Alcohol Units Calculator
Find out how many UK units of alcohol are in a drink from its volume and strength (ABV), or list your drinks for the week and see the total against the UK Chief Medical Officers' low-risk guideline of 14 units a week.
How to use the Alcohol Units Calculator
- Choose one drink or your weekly drinks list.
- Enter the volume and ABV from the label, e.g. 175 ml at 13%.
- For a week, write one line per drink type: count x volume ABV% name.
- Read the units, grams of alcohol and the guideline comparison.
- Copy or download your weekly table.
Alcohol units formula
Units = volume (ml) × ABV (%) ÷ 1,000. One UK unit is 10 ml (8 g) of pure alcohol, about the amount an average adult's body can process in an hour.
| Drink | Volume | ABV | Units |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single measure of spirits | 25 ml | 40% | 1.0 |
| Small glass of wine | 125 ml | 12% | 1.5 |
| Standard glass of wine | 175 ml | 13% | 2.3 |
| Large glass of wine | 250 ml | 13% | 3.3 |
| Bottle of beer | 330 ml | 5% | 1.7 |
| Can of lager | 440 ml | 4.5% | 2.0 |
| Pint of beer or cider | 568 ml | 4% | 2.3 |
| Pint of strong lager | 568 ml | 5.2% | 3.0 |
| Bottle of wine | 750 ml | 13% | 9.8 |
Writing your weekly list
Put one drink type per line with a count, a volume with its unit, and the ABV with a % sign. Anything else on the line becomes the name. Examples:
4 x 568ml 4.5% lager(four pints)2 x 175ml 12.5% red wine3 x 25ml 40% whisky1 x 75cl 11% proseccoorpint 5% cider
"oz" is read as US fluid ounces; use the single-drink mode for UK fluid ounces.
Frequently asked questions
How do you calculate alcohol units?
Multiply the volume in milliliters by the ABV percentage and divide by 1,000. A 175 ml glass of 13% wine is 175 × 13 ÷ 1,000 = 2.3 units. One UK unit is 10 ml or 8 g of pure alcohol.
How many units are in a pint?
A UK pint is 568 ml. At 4% ABV it contains 2.3 units, at 5% it contains 2.8 units and a strong 6% beer has 3.4 units.
How many units are in a bottle of wine?
A 750 ml bottle of 12% wine has 9 units; at 13.5% it has about 10.1 units. That means a bottle and a half of wine in a week already exceeds the 14-unit guideline.
What is the UK weekly alcohol guideline?
The UK Chief Medical Officers advise that to keep health risks low, men and women should not regularly drink more than 14 units a week, should spread drinking over three or more days, and should have several drink-free days. There is no completely safe level of drinking.
How do UK units compare with US standard drinks?
A UK unit is 8 g of pure alcohol, while a US standard drink is 14 g. So one US standard drink equals 1.75 UK units, and 14 UK units is about 8 US standard drinks.
Does this tell me if I am safe to drive?
No. Units measure how much alcohol a drink contains, not your blood alcohol level, which depends on body size, food, time and many other factors. The only safe option is not to drink if you are going to drive.