Alcohol Calorie Calculator
Work out the calories, UK units and standard drinks in beer, wine, spirits, cider and cocktails. Enter the serving size and ABV for an instant result, then use the guide below to understand the numbers.
Calculate Drink Calories
Pick your drink, enter the serving size and the number of drinks, and the calculator shows the total calories, how many come from alcohol, the UK units and the share of the weekly guideline.
Alcohol Calorie Calculator
Calories, units and standard drinks for any alcoholic drink.
How Alcohol Calories Work
Key facts behind the numbers
7 Calories per Gram
Ethanol provides about 7 kcal per gram, more than carbohydrates or protein (4 kcal) and close to fat (9 kcal). Stronger drinks therefore carry more calories per millilitre.
Sugar and Mixers Add More
Beer, cider, sweet wine, liqueurs and sugary mixers add calories on top of the alcohol. A spirit with regular tonic or cola can double the total of the drink.
Units and Standard Drinks
One UK unit is 10 ml (8 g) of pure alcohol. A US standard drink is 14 g. Units are worked out as ml × ABV ÷ 1,000.
Measures Matter
Pints, bottles and glass sizes vary. Use the serving size and unit selectors so the result matches what was actually poured.
How to Calculate Alcohol Calories
You can work out the calories in any drink by hand with three steps: find the volume of pure alcohol, convert it to grams, then multiply by 7 and add any sugar or mixer calories.
The Formula
Worked example: a UK pint of 4% lager
- Pure alcohol: 568 ml × 4% = 22.7 ml
- Weight of alcohol: 22.7 ml × 0.789 = 17.9 g
- Calories from alcohol: 17.9 g × 7 = about 126 kcal
- Sugar & other calories (about 10 kcal per 100 ml): about 57 kcal
- Total for the pint: about 182 kcal, or 2.3 UK units
Ways to Cut Drink Calories
Simple swaps that reduce the total
Choose a lower ABV
Alcohol calories rise in direct proportion to ABV. Moving from a 5% beer to a 4% beer cuts the alcohol calories by 20%.
Check the measure
A UK single spirit is 25 ml or 35 ml (about 55 or 77 kcal at 40%). Home pours are often double that.
Swap sugary mixers
Slimline tonic, soda water and diet mixers add almost no calories compared with regular tonic, cola or juice.
Pick dry over sweet
Dry white wine and brut sparkling wine contain less sugar than sweet wines, ciders and cream liqueurs.
Calories in Common Drinks
Typical calories and UK units for popular servings of beer, wine, spirits and mixed drinks.
| Drink | Typical Serving | ABV | Calories (kcal) | UK Units |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lager | Pint (568 ml) | 4.0% | 182 | 2.3 |
| Stout | Pint (568 ml) | 4.2% | 200 | 2.4 |
| Cider | Pint (568 ml) | 4.5% | 232 | 2.6 |
| Bottled beer | Bottle (330 ml) | 5.0% | 131 | 1.7 |
| IPA / craft beer | Bottle (330 ml) | 6.5% | 178 | 2.1 |
| Red wine | Medium glass (175 ml) | 13.5% | 132 | 2.4 |
| White wine | Medium glass (175 ml) | 12.5% | 126 | 2.2 |
| Prosecco | Flute (125 ml) | 11.5% | 87 | 1.4 |
| Bottle of red wine | Bottle (750 ml) | 13.5% | 567 | 10.1 |
| Vodka, gin, whisky or rum | Single (25 ml) | 40% | 55 | 1.0 |
| Vodka, gin, whisky or rum | Double (50 ml) | 40% | 110 | 2.0 |
| Gin and regular tonic | 25 ml gin + 150 ml tonic | 40% spirit | ≈ 106 | 1.0 |
| Rum and cola | 25 ml rum + 150 ml cola | 40% spirit | ≈ 118 | 1.0 |
| Cream liqueur | Measure (50 ml) | 17% | 163 | 0.9 |
| Port | Measure (50 ml) | 20% | 78 | 1.0 |
| Hard seltzer | Can (330 ml) | 5.0% | 94 | 1.7 |
Figures are typical estimates calculated with the same method as the calculator above. Actual calories vary by brand, recipe and sweetness, so check the label when you can.
Alcohol Calories FAQ
Answers to the most frequently asked questions about calories, units and measures in alcoholic drinks.
Pure alcohol (ethanol) contains about 7 calories per gram, which sits between carbohydrates and protein (4 kcal per gram) and fat (9 kcal per gram). One millilitre of pure alcohol weighs about 0.789 g, so it provides roughly 5.5 kcal per ml. Most drinks also contain sugar or carbohydrates, which add further calories.
Multiply the volume in millilitres by the ABV percentage, then by 0.789 to get grams of pure alcohol, then by 7 to get the calories from alcohol. Add the calories from sugar, carbohydrates and mixers. For example, a UK pint (568 ml) of 4% lager has about 126 kcal from alcohol plus roughly 57 kcal from carbohydrates, around 182 kcal in total.
Spirits such as vodka, gin, whisky and rum contain about 55 kcal per 25 ml single measure when taken neat or with a sugar-free mixer. Dry wines, brut sparkling wine, light beers and hard seltzers are also relatively low per serving. Cream liqueurs, sweet cocktails, ciders and strong craft beers are usually the highest. A lower-calorie drink is not necessarily a lower-risk drink, because the alcohol itself is what counts towards the unit guidelines.
A 750 ml bottle of dry wine at 12–14% ABV typically contains roughly 520–600 kcal. A 13.5% red wine has about 567 kcal, which is around 10 UK units. Sweeter and stronger wines contain more.
A UK pint (568 ml) of 4% lager has around 180 calories, a pint of stout around 200 and a pint of cider around 230. Stronger craft beers and IPAs can reach about 300 kcal per pint.
Yes. Regular tonic water, cola, lemonade and fruit juice can add roughly 40–100 kcal per serving, sometimes more than the spirit itself. Slimline or diet mixers add almost none. Use the mixer calories box in the calculator to include them.
In the UK, one unit is 10 ml (8 g) of pure alcohol. Calculate units by multiplying the volume in ml by the ABV percentage and dividing by 1,000. The UK Chief Medical Officers advise that adults should not regularly drink more than 14 units a week, spread over three or more days. A US standard drink contains 14 g of pure alcohol.
The calories from alcohol use the standard 7 kcal per gram figure, so they are reliable for a given ABV. The sugar and other calories are typical averages for each drink type and vary by brand, recipe and sweetness. For the most accurate result, enter the drink’s own figures: take the kcal per 100 ml from the label and subtract the ABV multiplied by 5.5.