What is one UK alcohol unit?

One UK alcohol unit is defined as 10 ml (8 grams) of pure ethanol. The formula is: units = volume (ml) × ABV% ÷ 1000.

What is the UK Chief Medical Officers' weekly guideline?

The UK CMO guideline advises that to keep health risks from alcohol low, adults should not regularly drink more than 14 units a week, ideally spread across 3 or more days with several alcohol-free days. The guideline is a benchmark for lower risk, not an individually risk-free allowance.

How many units are in standard UK drink sizes?

A pint (568 ml) of 4% lager contains 2.27 units. A large glass (250 ml) of 13% wine contains 3.25 units. A standard pub single measure (25 ml) of 40% spirit contains exactly 1.00 unit, and a double (50 ml) contains 2.00 units.

How many units are in a bottle of wine or spirits?

A 750 ml bottle of 12% wine holds 750 × 12 ÷ 1000 = 9 units, and a 13.5% bottle holds about 10.1 units. A 70 cl (700 ml) bottle of 40% vodka or gin holds 28 units, and a 75 cl bottle holds 30 units.

How many UK units is a US standard drink?

A US standard drink is 14 g of pure alcohol (NIAAA), which is 14 ÷ 0.789 = 17.7 ml of ethanol, or 1.77 UK units. One UK unit (10 ml, 7.9 g) is therefore about 0.56 of a US standard drink. A 12 fl oz beer at 5%, a 5 fl oz glass of 12% wine and a 1.5 fl oz shot of 40% spirit are each about one US standard drink.

How many units are in a can of beer?

A 440 ml can of 5.5% beer holds 440 × 5.5 ÷ 1000 = 2.4 units, and a 330 ml bottle of 5% beer holds 1.65 units. A 12 US fl oz (355 ml) can at 5% holds 1.77 units, and a 16 fl oz can at 5% holds 2.37 units.

How many grams of alcohol are in one unit?

One UK unit is 10 ml of pure alcohol. Ethanol weighs 0.789 g per ml, so a unit contains 7.89 g, which the NHS rounds to 8 g. At about 7 kcal per gram, the alcohol in one unit supplies roughly 56 kcal before any sugar or carbohydrate in the drink.

How long does the body take to process one unit?

UK health guidance often quotes roughly one hour per unit for an average adult, but the rate varies with body size, sex, food, liver health and medicines. This calculator counts units only. It cannot tell you when you are sober or safe to drive.

Is this data stored or sent anywhere?

No. All calculations run strictly in your browser. The session log is stored only in transient browser memory and disappears entirely when the page is refreshed or closed.

Alcohol Units Calculator

Tap a drink or enter volume and ABV% to get UK alcohol units, grams of pure alcohol and US standard drinks, then log a session against the 14-unit weekly guideline.

UK alcohol units = volume in ml × ABV % ÷ 1000.

Guidance benchmark: NHS: calculating alcohol units and UK Chief Medical Officers' Low Risk Guidelines. 14 units per week is a population-level lower-risk threshold, not a personalised safety guarantee.

Drink Details

UK drinks (NHS examples)

US drinks (NIAAA standard-drink examples)

Presets fill a typical strength. Check the ABV on your can, bottle or menu and edit it: strengths vary widely.

Volume

Strength (% ABV)

Servings (Count)

Label (optional)

Calculation

Enter volume, ABV%, and servings to display UK alcohol units.

Session Intake Log

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No drinks logged in this session. Add drinks to track running totals.

Factual Unit Relationships & Boundaries

Unit Definition 1 UK unit = exactly 10 ml (8 grams) of pure ethanol. Calculated as: (Volume in ml × ABV%) ÷ 1000.

Weekly Guideline 14 units/week is the lower-risk benchmark for adults, recommended to be spread across 3 or more days.

Clinical Scope & Limits Not a BAC or driving-safety tool. Unit thresholds do not guarantee safety or account for individual metabolic variance.

UK Units vs Standard Drinks in Other Countries

A UK unit is smaller than most national “standard drinks”. Grams use ethanol's density of 0.789 g/ml, so 10 ml of pure alcohol is 7.89 g (the NHS rounds this to 8 g).

Measure	Pure alcohol	In UK units	Defined by
UK unit	10.0 ml	1.00	NHS / UK Chief Medical Officers
Australia standard drink (10 g)	12.7 ml	1.27	NHMRC
Canada standard drink (13.45 g)	17.1 ml	1.71	Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction
US standard drink (14 g)	17.7 ml	1.77	NIAAA

Worked example: a 12 US fl oz (355 ml) beer at 5% holds 355 × 5 ÷ 100 = 17.7 ml of alcohol = 14.0 g, which is 1 US standard drink and 1.77 UK units. A UK pint (568 ml) of 5.2% lager holds 2.95 UK units, or 1.66 US standard drinks.

Quick answer

UK alcohol units = volume in ml × ABV % ÷ 1000. One unit is 10 ml (8 g) of pure alcohol, so a 25 ml single shot of 40% spirit is exactly 1 unit.

Examples

Drink	ml × ABV ÷ 1000	Units
Single shot, 40%	25 × 40 ÷ 1000	1.0
Double, 40%	50 × 40 ÷ 1000	2.0
Small wine, 12%	125 × 12 ÷ 1000	1.5
Bottle of wine, 12%	750 × 12 ÷ 1000	9.0
500 ml beer, 4%	500 × 4 ÷ 1000	2.0
500 ml beer, 8.4%	500 × 8.4 ÷ 1000	4.2

Tap a drink, check its ABV and add each one to the session log to see units, grams and US standard drinks.

Summary

This calculator applies the UK standard formula: units = volume (ml) × ABV% ÷ 1000. UK Chief Medical Officers recommend that adults who choose to drink keep regular consumption below 14 units per week, spread over three or more days. This guideline represents lower risk rather than a guarantee of individual safety.

How it works

Tap a UK (NHS) or US (NIAAA) drink preset, or enter the volume in ml, cl, US or UK fluid ounces, or pints.
Check the alcohol by volume (ABV%) on the label and correct the preset strength if it differs.
Specify the number of servings (1 to 100).
The tool calculates units as ml × ABV ÷ 1000, grams of alcohol as ml of pure alcohol × 0.789, and US standard drinks as grams ÷ 14.
Optionally add entries to your private in-memory session log to track cumulative units.

Use cases

Calculate the precise unit content of pints, wine glasses, spirit pours, or bottled drinks.
Multiply units across multiple servings for a single outing or weekly review.
Check craft beers, ciders, and homebrews with non-standard volumes and alcohol strengths.
Evaluate consumption against the UK CMO 14-unit lower-risk guideline benchmark.
Convert US drinks in fluid ounces to UK units, or UK units to US standard drinks.

Frequently Asked Questions

Last updated: 2026-10-09 · Reviewed by Nham Vu