Which Alcoholic Drink Is the Better Deal?

Enter Calculation

Drink A — Volume (ml)

Drink A — Alcohol strength (% ABV)

Drink A — Price

Drink B — Volume (ml)

Drink B — Alcohol strength (% ABV)

Drink B — Price

Formula

Show calculation steps (1)

1. Price per Pure Alcohol

   

   Cost per unit of pure alcohol (volume in ml times % ABV); lower value is the better deal by alcohol content.

Results

Cheaper by Volume

Drink B

lowest price per ml

Cheaper by Alcohol Content

Drink A

lowest price per ml-degree

	Drink A	Drink B
Price per volume (per ml)	0.49	0.42
Price per alcohol unit (per ml-degree)	0.0817	0.084

What this calculator does

This tool compares two alcoholic drinks and tells you which one is the better value. It looks at the comparison two ways: by price per unit of volume (how much you pay for each millilitre of liquid) and by price per unit of pure alcohol (how much you pay for each unit of actual alcohol). These two measures can point to different winners, so the calculator reports both independently. The math is universal currency-agnostic arithmetic, so it works with any currency.

How to use it

For each drink enter the volume in millilitres, the alcohol strength as a percentage (% ABV, sometimes written as "degrees"), and the price in your local currency. Press calculate. You will see the per-millilitre price and the per-alcohol-unit price for both drinks, plus a clear verdict on which is cheaper by each measure. Lower numbers are always better. If a volume or alcohol strength is zero the result is "N/A" because you cannot divide by zero.

The formula explained

Price per volume is simply price divided by volume.

$$\text{Volume Unit Price} = \frac{\text{Price A}}{\text{Volume A (ml)}}$$

Price per alcohol unit divides the price by volume multiplied by alcohol strength.

$$\text{Alcohol Unit Price} = \frac{\text{Price A}}{\text{Volume A (ml)} \times \text{ABV A (\%)}}$$

Because the percentage is used directly (the divide-by-100 factor is the same for both drinks), it cancels out in the comparison, so we can compare price per "millilitre-degree" without converting to real ethanol millilitres. Results are rounded to four decimal places.

Comparing two drinks by price per millilitre and price per unit of pure alcohol.

Worked example

Drink A is 200 ml at 6% for 98, Drink B is 500 ml at 5% for 210. Price per volume: \(A = 98/200 = 0.49\), \(B = 210/500 = 0.42\), so Drink B is cheaper per ml. Price per alcohol unit:

$$A = \frac{98}{200 \times 6} = 0.0817, \quad B = \frac{210}{500 \times 5} = 0.084$$

so Drink A is cheaper per alcohol unit. Drink B gives more liquid for the money; Drink A gives more alcohol for the money.

Price per unit divides cost by total volume times alcohol fraction.

FAQ

Why can the two answers disagree? Because a larger, weaker drink can be cheaper per millilitre while a smaller, stronger drink is cheaper per unit of alcohol. Both perspectives are valid depending on what you value.

What does % ABV mean? Alcohol By Volume, the percentage of the drink that is pure alcohol. A "degree" on some labels means the same thing.

Does currency matter? No. As long as both prices use the same currency, the comparison is correct.