Hydration factors for 102 drinks

Not every drink hydrates you by the same amount. WaterChamp gives each of its 102 drinks a hydration factor. The factor sets how far a drink moves your hydration level. It also sets how much a weak drink adds to the day's goal.

What a hydration factor is

A hydration factor is a multiplier on the volume you drink, and it does two things. It scales how far the drink moves the hydration level on the home screen. When the factor is below 1.0, the app adds the missing millilitres to the day's goal. The factor never takes anything away. The goal counts every millilitre you logged, at face value.

Log 250 ml of water, factor 1.0. The full 250 ml counts toward the goal, and the goal stays where it was. Log 250 ml of milk, factor 1.5. The 250 ml still counts, but the hydration level rises half again as far as water would move it. More of that fluid stays in the body over the next few hours. A 150 ml glass of red wine, factor 0.5, also counts as the full 150 ml. It adds 75 ml to the goal on top. Spirits sit at 0.0, so a 45 ml measure counts as 45 ml and adds another 45 ml to the goal.

The ordering comes from the Beverage Hydration Index. Maughan and colleagues gave 72 men one litre of each of 13 drinks. They measured urine output for the next four hours and scored every drink against still water.1 Milk, an oral rehydration solution and orange juice held onto more fluid than water did. Tea, coffee, cola, a sports drink, sparkling water and beer came out no different from water. The mechanism is plain. Energy density, sodium and protein slow how fast the stomach empties. The same volume then arrives at the kidneys more slowly, and less of it leaves again straight away.

The study covered 13 drinks and the app carries 102. We place the rest by category against their measured neighbours. A smoothie sits near milk because it is thick and carries protein and sugar. A plain herbal infusion sits on water. Alcohol is the one direction that goes below 1.0. Alcohol suppresses vasopressin, so you pass more urine than the drink supplied. Treat the factors as a careful ranking, not a lab measurement for each drink.

A factor above 1.0 is not a health score. Chocolate milk retains fluid well, at 1.45, and it also carries 63 kcal per 100 ml. The table below keeps the calories next to the factor for exactly that reason.

Start with the water intake calculator to estimate your daily drinking target. If you are comparing caffeinated drinks, the caffeine cutoff calculator estimates how much remains at bedtime.

All 102 drinks

Click a heading to sort by that column. Click it again to reverse the order. The number columns start with the highest value; Drink and Category start at A. The search box filters by drink name or category. Serving is the amount the app offers first, and you can change it before you log. Caffeine is the amount in that serving. For coffee and tea the app counts shots and cups, so a taller cup of the same brew keeps the same caffeine. Sodas, energy drinks and cold brew scale with volume. Calories are given per 100 ml rather than per serving, so drinks of very different sizes stay comparable. Alcohol is alcohol by volume. The app converts it to grams of pure alcohol at 0.789 g/ml.

102 drinks

Hydration factor, caffeine, calories and alcohol for every drink in WaterChamp. Values are the app defaults, and you can edit each one per drink.
Affogato Coffee 150 ml 1.00 63 mg 120 kcal 0%
Almond Milk Dairy 250 ml 1.00 0 mg 15 kcal 0%
Aloe Vera Drink Soft drinks 330 ml 1.00 0 mg 36 kcal 0%
Americano Coffee 240 ml 1.00 63 mg 2 kcal 0%
Aperol Spritz With alcohol 200 ml 0.50 0 mg 65 kcal 8%
Apple Juice Juice 200 ml 1.05 0 mg 46 kcal 0%
Barley Tea Tea 350 ml 1.00 0 mg 1 kcal 0%
Beer With alcohol 500 ml 1.00 0 mg 43 kcal 5%
Berry Juice Juice 200 ml 1.05 0 mg 48 kcal 0%
Black Coffee Coffee 240 ml 1.00 95 mg 1 kcal 0%
Black Tea Tea 240 ml 1.00 47 mg 1 kcal 0%
Bloody Mary With alcohol 150 ml 0.50 0 mg 75 kcal 12%
Boba Tea Tea 475 ml 1.10 50 mg 65 kcal 0%
Bone Broth Other 250 ml 1.00 0 mg 15 kcal 0%
Brandy With alcohol 45 ml 0.00 0 mg 230 kcal 40%
Cappuccino Coffee 200 ml 1.10 63 mg 30 kcal 0%
Chai Latte Tea 350 ml 1.10 50 mg 45 kcal 0%
Champagne With alcohol 150 ml 0.50 0 mg 76 kcal 12%
Chicken Stock Other 250 ml 1.00 0 mg 5 kcal 0%
Chocolate Milk Dairy 250 ml 1.45 0 mg 63 kcal 0%
Cider With alcohol 500 ml 1.00 0 mg 46 kcal 4.5%
Coconut Water Water 330 ml 1.05 0 mg 19 kcal 0%
Cola Soft drinks 330 ml 1.00 33 mg 42 kcal 0%
Cold Brew Coffee 350 ml 1.00 200 mg 2 kcal 0%
Cortado Coffee 120 ml 1.05 63 mg 18 kcal 0%
Cosmopolitan With alcohol 120 ml 0.00 0 mg 150 kcal 20%
Decaf Coffee Coffee 240 ml 1.00 3 mg 1 kcal 0%
Decaf Tea Tea 240 ml 1.00 2 mg 1 kcal 0%
Diet Soda Soft drinks 355 ml 1.00 46 mg 0 kcal 0%
Drip Coffee Coffee 355 ml 1.00 140 mg 1 kcal 0%
Electrolyte Water Water 500 ml 1.10 0 mg 2 kcal 0%
Energy Drink Soft drinks 250 ml 1.00 80 mg 45 kcal 0%
Espresso Coffee 40 ml 1.00 63 mg 2 kcal 0%
Espresso Martini With alcohol 120 ml 0.00 63 mg 190 kcal 20%
Flat White Coffee 160 ml 1.10 126 mg 40 kcal 0%
Flavored Water Water 500 ml 1.00 0 mg 5 kcal 0%
Fruit Tea Tea 250 ml 1.00 0 mg 2 kcal 0%
Gin With alcohol 45 ml 0.00 0 mg 230 kcal 40%
Gin & Tonic With alcohol 200 ml 0.50 0 mg 75 kcal 10%
Ginger Beer Soft drinks 330 ml 1.00 0 mg 35 kcal 0%
Grape Juice Juice 200 ml 1.05 0 mg 60 kcal 0%
Green Juice Juice 300 ml 1.05 0 mg 34 kcal 0%
Green Tea Tea 240 ml 1.00 30 mg 1 kcal 0%
Hard Seltzer With alcohol 355 ml 1.00 0 mg 28 kcal 5%
Herbal Infusion Tea 240 ml 1.00 0 mg 1 kcal 0%
Hot Chocolate Dairy 240 ml 1.35 0 mg 70 kcal 0%
Hugo With alcohol 250 ml 0.50 0 mg 60 kcal 7%
Iced Coffee Coffee 475 ml 1.00 165 mg 5 kcal 0%
Iced Tea Tea 355 ml 1.00 17 mg 36 kcal 0%
Irish Coffee With alcohol 240 ml 0.50 65 mg 95 kcal 10%
Isotonic Drink Soft drinks 500 ml 1.05 0 mg 25 kcal 0%
Juice Juice 200 ml 1.05 0 mg 45 kcal 0%
Kefir Dairy 250 ml 1.40 0 mg 60 kcal 0%
Kiwi Smoothie Smoothie 300 ml 1.20 0 mg 48 kcal 0%
Kombucha Tea 330 ml 1.00 0 mg 15 kcal 0%
Latte Coffee 350 ml 1.10 63 mg 42 kcal 0%
Lemon-Lime Soda Soft drinks 330 ml 1.00 0 mg 42 kcal 0%
Lemonade Soft drinks 300 ml 1.00 0 mg 42 kcal 0%
Long Island Iced Tea With alcohol 300 ml 0.50 0 mg 110 kcal 16%
Margarita With alcohol 240 ml 0.50 0 mg 100 kcal 13%
Martini With alcohol 90 ml 0.00 0 mg 150 kcal 25%
Matcha Latte Tea 350 ml 1.10 70 mg 30 kcal 0%
Milk Dairy 250 ml 1.50 0 mg 42 kcal 0%
Mimosa With alcohol 150 ml 0.50 0 mg 60 kcal 6%
Mineral Water Water 500 ml 1.00 0 mg 0 kcal 0%
Mojito With alcohol 240 ml 0.50 0 mg 60 kcal 10%
Mulled Wine With alcohol 200 ml 0.50 0 mg 100 kcal 10%
Non-alcoholic Beer Soft drinks 500 ml 1.00 0 mg 25 kcal 0%
Oat Milk Dairy 250 ml 1.05 0 mg 48 kcal 0%
Oolong Tea Tea 240 ml 1.00 38 mg 0 kcal 0%
Orange Juice Juice 200 ml 1.10 0 mg 45 kcal 0%
Prosecco With alcohol 125 ml 0.50 0 mg 66 kcal 11%
Protein Shake Smoothie 330 ml 1.30 0 mg 65 kcal 0%
Pu-Erh Tea Tea 240 ml 1.00 40 mg 0 kcal 0%
Radler With alcohol 500 ml 1.00 0 mg 35 kcal 2.5%
Raki With alcohol 45 ml 0.00 0 mg 260 kcal 45%
Red Wine With alcohol 150 ml 0.50 0 mg 85 kcal 13.5%
Rooibos Tea 240 ml 1.00 0 mg 0 kcal 0%
Root Beer Soft drinks 330 ml 1.00 0 mg 43 kcal 0%
Rosé Wine With alcohol 150 ml 0.50 0 mg 80 kcal 12%
Rum With alcohol 45 ml 0.00 0 mg 230 kcal 40%
Rum & Coke With alcohol 180 ml 0.50 0 mg 90 kcal 11%
Sangria With alcohol 200 ml 0.50 0 mg 85 kcal 9%
Slushie Soft drinks 475 ml 1.00 0 mg 48 kcal 0%
Smoothie Smoothie 300 ml 1.20 0 mg 55 kcal 0%
Soda Soft drinks 330 ml 1.00 34 mg 42 kcal 0%
Soup Other 300 ml 0.90 0 mg 35 kcal 0%
Sparkling Water Water 330 ml 1.00 0 mg 0 kcal 0%
Spirit With alcohol 45 ml 0.00 0 mg 231 kcal 40%
Squash Soft drinks 250 ml 1.00 0 mg 2 kcal 0%
Strawberry Smoothie Smoothie 300 ml 1.20 0 mg 50 kcal 0%
Tea with Milk Tea 250 ml 1.10 47 mg 9 kcal 0%
Turmeric Latte Tea 240 ml 1.10 0 mg 25 kcal 0%
Vermouth With alcohol 75 ml 0.50 0 mg 150 kcal 16%
Vitamin Water Water 500 ml 1.00 0 mg 17 kcal 0%
Vodka With alcohol 45 ml 0.00 0 mg 230 kcal 40%
Water Water 250 ml 1.00 0 mg 0 kcal 0%
Wellness Shot Juice 60 ml 1.00 0 mg 30 kcal 0%
Whiskey With alcohol 45 ml 0.00 0 mg 250 kcal 40%
White Coffee Coffee 250 ml 1.10 80 mg 10 kcal 0%
White Wine With alcohol 150 ml 0.50 0 mg 82 kcal 12.5%
Yerba Mate Tea 240 ml 1.00 80 mg 1 kcal 0%

No drink matches that search.

Reading the hydration column

Most of the table sits at 1.0. That is the measured result for tea, coffee, soda and beer. Over a few hours they leave you about where water would have. The ends of the table are the useful rows. Milk at 1.5, chocolate milk at 1.45 and kefir at 1.4 are the only drinks that beat water by a wide margin. Smoothies and protein shakes follow at 1.2 to 1.3. Every alcoholic drink except beer and cider drops to 0.5. Neat spirits and a martini fall to 0.0. A 45 ml measure of spirit does nothing for your hydration level. It adds its own 45 ml to the day's goal, and it still carries 104 kcal.

The app applies the factor as you log, so the hydration level on the home screen already accounts for it. Nothing here is a limit or a warning. It is arithmetic on what you drank. You can change any drink's factor if you disagree with ours.

1. Maughan RJ, Watson P, Cordery PA, Walsh NP, Oliver SJ, Dolci A, Rodriguez-Sanchez N, Galloway SDR. “A randomized trial to assess the potential of different beverages to affect hydration status: development of a beverage hydration index.” American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2016;103(3):717–723. PubMed 26702122. Serving sizes, caffeine, calorie and alcohol figures are the defaults shipped in the app.

The WaterChamp mascot drinking boba tea

WaterChamp for iPhone & Android

A water, caffeine and alcohol tracker. It counts 102 drinks toward your daily goal, shows a live hydration level, and tells you your last chance for coffee.

Download on the App Store Get it on Google Play