PlainPill

Coffee vs Energy Drinks for energy

Short answer: For energy, users rate them about the same: 88% report improvement with Coffee (106 reports) and 92% with Energy Drinks (13 reports).

Based on 346 reports about Coffee and 31 about Energy Drinks. Not medical advice.

Coffee
Substance
Energy Drinks
Substance
Users say it helped42%helped204 reports · high confidence47%helped19 reports · few reports
Verdict
Mixed
Mixed
ResearchNot gradedNot graded
Meta-analyses / RCTs——
Mainly used for
Energy
% reporting improvement
88% (106)92% (13)
Focus
% reporting improvement
86% (80)75% (4)
Anxiety
% reporting improvement
6% (54)100% (2)
Mood
% reporting improvement
66% (29)100% (3)
Sleep
% reporting improvement
16% (19)—
Common side effectsanxiety, jitteriness, insomnia, stomach issuesheart palpitations, stomach issues, elevated blood, qtc prolongation
Typical dose reported150-200 mg caffeine / daily180 mg caffeine per 500 ml / daily
Coffee
What a user said
“Quit coffee - only green tea and MUDWTR in the morning. No more highs and lows and my brain fog seems to be going away.”
Full Coffee profile →
Energy Drinks
What a user said
“Energy drinks are the best relatively low impact tool for this kind of thing... it wakes me up better than most other things.”
Full Energy Drinks profile →

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Percentages come from first-hand user reports and are not clinical outcomes. Talk to a doctor before starting, stopping or combining anything. How we rate