Verdict
Per 350 ml can it's practically a tie: 144 kcal in beer and 147 kcal in soda. The difference is where they come from: soda has 37.1 g of sugar; beer only 11.6 g of carbs — most of its calories come from alcohol (7 kcal per gram), which doesn't show up in the macro columns. Alcohol also hurts muscle recovery and increases appetite. In practice the problem is quantity: nobody stops at the first beer.
When to choose Beer
- It's a social occasion and you'll drink little — 1–2 cans fit in a planned day.
- You want to avoid soda's sugar spike.
When to choose Soda
- Neither is a great daily choice: if it's soda, the zero version cuts practically all the calories.
- You're training the next day — better to skip the alcohol.
Values per 100 g of ready-to-eat food, from the Brazilian Food Composition Table (TACO) and USDA FoodData Central. They vary by brand, cut and preparation. Educational estimates, not individual nutrition advice.