Sparkling water is a habit that is easy to keep in Thailand and expensive to feed from the supermarket. A household that drinks a litre a day gets through two half-litre bottles a day, more than 700 a year, every one of them carried home, chilled and thrown away. A soda maker on the counter makes the same litre from still water and a small CO2 cylinder.
Which one costs less per litre, and how much plastic does the switch really save? This article works both out with figures you can check: the prices published on our online shop for the soda maker and its refills, and the method we use across this site for bottles. Where a number depends on what you pay at your supermarket, we give you the formula rather than a guess.
In short, with a ฿390 refill making up to 50 litres, the CO2 for a litre of sparkling water costs ฿7.80. Including the ฿3,990 Soda Maker Kit, the first year at one litre a day comes to about ฿19.50 per litre, and every year after that about ฿8.50, while around 730 half-litre bottles a year never get bought.
How much does sparkling water cost per litre at home?
The running cost of home sparkling water is the gas. The machine is a one-off purchase and has no filters or motor. Using the prices on our online shop:
| Item on our online shop | Price | Makes |
|---|---|---|
| Soda Maker Kit | ฿3,990 (Inox and Glass version ฿6,490) | One-off: machine, bottle and a first cylinder |
| CO2 cylinder refill | ฿390 | Up to 50 litres |
| Additional CO2 cylinder | ฿890 | Optional spare, so there is no gap between refills |
The arithmetic, for a household drinking one litre of sparkling water a day:
- Gas per litre: ฿390 ÷ 50 litres = ฿7.80 per litre.
- Litres a year: 1 litre × 365 days = 365 litres.
- Refills a year: 365 ÷ 50 = 7.3, so 8 refills = ฿3,120.
- First year, kit included: ฿3,990 + ฿3,120 = ฿7,110 ÷ 365 litres = about ฿19.50 per litre.
- Each following year: ฿3,120 ÷ 365 litres = about ฿8.50 per litre.
If you carbonate strongly and get 40 litres from a cylinder instead of 50, the gas costs ฿9.75 per litre and the yearly figure rises to 10 refills, or ฿3,900. The water itself is not in these figures: if it comes from a drinking water system you already run at home, it is a share of a filter bill you pay anyway.
How much does bottled sparkling water or soda cost per litre?
Bottle prices vary by brand, shop and format, so the honest answer is the one on your own receipt. The conversion is simple:
- A 500 mL bottle: price of the bottle × 2 = cost per litre.
- A 1.5 L bottle: price of the bottle ÷ 1.5 = cost per litre.
- A pack of 6 × 325 mL cans: price of the pack ÷ 1.95 = cost per litre.
Do the sum for the sparkling water or soda you usually buy and set it against ฿8.50 per litre for home sparkling water from the second year, or ฿19.50 in the first year with the machine included. For most households the comparison is settled within the first year, and from then on the only cost is a refill every six or seven weeks. For a venue pouring soda water all day the arithmetic is different; see soda water for a restaurant or bar.
How much plastic does a soda maker save?
Price is one half of the comparison. The other is what does not get produced. On this site we count bottles the same way everywhere: two litres of drinking water a day in half-litre bottles is 1,460 bottles per person per year, which is the figure behind our sustainability page and our impact calculator. For sparkling water, the method is the same with the volume you actually drink.
| Household habit | Litres a year | Half-litre bottles not bought | 1.5 L bottles not bought | Refills needed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Half a litre a day | 183 | 365 | 122 | 4 |
| One litre a day | 365 | 730 | 243 | 8 |
| Two litres a day | 730 | 1,460 | 487 | 15 |
The cylinder that replaces those bottles is steel, refilled by exchange and used for years. Eight refills a year means eight cylinder movements instead of 730 bottles produced, filled, shipped, chilled and collected. On an island such as Koh Samui, where every bottle arrives by boat and leaves as waste the same way, that difference is visible on the roadside. Our article on plastic water bottles and pollution looks at where those bottles end up in Thailand.
Is home sparkling water as good as bottled?
The bubbles are the same gas. Bottled sparkling water and soft drinks are carbonated with food-grade CO2, and so are the refills on our shop. What differs is the water and the control. At home you decide how fizzy each bottle is, you drink it minutes after making it, and you know what went in.
That last point is where the water system matters. A soda maker adds gas and nothing else, so the water you pour in is the water you drink. Most households in Thailand do not use the tap for drinking, and a Minairal Air system solves that at the source: it produces drinking water from the humidity in the air, filters it, adds calcium, magnesium, potassium and sodium, and serves it cold. Cold mineral water into the soda maker gives sparkling mineral water, with no bottle in the chain at all. We explain the wider case in why air-to-water machines replace single-use bottles.
What should you check before switching?
- Refill access. The saving depends on a cylinder you can exchange at a known price. On our shop the refill is ฿390, delivered across all of Thailand, and the empty can also be swapped on the spot at our shops on Koh Samui, in Phuket, Hua Hin and on Koh Phangan. Minairal cylinders fit other major soda maker brands such as SodaStream, so a machine you already own works too. On Koh Phangan the exchange point is in Thong Sala; see Minairal on Koh Phangan.
- Volume. One litre a day is eight refills a year. If your household drinks much more, consider a second cylinder (฿890) so you never wait.
- Bottle material. The standard kit uses a plastic carbonating bottle. The Inox and Glass version (฿6,490) removes plastic from the process altogether.
- Still water source. Cold, clean still water is what makes the result good. A home drinking water system is the natural partner.
Both the Soda Maker Kit and the CO2 cylinder refill are on our online shop. For a home water system to go with it, our team installs and services on Koh Samui, in Phuket, Hua Hin and Bangkok: contact us and we will size it for your household.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a litre of home sparkling water cost?
About ฿7.80 in gas with a ฿390 refill making 50 litres. With the ฿3,990 kit spread over the first year at one litre a day, about ฿19.50 per litre, then about ฿8.50 per litre from the second year.
How many bottles does a soda maker replace in a year?
At one litre a day, 730 half-litre bottles or 243 bottles of 1.5 L, replaced by about 8 cylinder exchanges.
Is the CO2 in a soda maker the same as in bottled soda?
Yes. Both use food-grade carbon dioxide. The refills on our shop are food grade and are exchanged rather than topped up at home.
Does a soda maker make the water safer?
No. It only adds bubbles. Use clean still water, ideally cold water from a filtered or remineralised home system.
Do I need a Minairal machine to use the refills?
No. Minairal cylinders are compatible with other major soda maker brands such as SodaStream. Swap the empty at one of our four shops or order online with delivery across Thailand.
