Energy drinks are synonymous with caffeine. The strongest ones often contain around 300 mg of caffeine per serving. The caffeine provides a powerful energy hit, but can also have some negative effects, like jitteriness, insomnia, and a rapid heartbeat. So, what about energy drinks without caffeine?
Not surprisingly, this style is unusual among energy drink brands, including mainstream and niche products. Even non carbonated energy drinks tend to rely on caffeine. However, there are some caffeine free products out there too.
The selection of caffeine free energy drinks isn’t huge and some of these products simply don’t stick around. For example, Bang and Monster once had caffeine free drinks that were very similar to their main product lines. Monster’s version has been discontinued, while Bang’s seems to be on the way out too.
Some caffeine free energy drinks have the traditional flavors that you’re expecting, but this isn’t a guarantee. Many aim to be healthier, so they have a more natural taste. They may also lack some of the other ingredients you’re expecting. However, they can also be better for you than regular energy drinks and may still provide some energy.
So, let’s take a close look at the options that are currently available. Bear in mind, though, this is an ever changing industry. Some of the drinks we’re featuring here may not be available in a few years (or even a few months!).
Top Energy Drinks Without Caffeine (With Pictures!)
VOOZ Hydration Sensation
When we first wrote this list, Bang Energy had a set of caffeine free energy drinks that followed the same styles as their regular energy drinks. These were simply called Caffeine-Free Bang Energy and could easily be ordered from their site.
There were multiple flavors, including Key Lime Pie, Cotton Candy, Birthday Cake Bash, and Miami Cola. The products were all entirely sugar free and caffeine free, with their energy coming from creatine, EAAs, and CoQ10.
You may still find these energy drinks in stores and some places online, including Amazon. However, they’re no longer listed on Bang’s site, which suggests they’re on the way out.
Bang is now offering VOOZ Hydration Sensation as an alternative. This product line is still entirely free from caffeine and sugar, but it doesn’t have the creatine, EAAs, and CoQ10 found in the original Bang Energy Drinks. Instead, there is a collection of electrolytes and some ketones.
While the main focus here is hydration, the ketones could provide a little energy. Remember too that being dehydrated can make you low in energy, so these drinks may help from that perspective.
Zinger Shots
These shots take a completely different approach. They focus on using natural pressed juice. There’s a ginger shot, a turmeric ginger shot, and a few less familiar styles, like a lime and chili shot and an extra hot ginger shot.
Chemicals within these natural ingredients here could provide an energy boost, but that’s not really the point. Instead, most of the boost comes from the intense flavors, which can give you a sudden shock.
This style can work well, as you often don’t need your body to actually produce more energy, you just need a boost to your subjective sense of energy. A sudden shock to your system can do just that (cold showers are another way to see this effect).
While the shots are largely sold in the UK, you can often find them online as well.
G Fuel Hydration
G Fuel has both an energy formula and a hydration formula. The energy formula is what you see in all their energy drinks and does rely heavily on caffeine.
However, their hydration formula still contains some interesting ingredients, while avoiding any caffeine and sugar. You’re getting electrolytes, nutrients for your immune system, and some important amino acids. The hydration focus is actually relevant too, as being dehydrated can lead to fatigue.
This product is mostly sold in the form of tubs, where you mix the drink yourself. However, you may occasionally see bottled versions of the formula as well.
5-Hour Energy Decaf
You guessed it, 5-Hour Energy Decaf is the decaffeinated version of the classic 5-Hour Energy shots. These shots are meant to still give you an energy buzz, without the same high caffeine hit that you get from their regular products.
That said, the key word here is decaf. Like decaffeinated coffee and tea, 5-Hour Energy Decaf does still contain some caffeine. The levels are low though, just 6 mg of caffeine per shot. This should be low enough for most people, even if you’re very sensitive to caffeine.
There are other energy promoting ingredients as well, including taurine and some amino acids.
Purdey’s
Purdey’s is one of the few brands that focuses on natural energy, while avoiding caffeine. Their products rely on a combination of botanicals, fruit juice, and B vitamins.
There are three versions, starting with Refocus. This comes in a can or a bottle, focusing on dark fruits and guarana. Only natural ingredients are used, including carbonated water, fruit juices, and botanical extracts. There’s some guarana to help with energy as well.
Rejuvenate is next. It comes in a can or bottle too, but focuses on grape and apple flavors. It also drops out the guarana and focuses on ginseng instead.
Finally, there’s Replenish, which only seems to come in bottle form. This version has a raspberry and rose flavor. It’s healthier too, with less than 50 calories in each bottle.
Purdey’s is a British brand, so it can be difficult to find in the US. However, some import sites may ship the drinks to you. And, if you’re in the UK, then Purdey’s may already be familiar.
NOCCO BCAA Caffeine Free
The NOCCO BCAA energy drinks are all designed for athletes. They provide 5,000 mg of BCAAs per can, along with some niacin, biotin, vitamin B6, and vitamin B12. They’re also sugar free drinks, which is perfect if you’re watching your calorie intake.
Most of their drinks contain 160 mg of caffeine per serving, but they have two caffeine free flavors as well – Apple and Caribbean. These are easy to spot, as they come in green cans, while the caffeinated ones are in blue cans instead.
The athletic focus means that you won’t see traditional energy drink ingredients, like taurine or guarana. Still, you should get at least a slight energy kick from the caffeine free version.
Update Energy Drink
Update claims that caffeine is obsolete, which is a bold idea. That said, the company does take a very unusual approach, as their drinks include a proprietary ingredient called Paraxanthine. This is an interesting compound that is isolated from caffeine and then refined.
Update claims that the compound has many of the same benefits as caffeine, without any side effects. If this is true, then Update Energy Drink may be the most powerful caffeine free energy drink on the market.
Paraxanthine has been researched, so it’s not a completely unheard of ingredient. Still, the compound is isolated from caffeine and could easily have some unexpected effects. There are also other ingredients in the mix, including 5-HTP, L-Theanine, taurine, allulose, and alpha-GCP. While these do offer benefits, they also include potential side effects and aren’t suitable for everyone.
So, while Update has the potential to be powerful, it’s important to tread carefully with the energy drink. Keep an eye out for any side effects, including grogginess and an energy drop a few hours after consumption.
Genius Pre
The Genius Brand is one of many companies that offers a pre-workout powder. Genius Pre is interesting, as it has some of the energy boosting ingredients you’d expect, without any caffeine at all. There’s also some taurine in the mix.
There are also plenty of workout-based ingredients, such as L-tyrosine, L-arginine, Alpha GPC, beta-alanine, and betaine. Some of the ingredients also double as nootropics, which means they could help to boost attention and mental performance.
Turning this from a powder to an energy drink is easy enough – you just mix it with water. It isn’t as convenient as an energy drink if you’re away from home, but you could just mix up the combo before you leave the house.
MTN OPS Enduro
MTN OPS Enduro is our final example of the non-caffeinated workout supplement approach. This one features L-arginine, L-citrulline, and black pepper extract, along with various vitamins and minerals.
There are fewer ingredients here than in most other workout powders, but this isn’t necessarily a problem. After all, each extra ingredient can come with risks and side effects. Why consume a large number of them if you don’t need to?
Beyond Caffeine
Finally, there’s Beyond Caffeine. This is an Australian brand, but they do ship to the United States and are an interesting option.
Beyond Caffeine isn’t like any energy drink that you’ve seen before. It’s a powder that comes in single serve packets. You mix it with hot or cold water to get something that looks and tastes much like a hot chocolate (there’s also a salted caramel and peanut brittle flavor). Some people add milk to create a creamier drink, but this isn’t essential at all.
The ingredients list is impressive, offering a selection of different nootropic and adaptogen ingredients. These could easily help with energy and cognition, and are a nice change to regular energy drinks.
Beyond Caffeine drinks are sweetened with stevia. This keeps their sugar content low and means there are no artificial sweeteners to worry about.
Make Your Own
You could also experiment with making your own caffeine free energy drinks. There are plenty of recipes out there, including this one from mocktail.net.
Many such recipes rely on an energy powder to provide an energy boost without caffeine. For example, Now Foods offers an Instant Energy B-12 supplement. These focus on vitamin B12, but also include various other B vitamins and creatine.
[DISCONTINUED] Monster Unleaded
Featuring a discontinued drink on this list might seem a bit unfair, but Monster Unleaded deserves a mention, as it was so perfect. The drink was basically just regular Monster, without the caffeine. It tasted like the classic Monster flavor and still contained B vitamins and taurine.
Unfortunately, Monster Unleaded was discontinued back in 2014, so you won’t see it around any more. That said, there are petitions to bring it back (the drink really was that popular). You might sometimes find it in rare Monster auctions, but don’t hold your breath, especially as rare Monster drinks can quickly get expensive.
The big thing here is the flavor. Reddit threads are filled with people who need to avoid caffeine, but miss the taste of energy drinks. Monster Unleaded was the ideal solution and it’s such a shame that it is no longer produced. Hopefully, Monster sees the light and brings it back.
The next closest thing is the caffeine free drinks from Bang. However, these seem to be on their way out too.
Caffeine Free Energy Drinks With Taurine
What about a caffeine free energy drink with taurine? This could be the ideal style, as the taurine means that you’d still get an energy kick, even with no caffeine present.
While this style isn’t common, three of the drinks on this list do contain taurine. Interestingly, they’re quite different from each other.
- Update. This is the only true caffeine free energy drink with taurine. It contains many potentially powerful ingredients and uses a caffeine derivative rather than caffeine itself.
- 5-Hour Energy Decaf. This contains most of the same ingredients as regular 5-Hour Energy shots, just without the caffeine. But, importantly, because this is a decaffeinated drink, it still contains a tiny amount of caffeine (6 mg for the shot).
- Genius Pre. This is actually a pre-workout powder, but once mixed it functions much like an energy drink. There are plenty of powerful ingredients that could help with muscle growth, mental functioning, and energy.
Do Energy Drinks Work Without The Caffeine?
Most of the energy kick from your drink comes from the caffeine. So, getting rid of the caffeine definitely makes these drinks less powerful. Many of them cut out the sugar as well. Doing so certainly makes the drinks healthier, but also means you won’t get a sugar buzz.
So, what’s left?
There’s a variety of ingredients that might be included. Most of them can provide some energy in some situations but aren’t the powerhouses you might expect.
B Vitamins
B vitamins, particularly vitamin B12, are often used in energy products. There’s some merit to the idea too, as B vitamins are critical in our energy metabolism.
As such, B vitamins can sometimes help with energy levels. There’s a catch here, though. You can’t simply consume more B vitamins to get extra energy. Instead, B vitamins will only help if you’re deficient in them.
If you aren’t getting enough B vitamins, then an energy drink that uses these will give you an energy hit. However, if you get plenty of B vitamins in your diet, extra B vitamins aren’t going to help much.
Electrolytes
Electrolytes follow a similar pattern. They’re important in energy production, but excess electrolytes won’t give you more energy (going overboard could even be harmful).
That said, electrolytes are often relevant, particularly for athletes. If you’re losing a lot of liquid through sweat, then you’ll need to top your electrolytes back up. The right energy drink might help with this and could give you a sense of increased energy at the same time.
Amino Acids
Amino acids sometimes feature in energy drinks too. Taurine and branched chain amino acids (BCAAs) are particularly common.
Essential amino acids, including BCAAs, can help your body to function well, which includes decreasing fatigue. These are particularly relevant for athletes, who may be pushing their bodies and need more from their diet than the rest of us.
Taurine is a little different. This amino acid is only conditionally essential and our bodies can produce it, so it isn’t a huge deal. However, taurine is thought to increase energy and athletic performance in some situations.
Other Ingredients
There are plenty of other ingredients that might be included, such as herbal extracts. Such extracts do have potential, as we know that herbs and spices have many impacts on health.
You’ll also see some products that focus on giving you a hit of flavor, like the Zinger shots. The shock from these drinks really can be enough to make you feel energized. You could do something similar with homemade ginger shots.
That energy buzz might not last long, but it’s often enough to get you moving and back into your day. The momentum you get from doing so may keep your energy at a good level for hours.
So Do They Work?
As you can see, many of the ingredients in caffeine free energy drinks do have potential and may work well in some situations. However, you lose a lot by dropping out the caffeine.
It’s also worth noting that caffeine free energy drinks aren’t always trying to provide energy. Some products are simply trying to recreate the flavor of traditional energy drinks, just without the caffeine.
Final Thoughts
Caffeine free energy drinks will never give you as much energy as those with caffeine. There’s no doubt about that.
But, they’re not useless either. You could easily get some energy from the various ingredients, particularly if you were deficient in any area.
Caffeine free energy drinks could also be more sustainable. After all, heavily relying on caffeine never works well in the long term. You simply end up increasing your caffeine tolerance, which makes caffeine less effective.
Plus, focusing on caffeine can mean that you miss out on other healthy practices, like getting enough sleep and exercising. Caffeine free products may help you to keep a good balance, without giving up the pleasure of energy drinks.
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