Free wedding alcohol calculator for receptions and parties
Put in your guests and how long the bar is open. You get the beer, wine, spirits, toast, ice and mixers to buy, with a cost at your own prices. No signup.
For 100 guests over five hours, plan about 575 drinks with a 15 percent spare: 10 cases of beer, 46 bottles of wine, 8 bottles of spirits and 17 bottles of sparkling wine for the toast. This works out what to buy for an event; it isn't a blood alcohol calculator.
575 drinks
500 for 100 guests over 5 hours, plus 75 spare
| Buy | How much | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Beer | 10 cases of 24, or 2 half-barrel kegs | $300 |
| Wine, red and white | 46 bottles (4 cases of 12): 23 red, 23 white | $552 |
| Spirits | 8 bottles, or 3 1.75 L bottles | $200 |
| Mixers | 14 liters of soda, tonic and juice | $28 |
| Sparkling wine for the toast | 17 bottles | $204 |
| Ice | 150 lb (15 bags) | $60 |
| Water, soda and mocktails | 500 servings |
About $1,344 to buy, $13 a guest.
A light crowd needs about 345 drinks, a lively one about 863. Set up 1 bar and 2 bartenders.
The list, the CSV and printing are free. A free account saves it as a BEO you can edit and print as a PDF.
Plan one drink per guest who drinks, per hour, then add 15 percent spare. For 100 guests over five hours that's 500 drinks, 575 with the spare. Split it between beer, wine and spirits and buy by the bottle and case: 10 cases of 24, or 2 half-barrel kegs of beer, 46 bottles of wine and 8 bottles, or 3 1.75 L bottles of spirits, with 17 bottles of sparkling wine if there's a toast.
How much alcohol do you need for a wedding?
Most of the answer is two numbers, the guests who drink and the hours the bar is open. Everything else (the split, the crowd, the time of day) adjusts that total. Start with the defaults, then change what you actually know about your guests.
How much alcohol for 50, 100, 150 and 200 guests
Five hours, everyone drinking, an even split, a 15 percent spare and a toast. Change any of it in the calculator.
| Guests | Drinks | Beer | Wine | Spirits | Toast | Ice |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50 | 288 | 5 cases of 24 | 23 bottles | 4 bottles | 9 bottles | 75 lb |
| 100 | 575 | 10 cases of 24 | 46 bottles | 8 bottles | 17 bottles | 150 lb |
| 150 | 863 | 15 cases of 24 | 69 bottles | 11 bottles | 25 bottles | 225 lb |
| 200 | 1,150 | 20 cases of 24 | 92 bottles | 15 bottles | 34 bottles | 300 lb |
Drinks per person per hour, and the first hour
The planning rule most guides use is one drink per guest per hour. It's a starting point. Cocktail hour runs hotter, so some planners count two drinks in the first hour; tick the first-hour box for that. A quiet crowd drinks about one in the first hour and half a drink an hour after, and a lively one closer to one and a half an hour. Afternoon events run about 20 percent lower.
All of those swing the total a lot, which is why the calculator shows a range.
How much wine, beer and liquor for a wedding
The split sets each order. These are for 100 guests over five hours with a 15 percent spare; the table above has 50 to 200.
How much wine for a wedding
With an even bar, 40% of drinks are wine: 46 bottles, about 4 cases. A 750 ml bottle pours five glasses. Beer and wine only pushes wine to 60% of drinks, or 69 bottles. Start at half red and half white and lean white for a summer or daytime wedding; the calculator splits the bottles for you.
How much beer for a wedding
Beer is 40% of drinks in all three preset splits: 10 cases of 24, or 2 half-barrel kegs. A keg pours about 165 12 oz beers, so it's cheaper per drink if your venue has a way to keep it cold and someone to tap it. For 50 guests it's 5 cases of 24.
To turn the beer line into kegs for your own crowd and cup size, use the free keg calculator.
How much liquor for a wedding
An even bar puts 20% of drinks on spirits: 8 bottles, or 3 1.75 L bottles. That's enough for a short list (vodka, a whiskey or bourbon, gin, rum, tequila) plus mixers. A signature cocktail in place of a full bar uses the same share for one spirit. If your crowd mostly drinks cocktails, choose the cocktail-heavy split or type your own.
Party drink calculator
The same math works for a birthday, a rehearsal dinner or a company party. Set the hours to how long people will actually be there, not the time on the invitation, and pick the crowd honestly. Office parties and family brunches drink less; a milestone birthday with a DJ drinks more.
How many sodas and non-alcoholic drinks
Plan one non-alcoholic drink per guest per hour, for every guest, drinkers or not: water with dinner, soda, and a mocktail or two for anyone skipping alcohol. For 50 guests over five hours that's 250 servings. The calculator adds it to the list on its own line.
How the calculator works
Every figure it uses is on this page, so you can check it or change it.
Beer, wine and spirits split
Guides disagree on the split, so there are three to pick from: an even bar (40% beer, 40% wine, 20% spirits), a party bar (40, 30, 30) and a cocktail-heavy bar (25, 25, 50). If you know your guests better than that, choose My own split and type the percentages. Beer and wine only splits 40% beer and 60% wine. A signature cocktail takes the spirits share and adds mixers for it.
How many drinks are in a bottle, case and keg
| Container | Drinks |
|---|---|
| Wine, 750 ml bottle | 5 glasses |
| Spirits, 750 ml bottle | 16 drinks at 1.5 oz |
| Spirits, 1.75 L bottle | 39 drinks |
| Beer, case | 24 bottles or cans |
| Beer, half-barrel keg (15.5 gal) | 165 12 oz pours |
| Sparkling wine, for a toast | 6 pours |
What to buy: bottles, cases, ice and mixers
The list rounds every line up to what a store sells, so wine comes in whole bottles and beer in whole cases. Ice is 1.5 lb a guest, for drinks and for chilling, in 10 lb bags. Mixers are 4 oz per cocktail: soda water, tonic, cola and a juice or two.
Champagne toast
One bottle of sparkling wine pours about six glasses, so plan a bottle for every six guests who drink. Untick the toast if you're toasting with whatever people already have.
Signature cocktails
A signature cocktail in place of a full bar keeps the order short: beer, wine and one spirit, plus its mixers. The calculator counts it at the spirits share, 20% of drinks, which suits a cocktail served at cocktail hour and on request after.
Open bar, cash bar, or bring your own?
Whether you can buy the alcohol yourself depends on the venue. Many serve only their own bar or a licensed caterer's; others let you bring it and charge corkage per bottle, or require a licensed bartender to pour it. Check the alcohol clauses in your contract before you shop. Our venue rental agreement guide covers what those clauses usually say.
If a caterer pours the drinks, the free catering contract template has an alcohol clause covering licensed bartenders, ID checks and the right to stop serving.
The wedding venue corkage fee guide shows how venues charge it and what to ask.
Cost of alcohol for a wedding
Open the prices panel in the calculator and put in what your store charges. If your venue quoted a bar package per guest, put that in too and the calculator shows both totals side by side. A package often covers bartenders and glassware as well, so it isn't a like-for-like comparison. How wedding venues price explains the per-person and minimum-spend models you'll see.
How many bars and bartenders
Plan a bar for every 100 guests, so the line stays short. For staff, a bartender per 75 guests usually keeps beer and wine moving, and a full bar of mixed drinks needs closer to one per 50; the calculator uses those two ratios. Ask your venue or caterer what they staff, since many set their own. To place the bars in the room, use the free event floor plan maker.
Where the numbers come from: one drink per guest per hour and the bottle yields are the rules The Knot and Gratsi use, and the 15 percent spare is Gratsi's; the bartender ratios are from eventplanning.com.
This is an estimate for buying, not advice on how much anyone should drink. Serve responsibly: have food out the whole time, water at every bar, and a plan to get everyone home.
Open, hosted or cash bar?
This calculator works out what to pour. Who pays for it is a separate choice: at an open bar the host pays one price per guest, on a hosted or consumption bar the host pays for each drink poured, and at a cash bar guests buy their own. Drink tickets and a beer and wine bar sit in between. To price each one from your venue's quote, use the free open bar cost calculator. It takes the same guests and hours and puts the total and cost per guest for every bar type side by side, and its bar types explained section covers no host, limited and consumption bars.
Save your bar plan as a BEO
Everything above is free, with no account: the full list, copying it, and the CSV, which opens in Excel and Google Sheets. With a free MyVenueHQ account, Save it as a BEO turns the list into a banquet event order with the guest count, a line for each drink and the bar notes filled in. You can edit it as the count changes and print it as a PDF for whoever runs the bar. If you haven't seen one, the free BEO template shows what the rest of a BEO covers. Plan the food too with the free catering food calculator; it saves into the same kind of BEO, as the menu.
When the guest count moves, re-run the numbers here. The guest count change checklist lists everyone else who needs the new number, and the free seating chart maker re-seats the tables.
Add this wedding alcohol calculator to your website
Venues, planners and wedding blogs can put it on their own site for free. Paste this where you want it; it works in WordPress, Squarespace, Wix and plain HTML. Nothing is tracked about your visitors beyond page views.
Drink questions.
How much alcohol is needed for a 100 person wedding?
For a five hour reception where everyone drinks, plan on about 500 drinks, or 575 with a 15 percent spare. With an even mix of beer, wine and spirits that's 10 cases of 24, or 2 half-barrel kegs of beer, 46 bottles of wine, 8 bottles, or 3 1.75 L bottles of spirits and 17 bottles of sparkling wine for the toast.
How many bottles do I need for 100 guests?
Over five hours: 46 bottles of wine and 8 bottles, or 3 1.75 L bottles of spirits, 17 bottles of sparkling wine for the toast, and beer by the case (10 cases of 24, or 2 half-barrel kegs). That includes a 15 percent spare, and it assumes every guest drinks. Lower the share of guests who drink and the bottles drop with it.
How many bottles of liquor should I get for my wedding?
For 100 guests over five hours with an even bar (20% of drinks are spirits), 8 bottles, or 3 1.75 L bottles, spare included. A 750 ml bottle pours 16 drinks at 1.5 oz. Most couples split it across vodka, whiskey or bourbon, gin, rum and tequila, weighted to what their guests drink. A cocktail-heavy crowd (half the drinks are spirits) needs about two and a half times as much.
How do I calculate alcohol for a wedding?
Multiply the guests who drink by the hours, at one drink an hour each, and add a spare of 10 to 15 percent. Split the total between beer, wine and spirits, then turn servings into bottles: 5 glasses in a 750 ml bottle of wine, 16 drinks in a 750 ml bottle of spirits, 24 beers in a case. The calculator above does all of it and lets you change each assumption.
How many drinks for a 150 person wedding?
About 750 over five hours, or 863 with a 15 percent spare: 15 cases of 24, or 3 half-barrel kegs of beer, 69 bottles of wine and 11 bottles, or 5 1.75 L bottles of spirits, plus 25 bottles for the toast.
How much does alcohol cost for a wedding of 100 guests?
At the starting prices in the calculator ($30 a case of beer, $12 a bottle of wine, $25 a bottle of spirits), buying it yourself for five hours comes to about $1,344, or $13 a guest, ice and mixers included. Store prices vary a lot by state and brand, so put in yours. A venue's bar package is priced per guest and includes the bartenders.
How much ice do I need for a wedding?
About 1.5 lb a guest, for drinks and for chilling bottles. For 100 guests that's 150 lb (15 bags). Buy more for an outdoor summer wedding or if the venue has no ice machine, and keep it in coolers out of the sun.
How many bartenders do I need for a wedding?
One bartender per 50 guests when anyone is mixing drinks, and one per 75 for beer and wine only. So 100 guests with a full bar need 2, and 150 guests need 3. Your venue or caterer may staff more; a short line at cocktail hour is worth it.
How to calculate drinks per person for a party?
One drink per person per hour is the usual starting point. A lively crowd runs closer to one and a half, a quiet one to half a drink after the first hour, and a daytime party about a fifth less. Hours times that rate, times the guests who drink, is your total.
How many sodas do I need for 50 guests?
Plan one non-alcoholic drink per guest per hour, for every guest. For 50 guests over five hours that's 250 servings of water, soda and mocktails, on top of the alcohol.
Can I buy alcohol from Costco for my wedding?
Only if your venue allows outside alcohol. Many venues serve only their own bar or a licensed caterer's, and some that allow it charge a corkage fee per bottle or need a licensed bartender to pour it. Read your contract first, then check your state's rules; Costco doesn't sell alcohol in every state.
Run your whole venue in MyVenueHQ
Venues use MyVenueHQ to keep each wedding in one dashboard: the inquiry, the proposal and its bar package, the signed contract and the banquet event order, with bar sales synced from the POS into its revenue reports. See how it works for wedding venues; it's free for one venue and up to 10 events a month on the free plan.
Related free tools
Free open bar cost calculator Open bar, consumption or cash bar: the total and cost per guest at your prices. 
Free ice calculator Pounds of ice, bags by size and when to deliver, for a party, wedding or bar. 
Free catering food calculator Protein, sides, appetizers and rolls per guest. 
Free keg calculator Kegs to order for your guest count, and a size chart in gallons and pours.