S.Pellegrino vs Perrier vs Topo Chico: the minerals behind the bubbles

Put S.Pellegrino, Perrier and Topo Chico on a table and most people will say the difference is the bubbles. The labels tell a different story. These are three distinct mineral waters from three countries, and their published analyses barely overlap beyond one thing: a lot of calcium.

Below, every value comes from the brand's own report or website. Where a brand does not publish something, we say so rather than fill the gap.

The numbers side by side

Water	pH	TDS mg/L	Calcium mg/L	Magnesium mg/L	Sodium mg/L	Sulfate mg/L	Score
S.Pellegrino	5.18	901	164	46.4	29.9	388	6.3
Perrier	—	480	160	4.2	9.5	33	8.3
Topo Chico	6.2	630	140	10	33	220	7.6

Three quick notes on reading that table. Perrier's 480 mg/L is dry residue at 180 °C, the European measure, while the other two publish total dissolved solids; the two are close but not identical (our TDS guide explains why). Perrier publishes no pH. And only Perrier gives bicarbonate directly; S.Pellegrino and Topo Chico give alkalinity "as calcium carbonate" instead (187 and 190 mg/L), which is a different measure we do not convert.^[1][2]

Where each one comes from

S.Pellegrino is bottled at San Pellegrino Terme, near Bergamo in northern Italy. Its US report lists the treatment in three steps: the spring water is held in a storage silo, carbon dioxide is injected, and it is bottled.^[1]

Perrier describes itself as a natural sparkling mineral water formed when rainwater meets volcanic gas in the south of France.^[3]

Topo Chico has been bottled at its source in Monterrey, Mexico, since 1895, according to Coca-Cola, which bought the brand in 2017.^[4][5]

Total minerals: S.Pellegrino is the heavy one

With 901 mg/L of dissolved solids, S.Pellegrino carries close to twice Perrier's mineral load, and Topo Chico sits between them at 630 mg/L (our calculation from the published values).

In the US, a water labelled "mineral water" needs at least 250 ppm of dissolved solids, and one under 500 ppm must say "low mineral content".^[6] All three clear 250. In Europe, the "low mineral content" indication applies to waters with a dry residue of 500 mg/L or less, which is where Perrier's 480 mg/L sits.^[7]

Calcium: the thing they share

All three are calcium waters: 164 mg/L for S.Pellegrino, 160 mg/L for Perrier, 140 mg/L for Topo Chico. Under EU labelling rules, a natural mineral water may say "contains calcium" above 150 mg/L, which S.Pellegrino and Perrier both pass and Topo Chico just misses.^[7]

For scale, the FDA Daily Value for calcium is 1,300 mg.^[8] A full litre of S.Pellegrino gives about 13% of that, Perrier about 12% and Topo Chico about 11% (our calculation).

Magnesium: where they split

This is the biggest difference on paper. S.Pellegrino has 46.4 mg/L of magnesium, more than ten times Perrier's 4.2 mg/L, with Topo Chico at 10 mg/L (our calculation). S.Pellegrino stays just under the EU's 50 mg/L "contains magnesium" line.^[7] Against the FDA Daily Value of 420 mg, a litre of S.Pellegrino supplies about 11% (our calculation).^[8]

If magnesium is what you are after, the sparkling water to look at is Germany's Gerolsteiner, at 108 mg/L. It does not publish a pH for its sparkling Sprudel, so it has no Waterphile Score yet.

Sodium and sulfate: the salty side

Perrier is the low-sodium one, at 9.5 mg/L. S.Pellegrino (29.9 mg/L) and Topo Chico (33 mg/L) are both above the 20 mg/L that EU rules require before a natural mineral water can be labelled "suitable for a low-sodium diet".^[7] In absolute terms all three are small: the FDA Daily Value for sodium is less than 2,300 mg a day, and a litre of Topo Chico holds 33 mg/L.^[8]

Sulfate separates them more sharply. S.Pellegrino reports 388 mg/L and Topo Chico 220 mg/L, both above the 200 mg/L at which an EU mineral water may say "contains sulphate".^[7] Perrier has 33 mg/L. For tap water, the US EPA's non-enforceable guideline for sulfate is 250 mg/L and lists "salty taste" as the effect noticed above it. It gives the same 250 mg/L and "salty taste" for chloride, and 500 mg/L for total dissolved solids.^[9] The FDA exempts mineral water from its bottled water limits for sulfate, chloride and TDS.^[6] S.Pellegrino is over the EPA's sulfate and TDS guideline levels, and Topo Chico over the TDS one. That is a guide to what may be noticeable, not a safety issue.

pH: why sparkling water reads acidic

S.Pellegrino reports pH 5.18, measured on the finished carbonated water, and Topo Chico 6.2.^[1][2] Dissolved carbon dioxide forms carbonic acid, which lowers pH, which is why sparkling waters tend to read lower than still ones. Our pH guide has the details. Perrier does not publish a pH.

How they score

The Waterphile Score rates how close each published value sits to the ranges cited by health and water bodies, and it gives sparkling waters a pass on their low pH. It is an editorial score, not a health rating.

• Perrier: 8.3, 108th of 231 scored waters. Low sodium, sulfate and chloride carry it. Calcium well above the ideal range and low magnesium pull it down, and it loses a little for not publishing pH or nitrate.
• Topo Chico: 7.6, 170th of 231 scored waters. Sodium a little above the ideal, TDS and calcium above it, magnesium below.
• S.Pellegrino: 6.3, 206th of 231 scored waters. Its TDS, calcium and sulfate are all well above the ideal ranges, and magnesium is above them too.

Scores move when brands publish new analyses. The full breakdown sits on each water's page.

Which one should you buy?

On the data, there is no single winner, only different waters for different preferences:

• Lowest sodium and the lightest mineral load: Perrier.
• Most magnesium of the three: S.Pellegrino.
• In between on nearly everything: Topo Chico.

Taste is personal, and the labels can only tell you what is in the bottle. If you want to see the three on one chart, compare them side by side. The full lab values and sources are on the S.Pellegrino, Perrier and Topo Chico pages.

A note on data age: the S.Pellegrino figures come from its 2023 report and Topo Chico's from its 2025 report, which returned a "not found" error on Coca-Cola's site when we last checked. Perrier's page gives no analysis date.