Shopping guide
Home carbonator guide
Not medical advice. QuitSoda is habit support for adults. If caffeine, sugar, pregnancy, medicines, or a health condition affect your plan, ask your clinician.
If you already enjoy plain sparkling water, a home carbonator can be worth comparing. If you prefer still water, skip the purchase.
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Part of the 30-day quit-soda plan: use this only if you already go through a lot of plain sparkling water.
Start with drinks you already have
- Chill tap or filtered water in a glass or bottle you already own.
- Use sparkling water that is already in the fridge or cupboard.
- Keep a cold still-water bottle in the same spot soda used to sit.
- Track two weeks of how often you actually want fizz before you price a machine. That number is your break-even input.
If you want to try a new drink
- Buy one can or a small pack of store-brand unsweetened sparkling water before a case or a machine.
- Ask for soda water at restaurants when you want fizz away from home.
What to compare before you buy
- Machine price: starter kits usually include one cylinder and one bottle; design models often sell the cylinder separately.
- Gas refills: ongoing cost. Pink Quick Connect cylinders fit Terra; screw-in ~60 L cylinders fit Drinkmate®/Aarke. The two systems are not interchangeable.
- Bottles: capacity, dishwasher notes, and how many you need for a normal day.
- Storage: counter space and where empties go until you exchange them.
- Break-even: compare total cost with the sparkling water you already buy for a month or two. Choosing not to buy is a valid result.
Carbonator vs cans (and bottles)
- Buy cans / store sparkling first if you are still testing whether fizz replaces soda for you.
- Consider a carbonator if you already finish sparkling water regularly and want less packaging cost over time.
- Skip the machine if a bottle of still water or tea is what you actually reach for. See the bottle and tea guides.
When not to buy
- You drink sparkling water only a few times a week. Cans stay simpler.
- You mainly want soda flavor syrups. For this challenge, stick to unsweetened water; syrups recreate the soda habit.
- You need drinks on the road more than at home: see travel and swaps.
For this challenge, use a machine only for unsweetened sparkling water. Adding regular or diet soda flavoring still counts toward your soda goal.
If you decide to buy a machine
Purchase options only after store cans (or restaurant soda water) already fit your routine. Prices and ratings change on Amazon and at Drinkmate's own store, so check the current listing before you order.
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A common budget kit for plain sparkling water. Later refills need the pink Quick Connect cylinder pack, not the blue screw-in style.
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Drinkmate OmniFizz Premium Kit
The kit comes with four cylinders, so you are not buying gas on day one. It uses screw-in cylinders (different from Terra). Fine for plain seltzer; for QuitSoda, stick to unsweetened water even though it can carbonate other drinks.
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A design-forward pick for plain sparkling water. Budget for a screw-in cylinder and exchange costs on top of the machine.
Ongoing gas for Terra: look for a pink Quick Connect 2-pack exchange. Drinkmate and Aarke need screw-in cylinders instead. Drinkmate also sells refills and runs a cylinder exchange at its own store.
Best plain sparkling water · All guides · Everyday swaps · Start the challenge