Independent supplement ratingsUS and Canada · Updated weekly
A ratings desk for a category that has spent thirty years grading its own homework.
A ratings desk for a category that has spent thirty years grading its own homework.
Powder · 90 servings
55mg sodium / 500–1,000mg range
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The clean, cheap everyday pick — as long as you don't need much sodium. Ultima is sugar-free, tastes good and costs around $0.53 a serving, but it's built around magnesium and potassium with very little sodium (about 55 mg). For light activity that's fine; for a hard, sweaty hour it barely registers on the number that matters.
Sugar-free with a decent spread of potassium and magnesium, but sodium is the weak point at roughly 55 mg — a fraction of what you lose in an hour of real sweating. Nothing dishonest on the label; it's simply formulated for gentle daily hydration, not heavy replacement.
Good as a tasty, sugar-free daily drink or for light workouts. If you sweat hard or long, you'll need to add sodium from elsewhere — or pick a higher-sodium product.
Reviewed and fact-checked by the NFS editorial team · Last updated 12 Jul 2026