Alcohol unit calculator

If you've drunk any alcohol, the safest bet is to not drive at all. But you can work out how many units are in your drinks with our alcohol unit calculator below.

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What's the UK drink-drive limit?

In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, the drink-drive alcohol limit for drivers is:

• 80mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood
• 107mg of alcohol per 100ml of urine
• 35 micrograms of alcohol per 100ml of breath

In Scotland, the drink-drive alcohol limit is reduced to:

• 50mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood
• 67mg of alcohol per 100ml of urine
• 22 micrograms of alcohol per 100ml of breath

How much can I drink and still be okay to drive?

There's no hard and fast rule. The rate at which your body absorbs alcohol depends on a number of factors, such as your sex, weight and stress levels. You can get more info on this at GOV.UK.

Because alcohol affects each person differently, there's no foolproof way of drinking and staying under the limit.

One person may be okay to drive after one or two drinks, while another is over the drink-drive limit after only one. You can get a rough estimate of your blood alcohol content (BAC) level using our morning after calculator.

We'll say it again - if you're driving, it's best not to drink any alcohol.

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

Looking at 12% wine:

• A standard glass (175ml) would be 2.1 units
• A standard 750ml bottle would be about 9 units.

How many units are in a pint or beer, cider or lager?

Beers, ciders and lagers can have a lot of variation due to their different strengths:

• A pint of 4% lager eg Carling would be about 2.3 units
• A pint of 6.6% Leffe Blonde would be about 3.8 units
• A pint of 8.2% of Westons Vintage cider would be about 4.7 units

How much is a unit of alcohol?

One alcohol unit is measured as 10ml or 8g of pure alcohol.

A typical pint contains around one to two units. A glass of wine can be between one and a half to three units, depending on the strength and the size of the glass.

The NHS says that you shouldn't drink more than 14 units in a single week. Even then, this should be spread across at least three days to avoid binge-drinking.