Liquid I.V. vs Gatorade: Sodium, Sugar and Price Compared
Love Life Supplements
Reviewed by Sarah Law, Dip CNM, Naturopathic Nutritionist
Liquid I.V. vs Gatorade, in short: Liquid I.V. is the stronger electrolyte drink and Gatorade is the stronger fuel drink. A Liquid I.V. Hydration Multiplier stick (16 g, mixed into 16 oz of water) gives 500 mg of sodium, 370 mg of potassium and 11 g of sugar, plus vitamin C and four B vitamins. A Gatorade Thirst Quencher powder stick (35 g, makes 16 fl oz) gives 230 mg of sodium, 70 mg of potassium and 33 g of carbohydrate, 32 g of it added sugar, as printed on each brand's own nutrition panel. That makes Liquid I.V. the better pick for most everyday drinking and for heavy, salty sweaters, and Gatorade the better pick during long, hard sessions over about an hour, where its sugar is fuel. Gatorade is cheaper per stick ($0.90 against $1.56 on each brand's US site on 11 November 2026), but Liquid I.V. gives more sodium for the money. The sugar-free versions narrow the gap: Liquid I.V. Sugar-Free keeps 500 mg of sodium, while Gatorade Zero has 270 mg. If you want the sodium without the sugar, our Love Life Supplements Ultimate Electrolytes gives 500 mg sodium, 500 mg potassium and 150 mg magnesium per serving with no sugar, from £0.84 a serving on our UK store and $0.95 on our US store for a new subscriber.
Our figures come from our printed labels and an independent lab report. Ultimate Electrolytes supplies 500 mg of sodium from Himalayan fine pink salt, 500 mg of potassium from potassium chloride (26% of the UK NRV) and 150 mg of magnesium from magnesium malate (40% of the UK NRV) per serving, mixed into 500 ml of water. A tub holds 30 servings: 5 g scoops for most flavoured tubs (4 g for Watermelon), sweetened with steviol glycosides, and 3.2 g for the Unflavoured tub, which is just the three mineral salts. Lot 33447931 (Orange and Lime) was tested by Certified Group, an ISO/IEC 17025 accredited laboratory in California (report 25-660895), which measured 610 mg sodium, 564 mg potassium and 165 mg magnesium per 5 g serving. A tub is £27.95 on our UK store (Unflavoured £24.95) and $31.55 on our US store, or £25.16 and $28.40 for the first Subscribe & Save order. Verified buyers rate it 4.7 out of 5 across 212 ratings, and it carries our 60-day money-back guarantee.
Ultimate Electrolytes: 500 mg sodium, 500 mg potassium and 150 mg magnesium per 500 ml serving, no sugar, sweetened with stevia, six flavours including Unflavoured.
View product- Sodium: Liquid I.V. has more than twice as much. 500 mg per stick against 230 mg in Gatorade Thirst Quencher and 270 mg in Gatorade Zero. Gatorlyte, Gatorade's own rapid-rehydration line, sits in between at 420 mg.
- Sugar: Gatorade has about three times as much. 32 g of added sugar per Thirst Quencher stick (65% of the US Daily Value) against 11 g in Liquid I.V. (22%).
- The sugar has a job in long sessions. Carbohydrate guidance for exercise lasting two to three hours is up to about 60 g an hour, which is roughly two Gatorade sticks or more than five Liquid I.V. sticks.6
- Sitting still, neither beats water by much. In a 72-person trial, a sports drink drunk at rest was retained no better than still water; an oral rehydration solution was.3
- Price per stick favours Gatorade, price per milligram of sodium favours Liquid I.V. $3.91 per 1,000 mg of sodium for Gatorade Thirst Quencher against $3.12 for Liquid I.V. at full price.
- The UK versions are different drinks. Liquid I.V. UK lists 530 mg sodium per stick; Gatorade's UK site sells Hydration Booster sachets (375 mg sodium, 10 g sugar), not Thirst Quencher.
Liquid I.V. vs Gatorade: the labels side by side
Liquid I.V. has more sodium, more potassium and much less sugar per serving than Gatorade Thirst Quencher; Gatorade has more carbohydrate and no added vitamins. The table below is copied from each brand's own nutrition panel or ingredient list, read on 11 November 2026, using Lemon Lime where a brand sells it (Cherry Lime for Gatorlyte). Liquid I.V. says its Hydration Multiplier has "3x the electrolytes of the leading sports drink"; on the panels, its stick has 870 mg of sodium plus potassium against 300 mg in a Thirst Quencher stick.
| Drink (one serving) | Mix with | Sodium | Potassium | Sugars (carbohydrate) | Sweetened with |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liquid I.V. Hydration Multiplier (US, 16 g stick) | 16 oz (473 ml) | 500 mg | 370 mg | 11 g added (11 g) | Cane sugar, dextrose, stevia |
| Liquid I.V. Sugar-Free (US, 13 g stick) | 16 oz (473 ml) | 500 mg | 370 mg | 0 g (5 g) | Allulose and amino acid blend, stevia |
| Gatorade Thirst Quencher powder (35 g stick) | 16 fl oz on the panel; 15 to 20 oz on the page | 230 mg | 70 mg | 32 g added (33 g) | Sugar, dextrose |
| Gatorade Zero powder (3.5 g stick) | 20 fl oz (591 ml) | 270 mg | 80 mg | 0 g (under 1 g) | Sucralose, acesulfame potassium |
| Gatorlyte (15 g stick) | 15 to 20 oz | 420 mg | 300 mg | 9 g added (10 g) | Sugar, stevia leaf extract |
| Liquid I.V. Hydration Multiplier (UK, 1 stick) | 500 ml | 530 mg | 370 mg | Not split out (13 g) | Sugar, dextrose, steviol glycosides |
| Hydration Booster by Gatorade (UK, 13.5 g sachet) | 500 ml | 375 mg (0.94 g salt) | Not stated | 10 g (11 g) | Sugar, steviol glycosides |
| Love Life Supplements Ultimate Electrolytes (5 g scoop) | 500 ml | 500 mg | 500 mg, plus 150 mg magnesium | No sugar in the ingredients | Steviol glycosides (Unflavoured: none) |
Sources: each brand's own nutrition panel or ingredient list, read 11 November 2026 (references 15 to 20); our row from our printed labels. Gatorade Zero's FAQ says 70 mg potassium and Gatorlyte's FAQ says 490 mg sodium and 350 mg potassium; we used the printed panels. Gatorlyte also lists 100 mg calcium, 95 mg magnesium and 640 mg chloride. Liquid I.V. adds vitamin C 62 mg, niacin 19.3 mg, vitamin B6 1.93 mg, vitamin B12 5.79 mcg and pantothenic acid 9.6 mg per US stick.
Two things stand out. First, Gatorade sells three quite different drinks under one name: Thirst Quencher is a carbohydrate drink with some salt, Zero is a light electrolyte drink with no sugar, and Gatorlyte is Gatorade's higher-electrolyte, lower-sugar answer to drinks like Liquid I.V. Second, Liquid I.V. is the only one of these that adds a vitamin blend, with more than 100% of the US Daily Value for niacin, vitamin B6, vitamin B12 and pantothenic acid in every stick. Our full Liquid I.V. review covers that blend and the Sugar-Free formula in more detail.
Is Liquid I.V. better than Gatorade?
Liquid I.V. is better for everyday hydration and for replacing salt after heavy sweating; Gatorade Thirst Quencher is better as fuel during long, hard exercise. The deciding question is whether you need the sugar.
- Sodium is what helps you keep the fluid you drink. After sweating, drinks with more sodium are retained better than drinks with little (more on the research below).1,2 Liquid I.V. carries more than twice the sodium of a Thirst Quencher stick in a similar volume of water.
- Carbohydrate is what keeps you going in long sessions. For exercise of about an hour, small amounts of carbohydrate are enough; for two to three hours, guidance published by a Gatorade Sports Science Institute researcher is up to about 60 g an hour.6 A Thirst Quencher stick gives 33 g, so it fits that job; Liquid I.V. gives 11 g.
- Away from exercise, the sugar is just sugar. One Thirst Quencher stick is 32 g of added sugar, more than the NHS adult maximum of 30 g of free sugars a day and 65% of the FDA's 50 g Daily Value for added sugars.9,10
- Gatorade itself draws this line. Its own Gatorade Zero FAQ says the zero-sugar version is best for lighter or shorter activity, while Thirst Quencher provides fuel for workouts longer than 60 minutes.
"When clients ask me which sports drink to buy, I ask what their day looks like first. For a long, hot training session the sugar in a classic sports drink is doing a job, but for an afternoon at a desk it is mostly extra sugar, and a lower-sugar drink with proper sodium, or simply water and a decent meal, usually makes more sense."
Sarah Law, Naturopathic Nutritionist | Optimised Female
How much sodium is in Liquid I.V. vs Gatorade once mixed?
Mixed as directed, Liquid I.V. comes out at about 46 mmol of sodium per litre and Gatorade Thirst Quencher at about 21 mmol per litre, so Liquid I.V. is roughly twice as salty in the bottle. Concentration matters more than the headline milligrams, because a drink mixed into more water is weaker. We converted each brand's own sodium figure and mixing volume (1 mmol of sodium = 23 mg).
| Drink | Sodium per serving | Water as directed | Sodium per litre | Carbohydrate in the drink |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liquid I.V. Hydration Multiplier (US) | 500 mg | 16 oz (473 ml) | about 46 mmol/L | about 2.3% |
| Liquid I.V. Sugar-Free (US) | 500 mg | 16 oz (473 ml) | about 46 mmol/L | about 1.1% |
| Gatorade Thirst Quencher stick | 230 mg | 16 fl oz (473 ml) | about 21 mmol/L | about 7.0% |
| Gatorade Zero stick | 270 mg | 20 fl oz (591 ml) | about 20 mmol/L | under 0.2% |
| Gatorlyte stick | 420 mg | 15 to 20 oz | about 31 to 41 mmol/L | about 1.7 to 2.3% |
| Hydration Booster by Gatorade (UK) | 375 mg | 500 ml | about 33 mmol/L | about 2.2% |
| Ultimate Electrolytes | 500 mg | 500 ml | about 43 mmol/L | no sugar in the ingredients |
Our arithmetic from each brand's printed sodium, carbohydrate and mixing volume, 11 November 2026. Liquid I.V. UK (530 mg in 500 ml) works out at about 46 mmol/L.
Why this matters: in a classic rehydration trial, six men who had sweated off 1.9% of their body mass drank one and a half times that loss as drinks containing 2, 26, 52 or 100 mmol/L of sodium. Five and a half hours later they were 689 ml and 359 ml short on the two weakest drinks, and roughly back to balance on the 52 and 100 mmol/L drinks.1 A larger follow-up found the same pattern: more sodium and more volume both helped people keep more of what they drank.2 Gatorade Thirst Quencher sits close to the 26 mmol/L drink in that trial and Liquid I.V. close to the 52 mmol/L drink. It is a small, single study in young men, so read it as a direction rather than a rule.
How much sodium you lose varies a lot. Across 1,303 athletes tested by the Gatorade Sports Science Institute, endurance athletes lost an average of 51.7 mmol of sodium an hour (about 1,190 mg) and soccer players 34.6 mmol (about 800 mg), with wide spread around both figures.4,7 At that average endurance rate, one Liquid I.V. stick or one of our servings (500 mg) replaces roughly 25 minutes of sodium loss, and one Thirst Quencher stick (230 mg) about 12 minutes. Our electrolytes for runners guide works through sodium per hour in detail.
How much sugar is in Liquid I.V. vs Gatorade?
A Gatorade Thirst Quencher stick has 32 g of added sugar and a Liquid I.V. Hydration Multiplier stick has 11 g, according to each brand's US nutrition panel. Gatorade's own website puts the bottled drink at 34 g of total sugars per 20 oz serving, and its FAQ says the powder gives similar sugars and calories to the bottle when mixed correctly. Both sugar-free versions list 0 g.
Put against daily guidance, one Thirst Quencher stick is more than the NHS limit of 30 g of free sugars a day for adults, and 65% of the FDA's 50 g Daily Value for added sugars.9,10 One Liquid I.V. stick is 22% of that Daily Value. In the UK, Liquid I.V. lists 13 g of carbohydrate per stick and Hydration Booster by Gatorade lists 10 g of sugars per 500 ml.
The sugar is not pointless. Liquid I.V. says sugar and salt are in its formula "for function, not for taste", and Gatorade UK uses the authorised claim that carbohydrate-electrolyte solutions enhance the absorption of water during physical exercise. During long exercise, carbohydrate also supplies energy.6 The question is whether you are exercising when you drink it. If you mostly drink electrolytes at a desk, while fasting or on a low-carbohydrate diet, a sugar-free mix makes more sense; our sugar-free electrolyte powder comparison and our guide to electrolytes on keto and fasting cover those.
Does Liquid I.V. or Gatorade hydrate better than water?
Only in some situations. If you are already well hydrated and not sweating, a standard sports drink is retained about as well as plain water. In a randomised trial of 72 men who drank a litre of one of 13 drinks at rest, urine output over four hours after a sports drink was no different from still water, while an oral rehydration solution, full-fat milk and skimmed milk were all retained better.3
That fits the sodium story. A classic sports drink like Gatorade Thirst Quencher is mostly water and sugar with a little salt, so at rest it behaves much like water. Higher-sodium mixes move closer to an oral rehydration solution, which is why Liquid I.V. describes its formula as giving "faster hydration than water alone". After real sweating, the American College of Sports Medicine says drinks with electrolytes and carbohydrate can help over water alone under certain circumstances, and that fluid plans should be individual because sweat rates and sweat salt vary so much.5
Neither Liquid I.V.'s nor Gatorade's everyday products are medical rehydration products. For fluid loss from illness, ask a pharmacist about a medical oral rehydration solution; our article on electrolytes vs sports drinks explains the difference, and the electrolytes for hangovers comparison covers the morning-after question.
Gatorade Zero vs Liquid I.V. Sugar-Free
Liquid I.V. Sugar-Free gives nearly twice the sodium and more than four times the potassium of Gatorade Zero, for about twice the price per stick. Per stick, Liquid I.V. Sugar-Free lists 500 mg of sodium, 370 mg of potassium, 5 g of carbohydrate and 0 g of sugars, plus the same vitamin blend as the original. Gatorade Zero lists 270 mg of sodium, 80 mg of potassium, under 1 g of carbohydrate and 0 g of sugars, with no added vitamins.
The sweeteners differ too. Gatorade Zero uses sucralose and acesulfame potassium, with maltodextrin and modified tapioca starch in the powder; Liquid I.V. Sugar-Free uses what it calls an amino acid and allulose blend with stevia; ours uses steviol glycosides, and the Unflavoured tub has no sweetener at all. Gatorade Zero cost $23.96 for 32 sticks ($0.75 each) on gatorade.com on 11 November 2026, and Liquid I.V. Sugar-Free $21.84 for 14 ($1.56 each). If you want Gatorade's low price with more sodium, Gatorlyte is Gatorade's own middle option, but every Gatorlyte flavour we checked was out of stock on gatorade.com that day, so we could not record a price.
Liquid I.V. vs Gatorade price: per stick and per 1,000 mg of sodium
Gatorade is cheaper per stick; Liquid I.V. is cheaper per milligram of sodium. Prices below were read from each brand's own website on 11 November 2026, in the currency each store sells in; we did not convert currencies.
US prices
| Product (US store) | Pack price | Per serving | Subscribe price per serving | Per 1,000 mg sodium |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liquid I.V. Hydration Multiplier, 16 sticks | $24.99 | $1.56 | $1.09 (30% off) | $3.12 ($2.19 subscribed) |
| Liquid I.V. Sugar-Free, 14 sticks | $21.84 | $1.56 | $1.09 (30% off) | $3.12 ($2.18 subscribed) |
| Gatorade Thirst Quencher, 30 sticks | $26.97 | $0.90 | $0.81 | $3.91 ($3.52 subscribed) |
| Gatorade Zero, 32 sticks | $23.96 | $0.75 | $0.67 | $2.77 ($2.50 subscribed) |
| Gatorlyte, 18 sticks | Out of stock, no price shown | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Love Life Supplements Ultimate Electrolytes, 30 servings | $31.55 | $1.05 | $0.95 (first order) | $2.10 ($1.89 subscribed) |
liquid-iv.com, gatorade.com and lovelifesupplements.com, read 11 November 2026. Gatorade Zero was also listed at $58.79 for 96 sticks ($0.61 each) on a sale price. Our subscribe price is the first Subscribe & Save order; later orders step up to 15% off.
UK prices
| Product (UK store) | Pack price | Per serving | Larger pack per serving | Per 1,000 mg sodium |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liquid I.V. Hydration Multiplier UK, 16 sticks | £13.99 | £0.87 | £0.81 (24-stick variety pack, £19.49) | £1.65 |
| Hydration Booster by Gatorade, 12 sachets | £17.00 | £1.42 | £1.28 (36 sachets, £45.90) | £3.78 (£3.40 on 36) |
| Love Life Supplements Ultimate Electrolytes, 30 servings | £27.95 | £0.93 | £0.84 (first Subscribe & Save order, £25.16) | £1.86 (£1.68 subscribed) |
liquid-iv.co.uk, gatorade.co.uk and lovelifesupplements.co.uk, read 11 November 2026. Gatorade UK also offers subscriptions (60 servings for £63.75 every 8 weeks, £1.06 a serving).
On these numbers, Liquid I.V. is the cheaper way to buy sodium in the UK, while ours is the cheaper way in the US and the only one here with 500 mg of potassium and 150 mg of magnesium as well. If you need carbohydrate for long sessions, Gatorade Thirst Quencher is the cheapest source of it in this list. For a wider price comparison including LMNT, see LMNT vs Liquid I.V. vs Ultimate Electrolytes, and for another head-to-head, DripDrop vs Liquid I.V.
Liquid I.V., Gatorade or neither: which should you pick?
Pick by what you are doing when you drink it. These are the patterns that follow from the labels and the research above.
Quick chooser
Gatorade Thirst Quencher, or any drink with 30 g or more of carbohydrate, for fuel. Heavy, salty sweaters may want extra sodium on top, from Gatorlyte, Liquid I.V. or salty food.
Liquid I.V. or a sugar-free mix with around 500 mg of sodium. The 33 g of sugar in a Thirst Quencher stick is more fuel than a short session needs.
A sugar-free option: Liquid I.V. Sugar-Free, Gatorade Zero, or our Ultimate Electrolytes with 500 mg sodium and no sugar. Or plain water with normal meals, which is enough for most people.
Gatorade Zero at about $0.75 in the US, accepting about half the sodium of Liquid I.V. In the UK, Liquid I.V. at £0.87 a stick was the cheapest per serving and per milligram of sodium.
How much sodium, potassium and sugar a day? UK and US guidance
The UK and the US set different reference figures, and they measure different things, so we show both side by side. Use them to see where one drink fits into a whole day, not as targets to hit from drinks.
| Nutrient | UK reference | US reference | One serving gives |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sodium | NHS: no more than 6 g of salt a day for adults (about 2.4 g sodium)8 | FDA Daily Value 2,300 mg10 | Liquid I.V. 500 mg; Gatorade Thirst Quencher 230 mg; ours 500 mg |
| Potassium | Label NRV 2,000 mg; NHS: adults 19 to 64 need 3,500 mg a day11,14 | NIH Adequate Intake 3,400 mg men, 2,600 mg women12 | Liquid I.V. 370 mg; Gatorade 70 mg; ours 500 mg (26% NRV) |
| Added or free sugars | NHS: no more than 30 g of free sugars a day for adults9 | FDA Daily Value 50 g of added sugars10 | Liquid I.V. 11 g; Gatorade 32 g; Zero, Sugar-Free and ours 0 g |
| Magnesium | Label NRV 375 mg; NHS: 300 mg men, 270 mg women11,14 | NIH RDA 400 to 420 mg men, 310 to 320 mg women; upper limit 350 mg from supplements13 | Gatorlyte 95 mg; ours 150 mg (40% NRV); Liquid I.V. and Gatorade Thirst Quencher none listed |
NRV = nutrient reference value used on UK labels. RDA = Recommended Dietary Allowance; Adequate Intake is used where no RDA is set. Daily Values are the figures used on US labels.
Magnesium contributes to electrolyte balance and to the reduction of tiredness and fatigue, and potassium contributes to normal muscle function; those are the authorised wordings for these minerals. Our article on whether you can drink electrolytes every day covers daily use of any mix, including how the sodium adds up alongside food.
Who should check before using Liquid I.V. or Gatorade?
Most healthy adults can use either drink occasionally, but some people should check with a doctor or pharmacist first:
- anyone told to limit salt, or with high blood pressure, kidney or heart problems, because one Liquid I.V. stick is about a fifth of the US sodium Daily Value;
- anyone taking medicines that affect potassium or fluid balance, including some blood pressure tablets and diuretics;
- people managing blood sugar, because a Gatorade Thirst Quencher stick has 32 g of added sugar and Liquid I.V. 11 g;
- pregnant or breastfeeding women, and parents of children: Liquid I.V. UK says not to exceed one stick a day, and neither brand's product is a substitute for medical advice when a child is unwell.
Also count the extras. Liquid I.V. adds more than 100% of the US Daily Value of niacin, vitamin B6, vitamin B12 and pantothenic acid per stick, so add those up if you also take a multivitamin or B complex. If you take creatine, our article on creatine and electrolytes covers mixing the two.
"Read the whole label, not just the electrolytes. A stick with 11 g of sugar and more than a day's worth of niacin and vitamin B12 is fine now and then, but if you are having two or three a day on top of a multivitamin, those numbers add up. And if you have been told to watch your salt or your potassium, speak to your GP or pharmacist before making any electrolyte drink a daily habit."
Sarah Law, Naturopathic Nutritionist | Optimised Female
How we compared Liquid I.V. and Gatorade
On 11 November 2026 we read every competitor figure on this page from the brand's own website: the nutrition facts panels on gatorade.com for Thirst Quencher, Zero and Gatorlyte powder sticks, the nutrition label images and product data on liquid-iv.com for Hydration Multiplier and Sugar-Free, the ingredient and nutrition images on liquid-iv.co.uk, and the nutrition table on gatorade.co.uk for Hydration Booster. Where a brand's FAQ text disagreed with its printed panel, we used the panel and noted the difference. We used Lemon Lime throughout where it exists, because flavours can differ slightly.
Prices are the brands' own list prices on the same day, in the currency each store sells in, divided by the servings in the pack; subscribe prices are as shown on each product page. Sodium per litre and carbohydrate percentage are our arithmetic from each label's own sodium, carbohydrate and mixing volume. Our own product figures come from our printed labels and the Certified Group laboratory report quoted above. We sell Ultimate Electrolytes, so we have put our own row in every table on the same basis as the others, including where it does not come out on top. For a buyer's checklist that applies to any brand, see our electrolyte buyer's guide.
Frequently asked questions
Is Liquid I.V. better than Gatorade?
For most people drinking it on an ordinary day, yes: a Liquid I.V. stick has 500 mg of sodium and 11 g of sugar, while a Gatorade Thirst Quencher stick has 230 mg of sodium and 32 g of sugar. Gatorade is the better fit for long, hard sessions over about an hour, where its 33 g of carbohydrate is fuel rather than extra sugar. If you want neither the sugar nor the price, a sugar-free mix with 500 mg of sodium does the electrolyte job on its own.
Is Liquid I.V. the same as Gatorade?
No. Both are powdered drink mixes with sodium, potassium and sugar, but the balance is different. Liquid I.V. Hydration Multiplier is built around sodium (500 mg per stick, mixed in 16 oz) with less sugar (11 g) plus vitamin C and four B vitamins. Gatorade Thirst Quencher is built around carbohydrate (33 g per 35 g stick) with less sodium (230 mg) and no added vitamins.
Liquid I.V. vs Gatorade Zero: which has more electrolytes?
Liquid I.V. Sugar-Free has more: 500 mg of sodium and 370 mg of potassium per stick, against 270 mg of sodium and 80 mg of potassium in a Gatorade Zero stick, according to each brand's own nutrition panel. Gatorade Zero is cheaper at about $0.75 a stick against $1.56, and it is sweetened with sucralose and acesulfame potassium rather than allulose and stevia.
Which has more sugar, Liquid I.V. or Gatorade?
Gatorade Thirst Quencher, by a wide margin: 32 g of added sugar per stick, which is 65% of the US Daily Value for added sugars and more than the 30 g a day of free sugars the NHS sets as the adult maximum. Liquid I.V. Hydration Multiplier has 11 g (22% of the Daily Value). Liquid I.V. Sugar-Free and Gatorade Zero both list 0 g of sugars.
Is Gatorade powder the same as bottled Gatorade?
Gatorade says it is when mixed at the right ratio: its own FAQ states that Thirst Quencher powder tastes the same as the ready-to-drink bottle and provides similar electrolytes, sugars and calories. Gatorade's own website also states that the leading sports drink carries 34 g of total sugars per 20 oz serving.
Can you buy Liquid I.V. and Gatorade in the UK?
Yes, but the UK products are different formulas. Liquid I.V.'s UK Hydration Multiplier lists 530 mg of sodium and 13 g of carbohydrate per stick in 500 ml, at £13.99 for 16 sticks. Gatorade's UK website sells Hydration Booster by Gatorade sachets with 375 mg of sodium and 10 g of sugar per 500 ml, at £17.00 for 12; the US Thirst Quencher, Zero and Gatorlyte sticks were not on the UK site when we checked on 11 November 2026.
About the Reviewer: Sarah Law, Dip CNM
Sarah Law is a Certified Naturopathic Nutritionist and Functional Practitioner specialising in hormonal health, gut health, and evidence-based nutrition. She holds a Diploma in Naturopathic Nutrition from the College of Naturopathic Medicine (CNM, London) and is a Certified Functional Health Coach. Sarah combines naturopathic principles with modern functional nutrition science to help her clients make informed health decisions.
About the Author: Ben Law
Ben Law is the founder of Love Life Supplements and host of the Optimised Health Show. He is a qualified Advanced Dietary Supplement Advisor and Primal Blueprint Certified Expert, and has spent 14 years building transparent, research-led formulations manufactured to GMP and BRC standards. He wrote this comparison from each brand's own product pages, nutrition panels and ingredient lists, the published rehydration, sweat and sports nutrition research, NHS, FDA and NIH guidance, and our own label and lab data.
Liquid I.V., Hydration Multiplier, Gatorade, Gatorade Zero, Gatorlyte, Thirst Quencher and Hydration Booster by Gatorade are trademarks of their respective owners and are not affiliated with Love Life Supplements. Learn more about Ben.
References
- Maughan RJ, Leiper JB. Sodium intake and post-exercise rehydration in man. Eur J Appl Physiol Occup Physiol. 1995;71(4):311-319. PubMed
- Shirreffs SM, Taylor AJ, Leiper JB, Maughan RJ. Post-exercise rehydration in man: effects of volume consumed and drink sodium content. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 1996;28(10):1260-1271. PubMed
- Maughan RJ, Watson P, Cordery PA, et al. A randomized trial to assess the potential of different beverages to affect hydration status: development of a beverage hydration index. Am J Clin Nutr. 2016;103(3):717-723. PubMed
- Barnes KA, Anderson ML, Stofan JR, et al. Normative data for sweating rate, sweat sodium concentration, and sweat sodium loss in athletes: An update and analysis by sport. J Sports Sci. 2019;37(20):2356-2366. PubMed
- American College of Sports Medicine; Sawka MN, Burke LM, Eichner ER, et al. American College of Sports Medicine position stand. Exercise and fluid replacement. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2007;39(2):377-390. PubMed
- Jeukendrup A. A step towards personalized sports nutrition: carbohydrate intake during exercise. Sports Med. 2014;44(Suppl 1):S25-S33. PubMed
- Baker LB. Sweating Rate and Sweat Sodium Concentration in Athletes: A Review of Methodology and Intra/Interindividual Variability. Sports Med. 2017;47(Suppl 1):111-128. PubMed
- NHS. Salt: the facts. nhs.uk
- NHS. Sugar: the facts. nhs.uk
- US Food and Drug Administration. Daily Value on the Nutrition and Supplement Facts Labels. fda.gov
- NHS. Vitamins and minerals: others (potassium, magnesium). nhs.uk
- NIH Office of Dietary Supplements. Potassium: Fact Sheet for Health Professionals. ods.od.nih.gov
- NIH Office of Dietary Supplements. Magnesium: Fact Sheet for Health Professionals. ods.od.nih.gov
- Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011, Annex XIII (reference intakes), as retained in GB law. legislation.gov.uk
- Gatorade Thirst Quencher Lemon-Lime powder sticks, product page, nutrition facts and FAQ, read 11 November 2026. gatorade.com
- Gatorade Zero Lemon-Lime powder sticks, product page, nutrition facts and FAQ, read 11 November 2026. gatorade.com
- Gatorlyte Cherry Lime powder sticks, product page, nutrition facts and FAQ, read 11 November 2026. gatorade.com
- Liquid I.V. Lemon Lime Hydration Multiplier and Hydration Multiplier Sugar-Free (US), product pages and nutrition labels, read 11 November 2026. liquid-iv.com
- Liquid I.V. UK Hydration Multiplier, product page and Lemon Lime ingredient panel, read 11 November 2026. liquid-iv.co.uk
- Hydration Booster by Gatorade (UK), product page, ingredients and nutrition table, read 11 November 2026. gatorade.co.uk
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