Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know that the price of just about everything has gone up considerably over the last couple years. That’s especially apparent at the grocery store, where weekly staple runs seemingly drain our wallets with only half a cartful.
One of the most obvious examples of rising food prices has been soda. According to a recent analysis by FinanceBuzz, over a period of just five years, the price of a 12-pack of name brand soda has almost doubled. What was once considered a cheap staple in many homes has now turned into a luxury item.
12-Pack Pain
Using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index, which measures inflation, along with archived grocery store circulars for four major supermarkets, FinanceBuzz tracked the price of soda from 2020 to 2025. It looked at non-sale prices for name brand soft drinks only — think Coca-Cola, Pepsi, and Sprite — and determined just how much prices have gone up.
The results are unsurprising, to say the least. Back in 2020, the average price of a 12-pack of soda was $5.18 (those were the days, hey?!). By 2025, that number had risen steadily to a whopping $9.79. That’s a $4.61 increase, or about 89%.
Two-liter bottles of soda have always been a better value than cans, and that hasn’t changed. Over the same time frame, the price of a 2-liter bottle went up 62%. While that’s still outrageous, at least it’s not almost double. In 2020, the average price was $1.94, while in 2025, it shot up to $3.14. The average price of both 12-packs and 2-liters increased every single year.
Outpacing Inflation
Soda prices have gone up so much that they’ve well outpaced inflation since 2020. According to the government reported data, the national inflation rate for 2020-2025 was 25%, far less than the brand name price increases of 89% for 12-packs and 62% for 2-liters.
Even when you include generic soft drinks, as the government inflation data does, a 12-pack increased 45% in that time period, while a 2-liter increased 30%. Both are well above the overall inflation rate.
What’s Causing the Huge Increase?
Like most things in life, the reasons for the huge increase in soda prices is complicated. “The rise in soda prices can be attributed to multiple sources, alongside just general inflation,” explained Derick Migliacci, a spokesperson for FinanceBuzz.
“Transportation and production costs have increased since 2020. Pair that with new taxes on sodas in various states across the country, as well as tariffs on the already rising cost of aluminum and sugar, and you can put the pieces together on how soda prices have risen in five years,” he continued. “The more expensive it is to produce, the more it will cost at the grocery store.”
While all those factors probably played a part in rising soda prices, we think there’s another big one: “greedflation.” Megacorporations make decisions to keep shareholders, not customers, happy. The more profit, the better, so billionaires and millionaires just keep getting richer.
Take Coca-Cola, for example. According to its earnings reports, net revenue increased in all but five of the 23 quarters since the beginning of 2020, and most losses were during 2020 at the height of the pandemic. In contrast, Coca-Cola’s CEO was paid $28 million in 2024, almost 2,000 times the company’s median employee salary, according to the AFL-CIO.
How to Save
If you still have a taste for soda after learning all that, there are a few ways to make sure you’re getting the best deal possible.
The easiest way is to switch from name brands to generic, which haven’t increased in price as much as the big guys. Do a little experimenting to find a new favorite, like one of the many Faygo flavors, or switch to sparkling water.
Other ways are the same things you do to get the best prices on anything at the grocery store: shop sales, and get a store club card. Watch the circulars for every grocery store in your area, then stock up on soda when there’s a good sale. Usually, the only way you can get the best sales and coupons now is with a grocery club card, so be sure to scan it every time you shop or you may be paying more than you need to on everything, not just soda.
More soda stories on Cheapism:
- 17 Vintage Photos of Soda Fountains From the 1890s to the 1950s — Take a trip down memory lane with these vintage soda fountain photos.
- 16 Discontinued Sodas We Can’t Believe Are Gone — From Josta to Whistle Soda, these fizzy beverages are but a mere memory.
- Mountain Dew, Orange Crush, and 9 Other Sodas You Should Avoid at All Costs — Sure, soda can be delicious. But you’d be wise to avoid these sodas due to their high sugar and caffeine content.
