What a vodka soda really comes to, what a shot of vodka comes to at each proof, and what changes when lime, tonic, Sprite or a flavored vodka goes in the glass. Every figure is worked out from USDA FoodData Central and our own spirit data.
A vodka soda (1½ oz of 80 proof vodka and 4 oz of soda water) is 98 calories, 0 g of carbs and 0 g of sugar. Every calorie is the vodka, so a shot on its own is the same 98. With ½ oz of fresh lime it is 104, with a splash of cranberry 115, a vodka tonic 141 with 11 g of sugar, and a vodka Sprite 150.
Per drink as written in the recipes below. "Std" is US standard drinks of 14 g of alcohol. Tap a drink for its recipe.
USDA's survey database records drinks as people report them, at 225 g for one drink built on a 2 oz pour. That larger pour is why its vodka and soda comes to 133 calories instead of 98: if a calorie counter shows you 130 or 140, this is likely the drink it means.
98 in a 1½ oz shot at 80 proof, the US minimum for vodka. Plain vodka is alcohol and water, and alcohol has 7 calories per gram, so the calories depend on two things only: how much you pour and how strong it is. USDA prints 97 for the same shot because it counts alcohol at a hair under 7.
There is no sugar to add to that. US rules allow vodka up to 2 g of sugar per liter, which is at most 0.09 g in a shot. A 750 mL bottle pours 17 shots, and a 1 oz pour is 65 calories.
The vodka is the fixed 98; the mixer decides the rest. Club soda and plain carbonated water are both 0 calories in USDA's data, so a vodka and club soda, a vodka seltzer and a vodka with sparkling water are the same drink here.
A lime wedge, about an eighth of the 44 g of juice in a lime, adds 1 to 2 calories if you squeeze all of it. Each row is 1½ oz of vodka with 4 oz of mixer.
The full list of mixers and syrups, for every spirit, is on our low calorie cocktails page.
A canned vodka seltzer is close to a vodka soda with less vodka and a little juice. High Noon and Nutrl are 4.5%, and each prints 100 calories on a 12 oz can, with 5 g and 4 g of carbs. That is 0.9 of a standard drink, so the can buys about 10% less alcohol for 2 more calories.
The difference is small either way. Ranked by calories per standard drink, these are some of the lightest orders there are. Dry wine ranks last because it keeps some carbohydrate. Michelob Ultra has the fewest calories per serving because it holds the least alcohol, not because it is leaner.
Can calories and carbs are the printed label panels at a US grocer, read 2026-10-31 (High Noon, Nutrl, White Claw, Truly). Labels round calories, and carbs vary by flavor. Nutrl is sold with no sugar added; the panels we read give no sugar figure.
Sometimes, but less than you would think. US rules let flavored spirits add sugar and be bottled as low as 60 proof, and a flavored spirit with 2.5% sugar or more by weight fits the definition of a liqueur. That puts the line near 1 g of sugar per shot.
Norway's state retailer, Vinmonopolet, publishes measured sugar, so we read every vodka it lists. The sweetened bottles sit just under that line, and because they are bottled weaker, a shot of them still has fewer calories than plain 80 proof.
Vinmonopolet reports under 3 g per liter as a single band, so those rows are an upper limit and their calories count no sugar. Bottles sold in Norway can differ from US ones: its Smirnoff No. 21 is 37.5% where the US bottle is 40%. Read 2026-10-31.
A vodka soda is one US standard drink of 14 g of alcohol, and 11% ABV before ice melts into it. A double is 2, and two doubles are 4 standard drinks, the level NIAAA defines as binge drinking for women within about 2 hours (5 for men).
A light drink can also go down quickly, for two reasons worth knowing. In a lab study of 21 people, 14 absorbed vodka faster mixed with carbonated water than with still water, and the other 7 showed no change or a slower rate. And in the diet mixer studies, the same vodka with a sugar-free mixer gave a higher breath alcohol than with a sugared one. Pacing it, eating first and having water between drinks is the practical answer (Cleveland Clinic).
For calories, any: 19 of the 21 vodkas in our data are 80 proof and come to the same 98 calories per 1½ oz. What differs is the base, which matters if you avoid gluten grains (see gluten-free vodka), and how a bottle ranks on chemistry (see the healthiest vodkas).
Lowest calorie first. Vodka is 80 proof, the US minimum. ABV is the drink before ice melts into it. A tall glass, plenty of ice and very cold soda water keep the fizz; add the soda last and stir once.
A shot of vodka and soda water over ice. The drink most people mean when they ask for something light.
Build over ice in a tall glass and squeeze in a lime wedge. A full squeeze adds 1 to 2 calories and is not counted.
Diet cola in place of soda water: the taste of a mixed drink for the calories of a plain one.
Build over ice and stir once so the cola keeps its fizz. USDA lists a trace of carbohydrate in diet cola.
The same drink with real juice in it: half an ounce, about a third of a lime.
Pour the vodka and lime over ice, top with soda water and stir once. Lemon juice works the same way.
A bar favorite for color and a little sweetness. An ounce of cranberry juice cocktail is the splash.
Build over ice, top with the cranberry and add a lime wedge (not counted).
Looks like a vodka soda and is not one. Regular tonic water is sweetened about as much as ginger ale.
Build over ice, stir gently and add a lime wedge (not counted).
Vodka and lemon-lime soda, about 3 teaspoons of sugar in the glass.
Twice the vodka, so twice the calories and twice the alcohol. The soda water changes neither.
98 for 1½ oz of 80 proof vodka and 4 oz of soda water, with 0 g of carbs and 0 g of sugar. Soda water has no calories, so the drink is exactly as many calories as the vodka in it. A bar's 2 oz pour is about 131, and a double is 196.
A 1½ oz shot of 80 proof vodka has 98 calories. A 1 oz pour has 65, and a 2 oz pour 131. Proof changes it: the same 1½ oz is 86 calories at 70 proof and 123 at 100 proof. USDA prints 97 for the 80 proof shot because it counts alcohol at a hair under 7 calories per gram.
About 1,657 in a 750 mL bottle of 80 proof vodka, which pours 17 1½ oz shots, and about 2,209 in a liter.
No. USDA lists 0 g of carbohydrate and sugar in both vodka and club soda. US rules let a vodka carry up to 2 g of sugar per liter, which would be at most 0.09 g in a shot, so it is too little to matter even where it is used. Carbs enter with the mixer: tonic, juice and regular soda.
Yes. A lime wedge squeezed in adds 1 to 2 calories at most, and a real ½ oz of fresh lime juice brings the drink to 104 calories with 1.3 g of carbs and 0.3 g of sugar.
It has no carbs, so it fits a carb count: 0 g, or 1.3 g with ½ oz of fresh lime. Our low carb alcohol page ranks the rest. The calories are alcohol, which still counts toward the day's total.
Sugar. Soda water is plain carbonated water, while tonic is sweetened and bittered with quinine. A vodka tonic with 4 oz of regular tonic is 141 calories and 11 g of sugar against 98 and 0 g. With diet tonic it is 98 calories, the same as a vodka soda.
Not for calories. USDA lists club soda and plain carbonated water at 0 calories, 0 carbs and 0 sugar, so a vodka and club soda, a vodka seltzer and a vodka with sparkling water all come to 98. Flavored sparkling waters are usually the same, but check the label for sweeteners.
One US standard drink, 11% alcohol before ice melts into it. USDA's survey entry, built on a 2 oz pour, comes to 1.37 standard drinks, so the bar's pour decides the real number. A double is 2.
On calories they tie: High Noon, Nutrl, White Claw and Truly all print 100 on the can against 98 for a vodka soda. The vodka soda has no carbs where the cans have 2 to 5 g, and it holds a full standard drink, where a 4.5% can holds 0.9. Per standard drink it is 98 calories against 111 for a 4.5% can. See the healthiest hard seltzers.
Some does. Vinmonopolet, Norway's state retailer, measures Absolut Citron and Absolut Vanilia under 3 g per liter, the same reading as plain vodka, while Smirnoff Vanilla is 19 g per liter and Au Vodka Juicy Peach 20.9 g, about 0.9 g in a shot. Because flavored vodkas are often bottled weaker, those shots still come to 95 and 90 calories, under plain 80 proof.
98 per 1½ oz shot, the same as any 80 proof vodka. 19 of the 21 vodkas in our data are 80 proof; only the strength moves the number, up to 104 for Absolut Elyx at 42.3%. Tito's and soda is therefore 98 calories, as is Smirnoff and soda.
Soda water, club soda, seltzer, diet tonic and Sprite Zero, all at about 98 calories for the drink. Of the plain juices, tomato is the lightest at 127. Cranberry juice cocktail is the heaviest we list at 166 calories and 15 g of sugar.
It is about as light as a drink gets, which is not the same thing. It has no sugar, carbs or fat, and vodka is low in congeners, but every calorie is alcohol, and the alcohol is what carries the risks. The fewest calories still come from having fewer of them. Water between drinks and food first help (Cleveland Clinic).
Soda water adds none, and vodkas made from corn, potato, grapes or rice contain no gluten grain. Wheat and rye vodkas are distilled, which removes the protein, but they cannot carry a gluten-free label in the US. Our gluten-free vodka page sorts every brand by base.
We found no evidence singling out vodka. Cirrhosis risk rises with the total amount of alcohol, and in a study of 43,242 Swedish men followed from 1970, drinking wine was not linked to a lower risk of severe liver disease than beer or spirits (Hagström 2019).
Medicines, first of all. NIAAA warns that alcohol interacts with many prescription and over-the-counter medicines, so read the label or ask a pharmacist. For calories, the heavy mixers are sweet juice, regular soda and ginger beer, and cream of coconut most of all: a piña colada is the heaviest of our 26 classics.