Most clear sodas are caffeine-free, but not all of them. Sprite, 7UP, Starry, ginger ale, club soda, and most lemon-lime and grapefruit sodas carry zero caffeine. The exceptions are the pale citrus sodas built around an energy pitch, like Mountain Dew and Sun Drop, which are caffeinated.
Why color is a bad caffeine test
The habit of reading caffeine off a soda's color comes from colas. Colas are dark because of caramel color, and colas historically carried caffeine, so dark came to mean caffeinated in most people's heads. The two facts traveled together, but neither one causes the other.
Caramel color is a coloring ingredient. Caffeine is a separate added ingredient. A soda maker can add either, both, or neither. That is why a bright yellow-green citrus soda can carry more caffeine than a dark root beer, and why a deep red soda can carry none at all.
Reckon is a good example of the mismatch running the other way. Our tart cherry is a deep red from black carrot, and our apricot is orange from beta-carotene. Both are caffeine-free. The color is fruit and vegetable pigment doing its job, and it says nothing about what else is in the can.
Clear and pale sodas, caffeine at a glance
Figures below are per 12 oz, as published by the brands. Formulations change, so the can in your hand is the final word.
| Soda | Caffeine per 12 oz |
|---|---|
| Sprite | 0 mg |
| 7UP | 0 mg |
| Starry | 0 mg |
| Canada Dry Ginger Ale | 0 mg |
| Schweppes Ginger Ale | 0 mg |
| Fresca | 0 mg |
| Squirt | 0 mg |
| Club soda and seltzer | 0 mg |
| Mello Yello | about 51 mg |
| Mountain Dew | about 54 mg |
| Sun Drop | about 63 mg |
| Reckon (not clear, still caffeine-free) | 0 mg |
The exceptions, and why they exist
Mountain Dew, Sun Drop, and Mello Yello are pale citrus sodas with real caffeine in them. They were built to compete on lift, not on being light, so the caffeine is deliberate and it is on the label. Diet and zero-sugar versions of caffeinated sodas usually keep the caffeine, because the sweetener changed and nothing else did.
It also runs the other direction. Caffeine-free Coke and caffeine-free Diet Coke are dark colas with no caffeine at all. Root beer, which people often assume is loaded, is caffeine-free in most major brands, with regular Barq's as the well-known exception.
How to check any can in five seconds
Three places, in this order:
- The front of the can. Brands that removed caffeine usually say so, because it is a selling point. No callout is not proof of caffeine, but a callout is proof of no caffeine.
- The ingredient list. Added caffeine is a listed ingredient and it appears by name. If the word caffeine is not in the list, there is no added caffeine.
- The brand's product page. Most publish caffeine content per serving. Search the exact product name, not the parent brand.
That last point matters more than people expect. Caffeine-free is a per-product fact, never a per-company one. The same company can put caffeine in one can and none in the next. For more on decoding the rest of the panel, see our guide on how to read a soda label.
If you want caffeine-free but not clear
Clear sodas dominate the caffeine-free shelf, which leaves people who want actual fruit flavor picking between lemon-lime and ginger ale over and over. That is the gap Reckon sits in. It is a tart craft soda from an old-world recipe, caffeine-free, sweetened with invert sugar and no high-intensity sweeteners, with deep tart cherry at 90 calories and sun-ripe apricot at 80. Less than half the sugar of a typical cola, and not too sweet on purpose.
It comes as a 12-pack, and there is a subscribe and save 10% option that ships every four weeks if it becomes a regular. The full ingredient and nutrition rundown lives on our brand facts page, and the wider list is in our guide to sodas without caffeine.
Not too sweet. On purpose.
Frequently asked questions
Are all clear sodas caffeine-free?
No. Most are, including Sprite, 7UP, Starry, ginger ale, and seltzer, but pale citrus sodas like Mountain Dew, Sun Drop, and Mello Yello contain caffeine. Color is not a reliable caffeine test in either direction.
Is Sprite caffeine-free?
Yes. Sprite contains 0 mg of caffeine per 12 oz and has never been formulated with it. The same is true of 7UP and Starry.
Which clear or pale sodas do have caffeine?
Mountain Dew at about 54 mg per 12 oz, Sun Drop at about 63 mg, and Mello Yello at about 51 mg. Their diet and zero-sugar versions generally keep the caffeine.
Does the color of a soda tell you anything about caffeine?
No. Color comes from coloring ingredients such as caramel color, black carrot, or carotenes, and caffeine is a separate added ingredient. Dark sodas can be caffeine-free and pale sodas can be caffeinated.