THE ARTICLE · 7 MIN
The Contenders: Liquid IV vs Pedialyte
The short answer: once you compare the same amount of drink, the two carry similar sodium and potassium. The clearer differences are sugar (Liquid I.V. has more), what else is added (vitamins in Liquid I.V., zinc in Pedialyte Classic), the format, and what each maker says its product is for. Neither label makes one of them better for everyone, and dehydration from illness is a medical matter, covered at the end of this page.
Every figure below comes from the makers’ own US product pages, read in September 2026. Formulas and labels change, and they differ by flavour and by country.
LIQUID IV
Liquid I.V. is a powdered drink mix sold in single-serving sticks and in multiserve pouches. Its own website gives the company’s founding date as 2012 and lists Unilever as its parent company. The version compared here is the original Hydration Multiplier; the brand also sells sugar-free, energy and immune-support lines with different numbers.
PEDIALYTE
Pedialyte is made by Abbott, which says the brand has been “backed by science since 1966”. The version compared here is Pedialyte Classic, a ready-to-drink liquid.
Round 1: Electrolyte Smackdown
The two labels use different serving sizes, so the fairest comparison is per equal volume. Liquid I.V. says: “we recommend mixing 1 stick with 16oz of water” (16 US fl oz is about 473 mL). Abbott gives Pedialyte Classic’s figures per 12 fl oz (360 mL) and per litre, and its directions say: “READY TO USE. DO NOT ADD WATER OR DILUTE.”
Converted to the same 16 fl oz of drink:
| Per 16 fl oz of drink | Liquid I.V. Hydration Multiplier (one stick) | Pedialyte Classic |
|---|---|---|
| Sodium | 490 to 630 mg, depending on flavour | about 520 mg (label: 390 mg per 12 fl oz) |
| Potassium | 370 to 390 mg | about 373 mg (label: 280 mg per 12 fl oz) |
| Total sugars | 10 to 11 g | about 7 g (label: 5 g per 12 fl oz) |
| Also listed | vitamin C, niacin (B3), vitamin B6, vitamin B12, pantothenic acid (B5) | zinc, 2.8 mg per 12 fl oz |
How the ranges were read:
- Liquid I.V.: we read the nutrition panels of 17 original Hydration Multiplier flavours on liquid-iv.com. Sodium runs from 490 mg (golden cherry) to 630 mg (pear) per stick; the other 15 flavours, lemon lime among them, list 500 to 520 mg. Potassium runs from 370 to 390 mg, and sugars are 10 or 11 g.
- Pedialyte Classic: Abbott’s page lists 390 mg of sodium and 5 g of sugars per 12 fl oz for every flavour except one, which lists 370 mg of sodium and 9 g of sugars.
What the table shows: sodium and potassium are close once the volumes match. Comparing one stick with one bottle, or one serving with another, compares different amounts of liquid. The sugar gap is real: a Liquid I.V. stick carries about half as much sugar again as the same volume of most Pedialyte Classic flavours.
Round 2: Taste Test
Taste is personal, and we did not run a tasting, so there is no winner in this round. Here is what goes into each:
- Flavours. Liquid I.V. sells the Hydration Multiplier in flavours including strawberry lemonade, watermelon, passion fruit, lemon lime and concord grape. Abbott lists Pedialyte Classic in flavours including cherry frost, coconut burst, fruit punch, grape, iced berry, mixed fruit and strawberry, plus an unflavoured version.
- Sweetening. Liquid I.V.’s lemon lime ingredient list starts with cane sugar and dextrose and includes stevia leaf extract. Pedialyte Classic is sweetened with dextrose, and its flavoured versions add the sweeteners sucralose and acesulfame potassium; the unflavoured version lists neither.
Round 3: Convenience Corner
Liquid I.V. comes as a dry stick: light to carry, but you need water and something to mix it in. Pedialyte Classic is already mixed, and Abbott sells it in litre bottles it describes as “reclosable” for “easy measuring and pouring”. Which suits you depends on where you will be drinking it.
Round 4: Price Point Punch
Prices change with the retailer, the pack size and the country, so this page prints none. The fair comparison is the one Round 1 uses: cost per equal volume of drink. One Liquid I.V. stick makes 16 fl oz; for Pedialyte Classic, divide the bottle price by its volume.
What an oral rehydration solution is
The World Health Organization describes oral rehydration salts (ORS) as “a mixture of clean water, salt and sugar” that “is absorbed in the small intestine and replaces the water and electrolytes lost in the faeces”. It says diarrhoea “should be treated with oral rehydration solution (ORS)”.
The formula the WHO and UNICEF recommend is a reduced-osmolarity ORS with, per litre, 75 mmol of sodium, 20 mmol of potassium and 75 mmol (13.5 g) of glucose. Set beside the two products, per litre:
| Per litre | Liquid I.V. (converted from 16 fl oz) | Pedialyte Classic (Abbott’s 1 L label) | WHO/UNICEF reduced-osmolarity ORS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sodium | about 1,040 to 1,330 mg | 1,080 mg (one flavour: 1,030 mg) | 75 mmol, about 1,720 mg |
| Potassium | about 780 to 820 mg | 780 mg | 20 mmol, about 780 mg |
| Sugar | about 21 to 23 g of sugars | 13 g of sugars (one flavour: 25 g) | 13.5 g of glucose |
Both products carry less sodium than the WHO/UNICEF formula. Liquid I.V. carries more sugar than the formula’s 13.5 g of glucose. Pedialyte Classic lists 13 to 25 g of sugars per litre depending on flavour: 13 g for every flavour but one, which lists 25 g.
What the makers say their products are:
- Abbott says Pedialyte Classic “can help prevent mild to moderate dehydration caused by vomiting, diarrhea, exercise, travel, and extreme heat”, and its label adds: “Use under medical supervision for the dietary management of mild to moderate dehydration during diarrhea and vomiting.”
- Liquid I.V. says its Hydration Multiplier products “are classified as an Oral Rehydration Solution (ORS)”.
The NHS says that if you are being sick or have diarrhoea and are losing too much fluid, “a pharmacist can recommend oral rehydration solutions”.
The verdict: where they differ
There is no overall winner, because the two differ in ways that matter to different people:
- Sodium and potassium: close, once you compare the same volume.
- Sugar: Liquid I.V. has more per equal volume.
- Extras: Liquid I.V. adds vitamin C and B vitamins; Pedialyte Classic adds zinc.
- Format: a stick you mix, or a liquid that is ready to drink.
- What the maker says it is for: Abbott labels Pedialyte Classic for use under medical supervision in dehydration from diarrhoea and vomiting, as well as for exercise, travel and heat. Liquid I.V. sells a drink mix that it describes as an oral rehydration solution.
When hydration is a medical matter
Everything above is about the labels. Dehydration from illness is different. The NHS notes that babies, children and older adults are more at risk of dehydration, and Abbott’s own directions for Pedialyte Classic say: “For children under 1 year of age: consult your doctor”, and “Consult your doctor if vomiting, fever, or diarrhea continues beyond 24 hours”.
The NHS lists signs of dehydration that need urgent help, including feeling unusually tired or a child seeming drowsy, feeling dizzy on standing and it not going away, dark yellow pee or peeing less than normal, and breathing quickly or a fast heart rate. It treats confusion, being sleepier than normal or hard to wake, difficulty breathing, and blue, grey, pale or blotchy skin as an emergency. Wherever you live, those are signs to contact a doctor or your local emergency number, not to compare flavours.
How to compare any two rehydration drinks
The method on this page works for any pair of products, and it takes a minute with the two labels:
- Match the volumes. Convert both labels to the same amount of drink, per litre or per 16 fl oz, before comparing anything.
- Read sodium, potassium and sugars side by side. Those three are where rehydration drinks differ most.
- Check the flavour and the line. Numbers vary between flavours and between a brand’s original, sugar-free and other versions.
- Read the maker’s directions. Who the product is for, how to mix it, and when the maker says to see a doctor are all on the label.
- Work out price per equal volume, not per pack.
Sources
- Abbott Nutrition, Pedialyte Classic product page (nutrition per 12 fl oz and per litre, ingredients, directions, flavours): https://www.abbottnutrition.com/our-products/pedialyte-classic
- Pedialyte, Why Pedialyte (brand history): https://www.pedialyte.com/why-pedialyte
- Liquid I.V., Lemon Lime Hydration Multiplier product page (mixing directions, ingredients, FAQ, company details) and the nutrition-facts panels on the Hydration Multiplier product pages: https://www.liquid-iv.com/products/lemon-lime-hydration-multiplier
- Liquid I.V., Key ingredients: https://www.liquid-iv.com/pages/ingredients
- World Health Organization, Diarrhoeal disease fact sheet: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/diarrhoeal-disease
- World Health Organization, The Treatment of Diarrhoea: A manual for physicians and other senior health workers (2005), Annex 2, Table A: https://iris.who.int/server/api/core/bitstreams/df59ceab-2498-4a64-bd93-ad7566addb4e/content
- NHS, Dehydration: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/dehydration/
Checked September 2026.
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