These Panera Bread Drinks Aren't Included In Your Sip Club Membership

Fans of Panera Bread's fast casual concept — who love it for its fresh soups, salads, sandwiches, and of course, its breads and sweet baked treats — have helped the chain become one of the largest in the U.S. And its Unlimited Sip Club has given customers yet another reason to be loyal to the chain, offering unlimited beverages for a flat, recurring fee. But there is a catch — not every drink at Panera is included.

Sip Club members pay $14.99 a month or $119.99 a year, as of 2025, for unlimited drip hot coffee, iced coffee, hot tea, fountain sodas, and bubbler drinks, including iced teas and lemonades, in any size (but not the controversial high-caffeine Panera Charged Lemonades, which were taken off the menu in 2024). Beverages that aren't included are espresso and cappuccino drinks, cold brew, smoothies, frozen blended drinks, hot chocolate, and bottled beverages. Sip Club members also can't customize their unlimited drinks with espresso shots or flavored syrups, but milks and sweeteners are allowed. "Unlimited" means one drink every two hours during normal shop hours, including free refills of the same beverage — and membership benefits can't be shared with anyone else.

Other Sip Club perks include no delivery fee for online orders of at least $8 to $10; special offers like free or discounted menu items on occasional Sip Club Saturdays; and an extra birthday week reward to use within seven days of your birthday. Membership is automatically renewed every month or year, unless it's canceled.

Panera launched the Unlimited Sip Club in April 2022 with a $10.99 monthly fee, which has gone up by $4 in the three years since. An annual membership was added in 2023, which is a money saver for frequent customers who have no plans to cancel. The chain touts that a membership pays for itself with only four large 30-ounce drinks in a month at an average cost of $3.99 each, and claims that customers will save more than $100 a month if they get one large drink every day. To drive those savings home, when a Sip Club customer places an order via the app, it shows them how much they've saved so far for the month and year based on the drinks they've redeemed.

For all those potential savings for customers, the Sip Club has also been a success for Panera, which said in 2023 that it accounted for 25% of all its transactions, and helped grow the MyPanera rewards program that's required to join Sip Club. Part of the business calculation with a plan like the Sip Club is that a customer who comes in for their unlimited drink may also buy something else. For instance, a member might order a croissant sandwich during the hours Panera serves breakfast in addition to a plan-covered morning coffee. Sounds like Sip Club may be a win all around!