I done a cost breakdown a while back but can't find my numbers. But the result was no. It is a gadget that takes refills both of the flavor and the carbonation. In general anything that takes refills is not going to be cost efficient. Also in a few years down the road when it is not the hot gadget of the year those refills will be hard to find and may end up costing more if you have to pay S/H on them. One benefit I did see from these soda makers was the reduction of trash/recyclables, but that didn't out weigh the cons in my comparison.
The real cost saver would be to reduce/eliminate drinking soda.
I just don't drink soda. Now that DD is in orthodontia she really doesn't either unless we're out and about (a treat) but it isn't like we'd take a soda stream with us to a fast food restaurant.
DH and I considered it, and looked at alternatives. What we do now instead is make our own lemonade and root beer with sparkling water from Perrier. We just mix the flavours we like together. DH's homemade pop tastes much better than conventional sodas, and it doesn't make as much, so 1 750mL bottle will do 3 of us for a meal with nice big glasses, and it doesn't leave any leftover pop to go flat. Plus, we can limit the amount of sugar and chemicals that go in it, so we feel safer giving it to our daughter. Of course, with the cost of Perrier, this is a rare and special treat.
I've been using store brand seltzer or club soda and adding those lovely flavored syrups or sometimes concentrated juices to make my "soda." I don't drink much soda to begin with so purchasing a home soda maker would not be cost effective. Greebo on the other hand.... lol
We decided against one in part due to cost. It just didn't seem worth it when we can buy name-brand pop for about $3 a twelve pack and it's a lot more convenient. We don't drink that much pop and like ice water with lemon when we want to quench thirst, since sugary drinks don't really kill thirst.
Space was another factor for us. We don't really have any place to store it.
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