Pick a drink and an amount: you see its sodium, potassium, magnesium and calcium beside the FDA’s Daily Values, and how it compares with a sports drink, milk or your own electrolyte powder at the same amount. Every drink is USDA’s own lab figure — and where a figure is not a measurement, the page says so.
8 fl oz of packaged coconut water holds
404 mg potassium, 64 mg sodium in 8 fl oz of packaged coconut water — 9% and 3% of the Daily Values
Against the same 8 fl oz of Gatorade: 11× the potassium (404 vs 37 mg), and 0.7× the sodium (64 vs 95 mg).
Measured: 9 samples (5 for sugars).
| Drink | Sodium | Potassium | Magnesium | Calcium | Sugars, g |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coconut water, packaged (unsweetened) | 643% | 4049% | 153% | 171% | 9.6 |
| Coconut water, straight from the coconut | 25211% | 60013% | 6014% | 584% | 6.3 |
| Gatorade Thirst Quencher | 954% | 371% | 00% | 20% | 12.8 |
| Powerade, lemon-lime | 1024% | 441% | 00% | 20% | 14.9 |
| Milk, 2% | 1155% | 3427% | 276% | 29323% | 12.3 |
| Milk, skim | 1034% | 3828% | 276% | 29923% | 12.5 |
This is not medical advice. It shows what USDA measured in each drink; it does not say how much to drink. With kidney disease, or a medicine that raises potassium, ask your doctor or pharmacist before adding potassium from any drink or powder.
USDA measured 404 mg of potassium and 64 mg of sodium in 8 fl oz of packaged, unsweetened coconut water, plus 15 mg of magnesium and 17 mg of calcium. That is about 11 times the potassium in the same glass of Gatorade, and two thirds of its sodium. Skim milk comes close on potassium (382 mg) and has more sodium (103 mg).
How to use it
Type how much you drink, in fluid ounces or milliliters (a typical coconut water carton is 330 mL), pick the drink and a second one to compare with. You see the first drink’s potassium and sodium in words, two bars against the second, and every drink at that amount in the table, each mineral beside its Daily Value. To compare your own electrolyte powder or bottle, open “Your powder or bottle”, type its label’s numbers per serving and the water one serving is mixed into — it becomes one more row and can be picked as either drink.
Where the numbers come from
Every drink is a row of USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy (April 2018 release): the per-100 g amount USDA lists, times USDA’s own weight for 8 fl oz — the only arithmetic on this page. The Daily Values are the FDA’s reference guide: sodium 2,300 mg, potassium 4,700 mg, magnesium 420 mg, calcium 1,300 mg. The FDA sets no Daily Value for total sugars (only for added sugars), so sugars are shown in grams with no percentage. Its rule of thumb for reading a percentage: “5% DV or less of a nutrient per serving is considered low.” “20% DV or more of a nutrient per serving is considered high.”
Not every USDA figure is a measurement of that drink, and the page says which. The packaged coconut water row rests on 9 lab samples, the milks on 26 to 41, Gatorade’s on 2. The “straight from the coconut” row’s potassium, sodium and magnesium rest on one sample each — and its sodium (105 mg per 100 g) is four times the packaged figure (26 mg). Powerade’s potassium was measured, but USDA derived its sodium from another figure and took its sugars and magnesium from the label. Pedialyte is not on the list: it is an oral rehydration solution, closer to a medicine than a drink. Brands reformulate, and SR Legacy is a 2018 snapshot — your carton’s own label is the last word, and you can type it in as a row.
| Drink | Sodium | Potassium | Magnesium | Calcium | Sugars, g |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coconut water, packaged | 89 (4%) | 564 (12%) | 21 (5%) | 24 (2%) | 13.4 |
| Coconut water, fresh (one sample) | 351 (15%) | 837 (18%) | 84 (20%) | 80 (6%) | 8.7 |
| Gatorade | 133 (6%) | 51 (1%) | 0 (0%) | 3 (0%) | 17.8 |
| Powerade | 143 (6%) | 61 (1%) | 0 (0%) | 3 (0%) | 20.8 |
| Milk, 2% | 160 (7%) | 476 (10%) | 37 (9%) | 408 (31%) | 17.2 |
| Milk, skim | 144 (6%) | 533 (11%) | 38 (9%) | 417 (32%) | 17.4 |
Worked examples
- 8 fl oz of packaged coconut water against Gatorade (the page’s example): 404 against 37 mg of potassium, 64 against 95 mg of sodium — 11× the potassium, 0.7× the sodium.
- A 330 mL carton against skim milk: 564 against 533 mg of potassium — nearly the same — and 89 against 144 mg of sodium.
- Fresh against packaged, 8 fl oz: 600 against 404 mg of potassium and 252 against 64 mg of sodium — but the fresh figure is one coconut’s worth of evidence.
- Your powder: a label that says 1,000 mg sodium and 200 mg potassium per 16 fl oz holds, in 16 fl oz, 7.9× the sodium of the same amount of packaged coconut water (127 mg) and 0.2× its potassium (809 mg).
Common mistakes
- Quoting the fresh-coconut figure for a carton. The two USDA rows differ by four times on sodium, and the fresh one is a single sample.
- Treating coconut water as the salty one. At 3% of the sodium Daily Value in 8 fl oz, it is “low” by the FDA’s rule of thumb — lower in sodium than Gatorade, Powerade or milk.
- Reading total sugars as added sugars. The FDA’s 50 g Daily Value is for added sugars; the sugars in unsweetened coconut water and milk are total sugars, which have no Daily Value.
- Comparing different amounts. A 16.9 fl oz bottle against an 8 fl oz cup is not a comparison of drinks — this page always compares the same amount.
Frequently asked questions
What electrolytes are in coconut water?
In USDA’s packaged, unsweetened coconut water, 8 fl oz holds 404 mg of potassium, 64 mg of sodium, 15 mg of magnesium and 17 mg of calcium. Potassium is the one it has most of: 9% of the Daily Value in that glass.
How much potassium is in coconut water?
165 mg per 100 g in USDA’s packaged figure — 404 mg in 8 fl oz, 564 mg in a 330 mL carton. USDA’s single fresh-coconut sample is higher: 250 mg per 100 g.
How much sodium is in coconut water?
26 mg per 100 g packaged — 64 mg in 8 fl oz, or 3% of the 2,300 mg Daily Value. USDA’s one fresh sample shows 105 mg per 100 g.
Does coconut water have more electrolytes than Gatorade?
More potassium, magnesium and calcium; less sodium. At 8 fl oz: 404 against 37 mg of potassium, 64 against 95 mg of sodium. Which matters for you depends on what you need it for, and this page does not say how much of either to drink.
Is coconut water or milk higher in potassium?
About the same. Skim milk has 382 mg in 8 fl oz and 2% milk 342 mg, against 404 mg in packaged coconut water — and milk has more sodium and far more calcium.
Can you get too much potassium from coconut water?
The NIH Office of Dietary Supplements: “in people with impaired urinary potassium excretion due to chronic kidney disease or the use of certain medications, such as angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors or potassium-sparing diuretics, even dietary potassium intakes below the AI can cause hyperkalemia”. And: “Individuals at risk of hyperkalemia should consult a physician or registered dietitian about appropriate potassium intakes from all sources.”
To read a powder’s label against the Daily Values on its own, use the Electrolyte Powder Label Checker; for a potassium tablet, the Potassium Supplement Calculator.
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This is not medical advice. It shows what USDA measured in each drink and where that sits against the FDA’s Daily Values; it does not say how much to drink. With kidney disease, or a medicine that raises potassium — ACE inhibitors and potassium-sparing diuretics among them — ask your doctor or pharmacist before adding potassium from any drink or powder. Some links on this site are affiliate links: I buy what I review at full price, and a commission never changes a verdict.