Soft drink industry wastewater (SDIW) is a challenging environmental concern due to its complex composition with high total organic carbon (TOC), total phosphate (TP), and total nitrogen (TN). This study compared microwave oxidation (MWO) and conventional oxidation method for the treatment of SDIW. The results indicated a superior efficiency of MWO in removing TOC, TP, and TN from SDIW compared to conventional oxidation. In MWO, the TOC removal from synthetic and real SDIW were 33.6% and 23.7% respectively in 15 min. The removal efficiency increased to 82.2% and 87.8% respectively in 60 min. The TN and TP removal efficiency were 82.16 and 48.60% for synthetic SDIW and 87.71 and 48.90% for real SDIW. In conventional oxidation TOC removal limited to 22.71 and 23.70% for synthetic and real SDIW respectively. The TN and TP removal efficiency were 39.63 and 15.50% for synthetic SDIW and 17.15 and 13.48% for real SDIW. The reaction kinetic analysis unveiled a modified first-order kinetic equation for TOC removal by MWO, with k and coefficient of determination, R2 values 0.086 min−1 and 0.95 for real SDIW and 0.082 min−1 and 0.93 for synthetic SDIW respectively. This comparative study provides valuable insights into the potential of MWO as an efficient and sustainable treatment method for complex SDIW.