I Tried 7 Cola Brands in Search of a Coke Classic Dupe & Only One Came Close

More than 100 years ago, a product was born that would change the beverage landscape forever. Dr. John Stith Pemberton created the syrup used for Coca-Cola and carried a jug of it down to a local pharmacy in May 1886. People sampled the beverage and declared it "excellent," so the pharmacy began selling it for five cents a glass, according to the Coca-Cola Company's website.

Fast-forward to 2024, and Coca-Cola reigns supreme in the world of soft drinks. You can buy the iconic beverage at supermarkets, convenience stores, restaurants, airports, and stadiums. There have been so many Coke flavor variations that it's hard to count—Coca-Cola Y3000, anyone?—and you can even rep your love for the brand on your body thanks to all of the Coca-Cola merchandise that's on the market nowadays.

Plenty of other brands have tried to strike gold by launching their own cola sodas as Coke rose to its current level of acclaim and fame over the years. None can truly replicate the beverage exactly since the Coke formula has remained a closely guarded secret throughout its 100-plus years. But have any come close?

I recently set out to answer that question by comparing Coke to every other cola brand I could find in my area: Pepsi, Poppi's Classic Cola, Olipop's Vintage Cola, Fentiman's Curiosity Cola, Rowdy Mermaid, Summit Cola (a private label Aldi product), and Sam's Cola (a private-label Walmart product).

The Original

Coca-Cola is my favorite cola brand by far and I've had it countless times before. However, I kicked off this experiment by trying the drink yet again to refamiliarize myself. The strongest taste in Coke is, of course, cola. It's a difficult flavor to put into words, but I detect notes of vanilla, cinnamon, and acidity. The color is dark, there's tons of carbonation, and the taste is deep and rich, almost like a refreshing, fizzy version of coffee. A 20-ounce bottle cost me $2.79 at my local grocery store.

After sampling the main point of comparison (aka Coke), I tasted the other brands to see how they compare in terms of flavor, look, and the level of fizz. It's important to note that these brands aren't necessarily trying to replicate Coke. However, knowing which brands are the closest could still be useful for anyone who wants to explore alternative cola drinks but want the same type of flavor and experience.

Read on for my ranking of all seven cola brands, starting with the least similar and ending with the closest match to Coca-Cola!

The Contestants

Poppi

Poppi's Classic Cola differs from Coke in pretty much every way you can think of, which isn't really a surprise considering that this soda contains natural caffeine, apple cider vinegar, stevia, just five grams of sugar, and prebiotics (which can help promote digestive system health).

There was practically no fizz at all, and the color was so light that I almost could have mistaken it for iced tea. The biggest difference between Poppi's cola and Coke, however, was the flavor. It has more of a fruity pop than any cola I've ever tried, more acidity, and a sort of medicinal taste that I personally didn't find enjoyable at all. With all of that in mind, it should come as no surprise that Poppi was by far the furthest away from classic Coca-Cola. A 12-ounce can cost me $2.49 at my local grocery store.

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Olipop Vintage Cola

Like Poppi's Classic Cola, Olipop's Vintage Cola bears almost zero similarities to Coca-Cola. It's super low in sugar and calories and contains prebiotics and stevia, all of which can't be said when it comes to Coke. The flavor was also less sweet, less refreshing, and overall shockingly different than what I'm used to as a lifelong Coca-Cola fan. There are strong notes of vanilla, cinnamon, citrus, caramel, and cola that all seem to be fighting for dominance rather than working in harmony. It's a very potent and unusual taste that I wouldn't really want to experience for more than a couple of sips.

I ranked Olipop above Poppi because the color and level of fizz were much closer, but this brand was still super far from Coke in terms of taste. A 12-ounce can cost me $2.49.

Fentiman's Curiosity Cola

Fentiman's Curiosity Cola was pretty close to Coca-Cola in look thanks to its dark color and high level of fizz. However, this brand branches off from Coke significantly in terms of taste. There are some gingery, herbal, and spice-forward notes in this drink that I really enjoyed, but didn't remind me of Coke at all. A fellow taster who tried the drink with me remarked that he could have mistaken it for root beer rather than cola because of that unusual yet pleasant taste.

If I was ranking these sodas solely on how much I enjoyed them, Fentiman's would absolutely be near the top. But since I'm specifically ranking the drinks based on how they compare to Coke, the brand's unique taste landed it in fifth place. These 9.3-ounce sodas were only available in four-packs for $8.49 at my local grocery store, which breaks down to about $2.12 per bottle.

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Rowdy Mermaid Cola

Truthfully, I expected Rowdy Mermaid's Cola to be just as different from Coke as Poppi and Olipop. Like those brands, Rowdy Mermaid's take on cola is less fizzy and low in sugar and calories. It also differs from the other brands in this experiment in that it contains ashwagandha, an evergreen shrub that studies show may reduce stress or anxiety.

But to my surprise, this brand was far closer to Coke in taste than its lower-ranking peers. It's not as sweet or deep in flavor as Coke, but boasts a simple, well-balanced taste with slight notes of cinnamon and citrus. My fellow taster said that it almost reminded him of Diet Coke with a squeeze of lemon.

Don't get me wrong—this is far from being a bonafide Coke dupe. But if you're seeking a cola drink that's lower in sugar or just better for your overall, the flavor bears enough of a similarity that you might find this to be a fitting alternative. A 12-ounce can cost me $2.49.

Sam's Cola

Sam's Cola and the two highest ranking brands in this taste test were all significantly closer to Coke than the rest of the batch. However, there were a few minuscule differences with Sam's Cola that led me to rank it in third place.

While this soft drink had the same straightforward cola taste as Coke at its core, it was a little more watery, less sweet, less fizzy, and slightly bitter. It just didn't have the same strong flavor and refreshing zing that I get from Coke. It's overall much more palatable for me than brands like Poppi or Olipop, but just don't expect to find an exact Coke dupe when you crack open one of these bottles. A two-liter bottle cost me $1.48, which breaks down to about 25 cents per serving.

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Pepsi

I'm sure some people could tell the difference between Coke and Pepsi blindfolded, but to me, they're more similar than they are different. They have a nearly identical caramelly color, the same corn syrupy sweetness, and a strong, deep cola flavor that most of the other options lacked.6254a4d1642c605c54bf1cab17d50f1e

Sure, Pepsi is slightly sweeter, marginally less fizzy, and has a slight pop of citrusy tang that I didn't detect in Coke. But the differences are so mild that Pepsi ($2.79 for a 20-ounce bottle) is undeniably one of the closest matches to Coke. Some people even prefer Pepsi over Coke, which was made clear during the decades-old "Pepsi Challenge" marketing campaign where Pepsi had everyday consumers do a blind taste test with the two sodas.

But I was looking for the cola that's closest to Coke in this experiment, and there was one brand that beat out Pepsi when I considered taste, look, and overall feel.

Summit Cola

People really shouldn't be sleeping on store brands. This two-liter private-label bottle from Aldi cost me just $1.25 (about 21 cents per serving), and it was the closest to Coke out of all the brands I tried. Like Coke, Summit Cola had the perfect amount of carbonation, making it super refreshing and sippable. It was perhaps a touch less sweet, but the cola flavor was really simple and strong. While I don't think any alternative brand will truly crack Coke's secret formula, Aldi's affordable Summit Cola bottles are probably the closest you can get.