How Much Should Electrolytes Cost? 17 Brands Ranked by Price Per Gram of Sodium

Most electrolyte powders cost between $0.33 and $1.60 per serving. That range sounds useful until you realize sodium content varies 18x across brands, from 55mg (Ultima) to 1,000mg (LMNT, Hydrate Pro, Zerolyte). Sodium is the primary electrolyte lost in sweat,^[1] so comparing price per serving without accounting for sodium is like comparing the price of a gallon of gas to a cup of gas.

The real question is: what does each gram of sodium cost you? By that metric, brands range from $0.78/g to $10.60/g across the 17 products in our comparison table. For a high-sodium electrolyte (800mg+ per serving), expect to pay $0.75 to $1.25 per serving. Under $1.50 per gram of sodium is good value. Over $3.00/g means you're paying mostly for flavor, packaging, or brand name.

How Much Do Electrolytes Cost Per Gram of Sodium?

Here are all 17 brands sorted by price per gram of sodium. This is the metric that tells you what you're actually paying for the primary electrolyte.

Data verified against manufacturer websites. Prices as of March 2026. See the full 17-brand comparison →

What Are You Actually Paying For?

Electrolyte powders are commodity minerals: sodium chloride, potassium chloride, and magnesium. The raw ingredients cost pennies. So why do prices range from $0.33 to $1.60 per serving? Four factors explain the spread.

1. Sodium Content

Sodium is the primary reason most people buy electrolyte supplements. Research on the Beverage Hydration Index^[2] found that drinks with higher sodium and caloric density retained fluid best, outperforming standard sports drinks which were no better than water. Brands with 800mg+ sodium deliver more of what matters per serving.

The 18x range in sodium content (55mg to 1,000mg) is the single biggest factor that makes $/serving misleading. A high-sodium product at $0.78/serving can deliver 4x to 13x more sodium per dollar than a low-sodium product at $0.33/serving.

2. Form Factor

Stick packs average $1.30/serving across our data. Tubs average $0.67/serving. That's a 94% premium for individually wrapped, pre-portioned packets.

At one serving per day, the annual cost breaks down like this:

• Average tub: ~$245/year
• Average stick pack: ~$475/year
• Difference: ~$230/year

Stick packs make sense for gyms, travel, and offices. Tubs make sense for daily home use. Capsules (Vitassium at $0.50/serving) skip flavoring entirely, which cuts costs further.

3. Sweetener Type

Sugar is the cheapest sweetener. DripDrop (7g sugar), NormaLyte (6.75g dextrose), and Hydrant (4g sugar) use it. Stevia costs more to source but adds zero calories, and most brands in our comparison use it. Allulose (Liquid IV) is the most expensive option, contributing to that brand's $1.56/serving price point.

The sweetener choice affects price, but it's a smaller driver than sodium content or form factor. Sugar-free products have become the norm, with demand for sugar-free formulas up 31% in recent years.

4. Brand Marketing

LMNT sponsors dozens of podcasters. Liquid IV runs national TV campaigns. Thorne positions itself as the clinical-grade option. These marketing budgets get baked into the retail price. Smaller brands like Santa Cruz Paleo, Zerolyte, and Hydrate Pro spend far less on advertising and price their products accordingly.

This isn't a knock on marketing. Brand recognition builds trust, and taste testing matters. But if you're paying $1.50/serving for a product with the same mineral profile as one at $0.78/serving, the difference is largely packaging and promotion.

The DIY Cost Floor

WHO oral rehydration salts cost about $0.50 for a full treatment course. The clinical evidence supports ORS^[3] as both effective and cost-efficient. A homemade electrolyte mix matching a premium formula (1,000mg sodium, 200mg potassium, 60mg magnesium) using bulk salt, potassium chloride, and magnesium malate costs $0.05 to $0.09 per serving.

That implies a 15 to 30x markup on branded products. The markup pays for flavoring, sweetener, consistent dosing, and convenience. Whether that's worth it depends on you.

The tradeoff with DIY: no flavoring (it tastes like salt water), inconsistent measuring, and no portability. Many people try DIY, dislike the taste, and switch to a commercial product. Others save hundreds per year and don't mind the flavor. It's the price floor that puts everything else in context.

Stick Packs vs. Tubs: The $230/Year Difference

Form factor is the most overlooked cost driver. The data makes the gap clear:

Data verified against manufacturer websites. Prices as of March 2026. See the full 17-brand comparison →

Tub brands average $0.67/serving. Stick packs average $1.30/serving. At one serving per day, that's about $230/year in extra packaging costs. Both formats contain the same types of minerals. You're paying for individual wrapping and portability.

Worth noting: average $/g sodium for tubs ($3.12) is skewed higher because Ultima ($9.64/g) and Key Nutrients ($3.00/g) are tub products with very low sodium. If you compare only high-sodium tubs (Hydrate Pro, Re-Lyte, Santa Cruz Paleo) against high-sodium stick packs (LMNT, SALTT, Zerolyte), the tub advantage is even larger.

What's a Fair Price for Electrolytes?

Based on the data across all 17 brands, here are reasonable benchmarks:

High-sodium (800mg+ per serving): $0.75 to $1.25/serving is fair. Under $1.50/g sodium is good value. Six brands hit this tier: Redmond Re-Lyte ($0.75), Hydrate Pro ($0.78), Santa Cruz Paleo ($1.00), SALTT ($1.17), Zerolyte ($1.20), and NormaLyte ($1.33). LMNT at $1.50 is slightly above this range but popular for its taste and flavor variety.

Mid-sodium (300-500mg per serving): $0.50 to $1.00/serving is reasonable. Under $2.00/g sodium is decent. Nuun Sport ($0.52, 300mg) and Vitassium ($0.50, 500mg capsules) fit here. Thorne Daily ($1.33) and Liquid IV ($1.56) are pricier options in this sodium range.

Low-sodium (under 300mg per serving): These aren't serious electrolyte replacements for heavy sweating, keto, or athletic use. Brands like Ultima (55mg), Key Nutrients (110mg), Nectar (100mg), and Hydrant (260mg) are better described as mineral-flavored water. If you need meaningful sodium, you'd require multiple servings to reach effective levels,^[4] which multiplies the actual cost.

Red flag: Any brand charging over $5.00/g sodium is selling you flavor and branding, not electrolytes. Hydrant ($5.77/g), Ultima ($9.64/g), and Nectar ($10.60/g) fall into this category.

Best Value at Every Price Point

Under $0.80/serving: Key Nutrients ($0.33, 110mg Na) is the absolute cheapest per serving but low in sodium. Vitassium ($0.50, 500mg Na) gives solid sodium value in capsule form. Nuun Sport ($0.52, 300mg Na) is a convenient fizzy tablet. Redmond Re-Lyte ($0.75, 810mg Na) pairs high sodium with 400mg potassium. Hydrate Pro ($0.78, 1,000mg Na) has the lowest $/g sodium in the dataset.

$0.80 to $1.25/serving: Santa Cruz Paleo ($1.00, 800mg Na) is a solid all-around tub option. DripDrop ($1.01, 330mg Na) has 7g sugar and a medical-grade ORS heritage. SALTT ($1.17, 969mg Na) delivers the best overall mineral profile with 415mg potassium and 178mg magnesium. Zerolyte ($1.20, 1,000mg Na) is the cheapest high-sodium stick pack.

Over $1.25/serving: NormaLyte ($1.33, 862mg Na) uses an ORS-based formula with dextrose. Thorne Daily ($1.33, 480mg Na) carries clinical branding. LMNT ($1.50, 1,000mg Na) remains the most popular stick pack for taste. Hydrant ($1.50, 260mg Na) has low sodium for its price. Liquid IV ($1.56, 500mg Na) uses allulose sweetener. Instant Hydration ($1.60, 500mg Na) is the most expensive per serving in the dataset.

The Bottom Line

Electrolytes should cost $0.75 to $1.25/serving if you want meaningful sodium (800mg+). Always check $/g sodium, not just $/serving. The spread across 17 brands is 13.6x, from $0.78/g to $10.60/g.

Tubs save roughly $230/year compared to stick packs for equivalent ingredients. The cheapest high-sodium tub options are Redmond Re-Lyte ($0.75/serving, 810mg Na) and Hydrate Pro ($0.78/serving, 1,000mg Na). The cheapest high-sodium stick packs are SALTT ($1.17/serving, 969mg Na) and Zerolyte ($1.20/serving, 1,000mg Na).

If taste and convenience matter most, LMNT at $1.50/serving remains popular. But you're paying a premium for flavoring and individual packaging, not for different minerals. Research suggests that most trace minerals in branded electrolyte formulas lack strong evidence^[5] for performance benefits beyond sodium and potentially magnesium. The simpler, cheaper formulas often contain everything that's clinically supported.

Compare all 17 brands in our full comparison table to sort by the metric that matters most to you.

References

1. Baker LB. "Sweating Rate and Sweat Sodium Concentration in Athletes: A Review of Methodology and Intra/Interindividual Variability." Sports Medicine, 2017; 47(Suppl 1):111-128. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
2. Maughan RJ, et al. "A randomized trial to assess the potential of different beverages to affect hydration status: development of a beverage hydration index." American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2016; 103(3):717-723. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
3. Mosegui GG, et al. "Cost-effectiveness analysis of oral rehydration therapy compared to intravenous rehydration." Journal of Infection and Public Health, 2019; 12(2):137-142. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
4. James LJ, Shirreffs SM. "Effect of electrolyte addition to rehydration drinks consumed after severe fluid and energy restriction." Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 2015; 29(2):521-527. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
5. Heffernan SM, et al. "The Role of Mineral and Trace Element Supplementation in Exercise and Athletic Performance: A Systematic Review." Nutrients, 2019; 11(3):696. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov