How many calories are in a vodka tonic?
One vodka tonic, the 225 g pour USDA counts as a standard drink, is 189 calories. Per 100 g the glass runs 84 calories, which is low for a cocktail and high for something that tastes mostly of bubbles and lime. The vodka brings none of the 14.8 g of sugar. The tonic brings all of it.
You'd need to walk about 38 minutes to burn the 189 calories in one drink (225 g).
How long does it take to burn off a vodka tonic?
One drink (225 g) is 189 kcal. Enter your weight and the amount you ate to see how long it takes you to burn that off:
lb
| Activity | Time to burn 189 kcal |
|---|---|
| Walking, brisk | 38 min |
| Cycling, moderate | 24 min |
| Swimming, moderate | 27 min |
| Jogging | 22 min |
| Weight training, moderate | 42 min |
Times are for a 155 lb adult at a steady pace; change the weight to see yours. The amount is set to the portion in the text (225 g); change it to what you actually ate. BodyPal works this out from your steps automatically.
On this page
- Vodka tonic quick facts
- US pours from one ounce to a 12 ounce highball
- Other highballs from the same USDA table
- Where the 189 calories actually come from
- How does a vodka tonic compare?
- Vodka tonic FAQs
Vodka tonic quick facts
The record behind every number on this page is FNDDS 2710670, "Vodka and tonic", from the 2021-2023 survey release. It is the only entry that describes the finished drink rather than the two ingredients separately, and that matters: the calories in a vodka tonic depend entirely on how much tonic is in the glass, so an ingredient-by-ingredient estimate would be a guess about the pour. The same record supplies the household measure, "1 drink," at 225 g.
You will not find a bottled version of this drink in the USDA Branded database either. Ready-to-drink alcoholic cocktails are not required to carry an FDA Nutrition Facts label, so they never enter that dataset. The survey record is what exists, and it is the honest one.
| Nutrient | Per 100 g | Per 1 drink (225 g) | % Daily Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Calories | 84 | 189 | — |
| Total fat | 0 g | 0 g | 0% |
| Saturated fat | 0 g | 0 g | 0% |
| Carbohydrate | 6.57 g | 14.8 g | 5% |
| Dietary fiber | 0 g | 0 g | 0% |
| Total sugars | 6.57 g | 14.8 g | — |
| Protein | 0 g | 0 g | 0% |
| Sodium | 9 mg | 20 mg | 1% |
% Daily Value is based on a 2,000-calorie diet.
Verified nutrition data
Numbers on this page come from USDA FoodData Central, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s food composition database, and from manufacturer labels where a branded product is named. Last verified September 2026. How we verify our data →
There is no added sugars row above because USDA does not publish added sugars for this FNDDS record, and no trans fat row for the same reason. Cholesterol is 0 mg and potassium is 1 mg per 100 g, or 2 mg in a full drink, which is as close to nothing as a beverage gets. Percent Daily Values follow the FDA's Nutrition Facts reference amounts.
US pours from one ounce to a 12 ounce highball
A vodka tonic is measured by the glass, not by the ounce, and the glass is where the counting goes wrong. USDA's "1 drink" is 225 g, which is a shade under 8 fluid ounces of liquid once you allow for the ice. A tall highball at a bar or on your own counter is usually 12 fl oz of finished drink.
| Serving | Weight | Calories |
|---|---|---|
| 1 oz by weight | 28.4 g | 24 kcal |
| 1 fl oz | 30 g | 25 kcal |
| 1 drink, USDA household measure | 225 g | 189 kcal |
| 8 fl oz | 240 g | 202 kcal |
| 12 fl oz tall highball | 360 g | 302 kcal |
| Per 100 g | 100 g | 84 kcal |
Only two of those rows come from USDA: the 225 g drink and the 1 fl oz measure. The 8 fl oz, 12 fl oz and 1 oz lines are our own arithmetic from the USDA 100 g figure, not USDA servings.
That 12 fl oz row is the practical takeaway. The same drink, poured into the glass most people actually own, is 302 calories instead of 189, roughly 60% more, and it carries about 23.7 g of carbohydrate rather than 14.8 g. Nobody logs a vodka tonic as "225 grams." They log it as one drink, and one drink is whatever the glass holds.
Other highballs from the same USDA table
Vodka and tonic sits in a run of FNDDS records for mixed drinks built the same way: a spirit, a sweetened carbonated mixer, ice. They are close enough that the mixer, not the liquor, decides the number.
| Drink | Per 100 g | 1 fl oz (30 g) | One drink (225 g) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vodka tonic | 84 kcal | 25 kcal | 189 kcal |
| Whiskey and ginger ale | 83 kcal | 25 kcal | 187 kcal |
| Gin and tonic | 84 kcal | 25 kcal | 189 kcal |
| Greyhound | 87 kcal | 26 kcal | 196 kcal |
| Seven and Seven | 87 kcal | 26 kcal | 196 kcal |
| Vodka and cola | 89 kcal | 27 kcal | 200 kcal |
| Rum and cola | 89 kcal | 27 kcal | 200 kcal |
The 1 fl oz column is a USDA measure; the 225 g column is our own scaling of each record's 100 g figure so that every drink is the same size in the glass.
Across all seven records the spread is 83 to 89 calories per 100 g, which works out to about 13 calories over a full drink. Whiskey and ginger ale is the only one lighter than the vodka tonic, and it wins by a single calorie per 100 g. Gin and tonic matches it exactly, since the tonic water is the same and both spirits are 80 proof. Vodka and cola and rum and cola are identical records, 89 calories with 7.8 g of sugar per 100 g, because cola is sweeter than tonic. Greyhound is the odd one: its 6.28 g of carbohydrate per 100 g comes from grapefruit juice, which also gives it the most protein (0.42 g) and the only fiber (0.1 g) in the group.
Where the 189 calories actually come from
Here is the part the label logic hides. The drink has 14.8 g of carbohydrate per 225 g pour. At 4 calories per gram, that accounts for roughly 59 calories, our own arithmetic rather than a USDA figure. The other 130 calories or so come from the alcohol itself, which no Nutrition Facts panel would ever show you, because alcohol is not one of the rows.
That is why cutting the mixer only takes you so far. Swapping tonic for club soda removes the entire carbohydrate column and the 14.8 g of sugar with it, but it leaves the larger share of the calories untouched. If you are tracking sugar, the swap is a clean win. If you are tracking calories, it is a partial one.
The nutrient rows that usually make a drink worth watching are all blank here. Zero fat, zero saturated fat, zero protein, zero fiber, and 20 mg of sodium, which is 1% of the Daily Value and less than a bite of bread. A vodka tonic is not a nutritional problem in the ordinary sense. It is a beverage that delivers about 190 to 300 calories depending on the glass, with nothing along for the ride. For where alcoholic drinks fit in an overall eating pattern, the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and CDC's alcohol information set the standard-drink definitions worth knowing: 1.5 fl oz of 80-proof spirits counts as one.
How does a vodka tonic compare?
| Drink | Per 100 g | US serving | Calories |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vodka tonic | 84 kcal | one drink, 225 g | 189 kcal |
| Gin and tonic | 84 kcal | one drink, 225 g | 189 kcal |
| Whiskey and ginger ale | 83 kcal | one drink, 225 g | 187 kcal |
| Vodka and cola | 89 kcal | one drink, 225 g | 200 kcal |
Only the vodka tonic row uses a USDA household measure; the other three are scaled from their USDA 100 g figures to the same 225 g pour so the comparison is fair.
Our take: stop shopping between these drinks on calories, because there is nothing to choose. The whole table fits inside 13 calories per drink, which is less than the error you introduce by pouring with a heavy hand. The two decisions that move the number are glass size and mixer. Order the same drink in a 12 fl oz highball and you have added 113 calories, ten times the entire gap between vodka tonic and vodka and cola. If sugar is what you are watching, the mixer swap is the one that pays: tonic contributes every gram of the 14.8 g in the glass.
Vodka tonic FAQs
How many calories are in a vodka tonic?
189 calories for the USDA standard drink, which is 225 g in the glass, or 84 calories per 100 g. Nothing in it is fat or protein - the whole number is alcohol plus the 14.8 g of sugar that the tonic water brings. A taller pour changes it fast.
How many carbs are in a vodka tonic?
14.8 g of carbohydrate in one 225 g drink, which is 5% of the Daily Value, and every gram of it is sugar from the tonic water. Vodka itself carries none. Per 100 g the drink runs 6.57 g, so a 12 fl oz highball comes to about 23.7 g by our own scaling.
Does vodka tonic have sugar?
Yes, 14.8 g of total sugars in a 225 g drink, all of it from the tonic water. USDA does not publish an added sugars figure for this record, so we cannot label it that way, but vodka contributes no carbohydrate at all, which leaves the mixer as the only source.
Is vodka tonic lower in calories than a gin and tonic?
No, both sit at 84 calories per 100 g. USDA lists gin and tonic at exactly the vodka tonic figure because the tonic water is identical and both spirits are 80 proof. Scaled to the same 225 g pour, both land at 189 calories. The choice is flavor, not calories.
How many calories are in a 12 oz vodka tonic?
About 302 calories for a 12 fl oz highball, which weighs roughly 360 g. That is our own arithmetic from the USDA 100 g figure rather than a USDA serving, and it is 60% more than the 225 g standard drink. Carbohydrate rises with it, to about 23.7 g.
How many calories are in a double vodka tonic?
USDA records only the single, 189 calories at 225 g, so there is no measured number for a double. What the data does support is volume: 302 calories at 360 g for this same vodka-to-tonic ratio. A double adds spirit without adding mixer, so it climbs past both.
Vodka soda vs vodka tonic: which has fewer calories?
Vodka soda has no USDA record in this dataset, so only the vodka tonic's 189 calories are on record. What the vodka tonic row shows is where the sugar sits: all 14.8 g of it comes from tonic water, and club soda carries none. Swap the mixer and the carbohydrate column empties; the spirit calories stay.
Does diet tonic water change the calories?
USDA publishes no record for a vodka tonic made with diet tonic water, only the 189-calorie standard version, so we will not invent a number for it. The part we can pin down is the 14.8 g of sugar in the standard version, worth about 59 calories by our own arithmetic at 4 calories per gram of carbohydrate.
Similar foods
- Prosecco — 135 cal per glass
- Cider — 202 cal per can or bottle (12 fl oz)
- Beer — 155 cal for 12 fl oz can
- Cosmopolitan — 224 cal per cocktail
- Martini — 241 cal per drink
- Shot Of Tequila — 97 cal per shot (1.5 fl oz)
Count it without the math
Point the camera at the glass and BodyPal counts the drink for you, mixer and all.
