Party drinks calculator
Planning a birthday, holiday or house party? Enter your guest count and how long the party runs to see how much wine, beer and liquor to buy. Every figure is rounded up, and you can change any assumption to fit your crowd.
What to buy
100 guests, 75% drinking, 4 hours, average drinkers, full bar, United States sizes
- Total drinks
- 375 drinks for 75 drinking guests over 4 hours
- Wine
- 38 bottles 750 ml bottles, 5 glasses each (188 glasses)
- Beer
- 113 cans 355 ml cans, one per drink
- Or beer on tap
- 1 half keg or 2 quarter kegs, or 3 sixth kegs
- Liquor
- 5 × 750 ml bottles or 2 × 1.75 L bottles (75 drinks)
These are planning estimates, rounded up. Serve alcohol responsibly: offer plenty of water and soft drinks, serve food, and help guests get home safely. Read our disclaimer.
Assumptions
The calculator uses these common rules of thumb. Change the inputs above to fit your guests.
| Drinks per drinking guest | 2 in the first hour, then 1 per hour |
|---|---|
| Drinking level | light ×0.75, average ×1, heavy ×1.25 |
| Full bar | 50% wine, 30% beer, 20% liquor |
| Beer and wine | 60% wine, 40% beer |
| Wine only | 100% wine |
| Signature cocktail | 40% wine, 30% beer, 30% cocktails (1.5 oz liquor each) |
| Wine | 750 ml bottle = 5 glasses of 5 oz (148 ml) |
| Beer | one 355 ml can per drink |
| Liquor | 750 ml bottle = 16 drinks of 1.5 oz (44 ml); 1.75 L bottle = 39 |
| Champagne toast | 750 ml bottle = 8 toasts of 3 oz (89 ml), one toast per guest |
| Kegs (12 oz pours) | half 165, quarter 82, sixth 55 |
| Buffer | +10% on every quantity when switched on |
| Rounding | every quantity is rounded up |
How we calculate
- Drinking guests. Guests × the share who drink.
- Drinks each. Two in the first hour, then one for every hour after that, scaled for light (×0.75) or heavy (×1.25) drinkers.
- Total drinks. Drinking guests × drinks each, plus 10% if you switch on the buffer.
- Split by drink. The bar type (or your own mix) shares the drinks between wine, beer and liquor.
- Bottles and cans. Each share is divided by the servings in one container: a 5 oz glass of wine, one can of beer, a 1.5 oz measure of liquor. Partial pours don't count, and every result is rounded up.
- Toast. If you choose a champagne toast, every guest gets a 3 oz pour, drinkers or not.
Worked example: 100 guests, 4-hour party
With the default inputs (100 guests, 75% of them drinking, average drinkers, a full bar, US bottle sizes and no toast):
- 75 drinking guests × 5 drinks each (2 in the first hour, then 1 an hour for 3 hours) = 375 drinks.
- Wine is half of those: 187.5 glasses ÷ 5 glasses a bottle = 37.5, rounded up to 38 bottles.
- Beer is 30%: 112.5 drinks, rounded up to 113 cans, or one half keg.
- Liquor is 20%: 75 drinks ÷ 16 measures a bottle = 4.7, rounded up to 5 × 750 ml bottles.
Questions
How many drinks per person for a party?
A common rule of thumb is two drinks in the first hour and one an hour after that. Choose "Light" or "Heavy" if your guests drink less or more than that.
My guests come and go. What should I enter?
Enter the total number of guests and the full length of the party. Guests who leave early balance out those who arrive late, so the estimate still holds for most open-house parties.
Should I add a champagne toast?
Tick the toast box for a milestone birthday, an engagement or New Year's Eve. It adds one 3 oz pour for every guest.
What about soft drinks and water?
Plan plenty of them for every guest, drinkers included. Our mixer and ice calculators are on the way.