Standard Drinks Calculator

Work out standard drinks instantly with clear inputs, formula shown and shareable results.

About Standard Drinks Calculator

Pure alcohol volume is drink volume times ABV; multiplying by ethanol's density of 0.789 g per ml gives grams, which are then divided by the local standard drink size. A standard drink is 8 g in the UK but 14 g in the US, so the same pint counts as nearly twice as many drinks depending on whose guidance you follow.

Formulas

Alcohol grams

grams = volume ml x ABV x 0.789

Standard drinks

drinks = alcohol grams / grams per standard drink

Worked example

With the default values below, Standard Drinks Calculator returns Standard drinks of 1.63. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.

Inputs used

Drink volumeminimum 5 ml: 330 ml
Strengthaccepts 0.1–96 %: 5 %
Standard drink definitionone of UK unit (8 g of alcohol), United States (14 g), Australia / NZ (10 g), Japan (19.75 g): UK unit (8 g of alcohol)

Results

Standard drinks: 1.63
Pure alcohol: 13.02 g
Pure alcohol by volume: 16.50 ml
Energy from alcohol: 92 kcal

Step by step

1Values used
2Alcohol grams
3Standard drinks
4Standard drinks= 1.63
5Pure alcohol= 13.02 g
6Pure alcohol by volume= 16.50 ml
7Energy from alcohol= 92 kcal

Assumptions and limits

The result is derived only from the 3 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
In particular, this calculator does not take inflation, tax, fees or charges 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

How is the Standard Drinks figure worked out?

grams = volume ml x ABV x 0.789. Pure alcohol volume is drink volume times ABV; multiplying by ethanol's density of 0.789 g per ml gives grams, which are then divided by the local standard drink size.

Why does this matter?

A standard drink is 8 g in the UK but 14 g in the US, so the same pint counts as nearly twice as many drinks depending on whose guidance you follow.

What do I need to enter?

Enter drink volume, strength, standard drink definition. The defaults shown are a realistic worked example — swap in your own figures to get a result you can use.