Alcohol Calorie Calculator
Enter a drink's size and strength to see its calories, split between alcohol and carbohydrate, and what a planned cut-back leaves undrunk.
Free · runs in your browser · nothing is uploaded
How to use the Alcohol calorie calculator
- Choose a Drink preset if one matches your drink. Otherwise, leave it and enter your own values.
- Enter the Size of your drink.
- Set the Unit to match the size you entered.
- Enter the Strength (% ABV) from the label.
- Enter the Carbohydrate (g per 100 ml). The hint gives typical values of 3.6 for beer, 2.7 for wine and 0 for spirits, but check the label when you can.
- Enter your Drinks per week.
- Optionally, enter Planned drinks per week to see how many calories you would not drink.
- Read the result. It shows calories per drink, a table of the alcohol and carbohydrate parts, and your weekly and 52-week totals.
If you do not know the carbohydrate figure, keep the preset’s value, or enter 0 to count only the calories from the alcohol itself. The planned drinks box can stay empty. The result updates as you type, so you can try a larger glass or a different strength and watch the figures move. The page address updates with your numbers, so a bookmark brings them back. Once the numbers are right, press Copy link. It saves your settings in the address, so you can reopen the same figures later without typing them again.
Alcohol calories per gram: how many calories are in a gram of alcohol?
Alcohol gives 7 kilocalories (kcal) per gram, following the NHS and the FAO’s Atwater general factor of 7.0. Carbohydrate gives 4 kcal per gram. The tool uses these two values to work out the calories in each drink.
To find the grams of alcohol, the tool uses this formula: grams = ml × ABV ÷ 100 × 0.789. The 0.789 is the density of ethanol in grams per millilitre. A 1.5 fl oz (44 ml) shot of 40% spirit holds 14.0 g of alcohol, and 14.0 g × 7 kcal gives 98 kcal.
How many calories are in a glass of wine?
A 175 ml glass of 12% wine has about 135 kcal. That is 116 kcal from its 16.6 g of alcohol plus about 19 kcal from its 4.7 g of carbohydrate. The NHS lists up to 158 kcal for a 175 ml glass; the figure moves with the sugar in the wine, so enter your own carbohydrate number when you know it.
The table below shows three worked examples.
| Drink | Alcohol (g) | Alcohol (kcal) | Carbohydrate (kcal) | Total (kcal) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 44 ml shot, 40% spirit | 14.0 | 98 | 0 | 98 |
| 355 ml (12 fl oz) can, 5% beer | 14.0 | 98 | 51 | 149 |
| 175 ml glass, 12% wine | 16.6 | 116 | 19 | 135 |
How many calories are in a beer?
A 12 fl oz (355 ml) can of 5% beer has about 149 kcal. The alcohol supplies 98 kcal from 14.0 g, and about 12.8 g of carbohydrate adds 51 kcal. USDA lists regular beer at 43 kcal per 100 g, so your figure will change with strength and sugar content.
The carbohydrate part comes from the 3.6 g per 100 ml typical value. For 355 ml, that is 355 × 3.6 ÷ 100 = 12.8 g, and 12.8 g × 4 kcal = 51 kcal. A stronger or sweeter beer will move both numbers up.
How many calories do I save by drinking less?
Each drink you skip removes its calories from your weekly total. Going from 10 drinks a week to 4 drinks of 149 kcal each leaves 895 kcal a week not drunk. Over 52 weeks, that comes to 46,520 kcal.
The 895 kcal is six fewer drinks multiplied by 149.1 kcal. Multiply that by 52 weeks to get the yearly figure. Enter your own planned drinks per week to see these savings for your numbers.
How this tool works and where the numbers come from
Grams of alcohol = ml x ABV / 100 x 0.789. Calories = grams of alcohol x 7 kcal + grams of carbohydrate x 4 kcal (Atwater general factors). Carbohydrate comes from the figure you enter; the presets use USDA FoodData Central values for regular beer (3.55 g per 100 g) and table wine (2.72 g per 100 g). The tool counts calories in the drink only.
Sources
Frequently asked questions
Where do I find the carbohydrate figure for my drink?
Check the nutrition information on the bottle, can or label first, since that is the most accurate source. If there is no label, the hint in the tool gives typical values: 3.6 g per 100 ml for beer, 2.7 g for wine and 0 for spirits. Those typical values are only a starting point for your estimate.
Does the tool show how much weight I will gain or lose?
No. The tool counts the calories in the drinks you enter and nothing else. It does not estimate weight change or how your body uses those calories, so it is a measure of drink calories only.
How does the tool compare with published spirit figures?
Our example shot of 1.5 fl oz (44 ml) of 40% spirit comes to 98 kcal. USDA lists 80-proof vodka at 231 kcal per 100 g, which works out to 97 kcal for 1.5 oz. The two figures are close, so the method gives sensible results for spirits.
Do I have to enter a planned number of drinks?
No. The planned drinks field is optional. Without it, the result still shows calories per drink and your weekly and 52-week totals, but it will not show the calories you would not drink.
What does Copy link do?
It saves your current settings in the address of the page. Open that address later and the same values will be filled in, so you do not need to re-enter them.
Related tools
- Standard drink calculator: use it to count standard drinks for a serving.
- Alcohol unit calculator: use it to work out UK units from a drink’s size and strength.
- Alcohol tracker: use it to keep a running record of the drinks you have.
- Alcohol-free days counter: use it to count the days you go without drinking.
- Calories in alcohol chart: calories in common drinks, side by side.
- Get help: use it for free helplines.