Units provide a simple way for us to calculate the quantity of pure alcohol in a drink using its strength and size.
Alcohol units
Want to check how many units you’re drinking? Use our unit calculator to work out your average weekly consumption.
Understanding the amount of alcohol in your drink is a really useful way to keep track of your alcohol consumption.
Measuring units
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.