Store-Bought Lemonade, Ranked From Worst To Best

There's nothing quite as refreshing as lemonade, but squeezing all those lemons is hard work. If you don't want to make your own from scratch, opting for store-bought is a great option. There are plenty to choose from, including organic options, fresh-squeezed lemonade, and budget-friendly juice from concentrate.

We tried brands you can pick up at the local grocery store to see which were the best. During our test, we stuck with classic lemonades and looked at the amount of pulp, sweetener, and general flavor balance. We also considered ingredients, making note of which had artificial sweeteners versus cane sugar, and the jugs that were particularly high in price. Some were specific to certain stores while others are widely available at most supermarkets. Our favorite brands had lemonade with a good blend of sweet and tart flavor, were a good value, and had that fresh-squeezed, refreshing taste that we love.

Turkey Hill lemonade is a fantastic budget-friendly choice, but the taste isn't nearly as lemony as other options. It has a lot of sugar, which we could definitely taste. It gave us a strong impression of sugar syrup flavored with lemon rather than actual lemonade. The bright yellow color was also a little bit jarring and from first pour to last taste, we were underwhelmed with this drink. It wasn't nearly as refreshing as we'd hoped and tasted a lot more like sugary juices or even soda than lemonade.

It costs around $1.50 for a 1-gallon jug, which is half the cost of some other brands on our list and the big draw to picking up a jug of Turkey Hill lemonade. If we were getting lemonade for a group or mixing it with other juices and sodas, this option would work just fine. When you try it alongside one of the lemonades made with real lemon juice and less sugar, though, the differences become much more obvious. Overall, it was the too-sweet flavor that earned this lemonade the bottom spot on our list.

Lemons and limes aren't always interchangeable, but when we saw that the Black River classic lemonade combined both citrus fruits, we were excited. With a little bit sweeter taste from the lime, we were expecting something more complex than simple lemonade. Unfortunately, it was too sweet and didn't have the tartness that normally makes this drink so refreshing.

Since the ingredients list of the Black River lemonade only includes water, cane sugar, concentrated lemon juice, concentrated lime juice, and natural flavor, we expected a good balance of citrus flavor from fresh ingredients. However, it had a strong artificial taste that we can only assume comes from the unnamed natural flavors in the recipe. The addition of lime gives it a distinct taste, but both the lemon and lime juice are from concentrate and didn't have the same freshness that we liked in some of the other choices.

It comes in a glass container, which may be important to those who want to avoid plastics. It also costs more than $6.50 for less than 40 ounces, making it the most expensive lemonade on our list. Other than the use of glass instead of plastic, we can't think of a reason to get this drink option when there are so many others that use better ingredients, taste delicious, and cost less

The Uncle Matt's lemonade combines organic ingredients with stevia for a sugar-free lemonade option, but the taste didn't work for us. It didn't have a strong tart element, and even the sweet flavor was a little bit off. While stevia comes from a natural source, the lemonade had a strong artificial taste. Stevia is sweeter than sugar, so even the small amount in this lemonade cut the normally tart taste that we expected.

Uncle Matt's juices are also not easy to find — we had to drive to two different supermarkets to track this bottle down. We tried the classic lemonade, but it's also available in strawberry lemonade, which we saw at the store. The Uncle Matt's website lists a ginger honey version, which we'd be interested in trying, but we couldn't find it available anywhere. 

Uncle Matt's lemonade is a bit pricier than other options, costing around $5.50 for a 52-ounce bottle. Since we didn't particularly like the taste, it was hard to find, and it was more expensive, this earned a spot closer to the bottom of our list.

The Minute Maid lemonade was the best zero sugar lemonades that we tried, but it still had that artificial sweetener taste. It's made with aspartame instead of sugar, which altered the flavor that we tasted but was most noticeable in the aftertaste. If you're looking to lower your sugar intake, Minute Maid is our recommendation — but if you want to get the best-tasting lemonade, this just isn't it.

One thing that frustrated us about Minute Maid was how difficult it was to find in the store. Depending on where you go, it might be stocked alongside the other lemonades or with the sodas. The zero-sugar option comes in a 52 fluid ounce bottle while the regular lemonade is in a 2-liter bottle near the sodas. It has more of a juice flavor rather than a true fresh lemonade. Minute Maid also offers some options in cans, so you might need to look around the store a bit to find exactly what you want. This isn't a deal breaker, but it can make finding the right style a bit more challenging.

You can find The Fresh Market lemonade near the produce, so we expected a drink with a strong lemony flavor. It was clearly very fresh, with small bits of pulp mixed in, but the hint of carbonation was what set this drink apart from others that we tried. It's made with just three ingredients, water, fresh-squeezed lemons, and cane sugar. The process creates a little bit of gas, which adds the tiniest bit of fizz to the lemonade.

We tried this option right after the vibrant yellow Turkey Hill lemonade, so the pale color really struck us. It was a little bit cloudy with a small amount of pulp, which emphasized the fresh-squeezed aspect of the lemons. If you like fresh lemons but don't want to chew your lemonade, this strikes a good balance between the two.

The Fresh Market is one of the more expensive options out there, costing just under $8 for a 64-ounce jug. We were a little bit surprised by the price, given that this is a store brand drink, but this was the best tasting and highest-quality store brand lemonade that we tried. If you are really picky about the amount of pulp, it might be worth the cost, but it got moved down on our list due to price.

Florida isn't just for oranges, which is obvious when you try Florida's Natural lemonade. It had a stronger sugary taste upfront but the aftertaste was all lemon. We liked the combination of sweet and tart from this option. It's typically around $3 for a 59-ounce bottle, although we were able to save a few extra cents using our store loyalty card. 

We tried the classic lemonade but Florida's Natural also has a zero sugar option, a strawberry lemonade, and a zero-sugar strawberry lemonade. It's one of the few to offer a flavored lemonade free of sugar. If you want or need to avoid sugar, Florida's Natural has more options than most other brands.

This was an average lemonade for taste in our book, but the great price and slightly larger bottle moved it a little bit higher on the list. The company also donates to Alex's Lemonade Stand, an organization that supports kids fighting cancer. This was a nice added bonus that made us even happier with this purchase.

The Tropicana lemonade was on the sweeter side, although it had a hint of tart that came through. It's made with lemon juice and cane sugar, similar to many other options on our list. It was another drink choice that was good, but nothing out of the ordinary. We went with the classic lemonade for this comparison but we've tried the strawberry lemonade before, which is even sweeter. It also comes in a zero-sugar style and a zero-sugar passion fruit lemonade drink.

We do like that Tropicana lemonade was easier to find in a small container. It comes in a 46 ounces or 11 ounces, which works well if you want a refreshing bottle of lemonade without getting an entire jug. The 46-ounce bottle is around $3, which isn't an amazing price given that the size is slightly smaller than most others. However, it's still a decent option for taste and average on pricing as well.

As the Giant store brand, Nature's Promise offers organic lemonade at a great price. Costing just $3.50 for a large 64-ounce bottle, this brand combines organic ingredients with economical options. With a nice balance of sweet and tart, it tasted similar to some of our favorite name-brand lemonades, which cost just as much for a smaller jug. Nature's Promise lemonade is also shelf-stable and can be stored in the pantry until it's opened, making it a good choice to keep stocked at home for impromptu parties.

The downside of Nature's Promise is that it's only carried at Giant, so it's not as widely available as other brands. If you're already shopping at Giant, however, it's worth a walk over to the natural food section to pick up a jug of this lemonade. If you want an organic drink option for a budget-friendly price, Nature's Promise is worth a special trip.

Without artificial colors and flavors, Simply Lemonade is delicious and exactly what we wanted from lemonade. It's made with real lemon juice, plus sugar and water. It had a good amount of pulp without being overpowering, striking a good balance between fresh ingredients and drinkability. Simply Lemonade was one of the more tart options that we tasted, so don't expect a ton of sweetness from this drink.

We've used Simply Lemonade as a mixer in punch and cocktails, preferring it over other brands because it brings such a strong lemony flavor. It perfectly balances sweeter elements in drinks with the addition of tart lemon. On its own, it's also delicious, although a little bit strong for the youngest in our family, who prefer something a little less tart. It's between $3 and $3.50 for a large 52 fluid ounce container at most stores and available at most grocery stores.

You might be able to find one of the flavored lemonades, including strawberry, blueberry, and raspberry. For this test, we stuck with classic lemonade but we have tried and liked the raspberry lemonade as well. It doesn't have the same tart, lemony flavor and tastes a little bit sweeter. Based on both flavors, we'd be happy to put any of the Simply Lemonades in our fridge.

Indian River Select lemonade is made with just lemons, water, and sugar. If you want a great beverage that doesn't have a lot of additives, this is a top choice. It's sweet and tart at the same time, just how we like our lemonade. It doesn't have a lot of pulp but still has that fresh-squeezed taste. We would use this lemonade as a base for delicious mixed drinks, including autumnal cranberry lemonade or with herbs, like mint or thyme.

It's just over $3 for a 52-ounce bottle, which compares to other brands that have more additives and less balanced flavor. This is one of the few lemonades that we would go out of our way to find, which is important to note because we only saw it at one store. If it was more widely available, it would have ended up even higher on our list.

Newman's Own is a traditional-style lemonade that's made without high fructose corn syrup, but still has sweetness, thanks to cane sugar. It had a strong lemon flavor that was balanced and not too tart. It had the most pulp out of all the brands we tried, so make sure that you want that extra texture if you go with Newman's Own. The pulp gave the glass a cloudier appearance than some others, but you can give the carton a gentle shake to help it mix before pouring.

Not only does it taste great, but Newman's Own also donates part of its profits to charitable organizations and initiatives. It's around $3 for a 59-ounce carton, on par with most other lemonades that we tried. In the end, it was a toss-up between Newman's Own and our top choice for our favorite because both tasted very close to homemade. Newman's Own took second place just due to the abundance of pulp. If you like lemonade with a lot of lemony elements, though, this might be your new favorite beverage.

Our favorite drink during this taste test was the perfectly tart and sweet Trader Joe's fresh squeezed lemonade. It had fresh squeezed lemon juice, which gave it a cloudy appearance, but not much pulp. This option is made with just water, cane sugar, and those tasty tart lemons, which makes it the closest replica of what we make from scratch. In fact, we think it would be hard to tell the difference between the two. At $4 for a 52-ounce bottle, it's slightly higher than some similar options, but we'd happily pay even more for the great balance of flavor.

Trader Joe's suggests mixing it with other fresh-squeezed juices, such as watermelon, or muddling with herbs to make your own blend. It's no secret that lemons and watermelon are a fantastic summer pairing, so we were happy to see such a fun and delicious serving suggestion. We went the classic drink route for this test and this was the only glass that we wanted to finish. Like many of the freshest options, it is unpasteurized, so make sure that you follow the refrigeration instructions to keep it safe and delicious.

Trader Joe's organic lemonade drink is worth mentioning, since it's a little bit cheaper at less than $3.50 for a 64-ounce jug. However, it uses lemon juice concentrate, which is noticeable in the less-tart taste. If you're set on organic, however, it's a good high-quality choice at a budget-friendly price. For the best lemonade, however, we'd pick Trader Joe's for its sweet-tart taste and smooth texture.

We relied on a side-by-side taste comparison to pinpoint the subtle differences between different lemonades. Those that were overly sweet stood out quickly, while the really tart lemonades certainly left an impression. Our favorites were balanced between the two flavors and had just enough pulp to get our attention. We tended to favor those drinks sweetened with cane sugar for taste, but tested zero-sugar options as well to see how they compared. Even though they had a different taste overall, we noted which we would pick again if we were cutting out sugar.

Price was also a consideration, since lemonade is often served in large quantities at get-togethers in our household. Even though some beverages were tasty, they weren't so good that we could justify spending a lot of our party budget just on lemonade. In the end, our top choices were sweet, tart, and economical, just like our homemade lemonade.