Does Sprite have caffeine? Which sodas have none

Sprite has no caffeine. A 12 oz can is 0 mg, and Sprite Zero Sugar is the same. Caffeine in soda is an added ingredient rather than a natural one, so it turns up in colas, Dr Pepper and Mountain Dew — and skips most fruit-flavored sodas entirely.

Does Sprite have caffeine? No, and the same rule covers most non-colas

The shortcut: if it's cola-flavored or a "pepper" style soda, assume caffeine. If it's lemon-lime, orange, grape, ginger ale or cream soda, assume none — then check the can, because a few brands break the pattern.

Caffeinated sodas cluster in a narrow band. US rules allow caffeine as an added ingredient in cola-type beverages up to 0.02% by weight, which works out to roughly 71 mg per 12 oz, and no mainstream soda crowds that ceiling. Compare that to an 8 oz cup of brewed coffee at around 95 mg and even Mountain Dew looks modest.

Soda (12 oz can, US)	Caffeine
Sprite / Sprite Zero Sugar	0 mg
7UP / Diet 7UP	0 mg
Fanta Orange and other US flavors	0 mg
Canada Dry / Schweppes ginger ale	0 mg
A&W Root Beer, Mug Root Beer	0 mg
A&W Cream Soda	0 mg
Sunkist Orange	~19 mg
Barq's Root Beer (regular)	~22 mg
Coca-Cola Classic / Coke Zero Sugar	34 mg
Pepsi	38 mg
Dr Pepper	41 mg
Diet Coke	46 mg
Mountain Dew	54 mg
Mtn Dew Zero Sugar	68 mg
Pepsi Zero Sugar	69 mg

What sodas have no caffeine

The dependable zero-caffeine group in a US grocery aisle:

• Lemon-lime: Sprite, Sprite Zero Sugar, 7UP, Diet 7UP, Starry, and most store-brand lemon-limes. If you're wondering does 7UP have caffeine, the answer has always been no — the brand has marketed itself on that for decades.
• Ginger ale: Canada Dry, Schweppes, Seagram's, Vernors.
• Orange and fruit: Fanta's US lineup, Crush, most grape and strawberry sodas.
• Root beer and cream soda: A&W, Mug, IBC, and most cream sodas.
• Club soda, seltzer, tonic water. Tonic contains quinine, not caffeine.
• Explicitly labeled versions: Caffeine Free Coca-Cola, Caffeine Free Diet Coke, Caffeine Free Pepsi, Caffeine Free Dr Pepper, Caffeine Free Mtn Dew. These are the same flavor with the caffeine left out, and they're usually shelved right beside the regular version in a gold or yellow can.

Does root beer have caffeine? Almost never, except Barq's

Root beer is the category people get burned by. A&W, Mug, IBC and nearly every craft root beer are caffeine-free. Regular Barq's is not — it carries roughly 22 mg per 12 oz, which is where the old "Barq's has bite" line came from.

The twist is that Diet Barq's carries caffeine too. Most brands strip caffeine along with the sugar in a diet reformulation; Barq's doesn't, so "diet root beer" isn't the safe default it is with A&W or Mug. If root beer is your go-to caffeine free soda, Barq's — regular or diet — is the one to double-check.

Does Fanta have caffeine, and does ginger ale have caffeine?

Neither one does in the US. Fanta Orange and its sibling flavors are formulated without caffeine, and ginger ale has never used it — Canada Dry, Schweppes and Vernors are all 0 mg. Recipes vary by country, though, so a Fanta bought abroad isn't automatically the same drink.

Orange soda is where the category rule fails. Sunkist Orange contains caffeine, around 19 mg per 12 oz, while Crush and Fanta don't. Other citrus-style sodas that do contain it include Mello Yello (about 51 mg) and Sun Drop. Guarana or yerba mate sodas count as caffeinated too, since both plants carry caffeine naturally.

Diet and zero-sugar versions are not automatically lower

The assumption that diet means less caffeine is wrong often enough to matter. Diet Coke has 46 mg to Coca-Cola Classic's 34. Pepsi Zero Sugar has 69 mg against regular Pepsi's 38. Mtn Dew Zero Sugar runs about 68 mg to regular Mountain Dew's 54. Diet Pepsi lands slightly below Pepsi, so there's no consistent direction at all.

Treat "diet" and "zero sugar" as telling you nothing about caffeine — Diet Barq's keeps its caffeine, Diet Pepsi loses a little, and Coke Zero Sugar matches its regular version exactly. The only reliable signal is the words "caffeine free" printed on the can.

How to check any can in ten seconds

Because caffeine in soda is added rather than inherited from an ingredient, it has to appear by name in the ingredient list. Turn the can and read the last few items: if "caffeine" isn't there, the drink doesn't have any. That works on store brands and imports where you have no brand memory to fall back on.

Most cans in the US now also print a milligram figure on the label. When they don't, the manufacturer's website lists it per product.

Swapping to a zero-caffeine soda in the evening

Caffeine has a half-life of about five hours in most healthy adults, so a 54 mg Mountain Dew at 7 p.m. still has roughly 27 mg working at midnight. That's the reasoning behind an afternoon caffeine cutoff, and swapping a cola for Sprite, ginger ale or A&W after that hour is one of the easier changes to make — the ritual stays, the stimulant goes.

Worth logging the swap rather than skipping it. Caffeine Tracker is a caffeine tracking app for iPhone, and recording the 0 mg can keeps the evening entry on the timeline instead of leaving a blank where your cutoff line should be.

For daytime totals, the FDA points to about 400 mg per day as an amount not generally associated with negative effects in healthy adults, which is roughly ten cans of Coke — the 400 mg guideline is a population figure, not a personal target, and sensitivity varies widely.

FAQ

Does Sprite Zero have caffeine?

No. Sprite Zero Sugar matches regular Sprite at 0 mg per 12 oz. Coca-Cola has never added caffeine to the lemon-lime line in either version.

Does root beer have caffeine?

Most root beers don't. A&W, Mug and IBC are all 0 mg. Barq's is the exception — both regular and Diet Barq's carry about 22 mg per 12 oz, one of the few diet sodas that doesn't drop caffeine.

Does ginger ale have caffeine?

No. Canada Dry, Schweppes, Seagram's and Vernors are all caffeine-free, which makes ginger ale one of the safest picks when you don't have a label handy.

Does Fanta have caffeine?

Fanta sold in the US is caffeine-free across its flavors. Formulations differ by country, so check the ingredient list on imported cans.

Which orange sodas have caffeine?

Sunkist Orange contains roughly 19 mg per 12 oz. Fanta Orange and Crush do not. Orange soda is the one flavor category where you can't generalize, so read the ingredient list.