A man getting a drink from the store refrigerator full of energy drinks.

Best Energy Drink for Studying 2024: Top 9 Picks

Whether it’s finals week, midterms week, or the beginning of the semester, you need lots of energy for working and studying. Ideally, you’re getting plenty of sleep, eating nutritious foods, and exercising regularly — but we all know that just isn’t practical a lot of the time.

So what’s the best option when you need a quick boost of energy? Do energy drinks really work? In this article, we’re going to tell you all about some of the best energy drinks for studying. But we’re also going to tell you about an alternative caffeine supplement, one that works even faster than a drink for when you need energy, like, yesterday.

Best Energy Drinks for Studying

Student with laptop writing in notebook

We all have different needs and preferences, so which energy drink is best for you will depend on a variety of factors. In the next few sections, we’ll break down the best energy drinks in a variety of categories: quick energy, most caffeine, best mood boosters, and more.

By the way, for even more options, check out our posts on energy shots and pre workout supplements. (But be careful with pre workouts, because they usually have a ton of caffeine.)

Best Energy Drink for Quick Energy

A man jumping happily with his arms up in the air.

The best energy drink for quick energy isn’t a drink at all. While liquids are absorbed by your digestive system faster than caffeine pills and other supplements that need to be broken down by your stomach, vaporizers bypass your digestive system altogether. This means they get absorbed much faster than any other type of supplement.

Here, we’ll tell you about the best caffeine vaporizer on the market.

HELO Air by MELO Labs

HELO Air in Gush flavor with single box container.

Our caffeine vapes, HELO Air, give you that boost of energy much more quickly than any energy drink. But that’s not the only advantage of HELO Air. There are a lot of reasons why our vapes are better than any energy drink, and why they beat other caffeine vapes, too.

Less Expensive and More Convenient Than a Drink

Not only will you save a ton of money when you go with HELO Air — which has about 40 doses per vape — you’ll find it a lot more convenient to carry around with you. It fits easily in your pocket or the smallest section of your backpack, and it weighs next to nothing, unlike a beverage.

Plus, cutting back on energy drinks will keep you from consuming way too much sugar (or artificial sweeteners) or running to the bathroom all day. Most energy drinks on this list are sweetened with sucralose, an artificial sweetener, but not our caffeine vapes.

Tons of Awesome Flavors

Energy drink aficionados will all have their favorite flavors, but you can get your flavor fix without drinking a sugary beverage. Our vapes come in more flavors than any other caffeine vapes on the market. We have a total of 12 — 8 in the original size, and 4 in the plus size (which has twice the capacity of the original size).

All our flavors are customer-approved, and with so many options, you’re sure to find at least a couple you really like. Our most popular flavor is Gush, which tastes like Starburst, but without the sugar or the whole getting-stuck-in-your-teeth experience. Yum!

Made as Safely as Possible

We realize many people have perfectly legitimate safety concerns when it comes to vaping any substance, but we’ve made our vapes safer than any others you’ll find. This is because we don’t include any ingredients known to harm the lungs: No vitamin E acetate, no propylene glycol, and no nicotine. Just caffeine, organic vegetable glycerin, and natural flavors.

What’s more, there’s no need to worry about consuming too much caffeine, because the amount in each vape is a small fraction of what you’ll find in these other products. But don’t let the small amount fool you: the bioavailability of vapes is so high that coffee and energy drink addicts alike find our vapes can fully replace their regular beverages. It’s not like drinking coffee, though. You won’t get jitters or a crash later.

Try one or more flavors today to see how fast and convenient your energy boost for studying can be. You can even use these to supplement an energy drink, in order to enhance the effects and feel energized more quickly.

Shop HELO Air caffeine vapes

Best Energy Drinks with the Most Caffeine

Close-up image of coffee beans

We know this is why some of you came here: You want the energy drink with the most caffeine. So we’ll get right to it. If you’ve got a high tolerance for caffeine — and you’d rather not have to chug several cups of coffee — these are the drinks for you.

Bang Energy

With 300 mg of caffeine per can, Bang Energy fits more caffeine into each serving than any other energy drinks on this list. For reference, an eight ounce cup of coffee has about 90 mg of caffeine, so you’ll be consuming the equivalent of over three cups of coffee.

But these energy drinks don’t just offer caffeine. You’re also getting 60% of your daily requirement of vitamin B12, which has energizing effects. Additionally, it’s got other B vitamins and nutrients as well as a variety of beneficial amino acids, like L-leucine (which helps you build protein) and a proprietary creatine blend (which enhances the boost of energy and helps you focus).

Bang also has a ton of flavors to choose from, and they often add more to their list. That said, their flavors are mostly artificial, and not everyone enjoys them. They have no added sugar, but they’re sweetened with sucralose, an artificial sweetener. If you’re not big on artificial flavors, you may want to skip these.

Another drawback is the price. At about $9 per can, these are considerably more expensive than most other energy drinks. You’ll save money if you buy them in bulk, though. This is a good option for people who want the biggest energy boost, from caffeine and vitamin B12.

Shop Bang Energy

Celsius Live Fit

If you want lots of caffeine but 300 mg is just a little too much for you, Celsius Live Fit is the next best choice. Each can has 200 mg of caffeine, a little more than two cups of coffee. Like Bang Energy, this energy drink is sweetened with sucralose and sugar-free, and it also contains a wide variety of nutrients and other beneficial compounds.

Each can will give you 1,000% of your daily biotin (vitamin B7) needs, plus other B vitamins and chromium. Additionally, Celsius Live Fit has taurine (which can help you focus), green tea extract (also good for focus), and ginger root extract (which helps you digest). It comes in many flavors, all of which use natural flavoring.

This energy drink is substantially less expensive than Bang, and it has more natural flavors, but it doesn’t have as much caffeine. It’s a good option for those who want the equivalent of two cups of coffee and lots of biotin, an essential nutrient that’s used in many of the body’s processes.

Shop Celsius Live Fit

Best Energy Drink to Boost Your Mood

A happy woman holding a red balloon

If you want an energy drink with extra beneficial ingredients to improve your health and boost your mood, you’ll want to check out our pick for this category.

EarlyBird Morning Cocktail

The unique powdered supplement from Earlybird is more than just an energy drink. In addition to 150 mg of caffeine (a little less than two cups of coffee), Earlybird Morning Cocktail has a blend of antioxidants from blueberry powder, broccoli extract, turmeric powder, tart cherry extract, and green tea extract.

But that’s not all. The proprietary Earlybird Be Happy Blend contains a mix of ashwagandha (an adaptogen) along with theobromine (a neurotransmitter), which work together to boost your mood and stimulate your brain.

It’s also sugar-free. It gets its “blood orange mimosa” flavor from natural flavoring and sucralose. It only comes in one flavor, so hopefully you like blood oranges. At $68 per tub, it may look rather expensive, but keep in mind there are 45 servings per container, giving you more bang for your buck than most other energy drinks.

Unlike many of the other drinks on this list, Earlybird Morning Cocktail isn’t loaded with B vitamins or other nutrients. But the antioxidants and mood-enhancing ingredients make this supplement a great choice for those dealing with anxiety or depression, or who simply hate waking up early.

Shop EarlyBird Morning Cocktail

Best Energy Drink for Athletes

A person jogging on the middle of road

If you’re a workout enthusiast, or if you just really care about hydration, this is the pick for you: an energy drink for studying that’ll also take care of your electrolyte needs.

ZipFizz

With more electrolytes than any other energy drink on this list, ZipFizz is a great choice for those who don’t let finals week get in the way of their workout routine. This powdered supplement will give you the energy you need to study and the electrolytes you need to stay hydrated.

It’s loaded with energy-enhancing vitamin B12, with 104,167% of your daily needs. It’s also got lots of other vitamins in addition to magnesium, zinc, selenium, copper, manganese, chromium, and potassium. Additionally, it has antioxidants from grape seed extract, grape skin extract, green tea extract, and green coffee bean extract, and it has taurine to enhance focus and recovery from working out.

ZipFizz comes in a wide variety of flavors, all of which use natural flavoring and no added sugar. It’s sweetened with a combination of sucralose and xylitol, a sugar alcohol known for its dental benefits. Each tube contains just one serving, but you can buy these in bulk, and they’re more cost-effective than most other options on this list.

One drawback is that this has a smaller amount of caffeine, just 100 mg per tube. But this is still a substantial amount — a little more than a cup of coffee. This is a good choice if you don’t need a ton of caffeine and want a hefty dose of electrolytes.

Shop ZipFizz

Best Portable Energy Drink

Man walking outside with backpack

While Earlybird Morning Cocktail and ZipFizz are both powdered supplements that have the advantage of being more portable than energy drinks that come in bottles or cans, our pick for this category is even more convenient and super easy to add to water.

MiO Energy Water Enhancer

If you want to carry something relatively small that you can quickly add to water without having to stir, you’ll want to check out MiO Energy. This convenient supplement comes in a small bottle of concentrated liquid. You simply squirt it into your water any time you need an energy boost. It doesn’t require refrigeration, so you can have it on-the-go.

This also makes it highly customizable. Each squirt has just 60 mg of caffeine, but you can easily add more if you want a bigger dose of caffeine, or less if you want a more subtle pick-me-up. You also get to decide how concentrated you want to make it — just add more or less water accordingly.

MiO Energy is also enhanced with B vitamins as well as taurine, guarana, and ginseng to enhance the energizing effects and help keep you focused. It comes in a variety of unique flavors, including Green Thunder, which the company describes as a “one-of-a-kind flavor explosion.” Like the other energy drinks we’ve looked at so far, it’s sugar-free, only sweetened with sucralose and acesulfame potassium.

That said, it might be tricky figuring out how to use this supplement. It’s unclear how exactly “one squirt” is measured, so you might not be sure exactly how much caffeine you’re getting at first. The company recommends a “quick squeeze,” but this may take some practice. With time, you’ll figure out the right amount for you.

Shop MiO Energy Water Enhancer

Best Sugar-sweetened Energy Drinks

A person emptying a sugar packet on a coffee.

If you’re not dieting and don’t like the sound of sucralose or other artificial ingredients, you might prefer energy drinks with real sugar. You’re likely already familiar with the popular energy drinks in this category, but we’ll briefly refresh your memory.

Rockstar Energy

If you’re a student, you’ve no doubt heard of Rockstar Energy. This popular energy drink has 160 mg of caffeine alongside B vitamins, taurine, ginseng, ginkgo biloba leaf, milk thistle, and guarana. The unique combination of ingredients will not only energize you but help you focus, boosting your brain function.

It comes in a wide variety of flavors and options. With 31 grams of sugar per bottle, Rockstar Energy might give you a bit of a crash later on, but all the other beneficial ingredients will likely make that crash less noticeable. It’s also the most cost-effective option of the sugary energy drinks.

Shop Rockstar Energy

Monster Energy

Another highly popular choice on campuses everywhere, Monster Energy has 176 mg of caffeine per bottle, the equivalent of about two cups of coffee. It also has B vitamins, taurine, guarana, and ginseng. The ingredients are simple yet powerful.

Monster Energy comes in over 30 different flavors, with 8 different product lines. It has by far the most sugar of any of these energy drinks, with 54 grams per bottle. Thankfully, if you want to try Monster but don’t want all that added sugar, you can always opt for the zero sugar option, sweetened with a combination of sucralose and erythritol (a sugar alcohol).

Shop Monster Energy

Red Bull

Last but not least, the energy drink famous for its cartoon commercials: Red Bull, which likes to claim it “gives you wiiings.” Red Bull has 80 mg of caffeine, a little less than a cup of coffee, but it’s also enhanced with B vitamins, taurine, and electrolytes.

Red Bull is also known for its small, thin can, not like the much larger cans you get with Rockstar or Monster. This is part of why it doesn’t have as much caffeine, but it also doesn’t have as much sugar: just 27 grams per can. The original taste is difficult to describe — many people swear by it, but you have about 20 other options to choose from in case you’re not a fan.

Shop Red Bull

Try HELO Air for All Your Studying Needs

A single box of HELO Air in our best-seller Gush flavor.

To recap, you have no shortage of options when it comes to energy drinks for studying. Bang Energy and Celsius Live Fit give you the most caffeine, while Earlybird Morning Cocktail has mood-boosting benefits and ZipFizz is loaded with electrolytes. Rockstar, Monster, and Red Bull are among the most popular, but they’re loaded with sugar. MiO is the most portable and convenient.

But if you want something even more portable and convenient than any energy drink, not to mention free of both sugar and sucralose, give HELO Air a try. We worked hard to make this the best caffeine vape on the market, and you can easily carry it around with you while you’re working and studying. Simply take a few hits any time you feel your energy starting to dip.

You don’t have to drink energy drinks at all to get the most effective energy boost. Try a few of our popular HELO Air flavors today to see how convenient and tasty your energy boost for studying can really be.


Please note, comments must be approved before they are published