Coke rival Pepsi climbs up among top U.S. soda brands, besting Sprite
In the high-stakes cola wars, Coca-Cola Classic continues to reign as the top carbonated soda brand in the United States.
But longtime rival Pepsi-Cola has climbed back up the ranks, according to a new report by Beverage Digest, a trade publication.
Classic Coke maintained the biggest market share in 2025 at 18.5%, and Dr Pepper held on at second with 8.8%, a rank it first earned in 2023.
But Pepsi reclaimed the No. 3 spot, which lemon-lime soda Sprite had snatched in the last ranking, a news nugget amplified across national media. Pepsi had fallen to No. 4 in 2024, following a drop from second to third in 2023.
Amid a resurgence in popularity, Diet Coke now has risen to fourth. Sprite fell two spots to fifth.
Atlanta-based Coca-Cola declined comment. PepsiCo didn’t immediately respond.
The data ranks soda brands (not the broader companies that own them) by sales-volume share of the U.S. market, encompassing both retail and food service, or “basically everything that was sold in the country across all channels” in 2025, said Duane Stanford, editor and publisher of Beverage Digest.
Despite its dominant lead, Classic Coke saw its sales volume decline 5.3% in 2025, according to Beverage Digest.
Stanford attributed that to “a boycott among Hispanic consumers following a hoax video that was later debunked, as well as stricter U.S. immigration policies that prompted Hispanic consumers to stay home more and socialize less.”
Last April, James Quincey, then CEO of Coca-Cola, acknowledged the impact of the fake video, which claimed the company reported Latin American workers to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“That kind of hit us, particularly Coke Original in the Southern states,” he said. “We’re focusing in on winning back some of the Hispanic consumers, both from a consumer and a channel point of view, and reinforcing some of our affordability options.”
Pepsi’s sales volume stayed about flat in 2025, after prior years of decline, Stanford said.
Meanwhile, Sprite saw its sales volume dip 3% last year.
“That decline was pretty significant for Sprite, and now you’ve seen a lot of marketing activity this year,” Stanford said. For example, Coca-Cola this year has announced a new brand image for Sprite and reclaimed a major sponsorship deal with the NBA.
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