Do Coke Zero and Diet Coke have the same ingredients and same flavor? You might be surprised by the results of our research. <ul><li>The ingredient lists are similar</li><li>Both consist of carbonated water, caramel color, phosphoric acid, potassium benzoate, aspartame, natural flavors, and caffeine</li><li>Coke Zero has two ingredients Diet Coke lacks: potassium citrate and acesulfame potassium</li><li>Diet Coke has one ingredient not found in Coke Zero: citric acid</li><li>Coca-Cola Zero Sugar looks and tastes more like Coke-Cola Classic</li></ul>

The Two Cokes

<ul>
<li>Diet Coke: Smooth and sweet, enjoyable, bubbly, goes well with a meal, refreshing by itself.</li>
<li>Coke Zero: Smooth, sweeter, and more bubbly.</li>
</ul>

Coke Zero vs. Diet Coke

<img alt="Gael Fashingbauer Cooper" src="https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/c4bc8cf8f7c370c8d7de309a789ff490?s=96&amp;d=mm&amp;r=g" width="50" height="50"><div>rd.com, via coca-cola.com, via dietcoke.com</div><h2>Do Coke Zero and Diet Coke have the same ingredients and same flavor? You might be surprised by the results of our research.</h2><UL><LI><img src="https://www.rd.com/wp-content/plugins/pup-social-share//images/facebook-letter-logo.svg" alt="Facebook" width="32" height="32"></LI><LI><img src="https://cdn.flipboard.com/badges/flipboard_mrrw.png" alt="Flipboard" width="32" height="32"></LI><LI><img src="https://www.rd.com/wp-content/plugins/pup-social-share/images/twitter-logo.svg" alt="Twitter" width="32" height="32"></LI><LI><img src="https://www.rd.com/wp-content/plugins/pup-social-share/images/pinterest-social-visual-website-logotype.svg" alt="Pinterest" width="32" height="32"></LI><LI><img src="https://www.rd.com/wp-content/plugins/pup-social-share/images/envelope.svg" alt="Email" width="32" height="32"></LI></UL>Coke Zero vs. Diet Coke: a clash of the titans. Now, I’m an ’80s kid, and for decades, Diet Coke was my beverage of choice. Sorry, Tab—your pink cans were stylish, but the soda was no good.Diet Coke came out in the summer of 1982, and it was the<a href="https://www.rd.com/article/star-wars-movies-order/" dir="ltr"> Star Wars</a> of low-cal drinks; light years better than any other diet beverage. For the first time, a diet soda existed that didn’t remind you that it was low-calorie with every sad sip. I couldn’t imagine Coca-Cola ever making a different diet soda.But then, in 2005, along came Coke Zero. Someone in the Coca-Cola labs wanted to make a diet drink that tasted more like a full-sugar Coke. Did it work? Do these two beverages really have a different taste, or is Coke Zero just a trendy name?<h2>Are Diet Coke and Coke Zero different?</h2>Diet Coke and Coke Zero both have zero sugar and calories, and the ingredient lists are similar, too. Both consist of carbonated water, caramel color, phosphoric acid, potassium benzoate, aspartame, natural flavors, and caffeine (though you can buy caffeine-free versions of both—look for the packaging with gold accents).Coke Zero has two ingredients Diet Coke lacks: potassium citrate and acesulfame potassium; and&nbsp;Diet Coke has one ingredient not found in Coke Zero: citric acid.According to Anna Wheeler, health and nutrition manager for Coca-Cola Great Britain, “Coca-Cola Zero Sugar looks and tastes more like Coca-Cola Classic, while Diet Coke has a lighter taste because it’s made with a different blend of flavors.”OK, so that’s what the execs say. But are they right?<h2>Diet Coke vs. Coke Zero taste test</h2>In my head-to-head comparison, I chilled cans of Diet Coke and Coke Zero, and drank them with no ice.Sipping Diet Coke reminds me of what a huge advance it was back in the ’80s. It’s smooth and sweet, and my first thought isn’t, “Ugh, yeah, this is a diet soda.” To me, it’s enjoyable, it’s bubbly, it goes well with a meal, and it’s refreshing by itself. I’ve never confused it with a full-sugar Coke, but it’s still a top-notch diet beverage.Coke Zero was reformulated last summer, and in my <a href="https://www.tasteofhome.com/article/coke-zero-review/" dir="ltr">Coke Zero review</a>, I wasn’t afraid to say I didn’t love the new formula. I found it almost sour, with a spiciness that older Coke Zero didn’t have. And maybe it’s changed, or maybe I’ve changed, but I didn’t taste that sourness this time. Coke Zero was smoother and sweeter than Diet Coke, and I even found it more bubbly.If you haven’t tried the <a href="https://www.rd.com/article/coca-cola-new-beverage/" dir="ltr">new Coca-Cola beverage</a> for 2022, you’ll want to run to the store immediately.<h2>Which do we prefer?</h2>It’s Coke Zero for the win. If a flight attendant or a vending machine gives me the choice, I’ll zero in on Coke Zero every time.I know cola drinkers who are still mourning the Coke Zero formulation we lost last year, and I get it. When I first tested the old formula Coke Zero vs. the new one, I vastly preferred the old one. But I can’t live in the past. This Coke Zero is what we have now, and I’ll drink to that.Source:

'80s expert and diet soda fan Gael Fashingbauer Cooper conducted a taste test to compare Coke Zero and Diet Coke. Here's what she discovered.

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Food

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Science & Nature

Do Coke Zero and Diet Coke have the same ingredients and same flavor? You might be surprised by the results of our research.

Coke Zero vs. Diet Coke: a clash of the titans. Now, I’m an ’80s kid, and for decades, Diet Coke was my beverage of choice. Sorry, Tab—your pink cans were stylish, but the soda was no good.

Diet Coke came out in the summer of 1982, and it was the<a href="https://www.rd.com/article/star-wars-movies-order/">Star Wars </a>of low-cal drinks; light years better than any other diet beverage. For the first time, a diet soda existed that didn’t remind you that it was low-calorie with every sad sip. I couldn’t imagine Coca-Cola ever making a different diet soda.

But then, in 2005, along came Coke Zero. Someone in the Coca-Cola labs wanted to make a diet drink that tasted more like a full-sugar Coke. Did it work? Do these two beverages really have a different taste, or is Coke Zero just a trendy name?

Diet Coke and Coke Zero both have zero sugar and calories, and the ingredient lists are similar, too. Both consist of carbonated water, caramel color, phosphoric acid, potassium benzoate, aspartame, natural flavors, and caffeine (though you can buy caffeine-free versions of both—look for the packaging with gold accents).

Coke Zero has two ingredients Diet Coke lacks: potassium citrate and acesulfame potassium; and Diet Coke has one ingredient not found in Coke Zero: citric acid.

According to Anna Wheeler, health and nutrition manager for Coca-Cola Great Britain, “Coca-Cola Zero Sugar looks and tastes more like Coca-Cola Classic, while Diet Coke has a lighter taste because it’s made with a different blend of flavors.”

OK, so that’s what the execs say. But are they right?

In my head-to-head comparison, I chilled cans of Diet Coke and Coke Zero, and drank them with no ice.

Sipping Diet Coke reminds me of what a huge advance it was back in the ’80s. It’s smooth and sweet, and my first thought isn’t, “Ugh, yeah, this is a diet soda.” To me, it’s enjoyable, it’s bubbly, it goes well with a meal, and it’s refreshing by itself. I’ve never confused it with a full-sugar Coke, but it’s still a top-notch diet beverage.

Coke Zero was reformulated last summer, and in my <a href="https://www.tasteofhome.com/article/coke-zero-review/">Coke Zero review </a>, I wasn’t afraid to say I didn’t love the new formula. I found it almost sour, with a spiciness that older Coke Zero didn’t have. And maybe it’s changed, or maybe I’ve changed, but I didn’t taste that sourness this time. Coke Zero was smoother and sweeter than Diet Coke, and I even found it more bubbly.

If you haven’t tried the <a href="https://www.rd.com/article/coca-cola-new-beverage/">new Coca-Cola beverage </a>for 2022, you’ll want to run to the store immediately.

It’s Coke Zero for the win. If a flight attendant or a vending machine gives me the choice, I’ll zero in on Coke Zero every time.

I know cola drinkers who are still mourning the Coke Zero formulation we lost last year, and I get it. When I first tested the old formula Coke Zero vs. the new one, I vastly preferred the old one. But I can’t live in the past. This Coke Zero is what we have now, and I’ll drink to that.

Coke Zero vs. Diet Coke: What’s the Difference?

The Two Cokes

Coke Zero vs. Diet Coke

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CURATOR'S NOTE

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