Liquid I.V. vs LMNT: What Is Actually in Each

Liquid I.V. and LMNT are the two electrolyte powders most people have heard of, and they are built on opposite theories of what an electrolyte drink is for. One is a sugared rehydration formula descended from oral rehydration therapy. The other is a salt delivery system with no sugar at all. Neither is wrong. They are answers to different questions.

Here is what is actually in each, what the numbers mean, who each one suits, and where we sit — because we make one too, and you should be able to see all three on the same table.

The labels, side by side

Per stick, mixed into 16 ounces of water, from each company's published nutrition panel.

Sources: Liquid I.V.'s panel as reported by Healthline, LMNT's ingredients page, our own label. Liquid I.V. also sells a sugar-free version — allulose and stevia, the same 500mg sodium and 370mg potassium, 15–20 calories — which we cover in the sugar-free article.

What the sodium numbers mean

Sodium is the number that decides whether a drink rehydrates you, and these three span the whole useful range.

Put in the units the research uses, LMNT's 1,000mg in 16 ounces is about 92 mmol/L — above the World Health Organization's oral rehydration solution, which sits at 75. Liquid I.V.'s 500mg is about 46 mmol/L. Ours is about 34. The controlled work on post-exercise drinks found that drinks from roughly 30 to 50 mmol/L were retained far better than near-sodium-free water; the ACSM position stand puts effective sports-drink sodium in a similar band.

So all three are in or above the range that works. The differences are about who loses how much. A heavy sweater on a hot ride can lose more than 1,000mg of sodium an hour, and for that person LMNT's number is not extreme, it is arithmetic. For someone drinking one glass after a night out, or sipping at a desk, 1,000mg is close to half of a day's recommended intake in a single drink.

LMNT's founders argue that the recommended intake is itself too low, and they cite research on that. It is a real scientific debate and not one a drink-mix label settles. The practical point stands either way: match the sodium to the sweat.

What the sugar numbers mean

The second axis, and the one the two big brands disagree on most.

Liquid I.V.'s whole pitch — what it calls Cellular Transport Technology — is the glucose-sodium pairing that oral rehydration therapy runs on. Glucose carries sodium across the gut wall, and the water comes with it. The mechanism is textbook and we explain it in what electrolytes actually are. Liquid I.V. delivers it with 11g of sugar, which is more than the WHO formula would use for that much water — about 6g — and is the reason a stick tastes like a soft drink.

LMNT rejects sugar entirely and accepts the cost: sodium without glucose is absorbed more slowly and retained a little less well. For its intended customer — low-carb, ketogenic, fasting, or simply sipping all day — that is the right trade, and LMNT is honest that it is a trade.

We split the difference on purpose. Five grams of dextrose is roughly the WHO ratio for a 16-ounce serving: enough to run the transporter, not enough to be a dessert.

What the rest of the label means

Potassium matters less than the marketing suggests for a healthy person with working kidneys. Sweat is sodium-dominant; potassium losses are small by comparison. Liquid I.V.'s 370mg is generous and harmless; LMNT's 200mg and our 95mg are both fine.

Magnesium is in LMNT and in ours because sweat carries a little of it and because a lot of people are marginal on it from diet. At 30–60mg it is a top-up, not a supplement dose.

Vitamins are where Liquid I.V. and we go one way and LMNT goes the other. The B vitamins and vitamin C do nothing for hydration itself. They are there because alcohol and hard training draw on them and a recovery drink is a convenient place to put them back. If you only want hydration, LMNT's decision to leave them out is defensible.

Caffeine is in ours and in neither of theirs. That is a design choice for a recovery drink taken at the end of a long night or a long day, and it is disclosed on the front so caffeine-sensitive people can take it in the morning instead. If you want an electrolyte drink you can have at 11pm and sleep, either of the other two is the safer pick.

Who each one is for

Liquid I.V. if you want a straightforward rehydration formula with a proven mechanism, do not mind 11g of sugar, and like a sweet drink. It is the closest of the three to a pharmacy oral rehydration solution, with a better flavour and a worse sugar count.

LMNT if you sweat heavily, eat low-carb or ketogenic, or want something to sip all day without sugar. It is the strongest salt dose on the shelf and the most honest about being exactly that.

Snake Oil if the moment you are buying for is after — the night out, the long run, the day that ran too long — and you want the electrolyte core with the vitamins, the amino acids and a modest lift in the same stick. It is a recovery drink that happens to be an electrolyte drink, not the other way round.

Frequently asked questions

Is Liquid I.V. good for you? It is a well-designed rehydration formula: 500mg of sodium paired with glucose, which is the mechanism medicine uses. The honest caveat is 11g of added sugar per stick, which is fine after a sweat and a lot for a daily habit. The sugar-free version fixes that at the cost of the mechanism.

Is LMNT good for you? For someone who sweats heavily or eats low-carb, yes. For someone sipping it at a desk, 1,000mg of sodium per serving is close to half a day's recommended intake, and the case for it is weaker. Match the dose to your actual losses.

Which has more electrolytes, Liquid I.V. or LMNT? LMNT has twice the sodium (1,000mg vs 500mg) and adds magnesium; Liquid I.V. has more potassium (370mg vs 200mg). Sodium is the number that drives rehydration, so LMNT is the stronger electrolyte dose.

Which is better for a hangover, Liquid I.V. or LMNT? Both replace what a night of drinking pulls out. Liquid I.V.'s glucose pairing moves water into you faster; LMNT's sodium dose is higher. Neither is a treatment for anything, and the rest of the morning matters more than the brand.

Which is better for working out? For a long, hot session with heavy sweat, LMNT's sodium is the better match. For shorter sessions, or if you are also fuelling, Liquid I.V.'s carbohydrate does double duty. Timing is covered in electrolytes before or after a workout.

Is Snake Oil an electrolyte drink? Yes — 370mg of sodium with 5g of dextrose, plus potassium, magnesium and the vitamins — but it is built as a recovery drink for a specific moment rather than an all-day sipper, and it contains 100mg of caffeine.

Where Snake Oil fits

On the sodium table we are the lowest of the three, and we would rather say that than hide it. 370mg with 5g of dextrose in 16 ounces is the oral rehydration ratio at a sensible single-glass dose, and it sits inside the range the retention research found effective. If you need 1,000mg an hour, buy LMNT and drink two of ours only if you like the taste.

What the other two do not attempt is everything else in the stick: 200mg of vitamin C, vitamin E, the full B lineup, zinc, a glutamine-led amino acid blend and a modest 100mg of caffeine.† That is also why a stick costs two to three times what theirs does: you are not buying salt by the gram, you are buying the whole morning-after formula in one packet, and the per-stick price drops to $3.35 on the 20-pack. Those are there because the moment we built for — the morning after, the end of a long effort — asks for more than salt and water. Salt and water is the floor. We put the floor in and then kept going.

†These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

See what's in every stick →

Related reading: Best electrolyte powder: how to actually choose one · Sugar-free electrolyte powder: what you give up · What are electrolytes? · Best electrolyte drinks: ranked by what is actually in them