Gwynedd Stuart
Ariana Losch
Prebiotic soda and probiotic soda have exploded in popularity, even among people who don’t give a lick about their gut microbiome. Why? They’re much lower in sugar than traditional sodas (they’re frequently sweetened with sugar alternatives like stevia and cassava root rather than high fructose corn syrup), they come in fun flavors (raspberry rose, anyone?), and a lot of them taste really good. They’re sweeter than flavored seltzers but they aren’t super saccharine. They also purport to have digestive benefits. Allow me to break it down as quickly as possible…
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Your stomach and intestines are home to microbes—trillions of them—that help you digest food. Probiotics are live and active cultures that increase the number of good bacteria in your gut, while prebiotics are fibers that feed those good bacteria. Make sense? Okay, great. Now, just so we’re clear, we’re not here to tell you which prebiotic sodas and probiotic sodas are best for your bod—we’re not scientists, everyone’s biology is different, etc., etc.—but, if you’re interested in dipping a toe into the world of aesthetically pleasing prebiotic sodas like Olipop, Poppi, and Culture Pop, we can help you pick the most delicious ones.
What we looked for in the best prebiotic and probiotic soda:
- Real soda flavor, not just sparkling juice. To be fair, we definitely recommended flavors here that taste more like canned mocktails or fizzy teas than your favorite cola. But we really wanted to find actual soda substitutes. (And we did!)
- Minimal aftertaste. That metallic, artificially sweet, and sometimes vinegary aftertaste can’t overshadow the drink.
Here are the best prebiotic sodas and the best probiotic sodas we’ve found to date.
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- Wildwonder Guava Rose
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All of Wildwonder’s sparkling drinks are good. They’re fruity, mildly sweet, and very grown-up tasting. I brought a bunch of these on a bachelorette weekend and everyone (especially the non-drinkers) really adored them. Guava Rose is the standout. Floral flavors are well represented in the prebiotic soda world, but they tend to get overpowered by the fruit flavors they accompany. This sparkling bev actually tastes a little bit floral, and the guava flavor is genuine, not just generically “tropical.” Another potential plus: Wildwonder is both prebiotic and probiotic, so if you want cultures and the stuff to feed ‘em, there you go. This probably would have ranked higher, but it’s definitely more of a sparkling juice drink than a “soda.” —Gwynedd Stuart
Credit: Merc / Ralphs
- Mighty Pop Natural Orange Vanilla Flavor
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While Wildwonder contains both prebiotics and probiotics, Mighty Pop contains prebiotics, probiotics, and postbiotics. What are postbiotics? According to WebMD: “Postbiotics are a byproduct of probiotics when they eat prebiotics.” Presumably, other pre and probiotic sodas would result in the creation of postbiotics, but I’m sure Mighty Pop has its reasons for putting them right there in the can. Anyway, the point here is that this Mighty Pop orange-vanilla soda tastes incredibly good. Both the orange and vanilla flavors are very natural—it’s like the best version of a creamsicle. And it only has 3 grams of sugar a can. —Gwynedd Stuart
Credit: Merc / Amazon
- Poppi Ginger Lime
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Poppi recently faced a class-action lawsuit in which a customer alleged the brand’s gut health claims were overblown given that a can only contains 2 grams of prebiotic fiber. But, like I said, we’re talking about taste here, and Poppi makes some really good flavors, anemic prebiotic content notwithstanding. Ginger Lime is the best Poppi flavor in my personal opinion, but I can see it being too tangy for some people. This stuff is seriously limey. I believe in the power of suggestion, and to me this seems like the best prebiotic soda to drink when you feel like you’re getting sick—the can calls it an “immunity sidekick” (whatever that means) and it tastes kind of like a health shot from a fancy juice joint. —Gwynedd Stuart
Credit: Merc / Poppi
- Poppi Raspberry Rose
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When we tasted and ranked all the Poppi flavors, Raspberry Rose was the best Poppi flavor taste-tester Jordan Myrick tried. And it’s quite good (although if you want a more compelling and genuine raspberry flavor, check out the best prebiotic soda on this list). Like every Poppi flavor, this is lightly sweet and lightly carbonated, which makes it pretty pleasant to drink. It’s floral without tasting like perfume or potpourri. If you aren’t expecting a big dose of prebiotics from your prebiotic soda, this is a tasty option that’s complex enough to stand in for a canned mocktail in a pinch. —Gwynedd Stuart
Credit: Merc / Poppi
- SunSip Raspberry Lemonade
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SunSip prebiotic soda is a spinoff of the uber-popular kombucha brand Health-Ade, maker of the best tasting kombucha on the market. I guess it’s no surprise that they make some of the best prebiotic soda, but it was a surprise that the raspberry flavor in this can is so accurate. As I wrote in my tasting notes, “This is one of the only raspberry-flavored foods or drinks I’ve ever tasted that actually tastes like raspberry.” It’s tangy and tart and delicious, like the very best version of a ripe raspberry. Unreal, tbh. One note on SunSip: It’s sweetened with monk fruit, which is safe and doesn’t have any official side effects, but can cause some gas and bloating, at least anecdotally (I am the anecdote). —Gwynedd Stuart
Credit: Merc / Health-Ade
- Poppi Root Beer
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You know, looking at the pair of root beer flavors that made it into our top five (tasted and enjoyed by different people, mind you—there’s no root beer favoritism here), maybe this is a soda flavor that just pairs nicely with that inescapable prebiotic aftertaste. This Poppi flavor could easily be mistaken for a good diet root beer; it’s probably the best prebiotic soda flavor for diet soda lovers, since you freaks have grown to crave that slightly metallic aftertaste anyway. What’s it like to be god’s favorite and actually enjoy the flavor of aspartame? I wish that could be me. —Ariana Losch
Credit: Merc / Walmart
- Bloom Pop Root Beer Float
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Welcome to the ranking, Bloom Pop. You’ve earned it. This shiny new prebiotic flavor from Bloom just debuted in early 2026, and it really surprised me on my first sip. To quote myself, because I love the sound of my own voice: “I think I’ve found my new favorite prebiotic soda. This is not a drill.” True to its name, this tastes like it has actual melted vanilla ice cream mixed in. And the prebiotic flavor is super subtle. You can almost convince yourself it’s just a regular flavored root beer. Sorry, Poppi, but I’m knocking your root beer down a peg. —Ariana Losch
Credit: Merc / Walmart
- Olipop Lemon Ginger
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I absolutely love Olipop Lemon Ginger. I’ve personally done two separate taste tests of every Olipop flavor, and both times I determined that it’s the best prebiotic soda in their ample lineup of flaves. It’s bright and zippy and extremely refreshing. It tastes like a ginger beer without the burn, and the lemon isn’t so tangy that it leaves you groping around for a bottle of Tums. This would be the best prebiotic soda to use as a mixer, particularly if you’re a fan of Moscow Mules, and it only has 2 grams of sugar per can. —Gwynedd Stuart
Credit: Merc / Olipop
- SunSip Cherry Cola
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I’ve recently discovered that when it comes to cola, I’m basically a Coca-Cola purist, so I literally cannot believe I’m giving SunSip Cherry Cola the top spot on this list. But got-DAMN it’s good! Granted, it tastes more like a black cherry soda than a cola, but if you love black cherry soda, you’re going to love this. It’s sweeter than a black cherry seltzer (I’m thinking Waterloo) but not as saccharine as a black cherry soda like Boylan or Dr. Brown’s. Plus, this stuff contains prebiotics, vitamins (C, B6, B13), and it isn’t made with stevia, which must be a pro for some people since it’s called out on the can (it’s sweetened with monk fruit, fruit juice, and some cane sugar instead). Health stuff aside, this just tastes great. —Gwynedd Stuart
Credit: Merc / Health-Ade
Best Juice-Forward
Best Postbiotic
Best Lime
Best Floral
Best Fruit Flavor
Best Poppi Flavor
Best Bloom Flavor
Best Olipop Flavor
Best of the Best
Other products we tried:
Poppi Strawberry Lemon, SunSip Lemon Lime, SunSip Strawberry Vanilla, Culture Pop Orange Mango & Lime, Culture Pop Strawberry & Rhubarb, Culture Pop Watermelon & Lime
Jessica Block
Jordan Myrick
