Brian Nagele
Diet sodas are some of the most popular beverages across the globe. They provide the drinker with the opportunity to get a taste of sweetness without drinking a lot of sugar or calories.
Besides avoiding calories in the interest of losing weight, some drinkers, such as those with diabetes, benefit from drinks with less sugar.
All sodas are the result of combining fizzy liquid with sweet flavorings. Some of those flavorings can be citrusy and lemony, while others may taste more like caramel.
Read on to learn about 27 of the most popular diet sodas in the world.
Check out our favorite diet sodas that pack plenty of flavor without all the calories and sugar of standard sodas.
Diet Coke
Diet Coke is a soft drink that has been around since 1982. It contains artificial sweeteners, carbonated water, and citric acid.
The result is a soda that tastes like caramel with a dash of citrus. Those who love Diet Coke will drink it almost all day long.
However, it does contain caffeine. So, you may want to avoid it late at night or switch to a caffeine-free version.
Diet Coke is one of the most popular Coca-Cola varieties!
Diet Dr Pepper
Diet Dr Pepper is the low-calorie version of the beloved Dr Pepper soda brand.
It even comes in the 23 different flavors that regular Dr Pepper comes in, such as Cherry Chocolate and Cherry Vanilla.
This brand originated in 1962 and became very popular at the tail end of the 20th century through the beginning of the 21st century.
Diet Pepsi
Diet Pepsi is a calorie-free and sugar-free version of Pepsi’s classic soda.
The company introduced this soda in 1964, making it the first diet cola distributed in the United States.
Some countries carry this product under the name of Pepsi Light. Its ingredients include carbonated water, aspartame, phosphoric acid, citric acid, and caffeine.
Diet Pepsi had several variations over the years, including wild cherry, lemon, vanilla lime, strawberries and cream, and mojito.
Diet Dr Pepper Cherry
Diet Dr Pepper Cherry is very similar to regular Dr Pepper Cherry, except it has fewer calories and sugar.
The flavor has a similar caramel-citrus tang. However, there is an added dimension of jammy cherry.
This beverage is a great refreshing choice if you want something a little more festive than regular soda.
I love the balance between the deep cherry flavor balanced with the touches of brightness.
Diet Mountain Dew
Diet Mountain Dew is a calorie-free version of Mountain Dew. Like the original soda, this drink tastes like citrus, and it has a bright yellow-green color.
Instead of sugar, this soda uses a mixture of sucralose, aspartame, and acesulfame potassium.
This soda also contains citric acid, concentrated orange juice, citrus pectin, and caffeine.
Fresca Original Citrus
Fresca Original Citrus is grapefruit-flavored soda water that does not have any sugar or calories.
This beverage contains carbonated water, citric acid, concentrated grapefruit juice, aspartame, and carob bean gum.
Fresca comes in other flavors as well, including blackberry citrus and peach citrus.
Pepsi Zero Sugar
Pepsi Zero Sugar is an offering from Pepsi that has no sugar.
The beverage includes ingredients such as aspartame, panax ginseng root extract, citric acid, and acesulfame potassium.
The taste is very similar to the original Pepsi and Diet Pepsi. Given the caffeine in the mix, it is best to drink this only when you are not trying to sleep soon.
Pepsi True
Pepsi True is a cola-flavored soda from Pepsi sweetened with sugar and stevia.
Based on its sweetening composition and green-focused marketing campaign, it is very similar to Coca-Cola Lite. Flavor-wise, it is quite similar to other offerings from Pepsi.
Diet Sunkist
Diet Sunkist is the diet version of the popular orange-flavored soda.
This beverage contains citric acid, sodium citrate, aspartame, malic acid, caffeine, and natural flavors.
The bright soda is perfectly suited to a beautiful summer day. I love throwing a few of these into a cooler to make a boat day perfect.
Diet Dr Pepper Cherry Vanilla
Diet Dr Pepper Cherry Vanilla has the low calories and sugar content of other diet sodas and boosts the flavor of the full-calorie Dr Pepper Cherry Vanilla.
Vanilla brightens the dark and complex flavor of cherry. Both of the flavors combine to compliment the sweet caramel base of the soda.
Fanta Zero
Fanta Zero is an orange-flavored soda that has no calories, caffeine, or sugar.
This soda includes citric acid, potassium citrate, aspartame, acesulfame potassium, and sucrose acetate.
There are several flavors other than orange soda, including dragon fruit and orange cream.
Coca-Cola Life
Coca-Cola Life was a soda made using stevia and sugar. In many ways, including composition and marketing, it was very similar to Pepsi True.
As a result of the stevia, this soda has 35% fewer calories than other sodas.
The flavor of this soda has a similar caramel and citrus flavor. Coca-Cola discontinued this soda in 2020.
Sprite Zero
Sprite Zero is a version of the popular lemon and lime flavored soda.
This soda has low sodium and no calories. Instead of sugar, this soda contains aspartame.
There is also a cherry-flavored Sprite Zero.
Mello Yello Zero
Mello Yellow Zero is a zero-calorie and zero-sugar version of Coca-Cola’s Mello Yellow soda.
This drink has a smooth citrus flavor and is low in sodium. It contains citric acid, EDTA, acacia, potassium citrate, sucrose acetate isobutyrate, coconut oil, and aspartame.
This soda can be somewhat difficult to find.
Pibb Zero
Pibb Zero is a zero-calorie version of Pibb sodas. It has a spicy cherry flavor and 3.33 milligrams of caffeine per fluid ounce.
Besides the original cherry flavor, there are also cherry vanilla, strawberry, vanilla, and raspberry vanilla versions.
This soda contains phosphoric acid, aspartame, acesulfame potassium, and lactic acid.
Diet Coke With Splenda
This soda is a version of Diet Coke that uses Splenda, which is an artificial sweetener made from acesulfame potassium, instead of sugar or other sweeteners.
It has 2.83 milligrams of caffeine per fluid ounce. The flavor is very similar to regular diet coke.
Diet Barq’s Root Beer
Diet Barq’s Root Beer is a low-calorie and low-sugar version of the classic root beer brand.
The soda has a tasty caramel yet herbaceous flavor. It still contains plenty of caffeine, making it a great choice for daytime drinking.
This beverage contains potassium sorbate, aspartame, citric acid, acacia, and potassium chloride.
Barq’s is my favorite option when I want a dark soda that will give me a caffeine boost.
Hint Kick
Hint Kick is not quite a soda. However, it is sweet and caffeinated in a way that makes it part of the soda conversation.
These beverages come in many flavors, including apple pear, blueberry grape, black raspberry, and citrus.
This drink is a great choice if you want something that is like soda but a bit different.
Zevia Ginger Root Beer
Zevia Ginger Root Beer is a beverage that is a combination of creamy root beer flavor and refreshing ginger.
It has no sugar, calories, or caffeine. It gets its sweetness from stevia rather than sugar or artificial sweeteners.
This soda is a great option when you want a drink that is a little different from the other soda options.
I adore this unique soda when I am looking for a complex flavor balance.
Diet Mug Root Beer
Diet Mug Root Beer is a diet version of Mug Root Beer from PepsiCo.
While other types of root beer have caffeine, this brand does not.
This beverage contains citric acid, natural and artificial flavor, and quillaia extract.
Dr Pepper Ten
Dr Pepper Ten was introduced in 2011 as a ten-calorie version of Dr Pepper.
The company supported this brand with a marketing campaign that aimed to appeal primarily to men.
Dr Pepper discontinued this soda in 2021, partially due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
Caffeine-Free Diet Pepsi
Caffeine-Free Diet Pepsi is a version of Pepsi without sugar, caffeine, or calories.
The flavor is similar to other forms of Diet Pepsi.
The lack of caffeine and sugar makes this beverage an ideal choice if you want to drink soda later at night without needing to stay awake.
Caffeine-Free Diet Coke
Caffeine-Free Diet Coke is a version of Diet Coke made without Caffeine.
Most people find it tastes pretty similar to regular Diet Coke. However, some people can taste some subtle differences.
As of 2022, this soda is not discontinued. However, it has not been available in stores for a few years due to shortages caused by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Diet 7-Up
Diet 7-Up, also known as 7UP Zero Sugar, is a soda with a similar lemon-lime flavor to its non-diet counterpart.
This soda contains no calories, sugar, or caffeine. As a result, this soda is a great drink, day or night.
The refreshing flavor is also particularly delicious in warm weather, such as in the summer.
Brown’s Diet Black Cherry
Dr. Brown’s Diet Black Cherry soda is the diet version of Dr. Brown’s Black Cherry.
This soda also comes in other flavors, such as cherry. Instead of sugar, this soda uses aspartame for sweetness.
As a caffeine-free soda, this drink is a great choice any time of day. I adore this unique soda when I am looking for a somewhat different flavor.
Coke Zero
While other Coca-Cola products are low-calorie and low-sugar, Coke Zero aims to have no sugar.
This type of coke comes in a flavor similar to the original Coca-Cola as well as Zero Cherry Vanilla, Zero Cherry, and Zero Vanilla.
There is also a sugarless version that has no caffeine. These sodas contain phosphoric acid, aspartame, and other flavors.
Diet Mug Cream Soda
Diet Mug Cream Soda is a diet version of Mug Cream Soda.
Ingredients include aspartame, citric acid, yucca mohave extract, and sodium benzoate.
The cozy flavor provides a delicious taste experience that suits several occasions and seasons.