Although SodaStream has been in vogue for the past decade, did you know it was actually invented in the UK in 1903? Home soda makers have come a long way from earlier models but as they have grown in availability, bottled water has on the other hand exploded, too.
What’s the better choice: A home soda maker or sticking to bottled water? And how many times do you need to use the machine to break even and make it worth your while? There are advantages of having a home soda machine over buying bottled water depending on how much you consume.
If your household consumes more than 2 liters of bottled water per week, you will notice the convenience of a home soda maker and will break even on the up front cost of the machine in your second year of use. The real benefit is the convenience of buying a new soda cartridge less frequently than more bottles of water.
Once you figure out how much bottled water you consume and crunch the numbers, you will probably realize that the costs of using a home soda maker are less important than the potential convenience, reduced waste of bottles and your flavor options if you like flavored soda.
How much does a home soda maker cost to operate?
Home soda maker unit: SodaStream machines cost $80 – $160 depending on the model. Other brands typically cost a less since they don’t have the same brand recognition. At the end of the day, a machine turns the same tap water into sparkling soda water using carbon dioxide (CO2).
CO2 Cartridge: A cartridge produces 60 L (15.9 gallons) and costs $30 – $40 to replace depending on who you buy from. If you produce 10 L of water per week your cartridge will last 6 weeks but some users suggest they buy a new cartridge as frequently as every 3 weeks. Still, it’s more convenient than buying cases of bottled water and lugging them home.
At $30 per cartridge, you pay $30 / 60L = $0.50 per liter of sparkling water produced.
How much do you pay for a bottle of sparkling water, say a 1 L or 2 L bottle (33.8 ounces and 65.6 ounces respectively)?
A 1 L (33.8 ounces) bottle of Polar Seltzer sparkling water costs around $1.
So you save $0.50 per liter of water by using the SodaStream machine.
So to recoup the cost of the actual home soda machine, the low and high costs for the machines mean the following:
$80 soda machine: $80 / $0.50 = produce 160 L of soda to break even
$160 soda machine: $160 / $0.50 = produce 360 L of soda to break even
So you’d have to consume 160 L and 360 L of soda to break even on the unit cost of a soda machine respectively. That’s about 0.5 L to 1 L (about 14.5 fl oz. and 34 fl oz. respectively) of soda consumption per day to break even. If you like drinking water, it’s not that much of a challenge.
Is it worth paying the up front cost of the home soda machine to save money over time over buying bottled water?
It’s up to you. Buying an $80 – $160 soda maker with $30 cartridge replacements isn’t an investment and you aren’t really lowering your water costs since tap water is close to free. You’re just changing the way you consume water.
But if you are interested to reduce your plastic bottle usage and possibly try out flavored waters from the comfort of your own home, a home soda machine might be worth buying. And with a home soda maker, you’re making sparkling water rather than consuming still water with no bubbles.
The cost of flavored soda water is slightly higher
There are a number of Sodastream brand sizes of flavorings that are used to turn your sparkling water into a version of popular brand name soft drinks.
Here are cost and size details of SodaStream flavorings:
| Size | Soda produced | Popular flavors | Cost |
| 14.8 fl oz (500 ml) bottle | 9 L of soda (36 servings) | Cola, Dr Pete cream soda, zero calorie lemonade, Welch’s grape juice, coconut, coconut pineapple | $5 – $6 per bottle |
| 16.9 fl oz (500 ml) bottle | 12 L of soda (50 servings) | Cola, cream soda, lemon lime, grape, ginger ale, root beer | $7 per bottle |
Based on the above prices and product sizes, you’d need almost 7 of the 14.8 fl oz. bottles to produce 60 L of soda which adds 7 x $5 – $6 = $35 – $42 to the cost of producing 60 L of flavored soda.
For the larger 16.9 fl oz. flavorings, you need exactly 5 bottles to produce 60 L of flavored soda which would add 12 x $7 = $84 to the cost of producing the 60 L amount.
Is it worth it? Again, the convenience of having ready made fresh flavored soda is probably a bigger consideration than the cost since you are paying for the convenience and reduced waste of bottles.
Also, depending on who you ask some of the flavors taste good and close to the brand name product they are mimicking and sometimes they don’t.
Mineral water, seltzer, club soda and tonic water
Before you buy a soda machine for your home, it’s worth knowing a bit about different waters that exist. What’s the difference between each and why would you choose one over the other?
Seltzer – Naturally carbonated water with just water and carbon dioxide. If you make unflavored water from a home soda maker like SodaStream, you’re effectively making seltzer.
Mineral water – Is an overarching term that can refer to both still (flat) or fizzy (carbonated) water. The FDA stipulates that mineral water must have a minimum of 250 ppm total dissolved solids to qualify. If water has less than 250 ppm total dissolved solids, it’s considered spring water.
Club soda – Artificially carbonated water typically with sodium or potassium salt added. It may also contain sodium citrate, disodium phosphate, and perhaps sodium chloride depending on the brand. Similar to seltzer and often substituted for each other.
Tonic water – Isn’t water per se but rather a soft drink that is sweetened and is generally used as a mixer with gin or other alcohol. It has calories from the added sugar.
Home soda makers pros and cons summary
| Home soda maker pros | Home soda maker cons |
| Multiple flavors available and multi levels of carbonation from lightly carbonated to super fizzy | Expensive up front cost if you don’t drink much |
| More environmentally friendly given the plastic bottles that are saved | Must buy replacement carbonation cartridges |
| Making drinks can be fun especially if you’re a kid | Flavored drinks aren’t 100% like the original |
| Can promote more fresh water drinking in your household | Convenience may cause you to drink more flavored soda which adds calories to your diet |
| Some flavors have fewer calories and less sugar than brand name soda | Must wash bottles so the convenience of disposable bottles is lost |
Summary
While it makes sense to do a cost analysis when looking at the purchase of a home soda maker, there are a number of variables that relate to your desired use of the machine. If you are simply using the machine to make unflavored sparkling water, you may benefit from the convenience of producing the water yourself rather than running out to buy cases of water. You will also reduce your use of recyclable bottles which has an environmental benefit if you value this.
Plus you can customize the degree of carbonation: You can select lightly carbonated water or more bubbly water with higher carbonation.
If you wish to also produce flavored soda, the flavoring does add to the cost and the flavors may or may not be a decent replacement for the brand name depending on your personal taste.
The cost of buying replacement cartridges can be reduced by buying them in bulk or packs. A cartridge produces 60 L of water and typically gets replaced every 3 – 4 weeks depending on your usage.