Ranking All 9 Vitaminwater Flavors From Worst to Best

There was a time in my life when I genuinely thought I was being healthy by choosing to drink Vitaminwater and other flavored waters over actual water, bottled or not. The unnatural colors of the various drink flavors didn’t faze me. Although I could barely run a mile, drinking a Vitaminwater made me feel like the athlete I’d never become, like I was rehydrating after a particularly grueling training session when I’d really just faked a knee injury to get out of gym class for the day. These days, though, the appeal of the beverage has waned — something about the prospect of downing strangely flavored, artificially nutrified water sounds like the least refreshing thing I could possibly do.

But I decided to revisit one of my former favorite beverages to see how the product’s various flavors stack up against one another. Although there were a few gems in the lineup of nine different flavors I tried, the majority of the varieties on this list only reinforced my acquired distaste for the drink. Whether you love Vitaminwater, are looking for your next favorite flavor, or are an enhanced water skeptic like me, these are Vitaminwater flavors ranked according to deliciousness (or lack thereof).

Not to be dramatic, but Zero Sugar Rise Orange Vitaminwater is absolutely the worst of the bunch — no questions asked. Its biggest problem is the fact that it contains stevia instead of actual sugar. If you’re watching your sugar intake, this may be a better option for you, but otherwise, that artificial sweetness is absolutely not worth what you’ll have to endure to choke this stuff down. Because there’s no actual sugar to contribute to the flavor of the drink, the first thing you’ll notice is a slight saltiness. It doesn’t taste like salt water, though — the saltiness is too mild for that. Rather, it seems like it sits on the surface of your tongue for way too long after you’ve taken a sip.

There is some sort of orangey flavor there, but naturally, it tastes far from actual orange juice. Rather, it may be best described as the flavor of an orange soda, but with everything that’s delicious about an orange soda noticeably absent from the equation. If you’re going to avoid any flavor in the Vitaminwater lineup, you may want to make it this one.

I’m clearly not a fan of zero-calorie sweeteners in drinks, so it shouldn’t come as a big surprise that another non-sugar drink comes in second for last place. The Zero Sugar Re-Hydrate Pineapple Passionfruit isn’t much better than its orange cousin. Again, that distinctive, thin, and downright unpleasant note of stevia is the first thing to hit your tongue, followed by an incredibly fruity flavor profile that seems out of place considering how watery the drink is. Admittedly, it does actually taste like passionfruit, but the pineapple flavor is a miss. Instead of tasting a nice balance of sweet and tart flavors like you’d expect from actual pineapple, you instead get a cloying tropical note that’s not specific enough to identify as a singular flavor without prompting from the name of the drink itself.

It’s unclear how a drink can be both too watery and thin and also too packed with flavor at the same time, but somehow, this Vitaminwater flavor manages it. This is one flavor I don’t think I’ll revisit in the future.

I’m not totally sure what’s going on regarding the name of this drink, but I’m not into it, whatever it is. But perhaps it’s fitting, because the flavor is almost as confusing as the name. Vitaminwater’s XXX Acai Blueberry Pomegranate seems like a holdover from the era in which seemingly everything was acai-flavored, despite the lack of so many Americans’ experience with actual, fresh acai. And perhaps that’s why it was such a popular flavor — because we didn’t know if the artificial stuff tasted like the actual fruit or not.

What I do know, though, is that this Vitaminwater flavor is not great. Although it is a noticeable step up from some of the zero-sugar flavors on this list, ultimately, this stuff tastes like medicine, not something that you would actually elect to drink all on your own without the threat of a worsening medical condition. Somehow, acai, blueberry, and pomegranate are all inaccurate descriptors — if it tastes like anything, it’s artificial cherry. And this is yet another flavor that’s somehow simultaneously too watery and overly flavored at the same time.

Neither kiwis nor strawberries are pink, so I’m unsure of why Vitaminwater decided to make its Focus Kiwi Strawberry drink a neon version of the hue, but this may just be the brightest and boldest of all the Vitaminwater flavors I tried, at least on the color front. Taste-wise, it’s neither the best nor the most offensive of the bunch, but it’s not a flavor I’d ever seek out again. It skews heavily toward the kiwi notes, but they’re more artificial-tasting than actual kiwi. The same can be said for the strawberry flavor, although compared to the kiwi, it kind of fades to the background, offering no more than a whisper of juicy berry-ness.

This is one of the more concentrated-tasting drinks of the group, leaving you with less of that watery flavor that’s so off-putting with some of the other flavors in this lineup. However, since the kiwi strawberry flavor isn’t that delicious in the first place, it’s not actually a flavor you want to be that concentrated anyway. That being said, even though this flavor is far from my favorite, it’s not actively unpleasant like the others I’ve covered so far.

Is Vitaminwater’s Elevate Blue Raspberry Limeade a particularly delicious drink? No. But does it technically have the structure of a beverage that could be considered enjoyable by some? Sure. What this flavor really has going for it is a nice balance of sweetness and acidity. Yes, it tastes sweeter than some of the others in the group, but that note of lime is quite powerful and cuts through the sweetness well, creating a nice flavor balance that results in a more interesting and flavorful drink.

However, pay too close attention to the actual flavors in the bottle, and you may find them a bit grating on your palate. This stuff tastes like straight candy — after all, where else do you see blue raspberry-flavored anything? It tastes like you’re biting into one of those blue Sour Punch Straws, which isn’t exactly what I’m craving when I’m feeling dehydrated and just want something refreshing. Although this isn’t my ideal drink, if you do like a beverage that’s on the sweeter side and tastes like, well, actual candy, then this might just be the best Vitaminwater flavor for you.

If you’re looking for a Vitaminwater flavor that’s going to appeal to a wide range of drinkers, then you may want to choose the Power-C Dragonfruit — I think this is one of the safest bets of any of the brand’s drinks I tried. That’s because this flavor doesn’t have anything weird going on. Ultimately, it just tastes like most other red drinks. Sure, the name of the flavor suggests that it’s supposed to taste like dragonfruit, but I don’t think it tastes like dragonfruit at all. Instead, it tastes more similar to an artificial version of a red fruit, like raspberries.

Like many of the other drinks on this list, this Vitaminwater tastes sort of watery while still offering a sugary flavor profile. However, it’s less pronounced in this drink than it is in many others, which is why this flavor finds itself in the top half of the ranking. Although I wouldn’t seek out this flavor of Vitaminwater specifically, it’s one that I wouldn’t mind drinking if I were desperate for a sip of something slightly sweet at a gas station or convenience store.

If you love orange soda but you’re looking for a drink that’s not carbonated, Vitaminwater’s Essential Orange-Orange drink may be what you’ve been searching for. This beverage tastes surprisingly similar to an orange soda, with a citrusy sweetness that’s quite pronounced but somewhat balanced with a layer of acidity. Of course, there are some notable differences between this orange Vitaminwater and regular orange soda, even beyond the lack of carbonation. This drink does have that distinct, salty taste that a lot of electrolyte drinks boast, but since it’s less pronounced than some of the other flavors on this list, we can’t fault it too hard for that.

This drink also tastes a bit more watery than soda, but that’s to be expected when you’re opting for a supposedly (if not actually) more nutritional drink over an actual soda. Personally, I’d rather take the Fanta, but this Vitaminwater is one of the better flavor options if you’re looking for something a bit lighter.

Most of the names of Vitaminwater’s drinks seem to mean nothing. After all, I’m not sure that I’m going to feel particularly focused or elevated after drinking any of these drinks. However, there is one flavor that seems to at least somewhat match its name, and it’s the Refresh Tropical Mango. This actually is one of the more refreshing flavors of the lineup, which is why it earns its number two spot on this list. It doesn’t especially taste like mango but rather has a generically tropical flavor profile to it. That being said, there is a ripe juiciness to this beverage that is reminiscent of a real mango, so maybe the comparison isn’t too far off.

This Vitaminwater flavor is a bit watery, like so many of the others on this list, but because the flavor isn’t overwhelming, it creates a subtle flavor profile that actually works. I can imagine that drinking one of these when you’re hot and craving a cold beverage would be super refreshing.

It’s so secret that I’m not a big fan of zero-sugar food products, but I make an exception for Vitaminwater’s Zero Sugar Squeezed Lemonade. Yes, there’s still a hint of that non-sugar sweetener in there, but because it’s tempered by so much acidity from the lemon flavor, it’s really not as pronounced as it is in the other zero-sugar drinks on this list. Ultimately, this drink just tastes like lemonade, albeit with a more acidic and less sweet flavor profile, which is absolutely a good thing on the lemonade front.

No, this stuff doesn’t taste like actual freshly squeezed lemonade, but arguably, most bottled lemonades don’t. It’s a good option when you’re looking for a drink that’s light and refreshing and that can help you feel hydrated on a particularly hot day. And since there are no strange or unexpected artificial-tasting flavors going on here, you can sip and enjoy without feeling like you’re ingesting liquid candy, which is why this flavor takes the top spot in this ranking.

I chose these Vitaminwater flavors based on the available selection at my local grocery stores. I tried each of these drinks both at room temperature and refrigerated to get a better idea of how they tasted in different contexts. I ranked them according to flavor, paying special attention to the balance between sweetness and acidity as well as comparing sugar-free and full-sugar flavors. More refreshing and natural-tasting flavors ended up at the top of the list.