Food & Drink
Soda Tier List Maker
Rank sodas from Coca-Cola and Pepsi to Dr Pepper and Mountain Dew. Build the ultimate soda tier list.
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Meet every soda (20)
These 20 sodas load into the maker above. Each write-up covers what the soda is and what to weigh when you rank it. Facts were last checked on .
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Coca-Cola
Invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlanta and originally marketed as a temperance drink. The name refers to two early ingredients, coca leaves and kola nuts, and the formula remains a trade secret.
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Pepsi
Created in 1893 by Caleb Bradham as "Brad's Drink" and first sold in his drugstore in New Bern, North Carolina. It was renamed Pepsi-Cola in 1898, and its rivalry with Coca-Cola is called the "cola wars."
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Sprite
A clear, lemon-lime soft drink created by the Coca-Cola Company, mainly to compete with 7 Up. It has also been sold in cranberry, cherry, grape, orange, tropical and vanilla versions.
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Dr Pepper
Created in the 1880s by pharmacist Charles Alderton in Waco, Texas, and first marketed nationally in 1904. Different companies make it by country, including Keurig Dr Pepper in the United States and Suntory in much of Europe.
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Mountain Dew
The original formula was invented in 1940 by Tennessee bottlers Barney and Ally Hartman. Bill Bridgforth created a revised formula in 1958, which the Tip Corporation refined, and PepsiCo now owns the brand.
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Fanta Orange
Fanta began in Germany as an alternative to Coca-Cola after a trade embargo disrupted ingredient supplies. Under Max Keith it sold three million cases by 1943, and it now comes in over 200 flavors worldwide.
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7UP
A lemon-lime, non-caffeinated soft drink released in 1928. Keurig Dr Pepper owns the brand and formula in the United States, while PepsiCo does so internationally, and Sprite is its main rival.
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A&W Root Beer
Founded in 1919 by Roy W. Allen, who partnered with Frank Wright in 1922 to create the A&W name and a chain of restaurants. It originally sold for five cents.
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Barq's Root Beer
Created by Edward Barq and bottled since the beginning of the 20th century, it is owned by the Coca-Cola Company. It was called Barq's Famous Olde Tyme Root Beer until 2012, and some formulations contain caffeine.
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Canada Dry Ginger Ale
Canada Dry was founded in Toronto in 1904 and has been known for over a hundred years mainly for its ginger ale. It is now owned by Keurig Dr Pepper, and made in many countries.
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Sunkist Orange
A primarily orange-flavored soda that launched in 1979 and is produced by Keurig Dr Pepper. It competes mainly with Fanta and Crush, and comes in many other flavors, such as grape, strawberry and cherry limeade.
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Cherry Coke
Originally launched in 1985, it was the first flavored cola the Coca-Cola Company distributed, and its second product extending the original brand, following the launch of Diet Coke in 1982.
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Diet Coke
A sugar-free, low-calorie cola sweetened mainly with aspartame, unveiled on July 8, 1982. It uses a different recipe from regular Coca-Cola and was the first new brand to use the Coca-Cola trademark since 1886.
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Coke Zero Sugar
Introduced in 2005 as Coca-Cola Zero, designed as a no-calorie equivalent of Coca-Cola with artificial sweeteners that imitate sugar. It is distinct from Diet Coke, which uses a completely different formula.
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Pepsi Zero Sugar
Also known as Pepsi Max, this low-calorie cola was first released in 1993 as an alternative to Diet Pepsi. It mimics regular Pepsi using acesulfame potassium and aspartame instead of sugar.
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Squirt
A caffeine-free, grapefruit-flavored soft drink created in 1938 in Phoenix, Arizona. It has competed mainly with the Coca-Cola Company's Fresca, and it is the only grapefruit soda on this list.
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Crush Orange
Created in 1911 by beverage chemist Neil C. Ward, originally as an orange soda, Orange-Crush. It predates Fanta by 29 years, and most Crush flavors are caffeine-free.
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Cream Soda
A sweet soft drink flavored with some form of cream or vanilla. The term is used broadly, and a wide range of variations can be found around the world.
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Mello Yello
A highly caffeinated, citrus-flavored soda from the Coca-Cola Company, introduced on March 12, 1979, to compete with Mountain Dew. Its name was inspired by the Donovan song "Mellow Yellow."
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Vanilla Coke
A vanilla-flavored version of Coca-Cola produced since 2002, with a no-calorie Zero Sugar version also made. It can also be mixed in Coca-Cola Freestyle machines, which add vanilla syrup to regular Coca-Cola.
Soda tier list questions
Which sodas on this list are the oldest?
Dr Pepper dates to the 1880s, Coca-Cola to the late 19th century, and Pepsi to 1893. Most of the zero-sugar and flavored versions, such as Diet Coke, Cherry Coke and Vanilla Coke, are far more recent.
What is the difference between Diet Coke and Coke Zero Sugar?
Diet Coke, unveiled in 1982, uses its own distinct recipe, while Coke Zero Sugar was introduced in 2005 to taste closer to regular Coca-Cola. Both are sweetened with artificial sweeteners and have no sugar.
How should I rank sodas?
Taste is the obvious criterion, but many people also weigh sweetness, carbonation, aftertaste and how well a soda pairs with food. Splitting colas, citrus sodas and root beers into separate lists can make comparisons fairer.
Sources
Facts on this page were checked against these references on .