Is It Cheaper to Make Your Own Sparkling Water? (surprising answer)
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- Опубліковано 20 сер 2024
- Find out the cheapest way to consume sparkling water as we compare the prices of buying it in the store vs making it yourself with a soda water maker like SodaStream, Soda Sense, or DrinkMate. While carbonated brands like La Croix and Bubbly are well known, it turns out that store brands are much cheaper, but are they cheaper than the DIY option?
Find more at thriftytony.co...
#lacroix #bubbly #sodastream #sodasense #drinkmate #sparklingwater
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Also $30 is for when you buy replacement canisters. If you recycle them and send them back or just take them to the store they are $15 for a refilled canister
Exactly. The cost comparison is deeply flawed. Recycling the co2 canisters not only halves their cost but reduces environmental wastage… which is one of the main reasons to go down the soda maker route.
what store are you taking them back to to recycle?? i'd like to do this. maybe a machine would work for me afterall.
And you have to figure in the cost of delivery, note that he bumped up the price of Soda Stream by including delivery. Figure in the time at searching for best store costs for cans (there will be sales) vs the more infrequent cost of bargan hunting for canisters and they cost of cans if you just let your garbage company recycle them (they get the recycle money not you) and wow, huge difference.
@@lurklingXI’m pretty sure you can go to almost any grocery store for this. Just go to the customer service desk. If they sell the canisters, they will honor the rebate.
@@shakinmygoodies1559 hm. ok, i'll ask around.
Thank you for this video, Tony. I'm an avid sparkling water drinker and was considering the purchase of a Sodastream. I found it odd that there were so many "reviews" advocating for it's purchase but none broke down the actual costs involved like you did. I'm sticking to my weekly purchase of sparkling water.
I know it’s cheaper to buy it in stores but I kinda felt guilty of how many cans I was throwing away. I just recently bought a SodaStream E Terra and I love it!
Mother Earth thanks you Young Grasshopper 🙏
A lot of countries recycle and reuse them. Don't feel bad for it as long as you dispose them properly. In my country you can in fact earn some small amount of money doing this
I got my soda stream for a $1 from goodwill, so I think it will be cheaper for me. heh heh
For sure lol
What about the hassle and associated costs of transporting the bulky and heavy drinks to your house and dealing with the garbage? A top benefit for me is the water (difficult to transport) is automatically available at your house. The other consumables (CO2 and flavoring) are easy to transport, and the process creates way less garbage to deal with.
You're right about that
Many countries recycle cans
Typical American way of thinking
100% agree especially as someone who lives on the top floor.
@@arturo1990 Fuck yeah
Yeah; I did the sums too and came up with about 600 litres as my break even point. Prolly about two years. But I can't abide seeing the recycling bin fill up with the 500ml single use plastic bottles we buy the stuff in here in the UK. So I'm waiting for my sparkling water machine and will feel much better about making my own in the reusable bottles that come with it.
This video is great, but we actually bought a Terra SodaStream, and it has saved us money. The main reason we got it, was because we learned the store bought cans have a lining in them that contains BPA. Also, we wanted to cut down on our single use recyclables.
The bottles that are BPA free still have chemicals. Has to be stainless steel.
I've been doing the Aldi option for about 2+ years now and I have no complaints. This is way better than soda. For me, it all started with Covid lock-downs and you are right, this is the cheapest alternative. Now, I got used to it and I just get my 12-packs every time I shop at Aldi. Thank you for your video!
Thanks Ed :)
I actually prefer Aldi's sparkling water over all the brand names.
Good, but very inaccurate. If you hand in your used CO2 cylinder, the cost of the new one is half price, so about 15 USD. So only the first cylinder will cost you 30 USD, and the rest is 15 USD. Add to the equation that when you buy canned sparkling water, you have to spend time buying it, carrying it, and storing it.
OMG thank you for that! I am a heavy seltzer drinker and it's a colossal pain in the a$$ to carry all the 12 packs and then recycle the cans. The Soda Sense has been a revelation.
My point too. How does that change the break even Tony?
When you are out shopping duh . You are already at the store. So thats not important. Storing? Um refrigerator like any other drink lol unless you are a sicko who drinks it warm. They arecalways on sale at different stores. They aren't that expensive. If you need to do math to choose buy drinks or not you are probably a psycho .
But then it’s 15 for shipping unless you refill 4 canisters at a time
@@fantasticfaith1106 you can go go Target, kroger, Walmart to exchange it, no shipping required
Someone may have already commented, but you also can buy dry ice or carbon dioxide ice at many local grocery stores and measure out the required amount and place it inside the canister. You just screw off the top and put the dry ice inside the canister and that cuts your canister cost down to about two or three dollars per canister instead of 15 with the exchange price.
How much dry ice do you fill the canister with? Also, what brand of canister do you have, & how long do they last? Looking to invest in a good one because I am a carbonated water lover!
@@loren8888 the canister will have a CO2 weight on it. Add that amount plus a couple grams to cover evaporation. I use soda stream canisters.
Sorry for the late reply and comments but I’m dealing with this issue right at this moment. One point I will make is it appears one can make sparkling water without buying a machine like SodaStream. Instead of thinking about water as the fluid to carbonate, think beer instead.
Beer has been carbonated for hundreds of years. For the first several hundred years beer was only carbonated with the CO2 created by the fermentation process. No additional CO2 could be added so it was consumed as it came out of the keg.
Towards the end of the US Civil War, refrigeration was catching on in companies that processed food. Beer producers now had a way to cool the beer and that resulted in the liquid beer to hold more carbonation than when it came to out of the keg. So now they could capture the by product of fermentation, CO2 filter it through carbon filters, compress it and put it into tanks for storage and transportation. So, draft beer from kegs could be shipped all over the country and world along with CO2. The beer was injected with CO2 at the point of sale so you now had fresh, cool, bubbly beer available anywhere.
Moving to modern times we can carbonate water in our home. The magic is you don’t need a $100 machine to do it. We treat the water like beer. We buy CO2 in bulk defined as tanks of 5, 10, 15 or 20 pounds of CO2 at a time. You get a tank that holds the previously mentioned number of pounds of CO2. The tanks can be new, made of steel or aluminum (aluminum is lighter) new or used & recertified. Then add a pressure regulator for the CO2 tank and the vessel you will inject with water and CO2 such as a 2 liter soda bottle. The you need 10 to 20 feet of pressure hose and a few other pieces of hardware. Set up cost $75 to $175 for a CO2 tank, $55 to $85 for the regulator set, then $10 for hose and $40 for miscellaneous. A fresh tank of CO2 runs $20 to $40 a refill.
A 20 pound tank of CO2 is equivalent of about 60 SodaStream canisters of CO2.
If you own a SodaStream just buy an adapter put it on the rubber hose and lock the adapter in place of a SodaStream canister. Everything functions like it did except you spend money to fill your tank. My math says the tank refills is paid by saving the cost of about 4, CO2 canisters. CO2 is easy to get from taprooms, breweries, welding supply companies and companies similar to AirGas, Inc.
30$ for a Sodastream Canister? It's 12,99€ here in Belgium, and if you bring the empty canister back to the store, you get 12€ back for the canister, meaning that filling it is only 0,99€
This should not be surprised that it is cheaper to buy can/bottle of soda or sparkling water from grocery stores because they are manufactured in the factories. Anyone thinks it is cheaper made by yourself is not smart. The real reasons doing it yourself are it’s environmentally friendly and fun to make it yourself with all kinds of fluids 😊
I bought a lot soda regularly and sometimes they become flat after storage for a while, and I want the carbonated machine makes the drinks fizzy again.
Thanks good to know. But if you gift the sodamaker (any brand), then the person it is gifted to has an immediate cost saving if self making the soda/sparkling water vs buying the soda or sparkling water in-store.
That is very true! In that case no matter which soda maker you have, the Price Per Ounce column from the table at 2:49 is much less than $0.2375/oz at Aldi
Either that, or gift them 40 cases of sparkling water lol
Even better if you also gift them a CO2 tank and adapter hose so they dont have to pay nearly as much for CO2 refills
@@BN99239 🤣😂🤣😂🤣
I did the math on my own(Europe) and after 2 years i save some money. But I drink coca cola and some other flavoured drinks often, so there you can save some money if you dont drink only the cheapest sparkling water in the market the whole year.
Costs me $41 to fill my 20ib co2 tank to refill my sodastream cylinders and get about 21 to 22 refills per tank. So pay about $1.95 roughly per co2 refill in the sodastream.
this is a great idea
Interesting, but why not just get a CGA320-to-Sodastream adapter, feed your large co2 tank directly to the Sodastream & bypass the need to refill those dinky canisters?
Another thing to consider is also the differences in cost on health.. Atleast sugar wise, even with flavoring, theres a ton less sugar in my sodastream than in store bought soda..
For sure!
The soda syrups from sodastream contain sucralose which is a chemically engineered artificial sweetener. Not really doing much for your health.
I just bought a SodaStream Terra 1 month ago for $106 including tax. Price included one CO2 cylinder. I was spending $30/month in the store for 40 liters of seltzer water. The first cylinder of CO2 only lasted me 2 weeks. So, 4 weeks will cost me $30 (2 refills @ $15 each). I have NOT found that 1 cylinder will make 60 liters!!! I have to use 5 pumps to get the same amount of fizz that I got with the store bought. That's only 20 liters, not 60 as they claim. So, I'm paying the exact same amount, $30. Then there's the initial cost of $100 for the machine that will only last for 2 years, as I've heard reported. However, I spent an additional $15 for a warranty that lasts for 2 years beyond manufacturer warranty of 2 years. So, if all goes well, I should get replacements at no cost to me. I really do like that I don't have to lug around 10 liters back and forth to the store every week and it's better for environment. But I agree with you that I'm not saving any money at the end of the day. Seems I'm just breaking even.
Buy adapter and bulk CO2 tank. It's worth something to have it whenever I want and not have to go to the store.
I did ponder just continuing to buy ICE (only kind I drank and liked) but it's like $1 a bottle and you have an empty plastic bottle after every drink. It was a no-brainer doing it at home.
Where can I buy the adapter?
I bought the sodastream because we drink a lot of (diet) cola/7up/mountain dew. Instead of buying around 50-60 bottles a month we now make soda an add some sirop to it. Did the math (sirop+CO2+water buying bottles), we save about $50,-/month by using our sodastream. And yes, we did buy the name brand bottles (as well as the Pepsi sirop).
Wow fantastic! Increasing consumption will certainly change the results in this video
Those numbers "bump up" when your mate downs 3-4 laCroix a day and you're willing to get a 20lb CO2 tank and refill the soda stream 1lb tanks yourself. You can also find lots of soda stream machines used for cheap or "starter" sets at places like Sams Club on-line for around the $60 mark with a bottle, machine and a 1lb CO2 tank. I'm under no illusion that there's a longer than a year (or so) break even point but provided that I go the 5 or 20lb refill tank route that's probably good for about 18 - 24 months at current rates ;-)
Did you calculate the price of the recycle cans? Cashier adds at least 5 cents per can/bottle when you check out. Unless you go to the recycle center regularly and get your money back (which most people don't), those costs should be added to your calculation. Also, there's no electricity involved when you use a typical seltzer maker at home. I live in a New York rental apartment, so the water is free. But your video does bring up good points. The key is to put a Soda Stream on your wish/gift list. And if you get it for free (like I did), then the savings start right away.
No I did not, but that's a good consideration
And New York, I think in general has great tasting water.
The added waste is definitely a significant issue with the store bought products. I think it’s shortsighted to merely consider cost per ounce. In addition…..as noted by others, the cost of sodastream CO2 canisters is not the same when you exchange. Furthermore, there are better and way cheaper systems available than sodastream that you did not even consider at all in your comparison. So, in truth, not a good comparison
Can you tell hs about the cheaper systems?
I came across this video looking for flavor reviews lol...about 2 months ago I bought an aarke pro from Costco for like 220, it came with one free flavor. the device has eliminated 6 issues which youre not taking into consideration. I was a la Croix DIE HARD, consistently bought from Walmart for the last 2 years and was spending $40 ish per month just on that alone. the device eliminated:
1. having to haul the heavy boxes to my apt
2. freeing up space in my fridge from the cans
3. breaking down the boxes for recycling
4. discarding the cans for recycling
5. and of course...the $$$$$$$
now, all I do is keep cold water in my fridge and fizz up when I'm ready for a drink. the large bottle holds about a liter which is four 12 oz cans and I go through at least 2 liters or 67 oz a day easily. so this notion that it takes 3 years to get your cost down is BS because after 576oz l which is about 17L, and the tank last way longer than that, the 22 oz gets even more. also, the waste that goes into landfills have a higher cost than anything else. this was such a bad comparison.
The biggest up-side is the vast reduction in single use plastic bottles. I figure over a year or 4 that’s a LOT.
This cost breakdown is well made but operates under the assumption of paying full price for both CO2 and the initial investment. Still, subscribed!
THANK YOU Ivar :)
Definitely. I just bought a Sodastream Terra at Lidl for $69. My utilities including water are a flat rate per month. No electricity is needed. The CO2 refills are about $15 and I understand that delivers about 60 liters. Then, there's the issue of all of the labor, space cost, and time you save in dealing with bottled seltzer. If you take all of that into account, I don't think it's even close.
Soda stream charges a lot for the little canisters. It’s cheaper to buy a bigger C02 tank with an adapter for the soda stream and get it refilled for a couple bucks.
Great video but one thing I didn’t see, with soda stream replacement canisters are only 15$ so that alone should make it considerably lower than than your price point.
Thanks! I have Soda Stream replacement canisters in the first row of the table at 2:46 for $15 each
@@ThriftyTony The first row of the table has soda stream replacement canister at $29.99 each and the total cost for 2 plus shipping is $67.97 while it should be $37.99 or even $30 if people do the exchange in store
@@gracexxie You're re absolutely right! I must've considered the purchase price for this and not the refill price. It also seems like SodaStream has updated their shipping prices to include free shipping on 4 refills or more. While it's impossible to update the video, I will make an update to the linked blog post in the next few days.
@@ThriftyTony That's good to know! And thank you for breaking down all the costs in this video - they are super helpful. I just purchased a soda stream bundle from Costco because they are doing a sale and now I have a really good idea of how long it will take for me to start saving money :)
3rd option make sure co2 cannister is complete empty then refill with dry ice yourself on a scale for $2 or $3 to fill 3 or 4 cylinders
Tools a scale and a spanner/adjustable wrench
And something to hold it firm
They are also constructed cheap and won't last more then 2 years let alone 7 years. I had to modify my soda stream many time to save me from buying a new one. This includes welding and replacing parts they DO NOT sell.
I am using a larger 5 pound food grade CO2 cylinder that is very cheap to fill up (with food grade CO2, you have to make sure of that). I drink lots of sparkling water and $25 is good for a whole year of a quarter gallon per day of sparkling water. I save hundreds per year at this point
Thanks for the tip. There is a welding supply nearby and I think they sell CO2 canisters as well.
Thanks for the great tip! Could you tell us where you got the 5lb canister and where you go to refill it?
I got it off of Amazon for like $40, and I refill it at a local homebrew supply store@@sillybilly9428
Thanks for trying to provide a cost analysis, but I agree with the many other reviews that point out the cost calculations are inaccurate. I would also factor in the benefit of using your own water source provided it is a good source. We have a reverse osmosis system that provides healthier water than what many manufacturers use. And if you flavor the water yourself, you can do so much healthier than the artificial and chemically processed “natural” flavoring garbage that is used by Lacroix, Bubly, etc. I do not yet own a carbonated water machine but am still considering one.
Ok so I live in a tiny home, and its easy to get like... 8 cans everywhere... also it's not hard to find a local shop to refill a large tank that can be used to refill your tanks several times over for a fraction of the cost.
How did you go to the store? Via Taxi, Uber, or your own car, gasoline? This is additional cost, also it takes time to drive over to the store, and we all know time is money. What if you had a flat tire on the way, another $60-100 to get new tire.
Yes, I bought soda stream at $60.00, and it became obvious that the price for a cylinder of CO2 being so high, it was a not worth it. Also, I like lots of bubbles, so that decreases the amount of cups much more. So, I get it at Aldi and elsewhere. But it’s nice to have the Soda stream around just in case.
In india it is 1 dollar USDs for 6 ltrs
Some factors you didn’t consider. First, taste is subjective and as an Aldi shopper who enjoys many of their brands, I can say that I think their cheapest option tastes like crap. I pay like in the high $3 range for AHA 8 packs at my local Walmart, because of how good I think it tastes. Next, you didn’t factor in the bottle deposit for those that have to pay it. True you can get that back but then there’s not only the hassle of keeping all of those cans around until you have enough to justify a trip to a bottle return depot, the trip itself sucks. Also, if you buy flavored sparkling water, who knows exactly what they’re putting in it. Making your own, you have more control and versatility.
TLDR: cheap seltzer tastes….cheap. Buying seltzer introduces a bottle deposit/recycling loop that sucks. When you make your own, you have more control, versatility and knowledge as to what flavors go into it. Oh and lastly, carrying those cases in on shopping days blows. Lol.
Thanks for the vid, it helped bolster my decision to make my own starting soon.
Exactly. I’ve tried the store brand seltzer and initially blew off the more expensive brands but quickly found that like anything, you get what you pay for, regarding taste.
And yes - buying, carrying and storing 4 of those huge packs from Costco really did suck.
I think I’m going to take the plunge and buy one. The ability to have it “on tap” and not have to go anywhere is just another plus to me.
I live in the country and the cans do not burn in the trash barrel. I could buy beer for the bubbles but you know how good is beer for you anyway. And you wind up with the can to deal with anyway
Great video. I'd like to add in a factor. The store bought sparkling waters also have extra ingredients that can be eliminated by making your own. I'm considering purchasing a sparkling water maker and I'll be adding in fresh fruit juice into the carbonated water. The store water has natural flavors ( I've heard that's not a good thing and there's nothing natural about it ), aspartame, potassium benzoate and other ingredients as well.
Best is the juice of a quarter of fresh lemon or lime. Low in sugar and with nothing else but water and CO2 you can feel good and enjoy the most refreshing drink after lager.
Ypi should get a Drinkmate and connect a 20 lb co2 tank to it with an adapter. You can sparkle liters of water for literally just a few cents.
Soda stream doesn't use electricity. And CO2 cylinder can be refilled with dry ice
One other factor is waste. If you are buying your sparkling water in plastic bottles it is a huge price on the environment.
That's a really good point
Ty for answering this question, bro. I appreciate your input on this
The real pain in the ass of buying canned seltzer, is lugging it around....to the cart, onto the register, back to the cart, into the car, out of the car, make storage room, into frig, then into recycle....all so my entitled gf can take a few sips and toss the rest down the drain. And the real reason to make my own isn't to save money, it's to annoy her, and get even.
Good video. One thing that you did not cover is bottles and cans. First, and I'm not sure if you did, you need to add the local costs (CRV in California). Then it's a hassle of storing/recycling them. Plus, with cans the issue is that more than half often goes to waste. Like my kids would open a can, take a few sips, forget about it and after a few hours it's a waste, so the open another one. I suspect with home-made devices and bigger bottles, this is not an issue. Also, Walmart doesn't have store brand carbonated water (AFAIK), there is not ALDI around here (Northern CA), and the cheapest option is, I think, Trader Joe's 1.25 liter bottles. I'm still trying to figure out if I should invest into SodaStream or something, mostly because I do not like collecting cans.
You're right about the recycling aspect. A factor which I left out. I did find a 1L bottle of store brand carbonated water at Walmart the other day for $0.77 www.walmart.com/ip/Great-Value-Sodium-Free-Seltzer-Water-33-8-fl-oz/10448349?athbdg=L1600 but the problem with this is again if you don't drink the whole bottle, it'll go flat over night
Even if you can crush the can against your forehead?
NOT CONSIDERED: In some states they tax aluminum cans. On the Aldi can then, at 24 cents a can, it is almost a 50% tax per can at 10 cents bringing your cost to 34 cents a can. That is, unless you are willing to both change your kitchen waste setup (having three waste cans 1 for trash, 1 for aluminum cans, and one for single stream recyclables) and take the time to return the cans...I am not willing. This aggressive and horrible tax changes things.
CO2 bottles are only about 6 bucks here as a refill. I am an old man and don´t want to carry bulky water arround or pay 25c deposit per bottle and carry the plasic bottles back to the shop for refunds. Also, i will never run out of sparkling water.
Isn't using sodastream supposed to eliminate the amount of aluminum and plastic needlessly piling up in landfills?
It's a step in the right direction
And to make your initial aluminum can requires a lot of electricity - which I think in general is not carbon friendly.
One thing good with making it yourself you don't have to keep on recycling the soda cans. Still you need good filtered water. So not only do you need co2 containers but water filtration. You know it would be cool if there was a way to make C02 from solar powered. It would be cool if we could take sugar and have a chemical reaction and turn it into CO2. Or if there was a way to take CO2 from the air. I guess all these things would cost way more than buying it from the store. It really would only be good for if you were on a boat or ship and you needed to generate it.
The sodastream cap gets mould growing around and under the rubber seal that is almost impossible to clean, this is due to the depth of the treads. I clean with a toothbrush and let it soak in baby bottle sterilisation liquid.
I only drink carbonated water with no sweetened additives but it still get mould.
What brand would you recommend is the MOST carbonated sparkling water with the most bubbles
Depends on where you live. A 12 pack of sparkling water here is 10 dollars.
i buy 4 aldi's diet soda's every week. it tastes great and is just so much cheaper then anywhere else by about 2 bucks in my area. i been looking into making my own so the video was very helpful ty
I did a less thorough analysis of soda purchased when it’s on sale vs regular priced soda vs sodastream. I think you can get generic on sale and stock up enough to last so that you never pay full price on the generic soda meaning every time it’s on sale you restock up before the last batch ran out and it will always be cheaper than sodastream.
That being said I like the ability to store lots of supplies and have the ability to make it without worrying about a supply chain shortage (remember the toilet paper situation ) and also if the price tomorrow doubles then I saved even more with everything on my shelves that I purchased before the price hike.
As for the initial cost I don’t factor that in because to me it’s like a generator. I’m not going to divide the cost to figure out how much I’m paying per watt until the generator pays it’s self off I’m
Buying it to have the ability to use it should I ever need it. So for me the initial investment can be any dollar amount because having it is worth more to me than whatever I paid to get to the point where I now have it.
That’s just me
Fair assessment. That's a good way to look at it
Honestly more useful to make the comparison based on volume instead of years with 12oz consumption per day, like how many liters must you make before it pays off. 12oz is 0.35L, I can easily consume 4L of water per day, at that rate it takes less than a year to pay off.
Plus refilling canisters is much cheaper than buying. Additionally factoring cost of transport if you're buying packs of sparkling water, amount of cans/ bottles to deal with when buying and I think it's worth it for me at least
I dont think it actually costs more to make it at home, but even if it did, so be it. The convenience factor alone is awesome. I can *never* find my Bubly Bounce carbonated water at the store, so now I'm making my own. 😉
I think there is something you really didn't explore enough. That is the other costs of shopping, transporting, lugging, storing, and disposing of the containers for sparkling water. It takes time to shop and as trivial as it may sound, the time it takes to procure, schlep, stow, and dispose of empties adds up. Storage is also a real issue, especially when you live in a small place. Whether you rent or own, you are paying a certain amount for every square foot of floor space and every cubic foot of storage space. This too, adds up. By the time you get done accounting for these things, the trivial amount of space, equipment, water, expendables, and even energy make the soda maker worthwhile.
Very good points. All valid!
If buying SodaStream replaces buying LaCroix, it's worth it. I pay 3.8 cents per oz for LaCroix at my grocery store. Of course I could get the store brand for less but I don't think it tastes quite as good. I bought the SodaStream for my gf who loves sparkling water lol, will be interesting how the taste compares to LaCroix
Thank you. You saved my wife time and saved me money and stress 😅
You can actually make it cheaper for SodaStream and the rest if you buy used ones AND modify it to use bigger Co2 tanks.
Our original Sodastream machine lasted longer than 15 years! I'm shopping for a new one and this video caught my eye. I'm not an economist so I don't know the formal name for the kind of cost comparison you are making. However, what is not factored in is the cost to the environment in terms of pollution for delivery trucks carting around cans of water from one place to another. The machines that allow you to make soda from the water available at the tap seem to be better for the environment. And there is the cost of mining, manufacturing, and recycling the aluminum cans.
not as much as ev cars 200#'s more of copper and congo children tied and dropped down 3' holes for your cobalt
quit preaching to the choir
I did the math over the last 3 months, and for us, using the DrinkMate has been much cheaper.
I got my terra soda stream for the cost of one of their co2 canisters, so I basically only paid for the initial co2 and each canister lasts me 3 months. around 20 cents a day (I only fill up 1 liter worth a day).
Ok but what if I want to do things like sparkling coconut water, or sparkling grape juice? I believe that might change things.
Is it cheaper to make your own sparkling water or buy soda? Thanks so much.
I think what we learned from this is that sparkling water is extremely cheap and you probably shouldn’t worry about it too much
A lot of factors to consider..since you went with the lowest cost per can…you could also compare it with the lowest cost to produce. If you fill your own canisters it drops your cost to $2..00 a canister. 60 liters = 165 12 oz cans..about a penny a can or (14 cents a 12 pack) I bought the aqua fizz soda stream which uses glass. (Better for you than plastic)…by making my own i also know what’s in it..water, co2 and a squeeze of lemon…NOT natural flavors which is code for chemicals. It’s a no brainer if you go the extra step and fill own canisters.
What I do right now is buy plain sparkling water cans and add my own fruit like you, but I can't argue with you about glass vs plastic
What if u ONLY drink sparkling water. I can't drink flat water it's gross.
I bought a Sparkel for $80 on Mercari and make my own carbonator instead of using theirs. If you go this route, it’s cheaper than buying it in store.
Why does no one count the cost of driving and buying your soda at the store ? Youre time? Costco is much cheaper then any of this.. But i dont want to go to Costco or carry any bottles. Im saving many bottoes from being used and enjoying no sugar or fake sugar ..
Is the price the only criteria? What about not using plastic bottles and drinking your local water?
So I just got a sodastream today because of a great deal, I'd wanted one for a while. In my case, I live in an urban center and while I own a car, I do almost all of my grocery shopping on foot or by bike. Carbonated beverages are HEAVY, and so they never make the cut - if I wanted them in stock I'd have to make an extra grocery run just for that, and they wouldn't be cheap locally. OTOH I could take the car out to Walmart or whatever, but that's at least a half hour trip each way, so gas + time/ opportunity costs have to be factored in. The convenience of only replacing a small canister every 90 bottles or so has its own considerable value. Plus as others have noted, replacement canisters cost much cheaper than what's assumed in this video.
I consume a can of sparkling water 4-5 times a day, sometimes more, so my machine will pay for itself in less than a year. I did a similar calculation based upon my average consumption costs, when i first looked into them, and came to a same conclusion. Great for those who drink a lot of sparkling drinks, but not really a money saver for those who consume less.
I'm curious is this still holds true with inflation in the mix now.
Sparkling water prices are through the roof now a days
thanks for doing the research for us
You bet!
Have you considered that you can use spring water or better with the sparkling systems. We have no idea what kind of water is used in those others (several have proven to fake that they were using spring water when they were using tap) ALSO, if you compare the cost of buying a Coke vs using a sparkling with a healthy coke recipe, the cost comparison is really quite different.
Really great comparison though on just sparkling water!!! Appreciate you doing that work!! I obviously was looking for comparisons!
Thanks so much! I only looked at it from a cost perspective in this video, but good point about having control of the water when making it yourself
And have you seen the wacky but fun you tube video where they co2'd their whiskey? And taste tested them, and got progressively goofier as the video went on?
I am also factoring in the calorie cost. If I always have soda water available I will drink far less cola and juice so if even if it's more expensive it's worth it to me for the convenience factor. Also I do live about 30 min from stores that sell soda water and I usually get off work too late to stop anywhere but gas stations. Interesting though I thought it would be cheaper 🤔 that's OK I got my sodastream for $50 so I'll recoup my money faster anyway. 👍🤑 great content 💯
Thanks Diana, you have a very sound justification
I dink a 12 pk of either Schweppes black cherry or Stop & Shop black chery every day. It does get expensive 12bucks every 3 days. I used to drink just plain water but I started drink sparkling and now I can't go back. I'm addicted to it.
Yes but ! When you make your own flavored sparkling beverage at home
A) you know what is in it - no chemicals, preservatives, artificial anything
B) you do not have to worry about recycling your cans, or worry if they are recycled or not. Not to mention the co2 canisters are refillable and recyclable
C) I think it cuts down on your carbon foot print. How many less trips to the store are you making, by making soda at home?
d) if you have a 5, 10 or larger tank, you can refill your smaller tanks from that, saving much more money.
I live on 5th floor with no elevator. So the cost is well worth it than carrying 6kg every few days
Just watching this now, a year later. Aldi water is $4.25, and I think the Sodastream costs are the same. Still have the spreadsheet handy to update the model?
Unfortunately for our house, non-flavored sparkling water can be any...but once you've had Perrier and Topo Chico, lime sparkling from LaCroix and others is never the same. That's my calculus to figure out. I have a kegerator, also, w/ a few taps. Researching mixing my own water in a corny keg to see if that's fun and worth it. Thx for making this vid.
What a difference a year makes
i was into'd by my bro who had a machine. he mixes some strong lemonade or limeade then puts a splash in the sparkling water. SO GOOD. was gonna get one then *holy cow* the cartridges are expensive! so i started getting some club soda from publix. tried walmart but UGHHHHHH it was totally FLAT!! never again. so gross. (didn't taste like reg water flat. tasted... ugh.)
I'm not surprised.
But I am surprised by the thought that a person who would purchase and use a soda making system to make only plain carbonated water. That might be the type of person who'd pay more to purchase premium air to fill up their low car tire?
I bought my system two years ago because I love Italian cream sodas and carbonated lemonade. But I didn't want to spend $4-5 for one drink. I've not sat down to do the proper ciphering, but I'd hazard a guess that it costs me less than $1.50 to make one cream soda (Torani syrups plus half and half) and less than half of that to make my lemonades.
I dont have Aldi, I just have a Safeway. I did my own math and I would save over 20 dollars for every seven 24 count boxes. You can refill the c02 canisters though or rig it to use bigger C02 bottles as well. But the hassle of carrying these damn boxes is gone. That's good enough for me! I'm glad I finally bought one of these things. It encourages me to drink a lot more water.
It sucks because Aldi prices have doubled in the past year :/
You forgot a lot of factors.
1. less recycled materiald
2. Storing all the empties
3. Taking the empties into recycle time and
gas
4 going to buy the product
For me the do it yourself models are the better choice.
Thanks for saving me all the time to calculate this!
The bottle deposit needs to be included in the cost of purchasing cans
Theres a third reason why a sodastream may be preferred; less waste to deal with. If i drank canned seltzer as much as i drink seltzer from a machine then i wud consume a 12 pk of those aldis seltzers every other day. This means at the end of a week I have 42 (heh, its the answer) bottles a week to deal with. That may not seem like much but im just one soda water fan. If you had two or three of me then thats hundreds of empty cans a week to deal with; and often even in a state that just encourages throwin them away.
Waste is definitely a concern that I did not touch on in this video. Good point
What about refilling the canister yourself. Should be able to to that for about $1 per canister
Sparkel is significantly cheaper if u buy citric acid and baking soda in bulk.
There's no electricity cost as this one doesn't use electricity. Refill co2 is 6 bucks here.
Not surprised that the cost appears to be lower with the cans. However, if you wanted to get granular with it you'd have to figure in the cost of going to the store to get the cans/bottles of sparkling water and just being at the store more frequently has fallout of additional purchases (that may or may not be necessities.) Going to the grocery store less frequently is a huge plus, so if sparkling water supply in my home can mitigate going to the store, it's probably better that's not another cause to go.
Additionally, the extra cardboard/plastic/metal involved with single use CPG water shouldn't be anything to disregard, though the "environmental cost" is clearly not the point of your video.
It is a good analysis that some people should take into account, but I think it's fair for many to take more into account than strictly the cost of the water per 12 ounces.
These are really good points Michael!
And who goes into the store for just soda and leaves? Like going into the store for just milk or eggs, you (I do) always end up with buying way more things than I had intended to.
is that the only reason you ever go to grocery store or do u actually eat edible food. so if i buy $200 groceries and $20 is spent on water how do i breakdown the $4 gas/gal at 30 miles a gal. car for my $20 water
$ cents???
I love the information in this video and respect the hard work but I disagree. Like serval people pointed out the cost the tanks is cut in half if you trade them in and I only buy mineral or spring water from the store. A case of s pellegrino sparkling water or Perrier Sparkling Water is way more expensive. But yes if your buying just any cheap no name brand you shouldn’t buy the machine. I’d love to see the numbers if you compared it to soda which a lot of people use it for
This doesn't consider a much cheaper home option of using larger CO2 tanks, not the little expensive ones in this video. It costs $40 to refill a 10 lb CO2 tank that lasts me 8+ months and it's by far the cheapest option I've found.
Also its very easy to refill your own CO2 cylinders by adding dry ice. Or buy a larger tank. Or have refilled at various places. It depends on whats cheapest in your area.
Last 2 pts: no lugging and storing to have taste variety (tiny btls/powders of flavors or DIY)
AND control what goes into my body. Most mass produced stuff has extra additives. Or too sweet or not enough or wrong sweetener (Stevia tastes NASTY to me)
LESS waste, no need to run by recycling center
Should be noted that (at least with sodastream, you can easily refill the co2 canisters with dry ice which us super cheap in my area.
You can also use an adapter and connect your soda stream straight to a bulk co2 tank which also cuts down costs considerably.
Exactly!
You get the cheapest price by refilling the canisters with dry ice yourself.
Appears these manufactures of soda machines did a good job of calculating cost to make it about the same so people that drink soda more often or health conscious soda drinkers would buy the product since prices are simular. For people that drink alot and want to save money it is best to get a food grade co2 5lb container with a hose($50) to connect the container and soda machine. Locally here first purchase of foodgrade 5 lb container is $65 and cost $20 to replace for a new one when it runs out. You git 4 to 5 soda stream co2 containes worth per 5 lb container. So upfront cost would be around $220, but the cost per drink would drop down to about 4 cents each making the break even point around 3 years and way cheaper after that. (this is baed off calculations in video of 1 drink per day. Anyone that would want this machine would most likey drink 3 drinks worth inside a household making break even point in 1 yr. Also dont forget the benefit of having it on hand at home you be more likely to use for cooking or other applications.)