Alcohol Units Calculator

The UK alcohol "unit" is a standardised measure used by the NHS and the Chief Medical Officers (CMOs) to make comparing different drinks easy. One unit equals 10 ml or 8 g of pure ethanol. The formula is: units = (volume in ml × ABV%) ÷ 1000. So a 175 ml glass of 13% wine is (175 × 13) ÷ 1000 = 2.275 units. A pint of 4% lager is (568 × 4) ÷ 1000 = 2.27 units. A 25 ml shot of 40% spirit is (25 × 40) ÷ 1000 = 1.0 unit (the classic "single"). A 750 ml bottle of 12% wine contains 9 units in total. The UK CMOs updated their low-risk drinking guidelines in 2016 to: no more than 14 units per week for both men and women, spread over at least 3 or 4 days, with several alcohol-free days. The 14-unit figure is a level below which risk of long-term harm is "low" — not zero — and assumes spreading rather than binging. Binge drinking is defined for men as 8+ units in a single session, women as 6+ units. There is no recommended "safe" level for pregnancy: the CMO advises zero alcohol throughout pregnancy, particularly the first trimester, because of foetal alcohol spectrum disorder risk that has no clear lower threshold. This calculator handles every common UK drink format: pints (568 ml), half pints (284 ml), small/medium/large wine glasses (125/175/250 ml), 330 ml/440 ml cans of beer or cider, 25 ml/35 ml/50 ml spirit measures, 50 ml/70 ml/100 ml fortified wine measures, and full bottles of wine (750 ml) or spirits (700 ml). It tracks weekly running total, shows distance to the 14-unit guideline, calculates calories (each unit contains roughly 56 kcal from ethanol alone, before mixers), and estimates rough cost using typical UK off-licence pricing. This is a tracking tool, not medical advice. If your weekly intake is consistently over 14 units, the NHS recommends a GP discussion. Over 35 units a week for women or 50 for men carries higher-risk harm: liver disease, heart disease, several cancers, dementia. The CMOs also note that no level of alcohol is "good for you" — earlier studies suggesting cardiovascular benefit at moderate intakes are now considered methodologically flawed. The calculator does not handle blood alcohol concentration estimation (the legal drink-drive limit in England, Wales and Northern Ireland is 80 mg per 100 ml of blood; 50 mg in Scotland — but BAC depends on body composition, food intake and time elapsed, which this tool does not model). For calorie tracking use the Calorie Calculator; for general health screening use the BMI Calculator.