It is important to understand what a standard drink is, so you know how much alcohol you are consuming.
To reduce the risk of harm from alcohol, National Guidelines recommend healthy adults should drink no more than 10 standard drinks in a week and four drinks in one occassion.
In Australia, one standard drink is 10 grams of pure alcohol.
All packaged alcohol is required by law to state on the label the approximate number of standard drinks in one container.
But it can still be hard to estimate standard drinks because:
- glass sizes vary
- people share drinks (e.g. jugs, casks or bottles of alcohol)
- glasses are topped up by other people
- the composition of mixed drinks is unknown (cocktails or punch).
Standard Drink Calculator
Think you know what a standard drink looks like? Use the below tool to see how your drinking adds up.
Light beer (2.7% alcohol)
| Container |
Amount |
Standard drinks |
| 1 middy or pot |
285ml |
0.5 standard drinks |
| 1 can or stubbie |
375ml |
0.8 standard drinks |
Mid beer (3.5% alcohol)
| Container |
Amount |
Standard drinks |
| 1 middy or pot |
285ml |
0.7 standard drinks |
| 1 can or stubbie |
375ml |
1 standard drink |
Regular beer (4.5% alcohol)
| Container |
Amount |
Standard drinks |
| 1 middy or pot |
285ml |
1.1 standard drinks |
| 1 can or stubbie |
375ml |
1.4 standard drinks |
Wine (9.5% to 13% alcohol)
| Container |
Amount |
Standard drinks |
| 1 standard serve |
100ml |
1 standard drink |
| 1 average serve |
150ml |
1.6 standard drinks |
| 1 bottle |
750ml |
7 to 8 standard drinks |
Spirits (40% alcohol)
| Container |
Amount |
Standard drinks |
| 1 nip |
30ml |
1 standard drink |
| 1 bottle |
700ml |
22 standard drinks |
Cider (4.5% alcohol)
| Container |
Amount |
Standard drinks |
| 1 bottle |
345ml |
1.2 standard drinks |
| 1 can |
375ml |
1.3 standard drinks |
Pre-mixed drinks (5% alcohol)
| Container |
Amount |
Standard drinks |
| 1 can or bottle |
375ml |
1.5 standard drinks |
Note: Some cocktails contain more than 3 standard drinks. Source: NHMRC, 2020
