Two people holding white mugs filled with black coffee on a wooden table.

Jet Alert vs Vivarin: How They Compare and Other Alternatives

Looking for an effective caffeine pill? Jet Alert and Vivarin are both caffeine tablets, and their effects are fairly similar. We’ve tried both, and we’ll tell you a bit about our experiences with them in this article. But there’s no need to stop there: You have many other options when it comes to alternative caffeine supplements, each with its own pros and cons.

In this article, we’ll talk about the effects of Jet Alert vs Vivarin and see how they compare. We’ll also look at how these caffeine pills stack up to other caffeine supplements. As we’ll soon see, there are much more effective ways to get your daily dose of caffeine than pills. (Hint: HELO Air caffeine vapes are just as compact and convenient as caffeine pills but considerably faster-acting.)

Jet Alert vs Vivarin: How They Compare

Person at desk typing on a laptop.

In order to properly review Jet Alert and Vivarin, we tried both supplements. A total of three of us took them: One regular coffee drinker (two cups per day), and two people who rarely consume caffeine and have a low tolerance. The regular coffee drinker tried both Jet Alert and Vivarin on two separate occasions, once before his morning coffee and once after, whereas the two non-coffee drinkers tried each supplement only once.

Each of us made sure not to make any major changes to our typical daily routines and schedules when trying these supplements. We wanted to make sure we could attribute anything we felt to the supplements, and not to other changes that might have affected us. We’ll tell you a bit about our experiences with each supplement below.

Jet Alert: No Jitters, but Weak Effects Overall

Among the three of us who tried Jet Alert, the overwhelming consensus was that its effects were surprisingly weak. The regular coffee drinker said he didn’t feel much, but even the two of us who rarely consume coffee — and otherwise have a low tolerance for caffeine — found that its effects were barely noticeable. This is particularly surprising given that each pill has 100 mg of caffeine, a little more than an 8 oz. cup of coffee. The effects weren’t anything like those from drinking coffee.

No Jitters or Crash

The good news is that we didn’t feel any jitters when taking Jet Alert, nor did any of us experience a crash when it wore off. It took a little while to kick in (about half an hour) and had a very subtle onset, but it did provide a mild boost of energy that lasted a couple of hours before fading. We can also say the effects lasted longer than those of other caffeine supplements.

Easy to Take

Some other benefits of Jet Alert are that the pills are very small and don’t have any aftertaste, so it’s very easy to take them. You may even be able to swallow one of the pills without water or a beverage, which two of us did. This makes them extra convenient, since you can easily carry them around and take one whenever you need to. They are also relatively cost-effective: One bottle has 120 pills and currently costs just under $7 on Amazon.

Weak Effects

Don’t expect to feel a major energy boost when you take these. The effects are nothing like consuming a beverage with 100 mg of caffeine. Jet Alert also makes a double strength version with 200 mg of caffeine — we didn’t try this one, but it’s unlikely to feel much stronger. Even so, if you have a high tolerance to caffeine, you may want to opt for the double strength version. See our full Jet Alert review for more information.

Vivarin: Mild Energy Boost but Bitter Aftertaste

Like Jet Alert, Vivarin was also surprisingly weak. Each pill has 200 mg of caffeine, i.e. twice the amount found in Jet Alert, but it didn’t feel much stronger. In fact, two of us who tried Vivarin actually found the effects weaker than those of Jet Alert, though one tester (one of the non-coffee drinkers) said the effects were a little stronger.

No Jitters or Crash

Despite its effects being relatively weak, Vivarin did give each of us a mild energy boost that lasted for several hours, longer than most other caffeine supplements. And like Jet Alert, we didn’t experience any jitters when the effects kicked in, nor did any of us experience a crash when they wore off. We felt the effects within about half an hour of taking the supplement.

Large Pills With Bitter Aftertaste

Vivarin has some other drawbacks, though. The pills are a bit large, so they’re not easy to swallow without a beverage. What’s more, all three of us noticed a bitter aftertaste that lasted several hours after taking the pill. One of us described the taste as “metallic,” and another complained that she could somehow still taste it despite eating multiple times after taking the pill.

Wasteful Packaging

Additionally, the Vivarin packaging is not very environmentally friendly. The pills come in blister packs, meaning each pill is individually-wrapped in its own little bubble that you have to break. These blister packs might help preserve the pills more effectively than a bottle containing loose pills (like Jet Alert), but they produce additional waste.

Overall, Vivarin gave us a mild, sustained energy boost, but its effects were weak, and we didn’t like the aftertaste. For more information, see our full Vivarin review.

Jet Alert vs Vivarin: Our Verdict

A young woman enjoying coffee from a little cup.

As we’ve just seen, we found both Jet Alert and Vivarin to have surprisingly weak effects. Both take about half an hour to kick in, and both can give you a mild energy boost that lasts several hours without jitters or a crash. But the effects just aren’t strong at all.

This is something both products likely have in common with most other caffeine pills. Even the best caffeine pills just aren’t very strong. Either of these could be a good option for someone looking to supplement their caffeine intake, but don’t expect Jet Alert or Vivarin to replace your morning coffee or daily energy drinks.

Jet Alert Is Easier to Take Than Vivarin

Though these two pills have a lot in common, there are some important differences between the two. While Jet Alert pills are small and very easy to swallow, Vivarin pills are larger and have a bitter aftertaste.

Vivarin Has More Caffeine

The relative sizes of the pills may be a result of the amount of caffeine in the pills: Vivarin has twice the caffeine of Jet Alert. If you want the option with more caffeine, Vivarin is the way to go, but if you don’t like bitter aftertastes, Jet Alert may be preferable.

Note that Jet Alert also sells a double strength formula, with 200 mg of caffeine per pill — the same as the amount found in Vivarin pills. While we didn’t try this one ourselves, the photos of the double strength Jet Alert pills look more like the Vivarin pills. Each pill looks to be much larger, more like the size of the Vivarin pills.

Jet Alert Gives You More Bang for Your Buck

As we’ve already seen, Jet Alert is relatively cost-effective. Each bottle contains 120 pills and is less than $7 on Amazon. For about the same price, Vivarin only gives you 40 pills. Even if you take into account the fact that Vivarin pills have twice the caffeine, Jet Alert still gives you more bang for your buck.

However, which of these pills is going to feel stronger to you is a bit of a toss-up. Given the differences in our experiences, you may need to try both pills yourself to see which one feels stronger to you. Each Vivarin pill has twice the amount of caffeine as each regular strength Jet Alert pill, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll feel double the effects. We all metabolize these pills slightly differently.

As we’ll soon see, you have other options besides Jet Alert and Vivarin, some of which may be considerably more effective. We’ll talk about some other alternative caffeine supplements next.

Try HELO Air for Your Caffeine Needs

A single box of HELO Air in Gush flavor opened and showing the printed usage recommendations inside.

To recap, Jet Alert and Vivarin both give you a mild energy boost that lasts several hours. The effects are weak, and they take about half an hour to kick in. Vivarin has twice the caffeine of Jet Alert, but it also comes in larger pills with a bitter aftertaste. Neither pill will give you jitters or a crash, and both are compact and easy to carry around.

HELO Air: The Convenience of a Pill With Better Speed and Bioavailability

If you’re looking for a convenient, portable caffeine supplement that won’t give you jitters or a crash, you have a much better option than any we’ve discussed: HELO Air caffeine vapes from MELO Labs. Our vapes are super fast-acting: You’ll feel the effects much faster than pills. And though our vapes have just a fraction of the amount of caffeine found in these pills, you’ll get a much stronger energy boost, because they have much better bioavailability than pills.

HELO Air Has Safe Ingredients

We’ve worked hard to make our vapes as safe as possible, and safer than any other vapes you’ll find on the market. You won’t find any vitamin E acetate, propylene glycol, nicotine, nor any other ingredients known to harm the lungs in our vapes. HELO Air has just three ingredients: caffeine, organic vegetable glycerin, and natural flavors.

HELO Air Comes in 12 Awesome Flavors

Our caffeine vapes also come in more flavors than any other caffeine vapes you’ll find on the market: 8 in the original size, and 4 in the plus size (which is double the original size). All are customer-approved, but our most popular flavor is Gush (which tastes like Starburst). With so many flavors to choose from, you’re sure to find one (or more!) you really like.

HELO Patch Is a Good Alternative for Those Who Prefer Not to Vape

While we’ve made our caffeine vapes as safe as possible, we get that not everyone wants to vape. And that’s why we have another alternative caffeine product: HELO Patch, a caffeine patch with long-lasting effects. Simply clean the area where you’d like to stick the patch, put it on, and leave it on for upwards of 8 hours.

Whether you want to vape or try a patch, we’ve got you covered. Try one or both of our alternative caffeine products today to see how fast-acting and convenient alternative caffeine supplements can be.


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