Sodastream vs Aarke and bottled sparkling water: about 22p a litre, and the yearly sums

If your household gets through a lot of fizzy water, the weekly multipacks soon add up, both in cost and in plastic to carry home and recycle. A sparkling water maker is the obvious alternative, but is it actually cheaper? We've compared Sodastream with Aarke's premium carbonator and with bottled sparkling water from the supermarket, working out the cost per litre and per year. Every price comes from the retailers' own websites, checked on 27 October 2026, and the sums are our own. You'll find every current offer on our Sodastream voucher codes page.

We'd planned to include Drinkmate too, but we couldn't find a UK shop run by the brand to check its prices, so we've left it out rather than guess.

At a glance

• About 22p a litre: a £12.99 Sodastream gas exchange makes up to 60 litres of sparkling water.
• Cheaper to start: the ART Limited Edition bundle is £74.99, against £180 for an Aarke Carbonator 3 kit at John Lewis.
• Well ahead of branded bottles: Highland Spring works out at 70.8p a litre and San Pellegrino at £1.17.
• Home-made cola for less: Pepsi MAX made with Sodastream syrup comes to about 80p a litre, against £1.23 for a 2-litre bottle.
• Where others win: the cheapest own-label bottled water costs about the same per litre, with no machine to buy.

Sodastream vs Aarke vs bottled water compared

What a litre of fizz really costs

A one-off Sodastream gas exchange is £12.99 per Quick Connect or screw-in cylinder, and each one makes up to 60 litres. By our sums, £12.99 ÷ 60 = 21.65p, or about 22p a litre. Tap water adds almost nothing on top.

Here's how that compares with sparkling water from Morrisons and Aldi, using the prices and per-litre figures on their own sites:

• Morrisons Scottish Water Sparkling, 4 x 2L: £1.68, or 21p a litre.
• Morrisons Yorkshire Vale Sparkling Spring Water, 6 x 2L: £2.55, or 21.3p a litre.
• Aldi Aqua Vale Sparkling Water, 6-pack (3 litres): £1.19, or 40p a litre.
• Highland Spring Sparkling Spring Water, 6 x 1L: £4.25, or 70.8p a litre.
• San Pellegrino Sparkling Natural Mineral Water, 6 x 1L: £7, or £1.17 a litre.

So Sodastream is roughly level with the cheapest own-label 2-litre bottles, and far cheaper than the brands.

The yearly sums

Say your household drinks a litre of sparkling water a day, or 365 litres a year. These are our own sums:

• Sodastream: 365 ÷ 60 = just over 6 cylinders, so about £79 a year in gas.
• Highland Spring: 365 x 70.8p = about £258 a year.
• San Pellegrino: 365 x £1.17 = about £427 a year.
• Morrisons own label: 365 x 21p = about £77 a year.

If you usually buy Highland Spring, switching saves about £179 a year on our sums. Even after paying £74.99 for the ART Limited Edition bundle, which comes with a cylinder, you'd be over £100 ahead in the first year. Against San Pellegrino, the saving is bigger still. Against own-label bottles, the cost is about the same, but you'd skip carrying home around 183 two-litre bottles a year.

A cheaper way into home fizz

Sodastream's sparkling water makers currently range from the ART Mint at £74.99 (was £139.99) and the Fresh Plus at £89.99 to the electric E-TERRA at £144.99 and ENSO at £159.99. Every machine comes with a 2-year warranty.

The ART is fully manual, with no plugs: you click in the cylinder, fill the bottle with cold water, lock it in and pull the lever, choosing anything from light to bold fizz. The £74.99 Limited Edition bundle includes the machine, one Quick Connect cylinder, a 1-litre bottle and a 7UP Zero syrup.

The Aarke Carbonator 3 kit costs £180 at John Lewis, and was listed as in-store only when we checked. That's £105 more than the ART bundle before you've made a single glass.

Gas to your door, and cola too

Sodastream sends gas cylinders to your door. You return one empty for each refill, free through InPost, or use DPD's Swap-It doorstep swap on one-off orders. Subscribe & Save brings the price down further, and subscription orders of 4 cylinders get free delivery.

It's also good value for soft drinks. A 6-pack of Pepsi MAX syrup is £31.45 in the sale (was £41.94) and makes up to 54 litres. Our sums: £31.45 ÷ 54 = 58p a litre for the syrup, plus 22p for the gas, so about 80p a litre. Morrisons charges £2.45 for a 2-litre bottle of Pepsi Max, or £1.23 a litre (87.5p a litre on its 2 for £3.50 offer).

Where the others have the edge

• Own-label bottles cost about the same: at 21p a litre, Morrisons' 2-litre own-label sparkling water matches Sodastream's gas cost, with no machine to buy and no cylinder to send back.
• Natural mineral water: San Pellegrino and similar brands are natural mineral waters. A carbonator fizzes your tap water instead.
• Aarke's build: the Carbonator 3 has a stainless steel body and nozzle, and comes with a renewable gas cylinder made from biomass.
• Not every machine gets 60 litres: Sodastream says each cylinder for its ULTIMATE machine makes up to 28 litres, so check the model.

Which should you choose?

Sodastream suits anyone who regularly buys branded sparkling water or fizzy drinks, wants to cut the bottles they carry and recycle, and would like a low-cost way in. Aarke suits those who want a premium stainless steel machine and don't mind paying more for it. Own-label bottled water remains the simplest choice if you drink it only now and then, or don't have space on the worktop.

FAQs

How many litres does a Sodastream cylinder make?

A standard cylinder makes up to 60 litres of sparkling water. The cylinders for the ULTIMATE make up to 28 litres.

How do I swap an empty cylinder?

Order a refill online and return one empty for each refill, free through InPost, or swap it on the doorstep with DPD Swap-It on one-off orders. Empties must go back within 90 days.

Does a Sodastream need electricity?

Not the ART, which is fully manual. The E-TERRA and ENSO are electric models.

Is there a warranty?

Yes. All Sodastream machines come with a 2-year warranty.

Ways to save at Sodastream

Sodastream's current offers include 10% off your next order when you join the newsletter (gas cylinders and exchanges excluded), CO2 Subscribe & Save refills at a lower price than a one-off exchange, 25% off Pepsi MAX, 7UP Zero and MTN DEW syrup 6-packs, the ART Limited Edition bundle for £74.99 (was £139.99), and free delivery on orders over £25. You'll find every current offer on our Sodastream voucher codes page.

Sources: Sodastream, Sodastream sparkling water makers, Sodastream ART Mint, Sodastream gas cylinder exchange, Sodastream Pepsi MAX 6-pack, Aarke Carbonator 3 at John Lewis, Aarke at John Lewis, Morrisons sparkling water, Morrisons Pepsi Max, Aldi sparkling water

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