During-effort fuel · gel · reviewed 28 Aug 2026
Maurten Gel 100 Caf 100 36
The same 1:0.8 hydrogel blend as Maurten's plain Gel 100, with 100 mg of caffeine built into the same 40 g sachet instead of carried separately.
Score breakdown
The overall score is the average of what's below, each measured against every other gel we've reviewed.
36
Mixed
Absorption rate ?How much carbohydrate an hour the glucose-to-fructose blend can move. Scored from the stated or derived ratio (1:0.8 tops out this scale); an Estimated ratio counts the same as a Stated one here.95
Carb density ?How much fuel one sachet carries. 90 g is the ceiling here, matching the top of the range cited for multi-transportable-carb intake.28
Sodium ?Sodium carried by the gel itself, on a scale topping out at 1000 mg — the upper end of what's typically lost to sweat in an hour.2
Value (cost/gram) ?Price of one gram of carbohydrate. Not physiological -- a market-based scale from $0.15/g (0) to $0.02/g (100).0
Gut comfort ?A proxy, not a taste or tolerance test: shorter ingredient lists score higher, from 15 ingredients (0) to 1 (100). Nobody has actually run these through anyone's gut for this score.57
Cost per gram of carbohydrate
$0.192/g
Glucose : fructose
1:0.8
Comparison
6 of 22 gels heldPrices per single sachet at the cheapest box size we track. Best in green, worst in red, across the gels shown.
| Measure | Maurten Maurten Gel 100 Caf 100 | Maurten Maurten Gel 100 | Science in Sport SiS Beta Fuel Gel | Precision Fuel & Hydration Precision Fuel PF 30 Gel | NEVERSECOND NEVERSECOND C30 Gel | GU Energy Labs GU Original Energy Gel |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CarbohydrateHow much fuel one sachet carries. | 25 g | 25 g | 40 g | 30 g | 30 g | 22 g |
| Glucose : fructoseGoverns how fast you absorb it. More fructose, higher ceiling. | 1 : 0.8 | 1 : 0.8 | 1 : 0.77 | 1 : 0.5 | 1 : 0.5 | ~ 1 : 0.47 |
| SodiumAgainst 400 to 1000 mg an hour typically lost in sweat. | 20 mg | 20 mg | 30 mg | not declared | 200 mg | 60 mg |
| CaffeineA preference, not a quality, so it is not scored. | 100 mg | 0 mg | 0 mg | 0 mg | 0 mg | 0 mg |
| ProvenanceWhether that ratio is read off the panel, computed from it, or inferred. | Stated | Stated | Derived | Stated | Stated | Estimated |
| Price per sachetWhat one costs. Not comparable across sachet sizes. | $4.80 | $3.75 | $2.50 | $3.12 | $3.50 | $2.00 |
| Cost per gramThe only price that compares across sachet sizes. | $0.192 | $0.150 | $0.063 | $0.104 | $0.117 | $0.091 |
| Sachets for 90 g/hrHow many you open an hour to hold a 90 g/hr target. | 3.6 | 3.6 | 2.3 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 4.1 |
Verdict
what it does · what it costsWhat it does well
- 1:0.8 glucose to fructose, published by the manufacturer rather than left to be derived.
- 100 mg of caffeine in the gel itself, about 1.5 espressos, so you are not managing a separate caffeine product.
- Seven ingredients, the same clean hydrogel label as the uncaffeinated Gel 100.
What it costs you
- $0.192 a gram of carbohydrate at Running Warehouse's $4.80 sachet price, above even the plain Gel 100's $0.150.
- 25 g of carbohydrate a sachet means the same 3.6-sachets-an-hour math as the original to hold 90 g/hr, now stacking caffeine every time.
- 20 mg of sodium is negligible, the same shortfall as the uncaffeinated version.
Where to buy
Prices and links as last checked.
Who this is for
the numbers, appliedThe field tells you what it is. This is who should act on it.
Worth the money if
- You already run on Maurten Gel 100 and want a subset of your sachets to carry caffeine without switching brands.
- You want to control caffeine dosing sachet-by-sachet rather than in one big pre-race hit.
Look elsewhere if
- You are cost sensitive: SiS Beta Fuel plus a separate caffeine source costs less per gram of carbohydrate.
- You already dose caffeine through chews, tabs, or coffee and don't want it coupled to your carb intake.