8 Orange Soda Brands, Ranked Worst To Best

Orange soda is often thought of as a kid's drink, likely because it's caffeine-free, but there's a lot to love about the brightly-colored beverage. It's sweet, a touch tart, and there's no denying the eye-catching orange color has its own appeal. However, they aren't all as good as the sticky soda you remember swooning for when growing up. While children don't tend to be too picky when it comes to soda, you can and should be. So, what orange soda brand has what it takes to send you on a stroll down memory lane? Let's find out.

I taste-tested eight common orange soda brands and ranked them from worst to best so you don't have to suffer through any lesser options ever again. As far as my ranking criteria are concerned, I focused on flavor, color, and nostalgic appeal. More details on my methodology can be found at the end, but suffice it to say that many of the sodas I sampled were quite similar — so I had to weed out the bad from the good somehow. Stick with me, and it'll be nothing but the best for you from here on.

Slice Orange Soda may have a cool-looking throwback can, but what's inside certainly didn't live up to its bold look. Why? Well, for starters, it's marketed as a healthy soda, and when you're looking for some nostalgia in a can, it really misses the mark. Sure, it has some prebiotics and probiotics giving it a hand, but it definitely won't satisfy a craving for a classic orange soda.

Slice Orange Soda is also pale, so you don't get any eye-catching appeal, either. As for flavor, I strongly disliked that as well. It's much less sweet than the other sodas I sampled, and it had a nice tart edge. So, half good, half bad. However, what stood out most was an overwhelming flavor of artificial sweetener. It's kind of odd, too, because it contains cane sugar and Stevia. Why not just stick to cane sugar? Either way, it tasted like a poor substitute for the real deal. Not only did I dislike drinking it, but I wouldn't even use this soda for cooking. I guess if you were looking for a healthier alternative to a regular soda, it could serve a purpose, but that Stevia flavor is a major turn-off. No, thanks!

Coming in second-to-last is Poppi Orange Soda, and unfortunately, it was a serious letdown as well. Similar to Slice, but a touch better, it's another prebiotic soda, and it showed in the flavor. If you want a real orange soda, I would steer clear. Plus, it had a gross artificial sweetener flavor, but somehow still wasn't sweet enough to pull off the classic orange soda taste we all know and love. Interestingly, it's been ranked as the number one Poppi flavor, but if that's the best the brand can do, it's fair to say I'm not a fan.

The most redeeming quality of Poppi Orange Soda was that it had a nice tartness to it. Additionally, it tasted slightly less artificial than Slice, hence its marginally higher ranking. Even so, the color was pale, and it looked like the most watered-down can of orange juice I've ever seen, so really it missed the mark all around. Thankfully, though, we have quite a few bangers coming up, so don't give up on finding a good one yet. It's just not Poppi. Sorry, not sorry.

Okay, thankfully, the time for healthy sodas is behind us, and we can start talking about the real deal. However, don't get too excited just yet, because Sunkist Orange Soda still wasn't very good. It definitely hit the mark regarding nostalgic appeal, and the color was spot-on, but I'd say it's a total miss otherwise.

Sunkist Orange Soda was extra sweet, and that's more than I can say for the two lower-ranking picks. Unfortunately, though, it lacked any tartness, and the two should go hand in hand (at least in my book). The biggest issue I had with Slice involved something else entirely: It had a potent plastic flavor. Yuck. I guess my Sunkist Orange Soda came in a plastic bottle, but I didn't get that from any of the other sodas in plastic bottles, so I'm not sure why this one reeked of it. Maybe it was just a one-off, but I doubt it. As a result, I would never drink or buy it again, especially since I now know how much tastier orange sodas can get.

Next up is Big K Orange Soda, and you know what? It was miles ahead of everything that ranked lower. It still wasn't my favorite, obviously, but I could see kids enjoying it quite a bit. For starters, it was basically a radioactive orange color, so it already had a leg up before I got a taste. However, the flavor was a bit one-dimensional for me.

As expected, Big K was extra sweet. I'd even go so far as to say they could get away with dialing it down a bit. This might be okay if the flavor also boasted some tartness at the end, but alas, it did not. The straightforward saccharine flavor didn't give me the nostalgic vibes I wanted. Instead, it just tasted like sugar, or maybe even a melted popsicle. There's nothing wrong with popsicles, but we are talking orange soda, and I prefer a more layered flavor. Fortunately, we will see more of that coming up.

In the end, Big K Orange Soda wasn't bad. It definitely blows everything that ranked lower out of the water, but it doesn't hold a flame to the ones still to come. Ready for the good stuff? Let's go!

Coming in fourth place is none other than Fanta Orange Soda, and it's a tasty one. Finally, right? Similar to Big K (in fifth place), it was super sweet. However, it backed this up with the nice tart edge Big K was missing. After a couple of sips, I was pretty impressed because it actually gave me a taste of the nostalgic flavor I remember from growing up. Fanta is a classic for a reason, and the Orange Soda is proof of that.

Fanta Orange Soda was also brightly colored, so much so that it will definitely leave an orange ring around any kid's mouth. Or, at the very least, a mustache. Regardless of how you feel about that, Fanta Orange Soda is not to be discounted as a tasty option. That being said, I wish it were a touch less sweet and a bit more tart at the end. If it were, it could have earned a higher spot on my list. After all, that balance of flavors is what earned my top three picks their coveted spots.

Jones is the first orange soda to breach the top three, and rightfully so. It's got yummy flavor for days. But, here's the thing: Jones is an orange and cream soda, so it's not really fair to some of the others. Still, it's made with cane sugar — something I always prefer — and somehow the cream flavor amped up nostalgia to the max. It isn't just a sugary drink with no nuance. It was a delicious orange soda option that offered more than a sugary overload. I just know it would make a mean orange soda ice cream float, too. Yum! The bright color would certainly catch the eye.

Jones Orange & Cream Soda doesn't come in a two-liter or any other large containers. They come in glass bottles, so they cost a lot more than something like Fanta or Big K. If you just want to splurge and branch out from the ordinary, though, it's a fantastic choice.

I couldn't give Jones Orange & Cream Soda a ranking higher than third because of the whole cream thing, but I kind of wanted to award it second place because the quality is evident with every sip. Simply put, it is not just a run-of-the-mill orange soda for kids. Anyone could like it. This meant that my top two had to be classic, straightforward orange sodas that didn't require help from an outside flavor.

Neon orange in color and layered with yummy flavors, Crush Orange Soda was a shoo-in for second place. It boasted all the things a lady like me could want. From the hue to the balance of sweet and tart, it got it all right. As far as caffeine-free sodas go, it's one to buy. It may not have orange juice pulp in it anymore, like Crush did back in the day, but it'll be sure to satisfy a craving for a classic orange soda.

Compared to Fanta (back in fourth place), Crush Orange Soda was significantly more tart, and I loved that about it. It was still sweet, as an orange soda should be, but the recipe offered more than that one trait alone. It was layered and effervescent in all the right ways. If you've been paying attention, that's what we've been searching for the whole time. Thankfully, we finally found it.

The only reason Crush didn't win it all is that one brand simply did it better. That doesn't mean Crush isn't an awesome pick. It is, especially if you are looking for a less expensive option, but there's still one more brand that I enjoyed more.

Without further ado, the award for the absolute best orange soda goes to Boylan! Similar to Jones, it's a brand that focuses on quality, and it even comes in glass bottles, too. Receptacle aside, Boylan Orange Soda was perfect down to the last detail.

After a single sip of Boylan Orange Soda, I thought to myself, "Now that's a good orange soda." It was deliciously sweet and tart, so it's got more than a single trick up its sleeve. I hadn't scoured the label at that point, but once I did, I realized that it gets its sweetness from cane sugar, not high fructose corn syrup. As a result, it gave me the authentic, rich sugary flavor I was looking for. Seriously, cane sugar pays off in spades in a good soda.

Boylan Orange Soda didn't look quite as radioactive as some of the other sodas I tried, but it was fluorescent nonetheless. Due to the upgraded quality and ingredients (thanks, cane sugar), you'll have to pay a bit more for a Boylan soda than two liters of something cheap, but I promise it's worth it. Boylan Orange Soda was worth every penny, and I would argue that it's definitely the best orange soda around.

As a lover of fizzy drinks and someone who has fond memories of enjoying orange soda as a child, I couldn't wait to revisit some of the classics you find above. I was also intrigued by the new brands that I had yet to try, like Poppi, so off to the store I went. After rounding up eight orange sodas, I took them home, chilled them for several hours, and put them to the test.

For some of the orange sodas, I knew after a couple of sips whether they would be in the top or bottom half of my ranking. After all, some really missed the mark, and others were delicious. Still, I ranked them based on a few criteria — balance of flavors, color, and nostalgic appeal — to help me sort out the final order. The ones with a lovely balance of sweet and tart, backed up by a quality taste overall, make up the highest ranking spots (fourth and better). As far as I can tell, the rest aren't worth your time.

Once you get a taste of my favorites, I recommend continuing your trip down caffeine-free soda lane and trying some awesome grape sodas, too.