Source: https://sober44.com/tools/drinks-per-week-calculator/ Sober44 is a free alcohol-free tracker app for iOS and Android: count sober days, see money and drinks saved, plan a taper and follow health milestones. Get the Sober44 app: [App Store](https://apps.apple.com/app/id6790916681?pt=120576754&ct=sober44.md&mt=8) · [Google Play](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ehmtech.drinking&referrer=utm_source%3Dsober44.md) # Drinks Per Week Calculator Enter how many drinks you had on each day of a typical week, Monday to Sunday, and pick your usual drink and size. The calculator turns them into US standard drinks and gives you your weekly total, your heaviest day, your drink-free days and what that pace adds up to over a year. It checks each day and the whole week against NIAAA's heavy-drinking levels for women or men, and shows the older CDC daily line for reference. A 16 oz pint or a bottle of wine counts as more than one drink, so the total can be higher than the number you typed. This is general information, not medical advice. _Interactive tool: open [the web page](https://sober44.com/tools/drinks-per-week-calculator/) to use it. This Markdown copy has the text only._ Not medical advice. NIAAA and the CDC call 4 or more drinks for women, or 5 or more for men, on one occasion binge drinking. This calculator only knows each day’s total, so it shows heavy drinking days, not binges. A year here is 52 of the weeks you entered. ## How the calculator counts your week In the US, a standard drink has about 14 grams (0.6 fl oz) of pure alcohol ([NIAAA](https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/alcohols-effects-health/what-standard-drink), [CDC](https://www.cdc.gov/alcohol/standard-drink-sizes/index.html)). To convert any drink, multiply its size in ounces by its ABV and divide by 60. The presets in the calculator work out like this: | Drink | Size | ABV | Standard drinks each | | - | - | - | - | | Beer, can or bottle | 12 oz | 5% | 1.0 | | Beer, pint | 16 oz | 5% | 1.3 | | Craft beer or IPA | 16 oz | 7% | 1.9 | | Hard seltzer or cider | 12 oz | 5% | 1.0 | | Wine, glass | 5 oz | 12% | 1.0 | | Wine, 750 ml bottle | about 25.4 oz | 12% | 5.1 | | Spirits, shot | 1.5 oz | 40% | 1.0 | | Double shot or strong cocktail | 3 oz of spirits | 40% | 2.0 | Take the week that loads with the page: 11 pints of 5% beer, with none on Monday or Wednesday, 1 on Tuesday, 2 on Thursday, 3 on Friday, 4 on Saturday and 1 on Sunday. At about 1.33 standard drinks a pint, that’s 14.7 standard drinks, not 11. Saturday is the heaviest day at 5.3, there are 2 drink-free days, and 52 weeks like it come to 764 standard drinks a year. Each day is counted to the nearest half drink. Totals are worked out from the exact amounts and then rounded to one decimal, so the seven daily figures added together (14.6 in the example) can be 0.1 or so off the weekly total. The checks against each line also use the exact amounts. A year here is 52 of the weeks you entered. ## What the US definitions say about a week of drinking [NIAAA](https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/alcohol-health/overview-alcohol-consumption/moderate-binge-drinking) defines heavy drinking for women as 4 or more drinks on any day or 8 or more a week, and for men as 5 or more on any day or 15 or more a week. The [CDC](https://www.cdc.gov/alcohol/about-alcohol-use/index.html) uses the same weekly figures. Either line is enough on its own, and both include the number itself: a week of exactly 8 standard drinks counts for women. Binge drinking is about pace. NIAAA ties it to blood alcohol reaching 0.08%, which for a typical adult means about 4 or more drinks for women or 5 or more for men in about two hours. It calls twice those numbers (8 or more for women, 10 or more for men) high-intensity drinking. A day’s total can’t show how fast the drinks went down, so the calculator flags heavy drinking days rather than binges, and only notes the high-intensity level for drinks on one occasion. The 2025–2030 [Dietary Guidelines for Americans](https://www.dietaryguidelines.gov/), published in January 2026, no longer give a daily number. They say “Consume less alcohol for better overall health” and name people who should avoid alcohol completely, including pregnant women and people recovering from alcohol use disorder. The [CDC’s moderate-drinking page](https://www.cdc.gov/alcohol/about-alcohol-use/moderate-alcohol-use.html), last updated January 14, 2025, still lists two drinks or less in a day for men and one or less for women, so the table shows how many of your days go over it, for reference. None of these lines is a safe amount. NIAAA notes that harms may be associated with any amount of drinking and rise as the amount goes up, and for those who drink, the less, the better. This page is general information, not medical advice. ## Why heavy days and drink-free days matter Two weeks can have the same total and very different days. Seven drinks spread as one a day never reaches NIAAA’s daily line. The same seven on a Saturday is a heavy drinking day for anyone under NIAAA’s definition, even though the weekly total hasn’t changed. NIAAA describes two kinds of risk. “Too much, too fast” raises the odds of injuries and other harms on the day. “Too much, too often” is frequent heavy drinking, which raises the risk of both short-term harms and long-term problems such as alcohol use disorder, liver disease, heart disease and cancers. The [NHS](https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/alcohol-advice/calculating-alcohol-units/) suggests several drink-free days each week if you want to cut down, and spreading your drinking over 3 or more days if you regularly drink as much as 14 UK units a week. A UK unit is 8 grams of alcohol, so 14 units is 112 grams, exactly 8 US standard drinks. Drink-free days don’t cancel out a heavy day, since NIAAA’s daily line applies to each day on its own. That’s why the calculator counts both. ## Using your week to cut back Start with the average on the days you drink. It’s in standard drinks, which is what the [alcohol taper schedule calculator](https://sober44.com/tools/alcohol-taper-schedule-calculator/) asks for when it builds a day-by-day plan. To see what the same week costs, the [alcohol spending calculator](https://sober44.com/tools/alcohol-spending-calculator/) counts drinks the way you buy them (a pint is one pint) rather than in standard drinks. If you drink heavily every day, talk to a doctor before you cut down a lot. Withdrawal can start when you cut down, not only when you stop ([ASAM](https://downloads.asam.org/sitefinity-production-blobs/docs/default-source/quality-science/the_asam_clinical_practice_guideline_on_alcohol-1.pdf)). If you’ve quit and have a drink, here’s [what to do with your sober date after a relapse](https://sober44.com/blog/should-you-reset-your-sober-date-after-a-relapse/). Looking for an app to help? See [our roundup of alcohol-free tracker apps](https://sober44.com/compare/best-alcohol-free-tracker-apps/). If you’d rather track days than drinks, [Sober44](https://sober44.com/#download) records each day as a quick sober or drank check-in, with what set it off and how you felt. It doesn’t log how many drinks you had, and everything stays on your phone. ## Frequently Asked Questions Common questions about drinks per week calculator ### How do I work out how many drinks I have a week? Count each day on its own, then add the days up in standard drinks. In the US a standard drink has about 14 grams (0.6 fl oz) of pure alcohol (NIAAA): a 12 oz beer at 5%, a 5 oz glass of 12% wine or a 1.5 oz shot of 40% spirits. For anything else, multiply the size in ounces by the ABV and divide by 60. A 16 oz pint of 5% beer is 16 × 5 ÷ 60, about 1.3. The example that loads with this page is 11 pints across the week, which comes to 14.7 standard drinks, not 11. ### What counts as heavy drinking, by the week and by the day? NIAAA defines heavy drinking for women as 4 or more drinks on any day or 8 or more a week, and for men as 5 or more on any day or 15 or more a week. The CDC uses the same weekly figures. Crossing either one counts, so a week can stay under the weekly line and still have a heavy drinking day. Staying under them doesn't make drinking safe: NIAAA notes that harms may be linked to any amount of drinking and rise as the amount goes up. ### Is a heavy drinking day the same as binge drinking? The numbers match but the time frame doesn't. NIAAA and the CDC both put binge drinking at 4 or more drinks for women and 5 or more for men on one occasion; NIAAA's version is within about two hours, enough to bring blood alcohol to 0.08%. A heavy drinking day counts the whole day however it was spread out. This calculator only knows each day's total, so it flags heavy drinking days rather than binges. NIAAA calls twice the binge level (8 or more for women, 10 or more for men) high-intensity drinking. ### How many standard drinks are in a bottle of wine or a pint of IPA? A 750 ml bottle is about 25.4 fl oz, so a bottle of 12% wine holds about 5.1 standard drinks and a 13.5% bottle about 5.7. A 16 oz pint of 7% IPA is about 1.9, close to two drinks in one glass. A 16 oz pint of 5% beer is about 1.3 and a double shot of 40% spirits is 2. Three pints of regular beer in one day is 4 standard drinks, which is NIAAA's heavy-drinking line for a day for women. ### How many drink-free days should I have a week? US agencies don't give a number. The NHS says that if you want to cut down, try to have several drink-free days each week, and that if you regularly drink as much as 14 UK units a week (8 US standard drinks) you should spread it over 3 or more days. Drink-free days don't cancel out a heavy day, because NIAAA's daily line applies to each day on its own. The calculator counts both so you can see them side by side. To plan a gradual step-down in drinks a day, try the [alcohol taper schedule calculator](https://sober44.com/tools/alcohol-taper-schedule-calculator/). ### Is drinking a little every day better than drinking only at weekends? The weekly total can match while the pattern doesn't. Seven drinks on a Saturday is a heavy drinking day for anyone under NIAAA's definition; one drink a day for a week isn't. NIAAA describes risk as “too much, too fast”, which raises the odds of injuries and other harms on the day, and “too much, too often”, where frequent heavy drinking raises the risk of both short-term harms and long-term problems such as alcohol use disorder, liver disease, heart disease and cancers. For those who drink, NIAAA says the less, the better, whatever the pattern. ### Why are the lines lower for women? NIAAA explains that alcohol spreads through the water in the body, and pound for pound women have less body water than men. After a woman and a man of the same weight drink the same amount, the woman's blood alcohol concentration tends to be higher. That's why NIAAA's heavy-drinking levels are 4 a day and 8 a week for women, against 5 and 15 for men. Pick Women or Men in the calculator to apply the matching lines. ### What happened to the “1 drink a day for women, 2 for men” rule? The 2025–2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, published in January 2026, no longer give a number. They say to “consume less alcohol for better overall health”, and that some people should avoid alcohol completely, including pregnant women and people recovering from alcohol use disorder. The CDC's moderate-drinking page, last updated January 14, 2025, still lists two drinks or less in a day for men and one or less for women, so the calculator shows how many of your days go over that line for reference. It's worded per day, not as a weekly average. ## Related Tools - [Alcohol Calorie Calculator](https://sober44.com/tools/alcohol-calorie-calculator/): See the calories in beer, wine, spirits and mixed drinks from pour size and ABV, split into alcohol and carbs, with weekly, monthly and yearly totals. - [Standard Drink Calculator](https://sober44.com/tools/standard-drink-calculator/): Turn any pour, can or bottle into US standard drinks from its size in oz or mL and its ABV or proof. See grams of alcohol and a total for several drinks. - [Alcohol Money Investment Calculator](https://sober44.com/tools/alcohol-money-investment-calculator/): See what the money saved from not drinking could grow to if you invested it, at 1, 5, 10, 20 and 30 years, with a figure adjusted for inflation. - [Alcohol Spending Calculator](https://sober44.com/tools/alcohol-spending-calculator/): List your usual drinks at home and out to see what you spend on alcohol a week, month, year and five years, and what cutting back by 25% to 100% saves.