About the Pour Cost Calculator
This pour cost calculator works out what each drink really costs you and what to charge for it. Choose the bottle size, enter what you paid for the bottle, the pour size in ounces, any mixer, garnish or other ingredient cost and your current menu price. You get pours per bottle, cost per drink, pour cost percentage, gross profit per drink and the price that would hit your target pour cost.
It works for spirits, cocktails and wine by the glass — for wine, use a 750 ml bottle and a 5 or 6 oz pour. Bar managers use it to set or audit menu prices, and owners use it to check whether supplier price increases have quietly pushed pour cost above target.
Many bars aim for a liquor pour cost around 18%–24%, with wine by the glass often higher and draft beer somewhere in between, but targets vary with concept and market. A spillage allowance lets you account for over-pours, spills and evaporation so that the cost reflects what you can actually sell from each bottle.
With the default inputs, the pour cost is 20.2%. Change any value above to recalculate instantly.
How to use the pour cost calculator
- 1Choose the bottle size and enter what you paid for it.
- 2Enter the pour size in ounces for this drink.
- 3Add the cost of mixers, garnish and other ingredients per drink.
- 4Optionally add a spillage allowance.
- 5Enter your menu price and target pour cost to see the right price.
Formula and method
The bottle size is converted from millilitres to US fluid ounces (1 fl oz = 29.5735 ml), reduced by any spillage allowance, and divided by the pour size to get the number of pours per bottle. The bottle cost spread over those pours is the spirit cost per drink; adding mixers, garnish and other ingredients gives the full drink cost.
Pour cost percentage is drink cost divided by the menu price — the bar equivalent of food cost. To price a drink for a target, divide its cost by the target percentage: a $1.82 drink at a 20% target should sell for about $9.10. Gross profit per bottle shows how much each bottle contributes when sold at the current price.
- ml
- Bottle size in millilitres
- Pour oz
- Spirit or wine poured per drink, US fl oz
- Extras
- Cost of mixers, garnish and other ingredients per drink
- Target %
- Desired pour cost as a percent of price
Worked examples
Vodka soda from a $24 fifth
A 750 ml bottle holds 25.36 oz, or 16.9 pours of 1.5 oz. $24 ÷ 16.9 = $1.42 of vodka per drink, plus $0.40 of soda and lime is $1.82 — 20.2% of a $9 price. At exactly 20% the price would be $9.10.
Wine by the glass
A 750 ml bottle with 3% loss leaves 24.6 oz — about 4.1 six-ounce glasses — so each glass costs $15 ÷ 4.1 = $3.66. On a $12 glass that is a 30.5% pour cost; a 25% target needs about $14.63.
Premium whiskey from a liter, 2 oz pour
A liter is 33.81 oz, or 16.9 pours of 2 oz, so each costs $48 ÷ 16.9 = $2.84 — a 20.3% pour cost at $14. You would hit 22% even at $12.90.
Frequently asked questions
How do you calculate pour cost?+
Divide the cost of the ingredients in a drink by its menu price and multiply by 100. For a single spirit, the ingredient cost is the bottle cost divided by the number of pours in the bottle. A $1.82 drink selling for $9 has a 20.2% pour cost.
What is a good pour cost for a bar?+
Many bars target roughly 18% to 24% for liquor, around 20% to 25% for draft beer and 25% to 35% for wine by the glass. An overall beverage pour cost near 20% is a common benchmark, but concept and pricing strategy matter.
How many shots are in a 750 ml bottle?+
A 750 ml bottle holds about 25.4 US fluid ounces, so it yields roughly 16.9 pours of 1.5 oz, 20.3 pours of 1.25 oz or 12.7 pours of 2 oz, before any spillage.
How many glasses of wine are in a bottle?+
A standard 750 ml bottle holds about 25.4 oz, so it gives about five 5-oz glasses or just over four 6-oz glasses. Many bars price a glass so that the first glass sold covers most of the bottle’s cost.
Why is my actual pour cost higher than my recipe pour cost?+
Over-pouring, spills, comped drinks, unrecorded sales, breakage and theft all raise actual pour cost above theoretical. Measured pours (jiggers or controlled spouts) and weekly inventory counts help close the gap.