Helpful Toolbox

Alcohol Calorie Calculator

Estimate the calories in any drink from its size and ABV. Pick a preset or enter your own numbers — the tool computes grams of pure alcohol, adds carb calories for beer and cocktails, and totals it per drink and per night. Everything runs in your browser; nothing is uploaded.

📖 How it works & FAQ

How drink calories are calculated

Alcohol is the second most calorie-dense thing you can consume — 7 calories per gram, just behind fat at 9 and well ahead of carbs and protein at 4. This calculator works from that chemistry. First it finds the grams of pure alcohol in your drink: serving size in millilitres × ABV × 0.789 (the density of ethanol in grams per millilitre). It multiplies those grams by 7 to get alcohol calories, then adds calories from residual carbs and sugar — the part that makes a stout or a margarita heavier than a vodka soda at the same strength. Both energy rates are editable if you prefer different rounding, and the carb grams are fully adjustable since they vary widely by brand and recipe.

Estimates only — not medical or nutrition advice; actual values vary by brand, recipe, and pour.

How to use it

  1. Pick a preset — regular or light beer, wine, fortified wine, a spirit shot, or a cocktail — to load a typical serving size, ABV, and carb count.
  2. Adjust the serving size, ABV, and carbs to match your actual drink; check the label or the bar menu for ABV.
  3. Set the number of drinks to see the total for a night, not just one glass.
  4. Read the results: total calories per drink, calories for all drinks, grams of pure alcohol, the carb share, and how many US standard drinks each serving equals.

FAQ

Why does a "light" beer still have calories?
Most of a beer's calories come from the alcohol itself, not the carbs. A light beer trims both ABV and carbs, but at 4.2% it still carries roughly 11 grams of alcohol — about 78 calories before any carbs are counted.
Do mixers count?
Yes, and they are often the biggest surprise. Enter the sugar from juice, soda, or syrup in the carbs field. A gin and diet tonic has essentially zero carb calories; the same gin with regular tonic can add 60 or more.
What is a US standard drink?
14 grams of pure alcohol — the amount in a 355 ml beer at 5%, a 148 ml glass of 12% wine, or a 44 ml shot at 40%. The tool shows how your drink compares.
Is my data uploaded anywhere?
No. Everything is computed in your browser; nothing you enter leaves your device.