Drink Equivalent Calculator
Enter any drink to see how many cans of beer, glasses of wine or shots hold the same amount of alcohol.
Free · runs in your browser · nothing is uploaded
The drink equivalent calculator shows how many drinks of one kind hold the same alcohol as another drink. Pick a drink, enter its size and strength, and the tool shows the matching number of cans, pints, glasses, shots and singles. It runs in your browser, so you can check a bottle of wine against beer, cider or spirits in a few seconds. You can also use it for the alcohol drink equivalent calculator search, since it compares any two drink sizes and strengths side by side.
It compares grams of pure alcohol, so a stronger drink counts for more, and the headline also gives the UK units and US standard drinks.
How to use the drink equivalent calculator
- Open the Drink dropdown and pick a preset, such as “wine 750 ml bottle 12.5%” or “beer 12 fl oz can 5%”. To enter your own drink, choose “Custom drink”.
- Type the amount in the Size box, then set the Unit dropdown to ml, cl, litres, US fl oz, UK fl oz, US pints or UK pints.
- Check the Strength (% ABV) box against the label on your drink.
- Enter how many drinks you have in the Number of drinks box.
- Read the headline result, such as “9.4 UK units in total”, along with the US standard drinks and grams of pure alcohol.
- Scroll to the table called “The same alcohol in other drinks” to see how many of eight other drinks hold the same alcohol.
The tool starts with one 750 ml bottle of 12.5% wine, so you will see results straight away. Use the Copy link button to copy a link to the drink you have set up and send it to someone else.
Change the Number of drinks box to compare several at once: two bottles of wine, for example, doubles every figure in the table.
If the drink you want is not in the list, choose Custom drink and type its size, unit and strength.
How does the calculator decide two drinks are equal?
The calculator works out the grams of pure alcohol in each drink and treats two drinks as equal when they hold the same grams. Size does not matter once the grams match. Grams are found by multiplying the millilitres by the strength percentage, dividing by 100, then multiplying by 0.789.
For example, a 750 ml bottle holding 12.5% wine gives 750 × 12.5 ÷ 100 × 0.789, which is about 74 g. A UK unit is 10 ml of pure alcohol, or about 7.9 g, so that bottle is 9.38 UK units.
How many shots equal a glass of wine?
A 5 fl oz glass of 12% wine holds about 14 g of alcohol, the same as a 1.5 fl oz shot of 40% spirits. That makes one glass of wine equal to one shot in US standard drinks. A smaller 175 ml glass of 12% wine is a little more than one shot, at 1.18 US standard drinks.
Is a pint of beer the same as a glass of wine?
They are close, but not identical. A UK pint of 4% beer holds slightly more alcohol than a 175 ml glass of 12% wine. Strength and size decide the match, so a pint of 5% beer would hold more than either.
| Drink | UK units | US standard drinks | Equal to |
|---|---|---|---|
| UK pint, 4% beer | 2.27 | 1.28 | 1.28 cans of 5% beer |
| 175 ml glass, 12% wine | 2.1 | 1.18 | 1.18 cans of 5% beer |
How many glasses of wine equal a bottle of spirits?
Enter the bottle’s size and strength in the Size and Strength boxes, then read the wine row of the table. The tool compares any size against any other, so the answer depends on the grams in that bottle. As a reference point, a bottle of 12.5% wine equals 5.3 US glasses of 5 fl oz 12% wine. A bottle of spirits at around 40% holds far more alcohol per millilitre, so it will show many more glasses.
Does a stronger beer count as more than one beer?
Yes, when you count alcohol. A 12 fl oz can of 5% beer is one standard drink, but a 16 oz can of 7% beer holds about 1.9 standard drinks. Strength changes the count as much as size does, so check the percentage on the label.
How many beers are in a bottle of wine?
A 750 ml bottle of 12.5% wine holds as much alcohol as about 5.3 cans (12 fl oz) of 5% beer, or about 4.1 UK pints of 4% beer. It also equals about 9.4 UK singles of spirits. The table lists what one common drink equals in the other seven.
| One of these | 12 fl oz cans of 5% beer | UK pints of 4% beer | UK pints of 4.5% cider | 5 fl oz glasses of 12% wine | 175 ml glasses of 12% wine | 750 ml bottles of 12.5% wine | 1.5 fl oz shots of 40% spirits | 25 ml singles of 40% spirits |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A 12 fl oz can of 5% beer | 1 | 0.8 | 0.7 | 1 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 1 | 1.8 |
| A UK pint of 4% beer | 1.3 | 1 | 0.9 | 1.3 | 1.1 | 0.2 | 1.3 | 2.3 |
| A 175 ml glass of 12% wine | 1.2 | 0.9 | 0.8 | 1.2 | 1 | 0.2 | 1.2 | 2.1 |
| A 1.5 fl oz shot of 40% spirits | 1 | 0.8 | 0.7 | 1 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 1 | 1.8 |
| A bottle of 12.5% wine | 5.3 | 4.1 | 3.7 | 5.3 | 4.5 | 1 | 5.3 | 9.4 |
How this tool works and where the numbers come from
Equivalent counts compare grams of pure alcohol: grams = ml x ABV / 100 x 0.789 g/ml. N of drink A equals (grams in A x N) / (grams in drink B) of drink B. UK units = ABV x ml / 1,000.
Sources
Frequently asked questions
Does a bigger glass count for more?
Yes. A 250 ml glass of 12% wine holds about 2.1 times as much alcohol as a 5 oz glass. Enter 250 ml in the Size box with the Unit set to ml to see the result.
What is the difference between a UK unit and a US standard drink?
A UK unit is 10 ml of pure alcohol, about 7.9 g, while a US standard drink is about 14 g. So a 750 ml bottle holding 12.5% wine is 9.38 UK units but 5.28 US standard drinks. The tool shows both figures in the headline result.
Is an equal number of drinks the same as equal effect on a person?
No. Here, equivalent means equal alcohol, not equal effect on a person. The tool makes no claim about safety or how a drink will make you feel.
Can I use the calculator for drinks not in the preset list?
Yes. Choose “Custom drink” in the Drink dropdown, then enter your own size, unit and strength. The results and the table update from those numbers.
Why does the table show decimals?
Drinks are rarely whole multiples of each other. A figure of 5.3 cans of beer means a bottle of wine holds a little more alcohol than five cans.
Related tools
- Standard drink calculator: use it when you need the number of US standard drinks in a drink.
- Alcohol conversion calculator: use it to convert one alcohol measure into another.
- Standard drinks in a bottle: use it to check how many standard drinks a bottle of wine holds.
- Alcohol unit calculator: use it when you want the result in UK units.
- Drinks per week calculator: use it to total up drinks across a week.
- How many shots in a bottle: use it to see how many shots a bottle of spirits holds.