Shopping guide
Everyday soda swaps (and sparkling water that replaces the can)
Not medical advice. QuitSoda is habit support for adults. If caffeine, sugar, pregnancy, medicines, or a health condition affect your plan, ask your clinician.
Replace the drink, keep the ritual. The goal is a cold, familiar reach that is not regular soda, diet soda, or zero-sugar soda, not a perfect health scorecard. This page is the shopping guide for soda alternatives; start with a 30-day plan if you do not have one yet.
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Habit-first overview (no product cards): soda alternatives.
What counts
On plan: unsweetened still water, plain unsweetened sparkling water (a squeeze of fresh citrus at home is fine), and unsweetened tea or coffee. Counts as soda: regular, diet, zero-sugar, and prebiotic soda, flavored sparkling even when unsweetened, and any drink with added sugar or a sweetener. Full definitions: sparkling water vs soda.
Start with drinks you already have
- Tap or filtered water in a bottle or glass you already like, with ice if cold matters.
- Unsweetened coffee or tea already in the cupboard.
- Any plain unsweetened sparkling water already at home.
If you want to try a new drink
- Buy one can or a small pack of store-brand unsweetened sparkling water at a grocery you already visit.
- Ask for soda water or sparkling water at restaurants instead of fountain soda.
Pick a drink option
- Still water: cheapest and simplest; wins when the container (not the flavor) is what fails. Pair with the bottle guide if needed.
- Plain unsweetened sparkling: closest everyday on-plan stand-in for cold + fizz (e.g. La Croix Pure, store-brand plain, plain Topo Chico). Start here for most people.
- Unsweetened coffee or tea: when you want warmth, ritual, or caffeine; see the tea guide.
- Home carbonator: only if you already go through a lot of plain sparkling water. A Drinkmate® OmniFizz is one option; compare cost on the carbonator guide.
When not to buy online
- Your local store already stocks a brand you like. Grocery is often cheaper than shipping cans.
- You have not tasted the flavor yet. Buy one can or a small pack first.
- You are stocking a pantry to feel productive. Restock after a week of real use (Day 26 of the challenge).
Best sparkling water for quitting soda
If you miss cold + fizz, start with plain unsweetened sparkling and keep it easy to reach.
- Plain / “pure”. La Croix Pure, store-brand unflavored, or plain Topo Chico-style mineral sparkling.
- Restaurant fizz: plain club soda / soda water without syrup.
More detail: sparkling water vs soda.
How to pick a sparkling brand (without overbuying)
- Match the reward you miss: cold, big bubbles, fruit smell, or “something in my hand on the drive.”
- Buy one can or a small pack at the grocery first. Variety packs help you learn taste before a case ships.
- Stock only what you finished last week. Challenge Day 26 is a better restock day than Day 1.
- If you already drink a lot of sparkling water from cans, compare cost on the carbonator guide before adding another subscription box.
These still count as soda
Flavored sparkling water (even unsweetened, such as Waterloo, Bubly, or flavored La Croix), juice-sweetened sparkling (such as Spindrift), and prebiotic sodas (such as OLIPOP) all count toward your soda total for this challenge. They are not on-plan swaps, so this guide does not recommend them.
Purchase options (grocery first)
A plain sparkling-water pick, with Amazon as a backup when your store is out. Brand availability and prices change. Prefer grocery first.
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On plan: does not count toward your daily total
Plain on-plan baseline for cold and fizz.
Traveling with swaps? Use the travel checklist.
Best plain sparkling water · Soda alternatives · All guides · Start the challenge