It’s the ultimate energy drink showdown! In this corner, we have Red Bull, the OG of energy drinks. In the other corner, we have Monster, the heavy hitter. And in the middle, we have Rockstar, the wild card. Who will come out on top?
Key Takeaways:
Red Bull is the most balanced energy drink, while Monster Energy is most excessive in stimulation, sugar, and nutritional supplements. Rockstar Energy is a clear third in most categories, including popularity.
The energy drink market is a crowded one, with dozens of brands fighting for shelf space and customer attention. In this battle royale, we’ll be pitting three of the biggest brands against each other: Red Bull, Monster, and Rockstar. Who will come out on top?
In this article, we will go over the specific aspects of each energy drink that sets them apart. You will learn more about the benefits and risks of each one, alongside a general energy drink taste comparison based on factors like customer retention. By the end, you’ll not only know which beverage to get, but you’ll also know why you’re getting it.
Which Provides the Best Overall Performance?
Red Bull created the energy drink market, but that doesn’t mean it remains a market leader by going overboard with caffeine. It has, in fact, the lowest per-ounce caffeine quantity compared to the other two.
However, the difference is small and evidently nominal. Where Red Bull contains 9.46 mg of caffeine per ounce while Rockstar and Monster Energy have a rounded 10 mg quantity for the same volume.
But does low caffeine automatically mean low performance and vice versa?
Not with the less than 1 mg difference between these energy drinks. The punch each can pack because of its caffeine content is relatively the same. It is the sugar content of the beverage you must focus on.
The classic energy drink pump comes from the following formula:
Caffeine + sugar = instant energy and alertness
So the answer comes down to which energy drink has the highest sugar content.
Red Bull contains 49 grams of sugar in a 16-ounce can, Monster Energy includes 54 grams, while Rockstar Energy has 63 grams. Rockstar Energy is the most effective per-sip of all the top energy drinks. But the difference is barely noticeable.
The main problem here is that beyond a specific point, the effectiveness of an energy drink is cut by its consequences on your health. With caffeine levels nearly identical, relying on sugar for an edge can be bad for your long-term fitness.
The sugar in energy drinks wasn’t emphasized earlier, but there is enough awareness now that each energy drink giant has its “zero” or sugar-free version.
Sugar-free Red Bull, Monster Energy, and Rockstar Energy are equally effective because of their similar caffeine content. The sugar aspect of the energy formula doesn’t factor into the equation, so the beverages vary in taste only.
Which Is the Healthier Choice?
Having touched upon the healthiness of energy drinks, let’s explore the topic in depth.
Selecting the right energy drink for your health is essential. Before a comparison, let’s go over the health effects of all energy drinks.
- All energy drinks should be consumed in moderation
- All energy drinks can cause acid reflux or heartburn
- All energy drinks have a diuretic effect and can dehydrate the consumer
With the above out of the way, here is how specific aspects affect certain energy drinks more or less than others:
- Sugariness – Red Bull has less sugar than Monster Energy and Rockstar. It is technically healthier for those looking to lose weight but not recommended for diabetics.
- Volume – Red Bull pushes 8oz cans as their primary product while Monster and Rockstar market their 16oz version harder. Red Bull consumers are generally making a safer buying decision.
- Pairing – Red Bull’s position as a staple in the alcoholic beverage “Vodka Red Bull” makes it easy to misuse compared to Monster Energy and Rockstar.
Overall Health Verdict
Red Bull is healthier by a very tiny technical margin due to its relatively lower sugar content. But since the difference in sugar isn’t much, the difference in its healthiness isn’t.
The main contrast in “healthiness” comes down to how much care the brand puts into its consumers’ health.
Because Red Bull was the first to the market, it has maintained a degree of caution regarding its branding and marketing. If the question is which brand’s messaging you are safer believing, it is Red Bull because:
- Red Bull was the first to put a consumption limit warning on its package.
- Red Bull has consistently pushed safe consumption messages ever since.
- Red Bull’s on-ground promotions and ads have always pushed the smaller can.
That said, Red Bull’s taste does lend itself to being the only energy drink used in Vodka Red Bull, a beverage that can cause alcohol poisoning by numbing the depressive effects of alcohol that usually makes consumers stop. However, Red Bull does not contain alcohol and is moderately healthier than Rockstar and Monster as a pure energy drink.
A Word on the Vitamins
Monster Energy and Rockstar have more vitamins than Red Bull, but neither beverage is a suitable source of your consistent Vitamin intake.
Monster Energy also has Branched Chain Amino Acids (BCAAs), which are very beneficial. However, the sugar content of Monster Energy keeps it from being a decent source of BCAAs.
Highly Recommended Read:
Lately, BCAAs seem to be on every label as a selling point, but are they essential for the body? You’re in luck because we wrote an excellent resource demystifying BCAAs. When you’re done reading this article, check out our article on What Are BCAAs, & Are They Worth the Hype? (8-minute read).
Comparative Cost
| Energy Drink | Red Bull | Monster Energy | Rockstar Energy |
| Lowest Cost per oz | $0.15 | $0.08 | $0.08 |
| Highest Cost per oz | $0.17 | $0.12 | $0.12 |
Analysis
The cost of an energy drink depends on two factors, mainly the size of the can and the number of cans you get in one go. The same principle applies either way: the more you buy, the cheaper it is.
Since energy drinks can come in packs of different sizes, we’ve brought the cheapest and the most expensive you can get them per ounce together in a single table.
And what this proves is that Red Bull at its cheapest is more expensive than Monster or Rockstar Energy at its most expensive. And this is because of one thing only: upselling.
Upselling: A Factor Worth Considering
While Red Bull sets its largest can at 16oz, Rockstar and Monster Energy come in 24oz and 32oz cans. This is a serious health concern because the larger cans exhaust the maximum allowable caffeine intake in a single can.
More importantly, the cans are priced such that a 32oz can costs less per ounce than a 13oz can. This incentivizes people to buy the bulkier versions.
As mentioned earlier, Red Bull shows far more responsibility in matters related to the health and safety of its consumers.
Which do People Prefer by Taste?
Red Bull is the most popular energy drink in the world, with Monster Energy coming in as a close second. Rockstar Energy gets outsold by the secondary editions of both Monster Energy and Red Bull, making it the least popular among the 3.
Before taking popularity as a taste representative, here are a few things to consider:
First Mover Advantage
Red Bull has the advantage of being the creator of the energy drink category. This is called the first-mover advantage, which has now translated into a legacy advantage. To simplify this, let’s review a case of first-mover advantage in another domain.
Pepperoni Pizza became the first pizza to be introduced to the masses over 70 years ago. It is the most popular pizza in the world today. This is, in part, because pizza icons, clipart, and pop-culture visuals all show pepperoni on pizza.
When pepperoni became synonymous with pizza, it became a ‘legacy.’ Not all first-movers become legacy brands, but Red Bull did this with energy drinks and has beaten companies with deeper pockets for decades. This shows that the beverage isn’t just the first mover but also tastes good.
However, Monster Energy’s rise to the point where it is in the same figure mark as a brand with such a headstart shows that Monster might have beaten Red Bull had it been the first energy drink in the world.
Marketing Advantage
Edison got credit for inventing the lightbulb when Tesla, who worked for him, did it.
To a large extent, marketing plays a role in what becomes popular.
Monster Energy’s UFC deal and in-your-face marketing are on par with Red Bull’s sport-sponsoring history. This effect seems to cancel itself out and doesn’t communicate regarding either beverage’s taste.
Flavor Advantage
Red Bull, Monster Energy, and Rockstar Energy can all be considered equal contenders in this. The best way to tell if a brand is getting more sales because of its marketing or early introduction is to see whether the beverage’s growth rate is more or less than what it used to be.
For instance, Red Bull has constantly been getting more sales by a factor of 5% (at minimum) year-on-year. If the customers dropped off because of bad taste, the number would dip. But the percentage has been growing, with 16% being the last year’s recorded growth compared to the preceding year.
Monster Energy’s growth hovered at 9.47% and has reached 12.6%. And even with 3.4% less growth than Red Bull, it is close to the overall sales figure. This shows that Monster is acquiring more customers (perhaps due to marketing advantage alone) but is also keeping them, albeit not at the same rate as Red Bull (which could be due to its legacy advantage).
Rockstar Energy has experienced a decline in sales each year since 2017. The initial bump wasn’t much (perhaps due to the novelty advantage). However, the decreasing sales figure clearly shows that Rockstar Energy doesn’t have a taste advantage.
Taste Verdict
Evening out all the advantages of marketing and year of introduction, we can confidently conclude that to the masses, Monster Energy seems to taste better even though Red Bull remains the most popular energy drink in the world. Rockstar Energy isn’t retaining as many customers who try it.
Ingredients: Red Bull vs. Monster vs. Rockstar
With the taste, health, and price out of the way, we arrive at what matters: what’s inside.
The ingredients can help you pinpoint specific benefits or caution-worthy things related to the beverage. Sizes were adjusted to a single 12 fluid-ounce sample, even though not all the candidates are available at this size.
| Red Bull | Monster Energy | Rockstar Energy |
| 80mg Caffeine | 85mg Caffeine | 85mg Caffeine |
| 27g Sugars | 36g Sugars | 36g Sugars |
| 1g Taurine | 1g Taurine | 1g Taurine |
| B-group Vitamins | B-group Vitamins and Vitamin C | B-group Vitamins |
| Colorant | Colorant | Colorant |
| Flavoring Agents | Flavoring Agents | Flavoring Agents |
| Carbonated water | Carbonated water | Carbonated water |
| Acidity Regulators | Acidity Regulators | Acidity Regulators |
| No BCAAs | BCAAs | BCAAs |
Recommended Read:
Energy drinks can make you crash because they have hormone-level-boosting components like caffeine and sugar, which peak and fall off – resulting in a crash. I highly recommend reading my “Can Energy Drinks Make You Crash?“(6-minute read) article when you’re done reading this one.
Even a simple look at the ingredients in these three beverages shows Monster to be the clear winner because of a larger collection of health-improving ingredients. Unfortunately, the presence of sugar in the beverage keeps it from being a healthy source of BCAAs.
Using energy drinks to get your vitamins or amino acids is not a good idea. But if you insist on getting your nutrition from an energy drink, you’ll get more out of Monster Energy. This ‘more’ also includes sugar, which can be very bad for your health. A sugar-free version of Monster might be healthier.
Flavors available: Red Bull vs. Monster vs. Rockstar
For those who prefer variety, the flavor can be a make-or-break factor. Fortunately, all of the energy drinks being compared come in various flavors, ensuring that you don’t have to stick to one flavor.
- Red Bull has 10 Edition Flavors alongside its original/main version – The original Red Bull is the most popular flavor. Sugarfree Red Bull and Red Bull Editions outsell the main version of Rockstar and secondary versions of Monster Energy.
- Monster comes in 34 flavors – Its main version is its most popular flavor, followed by Monster Ultra. The beverage is more popular than Rockstar Energy in every category.
- Rockstar Energy has over 30 flavors that keep getting phased in and out – Roasted Mocha and Roasted Latte are popular among the beverage’s buyers. Neither of these flavors outsells Red Bull or Monster Energy, but Rockstar loyalists allege that it tastes better than its more popular counterparts.
Recap: Rockstar vs. Monster vs. Red Bull
Comparing energy drinks based on taste is hard because the taste is subjective. But based on health benefits and risks, Monster Energy comes out on top.
However, Red Bull is far more fit for general consumption than the average Monster Can because of Monster Energy’s emphasis on selling larger cans with more sugar.
