Count alcohol units and standard drinks the way the guidelines do
This alcohol unit calculator turns any drink into UK alcohol units, US and Australian standard drinks and grams of pure alcohol. Pick drinks from common UK, US and Indian sizes or type the size and % ABV from the label, add up a session or a typical week, and see how it compares with the UK 14-unit guideline and the Australian and US guides.
Units matter because drink sizes and strengths vary so much: a large glass of wine can hold three units, and a pint of strong lager nearly as many. Counting them is the first step to knowing what you actually drink. Everything is worked out in your browser.
How to use the alcohol unit calculator
- Choose A typical week or One day or session, and whether to show the guides for men or women.
- For each drink, pick the size from the list, or choose Other drink and type the size in mL and the strength in % ABV from the label.
- Set How many you had; use Add a drink for different drinks.
- Read the total units, standard drinks and grams, the guide bars and the per-drink table, and copy the result if you want to keep it.
Alcohol Unit Calculator features
UK units and standard drinks
UK units, US (14 g) and Australian (10 g) standard drinks and grams, side by side.
Real drink sizes
UK pints, 175 mL and 250 mL glasses and 25 mL singles; US 12 fl oz beers and 5 fl oz wines; Indian 650 mL bottles and 30/60 mL pegs.
Weekly and single-day guides
The UK 14 units a week, NHS binge-drinking thresholds, NHMRC limits and NIAAA heavy-drinking levels, with a bar for each.
Per-drink breakdown
A table showing units per drink, so you can see which ones add up fastest.
How alcohol units are calculated
One UK unit is 10 mL or 8 g of pure alcohol. The NHS formula is units = ABV (%) × volume (mL) ÷ 1,000. A 175 mL glass of 12% wine is 12 × 175 ÷ 1,000 = 2.1 units; a pint (568 mL) of 4% beer is 2.3 units; a 25 mL single of 40% spirit is exactly 1.
For grams, multiply the alcohol volume by its density, 0.789 g/mL: 175 mL × 12% × 0.789 = 16.6 g. A US standard drink is 14 g (0.6 fl oz) according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, so that glass is 1.2 US drinks; an Australian standard drink is 10 g, so it is 1.7 there. Alcohol also provides about 7 kcal per gram.
| Drink | UK units | US standard drinks |
|---|---|---|
| Beer, 12 fl oz (355 mL) at 5% | 1.8 | 1.0 |
| Wine, 5 fl oz (148 mL) at 12% | 1.8 | 1.0 |
| Spirits, 1.5 fl oz (44 mL) at 40% | 1.8 | 1.0 |
| Pint of beer, lager or cider (568 mL) at 4% | 2.3 | 1.3 |
| Pint of strong lager (568 mL) at 5.2% | 3.0 | 1.7 |
| Standard glass of wine (175 mL) at 12% | 2.1 | 1.2 |
| Large glass of wine (250 mL) at 12% | 3.0 | 1.7 |
| Single spirit (25 mL) at 40% | 1.0 | 0.6 |
| Bottle of wine (750 mL) at 13.5% | 10.1 | 5.7 |
| Beer bottle (650 mL) at 5% | 3.3 | 1.8 |
| Small peg of whisky or rum (30 mL) at 42.8% | 1.3 | 0.7 |
Guidelines compared (checked 24 October 2026)
- UK: the Chief Medical Officers advise men and women not to drink more than 14 units a week on a regular basis, spread over three or more days. The NHS describes binge drinking as more than 8 units in a single session for men and more than 6 for women.
- Australia: the NHMRC 2020 guidelines advise no more than 10 standard drinks a week and no more than 4 on any one day.
- United States: the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2025–2030, released on 7 January 2026, dropped the old numeric limits and advise drinking less for better overall health. The NIAAA defines heavy drinking as 5 or more drinks on any day or 15 or more a week for men, and 4 or more on any day or 8 or more a week for women.
- India has no official unit or standard drink; the grams figure lets you compare with any guide your doctor uses.
- All of them say lower is better, and none sets a level that is risk-free. Pregnant women and under-18s are advised not to drink.
Tips for counting accurately
- Check the ABV on the label: craft beers at 6–8% and wines at 13.5–15% add up much faster than the presets.
- Home pours are usually bigger than pub measures; measure once to see how much your glass really holds.
- Count a whole bottle of wine (750 mL at 13.5%) as about 10 units.
- To see how drinks affect blood alcohol over time, use the BAC calculator; for the calories, the calorie calculator helps set a daily budget.
Alcohol Unit Calculator FAQ
How do I calculate alcohol units?
Multiply the strength (% ABV) by the volume in mL and divide by 1,000. A 330 mL bottle of 5% beer is 5 × 330 ÷ 1,000 = 1.65 units. The alcohol unit calculator above does this for every drink and adds them up.
How many units are in a bottle of wine?
A 750 mL bottle of 12% wine is 9 units; at 13.5% it is about 10 units.
What are 14 units of alcohol?
Roughly six pints of 4% beer, six 175 mL glasses of 13% wine, or fourteen 25 mL singles of spirits — spread over at least three days, according to the UK guideline.
Is a UK unit the same as a standard drink?
No. A UK unit is 8 g of alcohol, a US standard drink is 14 g and an Australian standard drink is 10 g, so the same drink gives different numbers in each system.
How many units are in a pint?
A pint of 4% beer or cider is 2.3 units; a pint of 5.2% lager is about 3 units.
Is this alcohol unit calculator medical advice?
No. It counts alcohol for information. If you are worried about how much you drink, your doctor or a local alcohol service can help.