If you've spent any time on TikTok, Instagram or even just the gym floor lately, chances are you've seen someone emptying a brightly coloured sachet into their water bottle. Electrolytes are everywhere right now, with influencers, marathon runners and wellness devotees all claiming they can improve hydration, boost energy and speed up recovery.
But if you've found yourself wondering whether you really need to spend £2 a day on fancy salt water just because it's 28°C outside, you're not alone.
As a seriously sweaty runner, I'd personally be lost without them. If you're running long distances, training in the heat or sweating buckets, replacing the minerals you lose through sweat can actually help keep you performing at your best and avoid hitting the dreaded wall.
Like most supplements, though, not all electrolyte products are created equal (nor are they well regulated). With powders, tablets, sachets and ready-to-drink options flooding the market, it can be tricky to work out which ones are genuinely worth adding to your basket – and which are more hype than help (read: expensive pee).
That's where we come in. We've rounded up the standout electrolyte products from the Women's Health Sports Nutrition Awards 2026, where our expert panel tested dozens of hydration products for taste, formulation, value and ease of use.
Whether you're marathon training, tackling sweaty summer workouts or simply curious about all the fuss, these are the electrolyte supplements we'd actually recommend. Keep reading for our top picks.
Best electrolytes at a glance
- Best for flavour: Science in Sport Hydro Electrolyte Tablets
- Best for function: Healthspan Elite Electrolyte Tablet
- Best for personalisation: NutritionX Hydra 10 Hydration Sports Drink
What are electrolytes?
Electrolytes are essential minerals — such as sodium, potassium, calcium and magnesium — that help to regulate fluid balance, support muscle contractions and enable nerve signalling.
As Vlad Sabou, performance nutritionist at Science in Sport, previously told Women's Health: ‘Given that an adult body is around 60 per cent water, almost every fluid and cell in our body contains electrolytes. Some of the key electrolytes for supporting optimal health and physical performance are sodium, calcium, magnesium, potassium and chloride – these are required in different amounts depending on our age, lifestyle and physical activity levels.’
During exercise, you lose electrolytes through sweat – particularly sodium. That's why electrolyte supplements can be useful for prolonged or intense training sessions, as they help to replace what's lost and support hydration.
Who actually needs electrolytes?
Electrolytes – specifically sodium – are primarily aimed at endurance athletes, seriously heavy sweaters and those exercising in high heat for over 60 minutes.
For most people, however, they're unlikely to be necessary (some experts like to call them ‘expensive salt’!) If you're heading to the gym or going for a run lasting under an hour, drinking water when you're thirsty is usually enough to stay hydrated.
Research does suggest sodium supplementation can be beneficial during prolonged endurance events. In one small randomised controlled trial, experienced half-Ironman triathletes who took salt supplements before and during the race finished faster than those given a placebo, while also maintaining higher blood sodium levels. However, the findings apply to athletes completing several hours of intense exercise, rather than recreational exercisers.
It's also worth remembering that many sports drinks contain carbohydrates as well as electrolytes. For long-duration, high-intensity exercise, it's often the carbohydrates that provide the biggest performance benefit by helping maintain energy levels, while electrolytes primarily help replace minerals lost through sweat.
When should you take electrolytes?
Electrolytes can be taken before, during, or after exercise to help you stay on top of your fluids and prevent excessive sodium loss. The best time to take them really depends on your sweat rate, exercise duration and whether you are prone to cramping or dehydration.
How we tested the best electrolytes
To determine the best electrolyte supplements, we drew on the results of the Women's Health Sports Nutrition Awards 2026. Our expert judging panel – including sport and exercise nutritionist Dr Sinead Roberts, sports dietitian Jenaed Ruddock, WH's senior health and fitness writer Hannah Bradfield and Runner's World's ecommerce editor Ali Ball – assessed a range of market-leading electrolyte products, including powders, tablets and ready-to-drink options.
Each product was evaluated on its nutritional profile, taste, ease of use, value for money and overall performance, with our judges considering everything from sodium content and ingredient quality to mixability and flavour. Only the highest-scoring products earned a place in this guide.
The best electrolyte powders, tablets and drinks 2026
Science in Sport Hydro Hydration Tablets
Science in Sport Hydro Hydration Tablets
These tablets are easy to carry, dissolve rapidly and have a palatable taste. The amounts and ratios of the electrolytes also sit within the range typically recommended in sports hydration drinks. The tablets do contain added vitamins, which aren't necessary for hydration and may not be needed, but they aren't inherently 'bad'.
Calories: 9, Carbs: 0.8g, Sugar: 0.1g, Salt: 0.97g
Informed Sport certified
Healthspan Elite Electrolyte Tablet
Healthspan Elite Electrolyte Tablet
These aren't excessively sweet, making them a great option for when you're fatigued, and sweet and grainy drinks can become hard to stomach. The ingredient list is focused, containing only what's relevant to hydration and the amounts and ratios of the electrolytes are within the range recommended for sports hydration drinks.
Informed Sport certified
It's a powder, so you can vary the dose, making it better for personalisation – more if you're a salty sweater, for example. It also contains a low concentration of carbs, which may help the rapid absorption of electrolytes into the body – ideal when you need to rehydrate quickly. (It does contain unnecessary vitamins for hydration, too.)
Calories: 43, Carbs: 9.24g, Sugar: 8.47g, Salt: 0.88g
Informed Sport certified
One of the higher sodium electrolyte products out there, so an ideal choice for the salty sweaters – but it's also important to be mindful of how much salt you're consuming elsewhere in your diet.Those who enjoy the saltier taste of these sachets love the flavours (they come in Citrus Salt, Raspberry Salt, and Watermelon Salt, with the latter a firm favourite among testers) and the fact they are zero sugar.
Calories: 9.4, Carbs: 0.4g, Sugar: 0g, Salt: 2.5g
Informed Sport certified
A rare non-sachet-based electrolyte product here, with one bottle of Oshun electrolytes being enough for 100 litres of ‘electrolyte water’, contributing to that cost-per-use value. This is more of an everyday hydration product rather than purely sports performance, but we are very partial to the aesthetic bottle.
These vegan, sugar-free sachets contain all six essential electrolytes, along with added micronutrients. While the product is aimed more at everyday hydration rather than elite performance, it is Informed Sport certified.
Calories: 5, Carbs: 1g, Sugar: 0g
Informed Sport certified
More travel-friendly sachets here from LMNT in four strong flavours: Citrus Salt, Raspberry Salt, Orange Salt, and Watermelon Salt. Like Puresport’s product, this is high on the sodium side, so we wouldn't recommend chugging it back every day – save it for the sweatier endurance sessions.
Calories: 5, Carbs: 1g, Sugar: 0g, Salt: 2.5g
Free Soul Hydrate Electrolyte Hydration Sachets
Free Soul Hydrate Electrolyte Hydration Sachets
Thanks to their higher sodium content, Free Soul’s electrolytes are also best saved for sweaty sessions – where they’ll offer a salty but refreshing hit – rather than everyday hydration. The 7g sachets are convenient and the three flavours (Citrus, Mango & Lime, and Mixed Berry) are sweet but not sickeningly so.
Informed Sport certified
A well-formulated hydration blend that’s ideal for supporting post-exercise recovery and general wellbeing over super sweaty endurance sessions. That it comes in Peach Spritz, Lime Margarita, and Mango Ginger Mule also makes for a fun mocktail choice if you’re looking for non-alcoholic drink options.
This ready-to-mix powder – which comes in Watermelon, Pina Colada, Orange, Black Cherry, and an unflavoured option (useful for shakes and those without a sweet tooth) – provides a balanced electrolyte blend ideal for boosting everyday performance. Because it’s a powder, you can alter the dose accordingly (so long as you don’t exceed the recommended amount) to taste.
Calories: 8, Carbs: 2g, Sugar: 2g, Salt: 1.625g
Informed Choice certified
