15 Olipop Flavors, Ranked

Once upon a time, our choices for a grab-and-go beverage at the grocery store were limited to old standbys like Coca-Cola and Dr. Pepper. But times have changed. The rise of prebiotic soda has brought us a range of carbonated offerings with health-focused ingredients like prebiotics, a type of fiber that helps increase the good bacteria in the gut, keeping your microbiome nice and happy.

Founded in 2018, Olipop is one of the most popular prebiotic sodas on the market. You may have noticed their colorful cans in the store and wondered which of their myriad flavors, if any, were worth eschewing your favorite regular soda for. To answer this question, I taste-tested 15 flavors of Olipop and took copious notes. To Olipop's credit, I ended up with only one "nope." Five flavors didn't do much for me but I wouldn't kick them out of the fridge, four that surprised me with how much I liked them, four that made me say, "This is it; this is the best one," and one Olipop that ruled them all.

This was actually my second time trying this flavor of Olipop soda. I tested it when I ranked the most popular diet sodas, ultimately placing it in the middle. That was a different time, with different points of comparison. Ranked against its kinfolk, Strawberry Vanilla Olipop was an unpleasant experience. The truth is, strawberry is not my flavor. It takes a lot of sweetness to make it bearable for me, and this Olipop flavor isn't all that sweet. Perhaps the vanilla could have saved it, but there's also not enough of that in it to balance the strawberry's tartness.

That said, if you love strawberries and enjoy a drink with less sweetness, there's a very good chance you'll enjoy this flavor. To be fair, even the aroma itself is full-on strawberry. Maybe the problem isn't you, Strawberry Vanilla; maybe it's me.

I may shy away from strawberry, but one flavor I love is cherry. Olipop's Cherry Cola seemed like a sure winner, containing both tart cherry juice concentrate and natural black cherry flavor. High hopes were with me as I cracked open that can. Unfortunately, those hopes were crushed; this Olipop flavor didn't live up to my expectations.

Cherry Cola started off well. Poured into a glass, it was a rich reddish brown that looked very "cherry cola." The aroma was faint, though, and sadly, the cherry flavor was faint, too. It was nowhere near as vibrant as I'd have liked it to be, and it faded fast on the tongue. The taste wasn't unpleasant, but it wasn't anything to write home about. That said, there was an indefinable freshness to it that I enjoyed the longer I sipped it, perhaps due to the natural cherry flavorings. This couldn't save the drink, though. If you love cherry sodas, this one may not have enough cherry to offer you. 

Cherry Vanilla Olipop sounded like the perfect blend of deliciousness. (If there's a flavor after cherry that typically pleases my taste buds, it's vanilla.) The soda, a bright, reddish pink, looked mouthwatering in the glass, and the cherry aroma was discernible with a quick sniff — not faint, but not overbearing. So far, so good, but the key question was whether the vanilla would stand out.

It didn't. The cherry was bright and acidic, but the vanilla barely showed up for me, if at all. This was a missed opportunity for the creamy, smooth sweetness of vanilla to balance the tartness of the cherry in the beverage. Though this soda won out over Cherry Cola, there was another stone-fruit-heavy Olipop flavor that blew both of them out of the (soda) water. In comparison, this one is relegated to "could take it or leave it" status.

Classic Grape Olipop was an exciting reddish-purple color that was much lighter and less opaque than many traditional grape sodas. The grape was clearly discernible both in the aroma and the flavor, though, exemplifying Olipop's general light-handed approach when it comes to coloring its sodas. Meaning, don't let the opacity (or lack thereof) of an Olipop soda trick you into thinking its flavor will be lacking.

Classic Grape Olipop was proudly, unequivocally grape, though it's not as intense as something like Welch's Grape Juice. That's not a bad thing. I don't actually care for grape-flavored drinks much, but this flavor was so nice that I can see myself sipping one of these every now and then. If you happen to enjoy grape-flavored beverages, you should like this.

Interestingly, grape wasn't the only flavor that stood out. Most of the Olipop flavors contain apple juice concentrate — an addition that I didn't consciously notice in most cases. Classic Grape contains it, too, but I actually taste it at the end of the sip, where it adds a little sweetness to the grapes' tart edge.

If you've ever wondered what flavor cream soda is (at least in the United States), you may be surprised to learn that vanilla, rather than cream, is its most significant note. Olipop's Cream Soda is no exception, containing two types of natural vanilla flavors. Again, vanilla is my jam, so I poured out this Olipop flavor with great expectations.

My expectations were mostly met. Cream sodas can come in a variety of colors, and this one almost looked like water, with only the slightest hint of pale yellow. The aroma was faint, but the flavor was a lovely, sweet creaminess that reminded me of marshmallows. It faded fast, unfortunately, and I found myself wishing for just a bit more for my taste buds to play with during a sip and in the moments afterward. 

The subtlety was intentional, I'm sure. A natural-tasting, fleeting sweetness is better than a cloying sweetness. This soda could be great for anyone who doesn't want to feel like they're drinking a conventional soda, and it could be just the ticket if you're seeking a Butterbeer copycat.

When it comes to root beer, I can happily go with either the lighter, creamy A&W style or the biting spice of Barq's. Which side of the spectrum would Olipop's Classic Root Beer fall on? It was a rich, brown cola color with a strong aroma, but there was something beneath the root beer smell that I didn't like, a sourness that I hoped wouldn't come out in the flavor.

I wasn't disappointed; it didn't. This Olipop flavor struck me as a toned-down, slightly more herbal-tasting member of the Barq's-style camp. It wasn't bad, but it lacked the depth and bite I look for when drinking one of these more herbal-tasting (as opposed to creamy) root beers. In other words, it had the qualities I expect in a root beer, just less of them. If you handed me a can of this, I'd be happy. If you didn't, no loss; other Olipop flavors impressed me more.

Ridge Rush is a newer flavor from Olipop, having debuted in late 2024. With its combination of lemon, lime, and orange flavors (not to mention the mountain-themed name and can design), the beverage has received understandable comparisons to Mountain Dew. Some consumers disagree with this comparison, which I was fine with: Diet Mountain Dew was a Don't for me, anyway.

Rather than the neon green of Mountain Dew, Ridge Rush poured out a pale yellow color similar to that of champagne. It smelled faintly of lemon water, but the taste was rich and fully formed: pleasantly sweet and lemony, and perfectly balanced. Truth be told, this was my favorite Olipop flavor during my tasting session before I tried a few others. In the end, although this was delicious, I ended up having my head turned by a few other flavors, with one in particular rendering this one rather redundant.

I had an interesting relationship with this Olipop flavor. Like several others, Orange Squeeze was my main squeeze for a while, and it ended up in eighth place due to no fault of its own. At first glance, though, it didn't bode well; it was a pale orange color, like watered-down orange juice, and the same went for the aroma.

The taste, on the other hand, was nothing like what I expected. It was nowhere near as in-your-face orangey as something like Sunkist soda, yet it wasn't timid. This is what orange juice tastes like before it has its coffee in the morning, but not in a bad way. 

Orange Squeeze turned out to be unlike any orange soda I've ever tried, and I really like it. It's very refreshing, almost like Fresca, one of my favorite diet soda brands. The amount of sweetness perfectly balances the light citrus tang. It'd be a fun soda to try in a root beer float if you're aiming for a more naturally flavored approach.

Most commercial ginger ale sodas don't contain real ginger, or at least not in quantities that would impact flavor or health. This likely explains the lack of gingery zing for me in the taste of a conventional soda like Canada Dry Zero. I love the heat of ginger, though, so I was pleased to find that the ingredients list for Olipop's Ginger Ale features actual ginger juice, along with "natural ginger ale flavor."

The drink was a light, pale yellow and held a promising hint of warmth in its aroma. The flavor was nice and gingery, with enough of a kick to make me smile. There was also a pleasant sweetness with a tinge of lemony flavor, which was interesting given that there's more lime juice and quince juice in this than lemon juice. Either way, it complements the ginger beautifully. For me, this was about even with Orange Squeeze in terms of likeability, but the fact that this Olipop flavor actually tastes like ginger bumped it up a notch in this review.

Usually iffy to ambivalent about apple-flavored foods and beverages, I was surprised at how I felt about Olipop's Crisp Apple soda. There was nothing "take it or leave it" about this flavor; it had me thinking it was the winner for a while. From the first pour to the final test sip, Crisp Apple performed admirably.

It was a pale champagne color and smelled like apple juice: nice and crisply tart. Many of the Olipop flavors have a faint aroma, but not this one. And the flavor was as charismatic as the fragrance: It tasted like a pleasantly sweet sparkling apple juice. This soda, I feel, would be nearly universally likeable, so if you need an Olipop that stands the best chance of pleasing a random palate, this would be it. Unless you detest apple juice, this flavor would range from "pretty good to amazing." I can't imagine anyone finding anything to criticize about this one.

This was the Olipop flavor that knocked the citrus-themed Ridge Rush lower on my rankings; it was just that good. Lemon Lime Olipop had the same pale champagne hue as Ridge Rush, and it smelled similar to it as well, though a bit stronger. After that, Lemon Lime distinguished itself just enough to shine. It was a little sweeter than Ridge Rush, but that alone wouldn't have made a difference for me. It was the somehow creamier notes that made Lemon Lime so delicious. There's no cream in it, however, leaving me to guess that it's the key lime juice concentrate and the natural key lime flavor that's doing the trick. Happily, the taste lingered for a while on the tongue, too.

Lemon lime sodas are never my first pick, but I can see myself making an exception here. Lemon Lime Olipop made citrus interesting enough to wow me. Ridge Rush did, too, but this one just had more (and more complex) flavor to offer.

Watermelon Lime Olipop was as cheery a light pink color as one might expect from a drink containing watermelon juice as its second listed ingredient. One small whiff of this beverage yielded a bright watermelon aroma that was definitely natural rather than synthetic. This fruit would undoubtedly be the star of this particular can, but I was eager to see if the lime juice and tart cherry juice concentrate also stood out.

During my first sip, watermelon was what I mainly detected — very bright, sweet, and fresh, like an exclamation point translated into flavor form. After a few more sips, the hint of lime made itself known (I never really detected tart cherry), and the experience was perfectly sublime. This Olipop tastes like summer. It goes without saying that I thought it was the winner for a while, but that was before I met number three on this list.

A soda with a name like "Doctor Goodwin" is inevitably going to inspire comparisons to Dr. Pepper, and Olipop likely intended this. The page for Doctor Goodwin on the Olipop official site contains several thinly veiled references to this conventional soda giant. The most notable of these involves the mystery of Dr. Pepper's 23 flavors and the fact that Doctor Goodwin's ingredients are fully available for viewing. Essentially, this Olipop flavor is for fans of stone fruit. It contains plum, prune, and cherry juice concentrates, not to mention vanilla extract, lemon juice, and a few other contenders that promise deliciousness.

The soda was a light pinkish-brown color and boasted a strong cherry aroma. This is what I expected the Cherry Cola to smell like. After one sip, I was in love. Doctor Goodwin was absolutely bursting with a natural cherry flavor that wasn't overwhelming, perhaps tempered by the prune and plum flavors. To me, a cherry fan, this was a wonderful soda that made me smile.

Tropical Punch Olipop offered a one-two punch of a surprise during this taste test. For whatever reason, I was picturing a bright pink-red soda à la Tahitian Treat, so I was caught off guard when I poured out a medium-yellow beverage. No matter; the flavor was the key thing. 

It was utterly delightful. Picture a swimsuit-decked movie character who's sipping an orange, fruit-garnished cocktail under a sun parasol — this is what they'd be drinking. It tastes like the first day of a sunny vacation, sweet as can be. Still, there's a definite tartness to it (lemon juice comes before the pineapple, passion fruit, and apple juice concentrates in the ingredients list), but the sweetness provides balance. That said, if you're trying to watch sugar, don't let that sweetness fool you: This Olipop flavor only contains three grams. Overall, this was incredibly tasty. It was my top pick until I got acquainted with the flavor that earned the number one spot.

Considering Olipop's robust selection of impressive fruit-based flavors, I had no idea that one of the non-fruit outliers would reign supreme. Vintage Cola, according to Olipop's site, is meant to be a throwback to the colas of the past. The brand isn't specific about what that means, but the drink did possess a medium brown color that's lighter than many of today's conventional colas, and the aroma smelled to me like a more herbal version of Coca-Cola.

My first thought upon sipping was that it was quite sweet, an impressive achievement for only two grams of sugar per can. As I continued drinking, the flavor blossomed in complexity. This cola was like trigonometry to the elementary-school arithmetic that is Coke, Pepsi, and Dr. Pepper. There was a lot going on, with warm vanilla notes on top of the typical cola foundation. And then there was the caramel that provided a hint of sweet creaminess at the end of the sip. After sampling this, no other flavor came close to dethroning it. It's not for everyone, but it's most certainly for me.

In choosing the flavors of Olipop that I would sample for this flavor review, my methodology was simple: I grabbed one of every variety available for purchase in the supermarkets where I live. In this case, I relied on Walmart, Harris Teeter, and Target. When it came to sampling the sodas, I poured them into a glass, inhaled deeply to get a good sense of the aroma, and then tasted them all cold (as Olipop recommends on its FAQ page). Every soda received several sips, many of which I held in my mouth for a moment to discern some of the more subtle notes. I rinsed the glass after each tasting, and to clear my own palate between flavors, I drank lemon water and waited a moment until my taste buds were fresh and ready for more.

Price was not a factor in this review; nor were questions of the health benefits of prebiotic sodas. This was not a nutrition-based review; flavor was the sole trait that I evaluated. What I enjoy (and thus ranked higher for) are flavors that are complex but not overwhelming. It's also important that if there's tartness involved, there's adequate sweetness for balance. Finally, I like a flavor that lingers a while on the tongue a bit rather than fading quickly.