Monster vs Red Bull vs Prime
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VOICE OVER: Richard Bush
WRITTEN BY: Richard Bush
Red Bull might give you wings, but what about the other two? Welcome to WatchMojo, and in this installment of vs, we're lining up three of the most popular energy drinks on the market, to see how they measure up in terms of caffeine boost, nutrition and overall brand legacy. And be sure to stay tuned for my blind taste test too. If you have any questions about the health implications of energy drinks, please consult a medical professional.
Red Bull might give you wings, but what about the other two? Welcome to WatchMojo, and in this installment of vs, we’re lining up three of the most popular energy drinks on the market, to see how they measure up in terms of caffeine boost, nutrition and overall brand legacy. And be sure to stay tuned for my blind taste test too. If you have any questions about the health implications of energy drinks, please consult a medical professional.
For many of us, this is the important bottom line when it comes to energy drinks, and for the most part, you can look at an energy drink's caffeine content per mg as a good gauge for how much “energy” it’s going to give you. As a baseline figure, it’s worth noting that an average 8oz cup of coffee is said to give you around 95 mg of caffeine. An 8oz serving of Red Bull and Monster comes out at 75mg and 85mg respectively, so both of them offer slightly less caffeine than a cup of joe. Keep in mind however, that Monster energy cans typically come as 16 oz serving, or twice the size of Red Bull cans. So in terms of caffeine content, you’re getting twice as much with a can of Monster.
But what about Prime energy drinks? Well, they blow both Red Bull and Monster out of the caffeine-laided water with around 135mg for every 8oz servings. And just like Monster, Prime energy drinks usually come in 16 oz bottles. So let’s say you buy an average can of Red Bull, Monster and Prime - you’re looking at a caffeine content of around 75mg, 170mg and 270mg for each can respectively.
Based purely on bottom line caffeine figures, this round goes to Prime energy drinks.
Before you go running off and buying the energy drink with the most caffeine, you might want to consider nutritional information first - because this is where things get a little more complicated. In terms of calories, protein and carbs, an 8oz serving of Red Bull and Monster are extremely similar, with Red Bull edging it slightly with marginally less calories and carbs. Once again however, you need to consider that Red Bull cans are typically half the size of their Monster counterparts.
Prime on the other hand claims to have next to no sugar, lower calories and considerably more electrolytes than comparable servings of Red Bull and Monster. At a glance, this might lead you to believe that Prime is the much healthier option?
Well, to determine that, we have to again look at the caffeine content. While Prime energy drinks have far more caffeine than its competitors, some health professionals claim that it can be a dangerous amount of caffeine. It’s said that the average adult should only consume around 400mg of caffeine a day - that means that the average bottle of Prime energy is almost three quarters of your daily caffeine intake at 270mg. And if you’re not used to high caffeine intake, downing a bottle of Prime could accelerate some high caffeine side effects, like headaches, getting eh shakes and insomnia. There’s an age restriction warning on Prime bottles for a reason.
Of course, all three brands offer zero sugar versions of their popular drinks, so from a calorie counting point of view, that’s always worth keeping in mind.
However, due to its high caffeine content, we just can’t give Prime the win for nutrition. So, with Red Bull coming in more health-appropriate servings, and with slightly less calories, the Bull brand gets the win.
This round is of course very subjective, and each brand certainly has its flavor lovers and haters. Red Bull’s signature taste has become somewhat of a benchmark for other brands, with some saying its sweet and sour taste is similar to licorice, and others saying that it tastes horrible like cough medicine. Red Bull’s other flavor options are arguably even more controversial, with some of them being described as undrinkable, and even more medicinal tasting than the original.
Monster on the other hand is far more candy-like, with the brand offering a staggering amount of flavor options. The main downside of Monster is that their flavors can be so sharp that some simply find them overwhelming. And a similar thing can be said for Prime, with most of their flavors based around sweet fruits like raspberry, strawberry and lemon lime.
Honestly, the flavor aspect really is subjective, but based on the fact that Monster has by far the most flavor options on the market, we’re giving the win to Monster, as there is bound to be a flavor out there that you like.
Value for money is usually the first thing people think of when it comes to energy drink servings, and from that perspective, Red Bull is typically much more expensive than its competitors. Although Prime energy drinks saw a ridiculous hike up in price at launch, the hype has died down now, and bottles of Prime can be bought for about the same price as equivalent Monster drinks. So yeah, Prime and Monster are better value for money per ounce than Red Bull. In fact, you will usually find that 8 oz cans of Red Bull are comparable in price to the 16 oz offerings from Monster and Prime.
Size availability wise, Red Bull and Prime have slightly smaller options than Monster, with 8 oz and 12 oz cans respectively, but 16 oz offerings for all three brands are typically readily available. Quick shout out to the 24 oz Monster Mega can that’s on offer however, as it truly is a sight to be seen.
You can’t deny that Red Bull is the more expensive option of the three, but given everything we’ve said about caffeine and calorie figures and recommended daily intakes, we’re giving this round to Red Bull, purely based on the fact that its cans come in what we would consider more manageable, healthier sizes.
Prime energy is the odd one out here, mainly due to its infancy. And you could also argue that with its founders Logan Paul and KSI being YouTube stars, the Prime energy brand’s popularity could end up being as fleeting as the latest TikTok trend. Prime drinks continue to face scrutiny for their caffeine content too.
Something like Celsius energy drinks are pretty similar. Celsius is a big up and comer in the energy drink arena, and the brand is getting a ton of love and media coverage right now - but that might pass. It could go on to become the next Red Bull, but it could just as easily become a social media footnote.
Red Bull and Monster on the other hand have been around for quite some time and have already established their own brand identities on various different platforms, sports being a big one. Both brands sponsor giant sports events, have huge brand ambassadors and have their own world renowned teams. You could argue that the two are a little like Coke and Pepsi, Red Bull being the bigger, more refined brand that’s all about big money sports like F1, and Monster being the bohemian competitor who tends to dabble in more extreme sports like motocross and UFC.
But which of the two has better brand legacy? Well, Red Bull does have 15 years on Monster, arguably a more revered brand name, and it also has a significantly greater market share - so this last round goes to Red Bull.
And taking three of the five rounds, Red Bull comes out on top as the energy drink victor.
So, did we pick the right winner? Which energy brand do you think is the best? Let us know down in the comments, and be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo for more epic Versus videos!
Round 1: Energy Boost
For many of us, this is the important bottom line when it comes to energy drinks, and for the most part, you can look at an energy drink's caffeine content per mg as a good gauge for how much “energy” it’s going to give you. As a baseline figure, it’s worth noting that an average 8oz cup of coffee is said to give you around 95 mg of caffeine. An 8oz serving of Red Bull and Monster comes out at 75mg and 85mg respectively, so both of them offer slightly less caffeine than a cup of joe. Keep in mind however, that Monster energy cans typically come as 16 oz serving, or twice the size of Red Bull cans. So in terms of caffeine content, you’re getting twice as much with a can of Monster.
But what about Prime energy drinks? Well, they blow both Red Bull and Monster out of the caffeine-laided water with around 135mg for every 8oz servings. And just like Monster, Prime energy drinks usually come in 16 oz bottles. So let’s say you buy an average can of Red Bull, Monster and Prime - you’re looking at a caffeine content of around 75mg, 170mg and 270mg for each can respectively.
Based purely on bottom line caffeine figures, this round goes to Prime energy drinks.
Round 2: Nutrition
Before you go running off and buying the energy drink with the most caffeine, you might want to consider nutritional information first - because this is where things get a little more complicated. In terms of calories, protein and carbs, an 8oz serving of Red Bull and Monster are extremely similar, with Red Bull edging it slightly with marginally less calories and carbs. Once again however, you need to consider that Red Bull cans are typically half the size of their Monster counterparts.
Prime on the other hand claims to have next to no sugar, lower calories and considerably more electrolytes than comparable servings of Red Bull and Monster. At a glance, this might lead you to believe that Prime is the much healthier option?
Well, to determine that, we have to again look at the caffeine content. While Prime energy drinks have far more caffeine than its competitors, some health professionals claim that it can be a dangerous amount of caffeine. It’s said that the average adult should only consume around 400mg of caffeine a day - that means that the average bottle of Prime energy is almost three quarters of your daily caffeine intake at 270mg. And if you’re not used to high caffeine intake, downing a bottle of Prime could accelerate some high caffeine side effects, like headaches, getting eh shakes and insomnia. There’s an age restriction warning on Prime bottles for a reason.
Of course, all three brands offer zero sugar versions of their popular drinks, so from a calorie counting point of view, that’s always worth keeping in mind.
However, due to its high caffeine content, we just can’t give Prime the win for nutrition. So, with Red Bull coming in more health-appropriate servings, and with slightly less calories, the Bull brand gets the win.
Round 3: Flavor
This round is of course very subjective, and each brand certainly has its flavor lovers and haters. Red Bull’s signature taste has become somewhat of a benchmark for other brands, with some saying its sweet and sour taste is similar to licorice, and others saying that it tastes horrible like cough medicine. Red Bull’s other flavor options are arguably even more controversial, with some of them being described as undrinkable, and even more medicinal tasting than the original.
Monster on the other hand is far more candy-like, with the brand offering a staggering amount of flavor options. The main downside of Monster is that their flavors can be so sharp that some simply find them overwhelming. And a similar thing can be said for Prime, with most of their flavors based around sweet fruits like raspberry, strawberry and lemon lime.
Honestly, the flavor aspect really is subjective, but based on the fact that Monster has by far the most flavor options on the market, we’re giving the win to Monster, as there is bound to be a flavor out there that you like.
Round 4: Size
Value for money is usually the first thing people think of when it comes to energy drink servings, and from that perspective, Red Bull is typically much more expensive than its competitors. Although Prime energy drinks saw a ridiculous hike up in price at launch, the hype has died down now, and bottles of Prime can be bought for about the same price as equivalent Monster drinks. So yeah, Prime and Monster are better value for money per ounce than Red Bull. In fact, you will usually find that 8 oz cans of Red Bull are comparable in price to the 16 oz offerings from Monster and Prime.
Size availability wise, Red Bull and Prime have slightly smaller options than Monster, with 8 oz and 12 oz cans respectively, but 16 oz offerings for all three brands are typically readily available. Quick shout out to the 24 oz Monster Mega can that’s on offer however, as it truly is a sight to be seen.
You can’t deny that Red Bull is the more expensive option of the three, but given everything we’ve said about caffeine and calorie figures and recommended daily intakes, we’re giving this round to Red Bull, purely based on the fact that its cans come in what we would consider more manageable, healthier sizes.
Round 5: Brand Legacy
Prime energy is the odd one out here, mainly due to its infancy. And you could also argue that with its founders Logan Paul and KSI being YouTube stars, the Prime energy brand’s popularity could end up being as fleeting as the latest TikTok trend. Prime drinks continue to face scrutiny for their caffeine content too.
Something like Celsius energy drinks are pretty similar. Celsius is a big up and comer in the energy drink arena, and the brand is getting a ton of love and media coverage right now - but that might pass. It could go on to become the next Red Bull, but it could just as easily become a social media footnote.
Red Bull and Monster on the other hand have been around for quite some time and have already established their own brand identities on various different platforms, sports being a big one. Both brands sponsor giant sports events, have huge brand ambassadors and have their own world renowned teams. You could argue that the two are a little like Coke and Pepsi, Red Bull being the bigger, more refined brand that’s all about big money sports like F1, and Monster being the bohemian competitor who tends to dabble in more extreme sports like motocross and UFC.
But which of the two has better brand legacy? Well, Red Bull does have 15 years on Monster, arguably a more revered brand name, and it also has a significantly greater market share - so this last round goes to Red Bull.
And taking three of the five rounds, Red Bull comes out on top as the energy drink victor.
So, did we pick the right winner? Which energy brand do you think is the best? Let us know down in the comments, and be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo for more epic Versus videos!
