9 Best Electrolyte Powder Options of 2024 (from a run coach)

What is the best electrolyte powder? For most runners, it’s one that meets your sweat needs, helps you stay on top of hydration and sometimes even provides carbohydrates for fueling those long miles. There are a lot of different options on the market, so let’s break them down to get your hydration right.As always the answer depends on what you need from a product. Over the last decaded, I’ve been in search of my own go-to electrolyte to help give my recommendation.

Electrolyte powder is one of the most convenient electrolyte replacement options available on the market for runners. Through a lot of drinks and runs, I’ve tested a variety of flavors, brands, and options from lower to higher sugar content.

I’ve written in depth about why runners need electrolytes, and even shared Shalane Flannagan’s homemade electrolyte drink, so today let’s focus simply on breaking down these products and what I looked for in making my own judgement.

AND what you use matters because the right mix, helps water move from your stomach in to your bloodstream more quickly!

That means fighting off dehydration which can impact your performance and mood.

Why Consider Electrolyte Replacements?

When we lose body fluids, due to things like dehydration, diarrhea, or vomiting we also lose electrolytes. Plus, we lose significant amounts of electrolytes through sweating during exercise and intense physical activity such as running.

Sweating depletes all of our common electrolytes. Sweat is primarily composed of water, making hydration necessary.

But that’s not all. Sweat also consists of large amounts of sodium and chloride as well as small amounts of potassium, calcium, magnesium, phosphate, and bicarbonate.

So, if you go for a long run on a hot day, you will sweat out a lot of these electrolytes. Too many electrolytes lost will result in an imbalance which can lead to headaches, cramps, fatigue, dehydration, and even seizures.

Electrolyte Powder Options

One of the best things about electrolyte powders is that in this format there is less need for binding agents or fillers than you might find with pre-made drinks on the shelf.

There were a few considerations that immediately came to mind for me in testing:

• Taste – let’s be honest, if it’s awful I won’t use it continually and this one is subjective as we all have different taste budes.
• Sugar – higher sugar can be great for a drink utilized during long runs as part of your fueling strategy, lower or no sugar electrolytes are my preference when hydrating throughout the day. Additionally, we’ll look at the source of the sugar.
• Nutrients – what’s the % of electrolytes, minerals and nutrients in the powder
• Cost – while I was able to try many of these options for free through brand partners, long term I’m always considering how cost matches up.

You may notice that many of these don’t have a very high magnesium content, though it’s super important to prevent muscle cramps, we also know that magnesium can get things moving in our digestive system and we don’t want too much DURING the run.

Is Electrolyte Powder Good for you?

It’s supremely useful for runners and anyone who is sweating a good deal during the day. It helps with preventing muscle cramps, improving hydration and so many other things which I detailed in why we need electrolytes.

There’s also nothing wrong with drinking it during your day or throughout the week.

It absolutely does not hurt anything and for many that lightly sweet taste (or salt) will encourage you to drink more, which means better hydration.

How Do You Mix Electrolyte Powder?

You should be able to put it in any bottle with 8-12oz of water and shake. They do not clump, unlike some protein powders, because they’re much finer and dissolve quickly.

Hydration Mix vs Sports Drinks

For most of us the first sports drinks of Gatorade or Powerade are all we heard about for fueling the body while sweating. Although they contain electrolytes, it’s best to use a hydration mix that also contains vitamins and nutrients for your body. (Plus, there are so many options with less total sugar or additives.)

Many electrolyte powder mixes on the list are also sugar-free and so don’t contain carbs, while sports drinks are usually loaded with large amounts of sugar. Again this comes down to when you are using them.

If you’re taking in gels during the run, then you may not want more sugar in your drink…then again if you aren’t taking in enough gels, a sports drink mixture with carbs might be exactly what you need!

9 Best Electrolyte Powders for Runners

As always, there are going to be things on this list that I personally love and use, things that I don’t really love, but have worked with thousands of athletes to know that plenty of people do love them and thus they should be mentioned!

I’m going to include some electrolyte only options and some that you can use for liquid nutrition fueling options.

Best for Heavy Sweaters – LMNT

This is not my go to option and I am someone who sweats a lot…it’s a serious amount of salt and it tastes like it. That being said, I have friends who LOVE it and swear by it. It could be an option where you use less than the recommended amount or one simply to test out if you know that you are a really salty sweater.

• Sugar: 0 grams of sugar, sweetened with a little stevia
• Nutrients: 1000mg sodium, 200mg potassium
• Cost: Breaks down to $1.79 per serving
• Wide variety of flavor options
• Try the sample pack here for best value

Best For A Little Energy Boost – Uppermost Hydrate

This has become one of my go to options as someone who tends to run a bit low on B12 and I know that provides energy! So it’s not an energy drink, but serving up some of the vitamins that can absolutely improve our energy.

It also contains 100% of our Vitamin C needs and tastes WAY better than Emergen-C, so I’m not mad about that during training when I want to support my immune system in all the ways that I can. While Vitamin C can’t prevent us from getting sick, it’s been show to shorten the duration if we do.

I tend to dilute this one more than listed on the packet because it does seem sweet, but again that’s something to play with for your level of comfort.

• Sugar: 0 grams of sugar, sweetened with a little stevia
• Nutrients: 400mg sodium, 350mg potassium, Vitamin C, Vitamin B6, Vitamin B12
• Cost: Breaks down to $1.50 per serving
• Lemon lime and wild berry options
• Available here >>

Best For Very Light Flavor  – Nuun Sport

Perhaps you’ve seen this fizzy little tablet and wondered about it. In fact, in the last year, they’ve expanded from just electrolytes to drinks to help with immunity, sleep, and caffeine. Here we’re focused just on the basic sport electrolyte which is formulated for fast absorption.

I recommend the SPORT version only for use during workouts. The regular tablets don’t have enough in them.

If you’re a sparkling water fan, this will probably be your jam for an any time drink. Flavor is super, super mild and my husband likes this for his bike rides.

I’m not a sparkling water person, so this is one that just doesn’t do it for me.

It’s available in flavors such as citrus fruit, grape, fruit punch, lemon-lime, orange, strawberry lemonade, and watermelon along with caffeinated flavors too such as cherry limeade, fresh lime, wild berry, and mango orange.

• Sugar: 1 gram of sugar, sweetened with stevia.
• Nutrients: 300mg sodium, 150mg potassium, 25 mg magnesium – especially ideal if you’re taking in other fuel on the run
• Cost: Breaks down to approximately .50 cents per serving (easily portable)
• Click here to learn more and order >>

Best Electrolyte Powder No Artificial Sweetener  – Hydrant Rapid Hydration Mix

I LOVE that this brand goes deep in to telling you why the exact mix of ingredients is really important for your hydration.

It’s all the science that I get excited about showing how the mix improves your overall hydration and with this sugar content can be something you utilize as part of your daily hydration or as part of your workouts.

Remember that having sugar is not a bad thing, it can be part of what helps to improve your hydration.

• Sugar: 6 grams sweetened with cane sugar, a great option for those looking lower sugar, but without an artificial sweetener! Very light flavor, I tend to like something stronger.
• Nutrients: 260 mg sodium, 200 mg potassium, 30 mg magnesium, not a lot of other add-ons.
• Cost: Breaks down to 1.30 per single pack
• Click here to learn more and order >>

Best for SUPER Hydration – Liquid IV

Are you a heavy sweater? Do you run in the heat and humidity? Then this might be the option you need to pay the most attention to, as it’s designed to be a super hydrator. What does that mean?

It means that it enhances the amount of water that your body is absorbing and holding on to, which can help prevent dehydration during endurance events.

That’s actually by scientific design! This was original developed to help with undernourished kids in third world countries and we’ve found it to be an option for rehydration as well. “1 packet can provide the same hydration as drinking 2-3 bottles of water.”

In fact, it’s so dense that for me I can’t drink a full serving at once or my stomach feels like a water balloon. So be ware this is a definite test during training kind of product. As noted, it’s on the list because a lot of athletes swear by it, so worth trying.

• Sugar: 11 grams of sugar from pure cane sugar (sugar free option now available, but sugar can help with absorbtion)
• Nutrients: 500mg sodium, 370mg potassium, plus B vitamins and Vitamin C
• Cost: Breaks down to $1.50 per stick, but if you only use half at a time, which you could because of high density it could make each serving in to 2.
• Click here to learn more and order >>

Best For Light Sweaters  – UCAN Hydrate

This is a great option for on the go hydration that doesn’t have a ton in it and shouldn’t mess with your stomach when also consuming fuel on the run. It does have a sweet taste, but not overbearing in my opinion.  It’s just the right amount of salt and sweet to encourage your thirst all day, which is useful to stay on top of hydratiaon.

UCAN is most well known for their Super Starch in gels to prevent creating products with high sugar content than upset the GI and thus this one doesn’t have any artificial sweeteners (has some stevia).

UCAN Hydrate was designed by a former Olympic dietitian named Bob Seebohar. He ran studies on the proportions of each electrolyte found in athletes’ sweat and modeled UCAN Hydrate off of that, so that you’re replacing what you’re sweating.

• Sugar: 0 grams, sweetened with Stevia. I found no artificial taste to it, it was the perfect sweetness for me. I like a little sweet because it encourages us to drink enough and tells the brain we’re getting fuel.
• Nutrition: 300mg sodium, 50mg of magnseium
• Cost: Breaks down to $0.83 per serving
• Click here for more info and to order >>

Similar option with regular sugar (again that can improve hydration) – Drip Drop

Lowest Sodium Option (ideal more for daily usage than on the run) – Ultima Electrolytes

Best for All Natural Fueling – Skratch Labs Sports Hydration Mix

Skratch Sport Hydration Drink Mix is made to replace electrolytes that you lose when you sweat and give you a little bit of energy without upsetting your stomach.

I always get excited to talk about local Colorado brands, but I was actually introduced to them when I was in Hawaii for the Ironman! They’re known for making high quality products and they use science to determine what’s in their product.

The ratio of glucose to fructose in Skratch is set so that it can be absorbed quickly, and the electrolyte profile is the same as what is lost in sweat which is 800 milligrams of sodium, 80 milligrams of potassium, 100 milligrams of calcium, and 80 milligrams of magnesium per liter.

What’s best is that it tastes great since these drink mixes are made with only real fruit, which gives it a light, refreshing flavor. Plus, Skratch is non–GMO, dairy-free, gluten-free, and vegan.

You can choose from a number of flavors including lemon-lime, strawberry lemonade, and summer peach.

• Sugar: Uses cane sugar for an avg 19 grams per serving, making this drink ideal for use on the run or immediately post run when you need to refill glycogen stores.
• Nutrients: Main focus is on sodium and carbs to fuel your workout (small amount of magnesium), they believe in not adding extras. 380 mg sodium, 39mg potassium, 39mg magnesium\
• Cost: Breaks down to .81 cents per serving from the bag, higher if you buy individual sticks
• Click here to learn more and order >>

Best Liquid Fueling Option – Tailwind Nutrition Endurance Fuel

I think it’s important to know this is different than the other drinks listed. It’s designed to provide both calories and electrolytes, making it a replacement for needing things like gels.

A great option for those  sensitive stomach running fuel during distance training. From research they determined that protein during intense long exercise can bother the GI tract and that’s why they don’t have it in here.

This became my go to while training for the Chicago marathon in 2021. It’s now something I use on most long runs because it simply makes fueling easy. And I believe that during that super hot marathon it’s part of why I ended up not cramping while so many others did.

• Sugar: 25 grams of sugar with 100 calories per scoop (10-12 oz water). Their recommendation is 2-3 scoops in 24 oz of water per 1 hour workout. Which makes sense for triathletes to me, but feels heavy as a runner.
• Nutrients: 303 mg sodium, 88mg potassium, 14mg magnesium
• Cost: Breaks down to .72 cents per serving from the bag
• Click here to learn more and order >>

Best Super Concentrated Sodium Drink  – Osmo Nutrition Preload

All right, Dr Stacy Simms has talked about this a few times over the years and thus we had to test it out and learn more about what’s going on here. If you’ll be doing a big workout in hot conditions or have even been traveling to a race, then preload might be a solution you need.

It’s designed to increase blood plasma levels 8-11%, which means “by boosting plasma levels and sodium stores hours before you being to sweat, you’ll increase your blood circulation so that you can diffuse body temperature for better performance and less cramping.”

But it’s OVER 1600mg of sodium, so definitely use appropriately! This isn’t your daily drink.

You’ll drink this the night before and morning of a big event or super long run. Those of you doing the Miami marathon or triathlons, could see some big benefits here.

They also offer more standard Active Hydration drinks.

• Sugar: 5 grams from cane sugar
• Nutrients: 1620 mg sugar, no other minerals
• Cost: Varies, but average breakdown is .50 cents per serving from container
• Click here to learn more and order >>

What is the Healthiest Electrolyte to Drink?

There is no single electrolyte option that is the healthiest. Instead, the best electrolyte drink will depend on your specific needs and dietary restrictions.

However, because electrolyte powders often contain less sugar than sports drinks, they are a good option for people trying to reduce their sugar intake.

Looking for some other alternatives?

Turns out that pickle juice for cramps is a real thing!

And there are indeed a lot of homemade electrolyte options. I’ve tried a number of options and they do taste great, I just need the convenience of the powders!

Looking for more reviews to find the best things for your run?

Checkout our full page of my must have running gear reviews and guides to save you time searching and money! I share what’s worked for me and fellow runners, along with what wasn’t worth the price tag.

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