Understanding the amount of alcohol in your drink is a really useful way to keep track of your alcohol consumption.
Measuring units
Units provide a simple way for us to calculate the quantity of pure alcohol in a drink using its strength and size.
One unit equals 10ml or 8g of pure alcohol. You can work out how much alcohol is in your drink - based on its strength and size - by using the following equation:
- strength (alcohol by volume or ABV) x the volume of the drink (in millilitres) ÷ 1,000 = the total number of units in your drink
So to find the number of units in a pint of 4% ABV beer, calculate:
- 4 (ABV%) x 568 (ml) ÷ 1,000 = 2.3 units
or
For a medium-sized glass of 13% ABV wine calculate:
- 13 (ABV%) x 175 (ml) ÷ 1,000 = 2.3 units
To make things a little quicker, use our unit calculator or check the table below:
Units table for some of the more popular drinks
| Type of drink | Number of alcohol units |
| Pint of lower-strength lager/beer/cider (568ml, ABV 3.6%) | 2 units |
| Pint of ordinary-strength lager/beer/cider (568ml, ABV 4%) | 2.3 units |
| Pint of higher-strength lager/beer/cider (568ml, ABV 5.2%) | 3 units |
| Bottle of lager/beer/cider (330ml, ABV 5%) | 1.7 units |
| Can of lager/beer/cider (500ml, ABV 5.5%) | 2.8 units |
| Small glass of wine (125ml, ABV 13%) | 1.6 units |
| Standard glass of wine (175ml, ABV 13%) | 2.3 units |
| Large glass of wine (250ml, ABV 13%) | 3.3 units |
| Alcopop (275ml, ABV 4.5%) | 1.5 units |
| Single shot of spirits (25ml, ABV 40%) | 1 unit |
| Double shot of spirits (50ml, ABV 40%) | 2 units |
Drinking guidelines
The UK’s Chief Medical Officers have published guidelines on the maximum amount of alcohol adults should drink across a week to keep health risks to a low level. You can read the low risk drinking guidelines on the government's website.
Download the free Try Dry app whether you want to take on a challenge, cut down on your alcohol consumption or go totally alcohol-free.
