Alcohol units: how to count them, and how to track them
How many units are in a pint, a glass of wine or a can? Here's how to work it out from the size and the ABV, what the weekly guideline is, and how to keep track week by week.
Unit calculator
What is a unit of alcohol?
In the UK, one unit is 10 ml (8 g) of pure alcohol. The number of units in a drink depends on how much there is and how strong it is:
Units = size in ml × ABV % ÷ 1,000
A pint (568 ml) of 4% lager: 568 × 4 ÷ 1,000 = 2.3 units.
The same drink can hold very different amounts: a pint of 5.2% lager has 0.7 of a unit more than a pint of 4%, and a large glass of wine is a third of a bottle.
| Drink | ABV | Units | Calories* |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pint of lager or beer (568 ml) | 4% | 2.3 | 125 kcal |
| Pint of strong lager (568 ml) | 5.2% | 3.0 | 163 kcal |
| Pint of cider (568 ml) | 4.5% | 2.6 | 141 kcal |
| Can of lager (440 ml) | 4.5% | 2.0 | 109 kcal |
| Bottle of beer (330 ml) | 5% | 1.6 | 91 kcal |
| Medium glass of wine (175 ml) | 13% | 2.3 | 126 kcal |
| Large glass of wine (250 ml) | 13% | 3.2 | 179 kcal |
| Bottle of wine (750 ml) | 13% | 9.8 | 538 kcal |
| Single spirit (25 ml) | 40% | 1.0 | 55 kcal |
How many units a week is the guideline?
The UK Chief Medical Officers' guideline (2016) is that, to keep health risks low, it's safest not to drink more than 14 units a week on a regular basis. If you do drink that much, spread it over three or more days, and having several alcohol-free days each week is a good way to cut down (NHS).
Other countries count in standard drinks instead of units, and each defines one differently:
- Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and most of Europe: 10 g of alcohol. Australia's guideline (NHMRC, 2020) is no more than 10 standard drinks a week and no more than 4 on any one day.
- Canada: 13.45 g. Canada's Guidance on Alcohol and Health (2023) puts 2 standard drinks or fewer a week at low risk.
- United States: 14 g.
Calories in alcohol
Alcohol has 7 kcal per gram: more than carbohydrate or protein (4), and not far off fat (9). A pint of 4% lager has around 125 kcal from its alcohol before any carbohydrate is counted, and a bottle of 13% wine over 500. UK labels rarely show calories for alcoholic drinks, so they're easy to miss.
Tracking your drinking with Progressaurus
Drinks is one of the five things you can track in Progressaurus, with or without food, and it's free.
- Your own Drinks list. Add what you usually have, with its ABV and the Servings you have it in (pint, glass, can, bottle or single), from a typical drink, a barcode or, with Premium, a photo of the label. Logging is then a tap or two.
- Units or standard drinks. Count in UK units or your country's standard drink, shown against your country's guideline where it has one.
- Alcohol-free Days that mean something. The next day the app asks "Any drinks yesterday?". Only days you've said are fully recorded count as Alcohol-free Days, so a day you forgot to log never counts.
- An Alcohol Limit for the week. Set the most you mean to have in a week and see what's left as you go. A week only counts as within it when every day is recorded.
- Commit to it, with support if you want it. Make Alcohol-free Days or your Alcohol Limit part of your weekly Commitment, and share how it went with an Accountability Partner. They see only whether you kept within it, never what or how much you drank.
- Calories, if you track food. Drinks count toward your day's calories, so the ones most often forgotten aren't.
Worried about your drinking? In the UK, you can call Drinkline free on 0300 123 1110, or see the NHS's alcohol support page. Your GP can help too.
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