Liquid IV vs Pedialyte: Sodium, Sugar and Key Differences Compared

Start hereLiquid I.V. calls its mix an oral rehydration solution. Yet per litre it carries less sodium and more sugar than the formula the WHO and UNICEF recommend. So what does each label tell you?

This page compares Liquid I.V. and Pedialyte using what the makers print on their own labels.

Every product figure here comes from the makers’ own US product pages, read in September 2026. Formulas and labels change, and they differ by flavour and by country, so check the label on what you buy.

Neither label makes one of them better for everyone. Dehydration from illness is a medical matter, covered in When hydration is a medical matter.

01Liquid IV vs Pedialyte side by side

The table compares the same amount of drink: 16 US fl oz, which is what one Liquid I.V. stick makes.

Per 16 fl oz of drink	Liquid I.V. Hydration Multiplier (one stick)	Pedialyte Classic
Sodium	490 to 630 mg, depending on flavour (15 of 17 flavours list 500 to 520 mg)	about 520 mg in most flavours (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 in most flavours (label: 5 g per 12 fl oz)
Other notable ingredients	vitamin C, niacin (B3), vitamin B6, vitamin B12, pantothenic acid (B5)	zinc, 2.8 mg per 12 fl oz
Form	a powder stick you mix with water	a ready-to-drink liquid
What the maker says about it	says its Hydration Multiplier products are classified as an oral rehydration solution (ORS)	says it can help prevent mild to moderate dehydration caused by vomiting, diarrhoea, exercise, travel and extreme heat; its label says to use it under medical supervision for mild to moderate dehydration during diarrhoea and vomiting

About Liquid I.V.

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.

About 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.

02How much sodium, potassium and sugar each has

The two labels use different serving sizes, so the fair 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. Its directions say: “READY TO USE. DO NOT ADD WATER OR DILUTE.”

So the Pedialyte figures in the table above are Abbott’s 12 fl oz figures scaled up to 16 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 but one. That flavour lists 370 mg of sodium and 9 g of sugars.

What the numbers show:

• 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.
• Sugar is the clearest difference: a Liquid I.V. stick carries about half as much sugar again as the same volume of most Pedialyte Classic flavours.

03Taste and sweeteners

Taste is personal, and we did not run a tasting, so there is no winner here. What the labels do show 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.

04Format: a powder stick or a ready-made drink

Liquid I.V. comes as a dry stick. It is light to carry, but it needs 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.

05Comparing the price

Prices change with the retailer, the pack size and the country, so this page prints none. The fair comparison is cost per equal volume of drink, as in the table above.

One Liquid I.V. stick makes 16 fl oz. For Pedialyte Classic, divide the bottle price by its volume.

06What an oral rehydration solution is

The World Health Organization describes oral rehydration salts (ORS) as “a mixture of clean water, salt and sugar”. In its words, the mixture “is absorbed in the small intestine and replaces the water and electrolytes lost in the faeces”. It says diarrhoea should be treated with 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. Reduced osmolarity means the glucose and salt are less concentrated than in the older standard formula. Here are the two products beside it, 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

Set against that formula:

• 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”. 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”.

Liquid I.V.	about 1,040 to 1,330 mg, converted from 16 fl oz
Pedialyte Classic	1,080 mg from Abbott's 1 L label (one flavour: 1,030 mg)
WHO/UNICEF ORS	75 mmol, about 1,720 mg

Figures read from the makers' US pages in September 2026.

07When 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. 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 or if consumption needs are greater than 2 liters per day.”

The NHS lists signs of dehydration that need urgent help. They include:

• 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.
• Breathing quickly, or a fast heart rate.

It treats signs such as 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.

08Quick answers

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How we checked this · Last checked October 2026

• Product figures were read from the makers' US product pages in September 2026: the nutrition panels of 17 original Hydration Multiplier flavours on liquid-iv.com, and Abbott's Pedialyte Classic page (per 12 fl oz and per litre).
• Pedialyte figures per 16 fl oz are Abbott's 12 fl oz figures scaled up; Liquid I.V. figures per litre are converted from 16 US fl oz (about 473 mL).
• The WHO/UNICEF formula comes from the WHO's 2005 manual The Treatment of Diarrhoea (Annex 2, Table A); milligram figures for it are converted from mmol.
• No tasting was run, and no prices are printed, because they change with the retailer, the pack size and the country.
• This is a comparison of labels, not medical advice.

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