Red Bull is a better pick-me-up drink for the morning because too much caffeine makes me feel sick, jittery, and anxious. In my opinion, Monster is too sweet, even with the sugar free options because the sugar substitute they use in the blend is Splenda. Even as a sugar substitute, Splenda is still artificial and not the greatest for you long term because it can lead to a higher risk of lymphoma, a type of blood cancer if consumed excessively (according to an article from NHCR).
When I drink a Monster, most of the time I can chug it and happily enjoy it. Obviously I do not like every flavor, and some are hard to drink, but I have yet to find a Red Bull drink that I can just chug and happily enjoy.
The first time I ever had an energy drink was before watching a lacrosse game, and it was a Bang. I quite literally wanted to walk off the bleachers and run twenty laps on the track. Considering Bangs have 300 milligrams of caffeine, and keep in mind you should not go over 400 milligrams of caffeine a day, it makes sense the amount of energy I had.
I definitely would drink a Bang perhaps before competing in a sports event or running a marathon, but for a late morning or just a simple pick-me-up, I would recommend Monster.
Nutrition
Red Bull and Monster are nearly identical in terms of nutrition, providing the following per 8-ounce (240-ml) serving (2Trusted Source, 3Trusted Source):
| Red Bull | Monster | |
| Calories | 112 | 121 |
| Protein | 1 gram | 1 gram |
| Fat | 0 grams | 0 grams |
| Carbs | 27 grams | 29 grams |
| Thiamine (vitamin B1) | 7% of the Daily Value (DV) | 7% of the DV |
| Riboflavin (vitamin B2) | 16% of the DV | 122% of the DV |
| Niacin (vitamin B3) | 128% of the DV | 131% of the DV |
| Vitamin B6 | 282% of the DV | 130% of the DV |
| Vitamin B12 | 85% of the DV | 110% of the DV |
| Caffeine | 75 mg | 85 mg |