How much caffeine is in Coca-Cola (330 ml)?

A standard 330 ml can of Coca-Cola contains 32 mg of caffeine, which works out to 9.7 mg per 100 ml. That is roughly one-third the caffeine in a 240 ml cup of drip coffee, making it a mild source of the stimulant. The concentration is low enough that most healthy adults would need to drink more than twelve cans in a day to exceed the 400 mg daily guidance set by the FDA and EFSA, though the sugar content would become a concern long before the caffeine.

The caffeine in Coca-Cola comes from kola nut extract, a natural ingredient that has been part of the formula since the drink was first created in 1886. At 32 mg per can, the amount is below the threshold where most people report a noticeable energy lift from caffeine alone—studies on caffeine’s ergogenic effects typically use doses of 3–6 mg per kilogram of body weight, which for a 70 kg adult would be 210–420 mg. What you experience after a single can is more likely a combination of the mild caffeine, the sugar (or sweetener in diet versions), the cold temperature, and the ritual of opening a familiar drink.

How long Coca-Cola (330 ml) stays in your system

Caffeine follows first-order elimination kinetics, meaning the body removes a constant fraction of it per hour rather than a fixed number of milligrams. The population-average half-life in healthy adults is 5.7 hours, so the amount remaining in your bloodstream after drinking a single 330 ml can of Coca-Cola drops predictably: at 3 hours, roughly 22 mg remain; at 6 hours, 15 mg; at 9 hours, 11 mg; and at 12 hours, approximately 7 mg. The arithmetic uses the formula remaining = 32 × 0.5^(hours / 5.7), and the numbers are rounded to the nearest whole milligram.

If you drank the can at 15:00, by 21:00 roughly 15 mg would still be circulating. That is a small amount—less than half the caffeine in a 240 ml cup of green tea—but for people who metabolize caffeine slowly, it can be enough to delay sleep onset. A 2013 study by Drake et al. published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine found that 400 mg of caffeine consumed six hours before bedtime reduced total sleep time by more than an hour; a 32 mg dose is far smaller, but individual sensitivity varies, and the half-life can stretch to 9 hours or longer in pregnant women, people taking oral contraceptives, and those with certain liver enzyme variants.

With 32 mg of caffeine per can, a healthy adult could consume 12.5 cans of Coca-Cola before reaching the 400 mg daily limit referenced by the FDA and EFSA. That is a theoretical ceiling—the sugar in regular Coca-Cola would deliver over 400 grams of sugar at that volume, which is far beyond any health guideline—but it illustrates how little caffeine each can contributes to the daily total. For someone tracking intake with the safe daily limit by body weight tool, a 32 mg dose represents a small fraction of the personalized ceiling for all but the lightest individuals.

For sleep planning, the decay curve provides a practical guide. If bedtime is 23:00 and you want less than 10 mg of caffeine remaining in your system, the latest cup before bedtime calculator suggests finishing the can by roughly 17:00—about six hours before sleep. That is a conservative target; many people will tolerate 15 mg without noticeable sleep disruption. Pregnant individuals should apply a stricter standard: the EFSA 2015 safety opinion recommends limiting single doses to 200 mg and total daily intake to 200 mg during pregnancy, and because pregnancy approximately doubles caffeine half-life, a 32 mg can consumed in the afternoon could still be present at meaningful levels well into the evening. Adolescents, whose nervous systems are still developing, should also keep intake low, and Health Canada suggests no more than 2.5 mg per kilogram of body weight per day for children and adolescents.

Within the soda category, Coca-Cola’s 32 mg per 330 ml places it in the lower middle of the range. Mountain Dew contains 54 mg per 355 ml, making it 69% more caffeinated by volume. Dr Pepper has 42 mg, Pepsi 38 mg, and Sunkist Orange 41 mg, all in 355 ml servings. On the lower end, Barq’s Root Beer has only 22 mg per 355 ml—and many root beers have none at all, since caffeine is not a traditional root beer ingredient. Club-Mate, a German soda made from yerba mate extract, contains 66 mg per 330 ml, roughly double the caffeine of Coca-Cola in the same volume.

Compared to coffee, the gap is wide. A 240 ml cup of drip coffee contains 96 mg, three times the caffeine in a 330 ml can of Coca-Cola. Even a single 30 ml shot of espresso, at 63 mg, delivers nearly twice the caffeine. A 250 ml can of Red Bull has 80 mg, and a 473 ml can of Monster Energy has 160 mg—five times the Coca-Cola figure. This is why soda is rarely used as a primary caffeine delivery vehicle; its role is more about refreshment and flavor, with the caffeine acting as a mild background note rather than the main event.

What changes the number for Coca-Cola (330 ml)

The caffeine content of Coca-Cola varies by serving size and formulation. A standard 330 ml can contains 32 mg, while the larger 355 ml can sold in some markets contains 34 mg—a difference of only 2 mg that reflects the proportional increase in volume. The per-100-ml concentration remains consistent at 9.7 mg across both sizes, so the figure scales linearly: a 500 ml bottle would contain approximately 48.5 mg, and a 250 ml mini can about 24 mg.

The bigger differences appear when you look across the Coca-Cola product line. Diet Coke delivers 46 mg of caffeine in a 355 ml can, roughly 44% more than the same volume of regular Coca-Cola. Coke Zero matches the regular version at 34 mg per 355 ml can. The variation stems from differences in the flavoring systems: Diet Coke was formulated as a distinct product with its own recipe when it launched in 1982, while Coke Zero was designed to taste as close to the original as possible, and that included matching the caffeine level. Caffeine-Free Coca-Cola, as the name states, contains no caffeine at all—the company removes the caffeine from the kola nut extract during production, and the FDA permits a product labeled “caffeine-free” to contain no more than 0.02% caffeine by weight, which is effectively zero in a serving.

Fountain-dispensed Coca-Cola adds another layer of variability. The syrup-to-carbonated-water ratio can drift depending on equipment calibration, and the amount of ice in the cup changes the total volume of liquid. A small fountain Coke with light ice might deliver 25–35 mg, while a large with no ice could exceed 60 mg. Bottled and canned products are far more consistent because they are filled to precise volumes under controlled conditions, which is why published databases like USDA FoodData Central report a single value for the packaged product.

Where this figure comes from

The 32 mg figure for a 330 ml can of Coca-Cola comes from the USDA FoodData Central database, which aggregates laboratory analyses of nationally distributed packaged products. The Coca-Cola Company also publishes caffeine content on its own websites and in some markets on product labels, though labeling requirements vary by country. The value is an average: individual cans can vary by a few milligrams due to natural variation in the kola nut extract and minor production tolerances, but the range is narrow—typically 30–34 mg per 330 ml can based on independent testing published in peer-reviewed food science journals.

Published values sometimes disagree because they reference different serving sizes. A source listing 34 mg is almost certainly referring to the 355 ml can sold in the United States and Canada, while 32 mg reflects the 330 ml can common in Europe, the UK, and many other markets. Both numbers are correct for their respective products. We update our figures when new laboratory data becomes available or when a manufacturer announces a formula change; the open caffeine dataset behind this page is version-controlled and accepts community contributions with verifiable sources.

Bottom line

A 330 ml can of Coca-Cola contains 32 mg of caffeine, or 9.7 mg per 100 ml—about one-third the caffeine of a standard cup of drip coffee. The dose is small enough that a single can contributes only 8% of the 400 mg daily guidance for healthy adults. After six hours, roughly 15 mg remain in the bloodstream, and after twelve hours, about 7 mg. Diet Coke and Coke Zero differ: Diet Coke has 46 mg per 355 ml, while Coke Zero matches regular Coca-Cola at 34 mg. For most people, the caffeine in one can is a mild addition to a day’s total, not a primary stimulant source, but individual sensitivity, pregnancy status, and evening timing all shift the calculus.