Pour Cost Calculator

Work out pour cost instantly with clear inputs, formula shown and shareable results.

About Pour Cost Calculator

Pour cost is the cost of the measure divided by its selling price, and it is the tightest control metric in a bar. Because pours per bottle is a whole number in practice, over-pouring by a few millilitres each time removes a pour from every bottle and moves pour cost by several points.

Formulas

Cost per pour

Cost per pour = Bottle cost / (Bottle volume / Pour size)

Pour cost

Pour cost % = Cost per pour / Selling price x 100

Worked example

With the default values below, Pour Cost Calculator returns Pour cost percentage of 24.00%. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.

Inputs used

Bottle cost: 1,800
Bottle volume: 750 ml
Pour size: 45 ml
Selling price per pour: 450

Results

Pour cost percentage: 24.00%
Cost per pour: $108.00
Pours per bottle: 16
Revenue per bottle: $7,200.00

Step by step

1Values used
2Cost per pour
3Pour cost
4Pour cost percentage= 24.00
5Cost per pour= 108.00
6Pours per bottle= 16
7Revenue per bottle= 7,200.00

Assumptions and limits

The result is derived only from the 4 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
In particular, this calculator does not take inflation, tax or compounding frequency into account.
Figures are rounded for display to 2 decimal places, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.

How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.

Frequently Asked Questions

What pour cost should I target?

15-20% for spirits, 22-28% for wine by the glass and 20-25% for draught beer, depending on market and format.

How much does over-pouring cost?

Pouring 50 ml instead of 45 ml loses roughly two pours from a 750 ml bottle — about 11% of the revenue that bottle should generate.