I’ve tried a lot of hydration powders over the years. Long runs, hot travel days, workouts where plain water just wasn’t cutting it. Two names kept coming up over and over: Skratch Labs and Liquid I.V.. Friends swore by one or the other, reviews were all over the place, and I kept wondering which one actually made me feel better instead of just sounding good on the label.
So I decided to stop guessing and actually pay attention to how each one worked for me. How they tasted. How my stomach handled them. And whether I felt any real difference during workouts and everyday use. This isn’t a lab test or a marketing breakdown. It’s just my experience using Skratch and Liquid I.V. side by side, and what I noticed when I did.
What Is Skratch?
Skratch Labs makes their Hydration Sport Drink Mix with one clear goal in mind: helping athletes stay hydrated during actual exercise. Not sitting at a desk. Not loading up on vitamins. Just replacing what you lose when you sweat.
From my experience, Skratch feels very purpose-built. The electrolyte blend is meant to mirror what you lose in sweat, especially sodium, without going heavy on sugar or extras. They also lean into real-food ingredients and avoid artificial flavors and sweeteners, which is something my stomach immediately appreciated.
What stood out to me most is what Skratch doesn’t try to do. It’s not marketed as a daily wellness drink or a vitamin boost. It’s about sustained performance, gut comfort, and fueling your body while you’re moving. When I used it during runs or longer workouts, it felt light, easy to sip, and never sat heavy in my stomach. It just did its job and got out of the way.
What Is Liquid I.V.?
Liquid I.V. Hydration Multiplier is built for fast, general-purpose rehydration rather than strictly for training. The big idea behind it is their proprietary Cellular Transport Technology (CTT), which is meant to help move water into the bloodstream more efficiently than drinking water alone.
From my experience, Liquid I.V. feels less like a sports drink and more like an all-around hydration boost. Along with electrolytes, it includes added vitamins, which makes it appealing for travel days, recovery, hangovers, or times when I just felt run down. It’s not something I reached for mid-run very often, but it was useful when I needed to rehydrate quickly and aggressively.
Overall, Liquid I.V. comes across as a wellness-first hydration product. It’s designed to do more than just replace sweat losses, and that’s both its strength and its trade-off, depending on how you plan to use it.
Electrolyte Amounts (Exact Numbers per Packet)
This was one of the biggest differences I noticed when I actually compared the labels instead of just going by feel. Skratch Labs and Liquid I.V. take very different approaches to electrolytes.
Here’s how the numbers break down per packet:
| Electrolyte | Skratch Labs | Liquid I.V. |
|---|---|---|
| Sodium | 380–400 mg | 500–560 mg |
| Potassium | 38–50 mg | 370–390 mg |
| Calcium | 43–50 mg | 0 mg |
| Magnesium | 38–50 mg | 0 mg |
My takeaway
There isn’t a clear winner here. It really depends on how and why you’re using it.
- Skratch felt better for sweat-matching and overall mineral balance. The mix of sodium, calcium, and magnesium lined up more with what I lose during longer workouts, and it was easier on my stomach.
- Liquid I.V. clearly wins for high-sodium, fast rehydration. When I was dehydrated, traveling, or feeling run down, the extra sodium and potassium hit harder and faster.
Winner: depends on use
- Sweat-matching and mineral balance: Skratch
- High-sodium, rapid rehydration: Liquid I.V.
Sweeteners Used
This is one of those details that mattered more to me once I started using these during real workouts instead of just sipping them casually.
Both Skratch Labs and Liquid I.V. use cane sugar and dextrose as their base, but they part ways after that.
Skratch keeps things straightforward. There’s no stevia and no artificial sweeteners, and they even offer an unsweetened version with no sugar and no sweeteners at all. The flavor is light and clean, and for me, it was much easier to tolerate while exercising.
Liquid I.V., on the other hand, adds stevia (Reb-A) for extra sweetness in its standard formula, and their Sugar-Free line relies on alternative sweeteners entirely. I could taste the stevia right away, and during longer workouts, that sweetness sometimes felt like too much.
Winner: Skratch Labs
Why: cleaner sweetness and better GI tolerance during exercise.
Key Ingredients
This is where the philosophy gap between these two really showed up for me. When I looked past the marketing and actually read the ingredient lists, the difference felt pretty obvious.
Skratch Labs uses a broader mix of electrolytes, including sodium citrate, potassium citrate, calcium citrate, and magnesium lactate. The flavor comes from real fruit juice, fruit oils, and dried fruit powders, with citric and malic acid and just a small amount of vitamin C. Nothing felt unnecessary. It reads like something made to support exercise, not a supplement aisle checklist.
Liquid I.V. keeps electrolytes simpler with sodium chloride, sodium citrate, and potassium citrate, then layers on a vitamin blend (C, B3, B5, B6, B12). It also includes stevia, natural flavors, and silicon dioxide. That makes sense for a general wellness drink, but it’s more than I personally want when I’m mid-workout.
Winner: Skratch Labs
Why: minimal, real-food ingredient philosophy.
When I’m exercising, I want hydration that feels clean and predictable. Skratch’s ingredient list lines up better with that mindset, and my stomach definitely noticed the difference.
Hydration Effectiveness
This is where I really felt the difference in real-world use, because Skratch and Liquid I.V. are trying to solve two different hydration problems.
With Skratch Labs, hydration felt steady and controlled. The formula is hypotonic, which means it digests easily while you’re moving. It replaces all four major sweat-loss minerals, not just sodium, and it’s clearly designed to avoid GI distress during long workouts. When I used it during runs or long training sessions, I never felt bloated or sloshy. It just kept me feeling level and functional.
Liquid I.V. hit differently. It uses sodium-glucose cotransport (their CTT approach) to move water into the bloodstream faster. I noticed stronger fluid retention compared to plain water, especially when I was already dehydrated. It felt more aggressive, in a good way, but not something I loved sipping constantly while exercising.
Winner
- During exercise: Skratch Labs
- After dehydration, illness, or a hangover: Liquid I.V.
For me, Skratch is what I want while I’m sweating and moving. Liquid I.V. is what I reach for when I’m trying to bounce back fast.
Key Function
This is the simplest way I’ve found to think about the difference between these two.
Skratch Labs is built to fuel you and replace electrolytes during moderate to intense exercise. It’s meant to be sipped while you’re actively sweating, helping you stay hydrated without upsetting your stomach or overloading you with extras.
Liquid I.V. is focused on fast rehydration for everyday life. Travel days, heat exposure, illness, long nights, or just feeling wiped out. It’s designed to help you recover hydration quickly rather than support sustained performance.
Winner: use-case dependent
If I’m training or in the middle of a long workout, Skratch is the clear choice. If I’m dehydrated and trying to feel human again, Liquid I.V. does the job better.
Health & Wellness Benefits
This was another area where my experience lined up closely with how each product is designed.
With Skratch Labs, the benefits felt very performance-driven. You get full mineral replacement, which helped me avoid cramps and that nerve fatigue feeling during longer sessions. The roughly 20 grams of carbs per serving were just enough to prevent bonking without feeling heavy. Add in the lack of artificial additives, and digestion was noticeably smoother for me. I also like that they offer an optional recovery mix with protein and probiotics if you want something more post-workout.
Liquid I.V. leans much harder into wellness. The faster rehydration is real, and the added vitamin C and B-vitamins gave it more of an energy and immunity angle. Their Immune Support line goes even further with zinc and higher-dose vitamin C, which made sense for travel or when I felt something coming on.
Winner
- Performance and gut health: Skratch Labs
- Wellness and immune support: Liquid I.V.
Price
Price was another thing I paid attention to, especially since this is something I use regularly and not just once in a while.
Here’s how the cost per serving typically breaks down between Skratch Labs and Liquid I.V.:
| Product | Cost per Serving |
|---|---|
| Skratch (bulk bags) | ~$0.92–$1.10 |
| Skratch (single sticks) | ~$1.65–$1.80 |
| Liquid I.V. (sticks) | ~$1.43–$1.56 |
| Liquid I.V. (Costco bulk) | ~$1.00 |
Winner: Skratch Labs (bulk buyers)
If you’re buying in bulk and using it consistently for training, Skratch ends up being the better deal. The bulk bags are noticeably cheaper per serving, which adds up fast if you’re drinking it multiple times a week.
Liquid I.V. can be competitive if you buy the big Costco packs, but for my day-to-day use tied to workouts, Skratch bulk made more financial sense.
Taste
Taste is subjective, but after using both a lot, patterns definitely showed up for me.
With Skratch Labs, the flavor is light and subtle, with a real-fruit taste that never feels forced. There’s no stevia aftertaste, which made a big difference for me during long workouts. It’s clearly designed to prevent flavor fatigue, and that matters when you’re sipping the same bottle for an hour or more.
Liquid I.V. goes in the opposite direction. The taste is bold, sweet, and salty-sweet, almost candy-like in intensity. It fully dissolves and leaves no residue, which I appreciated, but the strong flavor can feel like a lot if you’re drinking it continuously.
Winner
- Long workouts: Skratch Labs
- Everyday sipping: Liquid I.V.
Which One Should You Choose?
After using both for a while, this is how I’d break it down in real life.
Choose Skratch Labs if:
- You train or compete regularly
- You want real-food ingredients
- You need carbs plus full electrolyte replacement
- You buy hydration in bulk and use it often
Choose Liquid I.V. if:
- You need fast rehydration
- You want added vitamins
- You sweat heavily or are recovering from illness or travel
- You prefer bold, sweet flavors
Overall Winner
For me, the overall winner is Skratch Labs.
If I had to pick just one, Skratch fits my needs more consistently. It works during real workouts, supports sustained performance, replaces all the minerals I lose through sweat, and doesn’t upset my stomach. The lighter taste, real-food ingredients, and bulk pricing all make it easier to use regularly without thinking about it.
That said, Liquid I.V. still has a place. When I’m badly dehydrated, traveling, sick, or just trying to recover fast, Liquid I.V. does that job better.