can)
| Energy Drink Brand | Milligrams of Caffeine per Standard Can |
|---|---|
| Reign | 300 |
| Bang | 300 |
| 5-Hour Energy | 200 |
| Celsius | 200 |
| Prime | 200 |
| C4 | 200 |
| Fast Twitch by Gatorade | 200 |
| Ghost | 200 |
| Alani Nu | 200 |
| Clean Cause | 160 |
| Full Throttle | 160 |
| Monster Energy | 160 |
| Riot | 160 |
| Rockstar | 160 |
| NOS | 160 |
| Vuka | 160 |
| Gorgie | 150 |
| Guru | 142 |
| G Fuel | 140 |
| Oca | 120 |
| Zevia | 120 |
| Ardor | 100 |
| Mountain Dew Kickstart | 92 |
| Red Bull | 80 |
Monster Energy Drinks, Ranked by Caffeine Content
| Monster Energy Flavor | Milligrams of Caffeine per Standard Can |
|---|---|
| Java Monster Triple Shot French Vanilla | 300 |
| Java Monster Triple Shot Mocha | 300 |
| Java Monster Loca Moca | 200 |
| Java Monster Irish Crème | 200 |
| Java Monster Café Latte | 200 |
| Monster Energy Nitro Super Dry | 180 |
| The Original Monster Energy Super-Premium Import | 170 |
| Java Monster Mean Bean | 170 |
| Rehab Monster Peach Tea | 170 |
| The Original Green Monster Energy | 160 |
| Zero Sugar Monster Energy | 160 |
| Monster Nitro Cosmic Peach | 160 |
| Monster Energy Reserve Peaches N’ Creme | 160 |
| Monster Energy Reserve Kiwi Strawberry | 160 |
| Monster Energy Reserve Pineapple | 160 |
| Monster Energy Reserve Watermelon | 160 |
| Monster Energy Reserve Orange Dreamsicle | 160 |
| Monster Energy Assault | 160 |
| Juice Monster Rio Punch | 160 |
| Juice Monster Aussie Lemonade | 160 |
| Juice Monster Khaotic | 160 |
| Juice Monster Mango Loco | 160 |
| Juice Monster Pacific Punch | 160 |
| Juice Monster Pipeline Punch | 160 |
| Juice Monster Papillon | 160 |
| Rehab Monster Tea & Lemonade | 160 |
| Rehab Monster Wild Berry Tea | 160 |
| Rehab Monster Green Tea | 160 |
| Rehab Monster Strawberry Lemonade | 160 |
| Zero-Sugar Ultra Sunrise | 155 |
| Zero-Sugar Ultra Fantasy Ruby Red | 150 |
| Zero-Sugar Peachy Keen | 150 |
| Zero-Sugar Watermelon | 150 |
| Zero-Sugar Ultra Gold | 150 |
| Zero-Sugar Paradise | 150 |
| Zero-Sugar Ultra Fiesta Mango | 150 |
| Zero-Sugar Ultra Rosa | 150 |
| Zero-Sugar Ultra Violet | 150 |
| Zero-Sugar Ultra Blue | 150 |
| Zero-Sugar Ultra Strawberry Dreams | 150 |
| Rehab Monster Watermelon | 150 |
| Zero-Sugar Ultra Red | 141 |
| The Original Lo-Carb Monster Energy | 140 |
| Zero Ultra a.k.a. The White Monster | 140 |
| Zero-Sugar Ultra Black | 140 |
*Image retrieved from Kenny Eliason via Unsplash.com
