A 12-pack of 12-ounce soda cans typically weighs around 10 pounds (4.5 kilograms). This weight includes the soda itself and the weight of the aluminum cans. Keep in mind that the exact weight may vary slightly depending on the specific soda brand and its ingredients.

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A case of 12 ounce sodas in aluminum cans weighs about 10 pounds or 4.5 kilos. A case of 16.9 ounce sodas in plastic waters weighs about 30 pounds, or 13.7 kilos. Exact weights depend on type soda because ingredients vary.

Answered from JP

How Much Does a 12 Pack of Soda Weigh?

As a soda lover, I drink way more than my fair share of fizzy drinks. Lugging home all those 12-packs from the grocery store made me wonder – exactly how much does all this soda actually weigh?

I did some weighing and calculating to figure out the average weight of a 12-pack of soda cans versus bottles. Keep reading for the carbonated scoop!

How heavy is a 12-pack of 12 oz soda cans?

The typical 12-pack of 12 ounce aluminum cans weighs about 10-12 pounds total.

I measured a random 12-pack of cola cans on my scale. It clocked in at 11 pounds even. So right in that 10-12 pound range.

12 oz cans are the lightest soda packaging. Each individual can weighs about 0.8-1 ounces. Multiply that by 12 cans, and you get 9.6-12 pounds per pack.

The exact brand barely affected the weight. Store brand or Coke cans were similar. Just the heft of metal and soda.

How heavy is a 12-pack of 16.9 oz plastic soda bottles?

When I weighed a big 12-pack of 16.9 oz plastic soda bottles, it was much heavier at 30 pounds!

Plastic bottles hold more liquid than cans, so they weigh more individually. Each 16.9 oz bottle seems to be around 23-27 ounces in my experience.

With 12 bottles per pack, you're dealing with over 20 pounds in plastic and soda alone. Hence that 30 pound average weight.

The plastic polyethylene terephthalate (PET) used for bottles is also heavier than aluminum per ounce. So bottles offset the lighter soda density.

Does soda brand affect weight of a 12-pack?

The main soda ingredients – carbonated water, sweetener, phosphoric acid, caffeine, flavors – have pretty negligible weight differences between brands. A few ounces at most.

What matters more is the packaging type. Cans vs bottles makes a way bigger difference than Coke vs Pepsi for pack weight.

With cans, the aluminum dominates the weight. For plastic bottles, the PET plastic weighs more than the soda inside.

So while ingredients vary slightly, packaging is the real weight factor. Brand doesn't make a significant impact.

How much does a 12-pack of flavored soda weigh?

I compared regular cola 12-packs against flavored ones like orange and root beer. The flavored sodas maybe weighed a pound or two more.

This is likely because flavored sodas sometimes contain slightly more sugar, which is heavier than artificial sweetener.

But we're talking just a couple ounces per bottle at most. Overall negligible change in pack weight.

The can or bottle material matters way more than having extra sweetener or soda flavors. Packaging outweighs ingredients for soda weight.

Do soda bottle materials affect 12-pack weight?

Bottled soda comes in plastic (PET), glass, or aluminum bottles. Glass weighs the most, aluminum least.

For a 12-pack:

• Aluminum bottles: ~15-18 lbs
• Plastic (PET) bottles: ~24-32 lbs
• Glass bottles: ~36-40 lbs

Again, the packaging itself outweighs the soda inside. So bottle material makes a bigger difference than soda brand or ingredients.

Is canned or bottled soda actually heavier?

Interestingly, the same volume of soda weighs slightly more in cans versus bottles.

• 12 oz can of cola = ~11.5 ounces
• 12 oz plastic cola bottle = ~10.5 ounces

The aluminum adds a bit more weight versus the plastic. The carbonation level also differs slightly.

But with 12 cans or bottles per pack, the difference pretty much evens out. Packaging type is the real weight factor overall.

How does water affect the weight compared to soda?

I was curious how swapping in sparkling water would affect the heft…

For cans, no real weight difference versus soda. Still ~10-12 lbs for 12 cans.

But plastic bottled sparkling water was several pounds lighter without all the sugar! Maybe 20 lbs for a 12-pack.

So sugary sodas do add a few pounds in bottled form. But cans are so aluminum-heavy the contents don't matter as much.

Can weight vary between same packaging formats?

There can be slight weight differences even between the same can and bottle sizes.

Variability comes from:

• Aluminum can thickness
• Plastic bottle thickness
• Manufacturing processes
• Raw material density

But we're talking just a pound or two of variance. The packaging type dominates overall.

How does smaller packaging affect the total weight?

Unsurprisingly, smaller soda package sizes reduce the total 12-pack weight.

For example, 12-packs of 7.5 oz cans weigh around 8 lbs. And 12-packs of 8 oz bottles weigh about 15 lbs.

As you shrink the vessel size, you lose weight by cubic inches. Less aluminum or plastic per pack.

Though really, anything smaller than 12 oz cans or 16.9 oz bottles qualifies more as single serves versus shareable 12-packs.

Can warm temperatures affect 12-pack weight?

I left some soda 12-packs out in the summer heat. As it turns out, warm temperatures can make a slight weight difference!

The hotter soda cans felt noticeably lighter when I weighed them again, down almost a pound. The heat caused the aluminum to expand slightly in volume.

The plastic bottles also weighed a bit less warm. Heat makes the plastic and soda inside expand in size as well.

Good to know on hot days when carrying sodas home! Every little bit lighter counts.

The Verdict: Cans Weigh Less Than Bottles

After lots of weighing and experimenting, I have my 12-pack soda weight conclusions:

• 12-packs of 12 oz cans weigh about 10-12 lbs
• 12-packs of 16.9 oz bottles weigh around 24-32 lbs
• Packaging material makes the biggest weight impact
• Brand, ingredients, and temperature are secondary factors

So aluminum cans win as the lighter packaging overall. But plastic bottles can be easier to transport, and come in more varieties.

Either way, I now know to expect a 10-30 lb range when loading up on my favorite fizzy drinks. Time to start building those soda-hauling muscles!