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Finder's cost of alcohol calculator: Our methodology
To calculate the cost of a drink, we sourced prices from an extensive list of bottle shops, pubs and bars in Australia between May and June 2023. Overall, we analysed 37 separate drink pricing categories. We averaged out the cost of beer, wine and spirit-based bevvies.
Drinking at home
For the "Drinking at home" category, we looked at 3 major retailers and calculated the price per standard drink (10 grams of alcohol). We've defined a drink at home as one that's bought from a store – we're assuming you don't brew your own!
- Aldi. Beer & Cider
- Aldi. Wine
- Aldi. Spirits
- Dan Murphys. Craft beer
- Dan Murphys. Red wine
- Dan Murphys. Whisky
- Liquorland. Beer
- Liquorland. Red wine
- Liquorland. White wine
- Liquorland. Spirits.
Going out
The watering holes used for our "Going out" calculations were taken from urban and rural locations in Australia. We looked at the current drinks menu at each venue.
- Dag Sheep Station, Nundle, New South Wales. Beer, wine & spirits
- Bar 83 at Sydney Tower, Sydney, New South Wales. Beer, wine & spirits
- Moana restaurant and bar, Surfers Paradise, Queensland. Beer, wine & spirits
- The Cabin Small Bar, Perth, Western Australia. Beer, wine & spirits
- Belgian Beer Cafe, Melbourne, Victoria. Beer, wine & spirits
- The Camfield, Perth, Western Australia. Beer, wine & spirits
- Bombabar, Melbourne, Victoria. Beer, wine & spirits
- Backyard At The Alex - Merivale, Sydney, New South Wales. Beer, wine & spirits
- The Espy Main Bar, Melbourne, Victoria. Beer, wine & spirits.
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At home, you can expect to pay $2.29 for a beer, $2.76 for a wine or $3.67 for a spirit pour on average.
Once you head outside to a pub or bar, you'll be hit hard with average costs of $8.50 (beer), $13.60 (wine) and $13.07 (spirits).
Beer was the most cost-effective option across the 3 drink types we looked at – at home, in pubs and in bars.
Across pubs and bars, we found wine to be more expensive per drink than spirits on average. This may not shock wine lovers who are used to the staggering markups on their favourite plonk.