Best Running Gels of 2026, Compared

1. SiS Beta Fuel Gel, best for long runs

The unflavored SiS Beta Fuel gel is number one because it returns the most carbohydrate per dollar in this set. The product panel lists 40 g of carbohydrate, 15 mg of sodium, and 160 calories in one 60 ml gel. The ratio is 1:0.8 maltodextrin to fructose. Caffeine is not in that unflavored ingredient list. Science in Sport's science page dates the brand to 1992.

The 30 pack is $99.99. Divided by 30, the table shows $3.33 a gel. Divide 40 g by that displayed $3.33 and the result is 12.01 g of carbohydrate per dollar. GU is next, at 10.50 to 11.50 g per dollar, from packets of only 21 to 23 g. PF 30 lists 30 g at 9.62 g per dollar. Peach Cobbler Gel XL lists 50 g at 6.94 g per dollar.

Science in Sport writes Beta Fuel for efforts of 2 hours or more, at 90 to 120 g of carbohydrate per hour, and suggests 1 to 3 gels per hour. Two gels are 80 g. Three gels are 120 g. The ISSN 2017 stand puts extended high-intensity work near 30 to 60 g per hour, especially past about 70 minutes. One 40 g gel sits inside that hour. The 90 to 120 g target is larger than the ISSN range cited here.

Sodium is 15 mg, so this packet is not a high-sodium plan. The brand page used for this row does not publish a star rating or a review count.

Best suited for: Long runs and marathons where one packet should clear 30 g of carbohydrate and carbohydrate per dollar decides the top spot. It is a weak fit when the same packet also has to carry a large sodium dose.

2. GU Original Energy Gel, best for the lowest price per gel

GU Original Energy Gel is the lowest list price per gel in this set. GU lists 21 to 23 g of carbohydrate, 60 to 125 mg of sodium, about 100 calories, and a smooth gel. A box of 24 is $48 and a box of 8 is $16, so both packs are $2.00 a gel. At 21 to 23 g, that is 10.50 to 11.50 g of carbohydrate per dollar, second in this table behind SiS Beta Fuel. GU's about page says the first energy gel was created in 1993.

The flavor notes mark some packets at 20 mg of caffeine and some at 40 mg. Jet Blackberry, Espresso Love, and Caramel Macchiato state 40 mg. A caffeine-free plan has to read the flavor, because the line is not one number. GU says to take Energy Gel with a few sips of water.

Two GU gels are 42 to 46 g of carbohydrate, inside the ISSN range of about 30 to 60 g per hour. Three gels are 63 to 69 g, past the top of that range. Two gels at the displayed $2.00 cost $4.00. Three cost $6.00. Two GU packets approach one 40 g Beta Fuel on carbohydrate and cost $4.00 against the displayed $3.33. Sodium at 60 to 125 mg is a wide flavor range, so one packet may sit at either end of it. The product page does not publish a star rating or a review count.

Best suited for: Training weeks when the list price per gel is the constraint and 21 to 23 g is enough to stack toward an hourly target. Read the flavor note before you count on caffeine or on a specific sodium figure.

3. Precision PF 30 Gel, best for a counted 30 g dose

Precision PF 30 Gel is the counted 30 g packet. Precision lists 30 g of carbohydrate and 120 kcal per 51 g gel, at a 2:1 glucose to fructose ratio. The page states that the gel does not contain caffeine and does not contain electrolytes. The texture is jelly-like. The listed offer is $12.49 for the 4 gel pack, SKU PF30-GEL-X4, which displays as $3.12 a gel and 9.62 g of carbohydrate per dollar. Precision says the brand launched in 2011.

One gel matches the low end of the ISSN range, about 30 g of carbohydrate for an hour of extended high-intensity work. Two gels are 60 g, the top of that range. Three gels are 90 g. At the displayed price, two gels are $6.24 and three are $9.36.

Precision states that the gel does not contain electrolytes because it is meant to sit next to the Precision Hydration drink range. On a bike or in a race where the bottle is already planned, the gel does not duplicate the sodium in the drink. Peach Cobbler Gel XL lists 240 mg of sodium in the gel itself. PF 30 lists none. The PF 30 Caffeine Gel is a different product and lists 100 mg of caffeine with the same 30 g of carbohydrate. Precision says the standard gel's texture is designed to reduce the need to wash it down with fluid right away. The product page does not publish a star rating or a review count.

Best suited for: A run, ride, or race where you want exactly 30 g from the packet and the sodium stays in the bottle. Skip it when the gel itself is your only sodium source.

4. Huma Original Strawberries, best for caffeine-free fuel

Huma Original Strawberries is the caffeine-free pick with a published sodium figure and a $2.50 price. Huma lists 100 calories and 24 to 25 g of carbohydrate for Original gels, depending on flavor. The Original versus PLUS page lists 24 g of carbohydrate and 105 mg of sodium for a typical Original pouch, and says amounts vary slightly by flavor. The dietary facts page marks Strawberries as caffeine-free. At $2.50, that is 9.60 to 10.00 g of carbohydrate per dollar across the 24 to 25 g range. Huma's press kit says the company was founded in 2012, that the recipe is the same since 2012, and that the gels are easy on the stomach.

Other Original flavors are not this row. The dietary facts page lists 25 mg or 100 mg of caffeine on other Original flavors. Huma says to take the gel with water. One packet at 24 to 25 g is under the ISSN low end of about 30 g per hour. Two packets are 48 to 50 g, inside the 30 to 60 g hour, at a displayed $5.00. Doubling the typical 105 mg gives 210 mg of sodium, still under the 240 mg in one Peach Cobbler Gel XL.

The press kit calls the Original line fruit, brown rice syrup, cane sugar, milled chia, and sea salt. The pages used here do not publish a star rating or a review count.

Best suited for: A caffeine-free packet on a long surf or a long run when you can take it with water and you want sodium in the gel. One pouch does not cover a 30 g hour by itself.

5. SiS GO Isotonic Energy Gel, best for no extra water

SiS GO Isotonic Energy Gel is the packet Science in Sport says you can take without extra water. The product panel lists 22 g of carbohydrate, 20 mg of sodium, and 90 calories. Caffeine is not in the ingredient list. The 6 pack is $13.99, which displays as $2.33 a gel and 9.44 g of carbohydrate per dollar. The 30 pack is $69.99, the same $2.33 a gel. The brand dates to 1992 on the Science in Sport science page.

One gel is under the ISSN low end of about 30 g per hour. Two gels are 44 g, inside the 30 to 60 g range. Three gels are 66 g, just past the top of that range. At the displayed $2.33, two gels are $4.66 and three are $6.99. Sodium for two gels is 40 mg. That is a small contribution next to a typical Huma pouch at 105 mg or one GU packet at 60 to 125 mg.

The reason to pick GO is the water note, not the dose. SiS calls it an isotonic gel you can take without extra water. Maurten says Gel 100 does not have to be drunk with water at the same time. Precision says the PF 30 texture reduces the need to wash the gel down right away. If you already drink on a schedule, Beta Fuel's 40 g moves the carbohydrate total faster than stacking 22 g packets. The product page does not publish a star rating or a review count.

Best suited for: Hours when a separate water swallow with every packet is the hard part, and 22 g is a dose you will repeat. It is a slow way to reach 60 g from one or two packets.

6. Spring Peach Cobbler Gel XL, best for high-sodium sweaters

Spring Peach Cobbler Gel XL carries the most sodium in this table, and the largest carbohydrate dose. Spring lists a 110 g pouch at 210 calories, 50 g of carbohydrate, 240 mg of sodium, and 0 mg of caffeine. Price per serving is $7.20, which is 6.94 g of carbohydrate per dollar. That is the highest list price per gel here. Spring's about page says the company was started in 2014 and that the gels are made from rice, fruit, honey, and natural fats.

One pouch is 50 g, inside the ISSN range of about 30 to 60 g per hour and near the top. Two pouches are 100 g. In this table example, 2 times $7.20 is $14.40, against four Maurten Gel 100 sachets at 100 g and 4 times $3.75, which is $15.00. The Peach pair lists 480 mg of sodium if you double the 240 mg label. Four Maurten sachets have no published sodium milligrams to add.

The ingredient list includes cashew butter, so this pouch is not nut-free. Awesome Sauce, the other Spring gel here, is 28 g, 45 mg of sodium, and $4.45. Spring does not publish a glucose to fructose ratio for these gels. The page used here does not publish a star rating or a review count.

Best suited for: Heavy sweat, when 240 mg of sodium in one packet is the figure you came for, and 50 g of carbohydrate is a dose you have practiced. Skip it if you need a nut-free packet or the lowest price per gel.

7. Maurten Gel 100, best for a hydrogel packet

Maurten Gel 100 is the hydrogel packet. Maurten lists 25 g of carbohydrate per sachet, about 100 kcal, in a 0.8:1 fructose to glucose ratio. The offer price on the box page is $45.00 for 12 servings, which is $3.75 a gel and 6.67 g of carbohydrate per dollar. Gel 100 has no caffeine. Gel 100 Caf 100 is a different sachet and lists 100 mg. Maurten's careers page says the company was founded in 2015 and describes hydrogels that make sports fuels easier to tolerate.

Maurten calls the texture a firmer hydrogel, not a syrup, and says you do not have to drink water at the same time. Rehydrating still matters. The gels contain a small amount of sodium and are not electrolyte gels. The Gel 100 page does not publish sodium in milligrams, so that cell stays not published. PF 30, by contrast, states that the gel does not contain electrolytes.

Two sachets are 50 g, inside the ISSN hour of about 30 to 60 g. One sachet at 25 g is under 30 g. Two sachets at the displayed $3.75 cost $7.50. Carbs per dollar at 6.67 g sits near Awesome Sauce at 6.29 g and Peach Cobbler Gel XL at 6.94 g, behind Beta Fuel at 12.01 g and GU at 10.50 to 11.50 g. The box page does not publish a star rating or a review count.

Best suited for: Runners who want a hydrogel sachet, a 25 g dose they can repeat, and no caffeine in the standard Gel 100. It is a poor fit when you need a published sodium milligram number on the packet.

8. Spring Awesome Sauce, best for a real-food gel

Spring Awesome Sauce is the smaller Spring gel: 0 mg of caffeine and a 28 g carbohydrate dose. Spring lists a 60 g serving at 180 calories, 28 g of carbohydrate, 45 mg of sodium, and 0 mg of caffeine. Price per serving is $4.45, which is 6.29 g of carbohydrate per dollar, the lowest ratio in this table. Spring does not publish a glucose to fructose ratio. The about page says Spring Energy was started in 2014.

At 28 g, one serving is 2 g under the 30 g line used to screen the number-one spot. Two servings are 56 g, inside the ISSN hour of about 30 to 60 g, and 2 times $4.45 is $8.90. Those two servings list 90 mg of sodium. Two PF 30 gels are 60 g at 2 times $3.12, which is $6.24, with no electrolytes in the gel.

The same Spring page lists Peach Cobbler Gel XL at 50 g, 240 mg of sodium, and $7.20. Awesome Sauce is the Spring option when that XL pouch is more gel than you want. Both list 0 mg of caffeine. A separate nut statement for Awesome Sauce is not published on the figures page used here. A $4.45 serving costs more than GU, Huma, SiS GO, and PF 30, and it returns fewer carbohydrate grams per dollar than each of them. The page does not publish a star rating or a review count.

Best suited for: A no-caffeine Spring gel around 28 g when you want that mix and you do not need the 50 g XL pouch. It sits at the bottom of the carbs-per-dollar column.