Standard Drinks Calculator
Pick a common serve size, or choose custom to enter your own volume.
Auto-filled from the drink type above.
The alcohol by volume shown on the bottle or can label.
How many of this serve you're having, e.g. across a session.
Standard drinks per serve
1.3
Total for 1 drink
1.3
Pure alcohol (total)
13g
A 375mL drink at 4.5% ABV is about 1.3 standard drinks, so 1 of them comes to 1.3 standard drinks in total. This is general information only, not medical advice — the NHMRC guidelines suggest no more than 4 standard drinks in a day and no more than 10 a week to reduce the risk of alcohol-related harm.
Quick answer
A standard drink is defined as 10 grams of pure alcohol, worked out from a drink's volume, ABV and Australia's 0.789 g/mL ethanol density. A 375mL beer at 4.5% ABV works out to about 1.3 standard drinks. This is general information, not medical advice — NHMRC guidelines cap healthy limits at 4 drinks a day and 10 a week.
Explore more Brewing calculators
Standard Drinks Calculator is one of brewing and alcohol making tools on OneCalculate — see the full set for this category.
Browse BrewingHow it works
This standard drinks calculator answers the question “how many standard drinks” is a beer, wine, cider or spirit actually worth, using Australia’s official definition rather than a rough guess. One Australian standard drink always contains exactly 10 grams of pure alcohol, no matter what the drink is, as defined by the Australian Government Department of Health’s standard drinks guide. To get there from a bottle or can label, the calculator needs two numbers you already have — the serving volume in millilitres and the ABV (alcohol by volume) percentage — plus one constant: the density of pure ethanol, 0.789 grams per millilitre, also set out on that same Department of Health page.
The formula this australian standard drink calculator uses is:
Standard drinks = (Volume in mL × ABV% ÷ 100 × 0.789) ÷ 10So a 375mL stubbie of 4.5% beer contains 375 × 0.045 × 0.789 ÷ 10 = 1.3 standard drinks, and a 150mL glass of 13.5% wine contains 150 × 0.135 × 0.789 ÷ 10 = 1.6 standard drinks. Because volume and ABV both matter, the same “one drink” can mean very different amounts of alcohol depending on what’s in the glass.
This figure is general information only, not medical advice. The NHMRC’s Australian Alcohol Guidelines recommend healthy adults have no more than 10 standard drinks a week and no more than 4 in any one day, to reduce the risk of alcohol-related harm over a lifetime and on any single occasion. Use this calculator to track where a session sits against those numbers, and see a health professional for advice about your own drinking.
Worked example
Liam, a plumber from Hobart, Tasmania, heads to a mate’s Saturday barbecue after a long week. He starts with two 375mL stubbies of full-strength lager at 4.5% ABV, then has a 150mL glass of red wine at 13.5% ABV with dinner. Wanting to keep an eye on things before driving home later, he runs each drink through the calculator as he goes.
Each stubbie works out to 375 × 0.045 × 0.789 ÷ 10 = about 1.3 standard drinks, and the wine comes to 150 × 0.135 × 0.789 ÷ 10 = about 1.6 standard drinks. Adding them up as the afternoon goes on, Liam can see his running total creeping toward the NHMRC’s daily guideline of 4 standard drinks by the time dinner is served.
| Drink | Volume & ABV | Standard drinks | Running total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beer 1 | 375mL, 4.5% | 1.3 | 1.3 |
| Beer 2 | 375mL, 4.5% | 1.3 | 2.7 |
| Wine | 150mL, 13.5% | 1.6 | 4.3 |
By dessert, Liam has had roughly 4.3 standard drinks — just over the daily guideline — which is useful information to have before deciding whether to call a taxi rather than drive.
Frequently asked questions
How many standard drinks are in a beer, wine or spirit?
It depends entirely on the volume and ABV of the specific drink — there's no single answer. A 375mL full-strength beer at 4.5% ABV is about 1.3 standard drinks, while a 150mL glass of 13.5% wine is closer to 1.6, so this standard drinks calculator australia drinkers use needs both numbers to give an accurate figure.
What counts as one standard drink in Australia?
One Australian standard drink contains exactly 10 grams of pure alcohol, regardless of whether it's beer, wine, cider or spirits. This is the official definition set by the Australian Government Department of Health, and it's the figure printed on drink labels and used in this calculator.
How many standard drinks are in a bottle of wine?
A full 750mL bottle of wine at 13.5% ABV contains roughly 8 standard drinks, calculated as 750 × 0.135 × 0.789 ÷ 10. That's why a shared bottle between two or three people at dinner can add up faster than most people expect.
Does a pint have more standard drinks than a stubbie or can?
Yes. A 570mL pint of 4.5% beer is about 2 standard drinks, versus roughly 1.3 for a 375mL stubbie or can of the same strength, simply because it holds more volume. Switching serve size alone can change your count even when the ABV stays identical.
How is the standard drinks formula calculated?
The formula is volume in millilitres × ABV percentage ÷ 100 × 0.789 (the density of pure ethanol in grams per millilitre), divided by 10 grams. That final division by 10 converts total grams of alcohol into the number of Australian standard drinks.
Why do two drinks of the same size have different standard drink counts?
Because ABV, not volume alone, drives most of the difference — a higher-strength beer or wine packs more pure alcohol into the same millilitres. Always check the ABV on the label and enter it here rather than assuming, since it can vary a lot even within the same drink category.
Is this standard drinks calculator medical advice?
No. This tool gives general information only, not medical advice, and shouldn't replace guidance from a doctor or health professional. The NHMRC's Australian Alcohol Guidelines recommend no more than 10 standard drinks a week and no more than 4 in any one day, to reduce the risk of harm — see a health professional for personal guidance.
Related calculators
Written and verified by Nirbhay Tripathi
Last updated 18 August 2026
All rates on this page are verified againstAustralian Government Department of Health — Standard drinks guide, NHMRC — Australian Alcohol Guidelineson 18 August 2026. See our methodology for the full update calendar.