Units and calories in cider

Cider is an alcoholic drink made by fermenting apples. It can be still or sparkling. Perry is a similar drink, made using the same method, but using pears instead of apples.

But how strong is cider and how many calories does it contain? Read our quick guide to get the facts.

How much alcohol is in cider?

Checking a cider's label for its ABV (alcohol by volume) tells you what percentage of the drink is made up of alcohol. For example, a cider with 5% ABV is 5% pure alcohol. The only way to be sure of the strength of a particular cider is to check the label for the ABV.

Cider (and perry) sold in the UK can have an alcoholic strength ranging from 1.2% ABV up to 8.5% ABV.¹ Just over half of cider sold in shops and supermarkets is 5% ABV or higher. Strong ciders of more than 6% ABV account for about one in seven cider sales.²

A good way to keep track of how much you’re drinking is to know how many units of alcohol are in your drink. One unit of alcohol is 10ml of pure alcohol – and the number of units you are drinking depends on the drink’s size and strength.³

For example, a pint of 4.5% ABV cider contains 2.6 units. A 500ml bottle of strong 7.2% cider would have 3.6 units.⁴

To calculate alcohol units, multiply the drink's volume (in ml) by its ABV strength (%), then divide by 1,000.

The UK Chief Medical Officers (CMOs’) low risk drinking guidelines recommend drinking no more than 14 units a week, spread over three or more days, with several drink-free days, and no bingeing.⁵

Regularly drinking more than the low risk drinking guidelines increases your risk of developing a range of health problems including heart and liver disease, and seven types of cancer.⁶ The risk of developing these types of cancer starts to increase even at low levels of drinking – so the less you drink, the more you reduce your risk.⁷

How many calories are there in cider?

Alcohol is high in calories. It contains around seven calories a gram – almost as many as one gram of fat.⁸

A pint of cider with 4.5% ABV can contain around 216 calories – that’s nearly the same calories as a cheeseburger.⁹

And the calories in cider don’t just come from the alcohol – it can be high in sugar too. A pint of cider can contain around 46 grams of sugar – more than the NHS recommended daily limit of 30 grams a day (roughly equivalent to seven sugar cubes).^10,11

Calories from alcohol are often described as 'empty calories', meaning they have no nutritional value because they are consumed in addition to the calories your body needs.¹² Drinking alcohol affects the way your body processes fat for energy.¹³ You are more likely to store fat around your middle – which is an area where men in particular tend to show weight gain, sometimes referred to as a ‘beer belly’.¹⁴

What’s more, if you find that you eat more junk food after a drinking session, you won’t be alone. That’s because drinking affects the hormones that control your appetite, as well as making you less inhibited and therefore less likely to make healthy choices.^15,16