Coffee Withdrawal Symptoms vs Soda and Energy Drinks

Same molecule, different cup. Your body doesn’t know whether the caffeine arrived in a mug of dark roast, a can of cola or a tall energy drink. It only knows how much came in, and how much stopped coming.

That’s the key to coffee withdrawal symptoms, and to the same symptoms from soda and energy drinks: they follow the dose, not the label. So this guide starts with the numbers, using the FDA’s figures, and then shows what that means for how you quit.

Quick answer: Coffee withdrawal symptoms are caffeine withdrawal symptoms: headache, fatigue, low mood, poor concentration and irritability, usually starting 12 to 24 hours after your last cup. Soda and energy drinks cause the same ones. Brewed coffee typically carries more caffeine per 12 ounces than a soda, so the dose, not the drink, sets the intensity.

Key takeaways

• The FDA lists 113 to 247 mg of caffeine in 12 oz of brewed coffee, 23 to 83 mg in a caffeinated soft drink and 41 to 246 mg in an energy drink.
• Symptoms scale with daily dose, and they appeared after stopping as little as 100 mg a day in studies.
• Cleveland Clinic and the FDA both advise cutting back gradually.
• Sugar and ritual change the experience of quitting soda, even if the caffeine side is identical.

How much caffeine is in coffee, soda and energy drinks?

Start with the FDA’s typical amounts for 12-fluid-ounce drinks. The agency stresses that the amount in specific products and container sizes can vary, so treat these as ranges.

Typical caffeine per 12 fl oz, milligrams. Source: FDA, “Spilling the Beans: How Much Caffeine Is Too Much?”

Two cautions. First, energy drinks sell in other sizes: the FDA says they generally hold 54 to 328 mg per 16 fluid ounces. Second, Cleveland Clinic’s rougher per-container estimates (about 140 mg for a mug of filtered coffee, 80 mg for a canned energy drink, 75 mg for a mug of black tea, 40 mg for a soda can) show how much depends on the cup. Check labels where you can. The FDA notes that many packaged drinks, and most US energy drinks, state caffeine on the label.

For context, the FDA has cited 400 mg a day as an amount not generally associated with negative effects for most adults.

What are the symptoms of withdrawal from coffee?

They’re the standard caffeine ones. The most thorough source, a 2004 review in Psychopharmacology by Juliano and Griffiths, covered 57 experimental studies and 9 surveys. The symptoms with solid evidence: headache, fatigue, decreased energy, decreased alertness, drowsiness, decreased contentedness, depressed mood, difficulty concentrating, irritability and feeling foggy. Flu-like symptoms, nausea or vomiting and muscle pain or stiffness were judged likely.

In experimental studies, the incidence of headache was 50 percent, and 13 percent of people had clinically significant distress or functional impairment. The full list, explained, is in our guide to caffeine withdrawal symptoms.

If you’re searching “coffee withdrawal depression” or “coffee withdrawal anxiety”: depressed mood and decreased contentedness are on the validated list. Anxiety is not among the symptoms the review confirmed, though irritability is. If your mood is heavy or doesn’t lift, tell a doctor.

Is coffee withdrawal worse than soda withdrawal?

Look at it as a dose question. Someone drinking three 12-ounce brewed coffees could be taking in somewhere between roughly 340 and 740 mg a day on the FDA’s range (that’s my arithmetic, 3 times 113 and 3 times 247). Someone drinking three cans of cola might be at about 70 to 250 mg. Since the review found that incidence or severity of symptoms generally rose with daily dose, the coffee drinker has more to come down from.

But that’s a trend, not a rule, and I wouldn’t tell a two-can-a-day soda drinker they’ll get off lightly. Symptoms showed up after stopping doses as low as 100 mg a day, which a Johns Hopkins press release equates to about one small cup of coffee.

Timing is the same for both: symptoms typically begin 12 to 24 hours after stopping, peak at 20 to 51 hours and last 2 to 9 days, according to the review. See the caffeine withdrawal timeline for how to plan around it.

What changes if you’re quitting soda or energy drinks, not coffee?

The caffeine part is identical, but there are extras the FDA data doesn’t cover:

• Sugary drinks come with a sugar habit. I’m not claiming anything about health effects here. It’s simply a second reason the 3 pm can feels so automatic, and a second thing you’re changing at once. We deal with that in how to quit soda and what happens when you stop drinking soda.
• Diet soda is its own question. Check the label for caffeine, because if it’s there the withdrawal side doesn’t go away with the sugar. See how to quit diet soda.
• Energy drinks vary wildly. With a 41 to 246 mg range per 12 oz, one can might be a coffee-sized hit or a soda-sized one. If energy drinks are your thing, how to quit energy drinks goes deeper.
• Coffee is a ritual, often hot, often first thing. The ritual can be harder to replace than the caffeine, and a decaf cup keeps it going.

How do you quit each one without the worst of it?

The FDA says that if you drink caffeinated beverages daily and want to cut back, it’s best to do so gradually. Cleveland Clinic adds specifics.

1. Audit first. Add up a normal day in milligrams using the table above and labels.
2. Coffee drinkers: drop one cup, or blend decaf into your coffee, starting with half or a quarter and reducing every few days.
3. Soda drinkers: drop one can, or move to a lower-caffeine drink such as green or white tea in place of black tea.
4. Everyone: set a 2 p.m. cutoff. Cleveland Clinic says medical professionals recommend it so caffeine can clear before bed, and notes that half of it remains about six hours after you drink it.
5. Drink water. It says dehydration is often why people lack energy.
6. Skip caffeinated pain relievers. It warns they continue the dependence. Ask a pharmacist or doctor about pain relief.

For soda and energy drinks, a tracker can do the counting for you. FizzFree is a soda tracker: you choose soda, diet soda, malt drinks or energy drinks, and the energy drinks mode tracks the caffeine and sugar you skip, as well as the money. Its Taper Dial lowers your weekly allowance step by step, which matches the gradual approach above. It doesn’t count coffee, so for coffee a small notebook still works.

Should you quit cold turkey or taper?

The sources favor gradual cutting for most people because it softens symptoms. Cleveland Clinic warns against stopping “totally abruptly.” If you do decide on a clean stop, quitting caffeine cold turkey lays out what to expect. And here’s how FizzFree works.

When should you see a doctor?

The FDA says caffeine withdrawal isn’t considered dangerous but can be unpleasant. Still, see a doctor if symptoms are severe, keep getting worse, run beyond the 2 to 9 day window, or include a sudden severe headache or vomiting you can’t stop. MedlinePlus advises checking with your provider about limiting caffeine if you’re pregnant or have conditions such as a sleep disorder or high blood pressure.

FAQ

Are coffee withdrawal symptoms different from soda withdrawal symptoms? No. The symptoms are the same; the dose differs. The FDA lists 113 to 247 mg in 12 oz of brewed coffee against 23 to 83 mg in a caffeinated soft drink.

How long does coffee withdrawal last? Typically 2 to 9 days, peaking at 20 to 51 hours.

Will switching to decaf cause withdrawal? It can if the drop is big and sudden. Decaf has 2 to 15 mg per 8 oz, per the FDA.

Is a coffee detox a real thing? It’s a search term, not a medical detox.

Can coffee withdrawal cause depression? Depressed mood is on the validated symptom list. Tell a doctor if it’s heavy or lingers.

Is it easier to quit soda or coffee? No source I opened ranks them. Dose matters most.

Sources

1. Spilling the Beans: How Much Caffeine Is Too Much?, FDA
2. A critical review of caffeine withdrawal (Juliano and Griffiths, Psychopharmacology, 2004), PubMed
3. How to Quit Caffeine, Cleveland Clinic
4. Caffeine, MedlinePlus (NIH)

FizzFree is a habit tracker and not medical advice. If you have a health condition or take medication, talk to your doctor before changing what you drink.