Open Bar vs Consumption Bar Calculator
Compare a per-guest open bar package with a bar billed per drink, with service charge and tax, and find how many drinks per guest make them cost the same.
Result
Drinks per drinking guest at which the two cost the same: 5.6 drinks
The consumption total depends on your drinks estimate; the break-even does not.
- Open bar total
- $5,967.90
- Consumption bar total at your estimate
- $4,271.76Estimate
- Consumption bar less open bar
- -$1,696.14Estimate
- Drinks at your estimate
- 384Estimate
- Drinks in total at which the two cost the same
- 536
https://calcgallery.com/shopping/open-bar-vs-consumption-bar-calculator/
Results are arithmetic from the amounts and rates you enter. The site publishes no tax rate, threshold or tipping convention, and rates vary by jurisdiction and change. Check the rate on your receipt, invoice or tax authority guidance, and confirm anything that matters with a qualified adviser. Read the full disclaimer
How to use the Open Bar vs Consumption Bar Calculator
- Enter the guest count and the open bar package price per guest from the quote.
- Enter the share of guests who drink and your estimate of how many drinks each has, for the whole event or per hour.
- Enter the average price per drink on the consumption menu, the service charge and the sales tax, and say whether tax is charged on the service charge.
Two ways a venue bills the bar
open bar = guests × package price per guestconsumption bar = guests × share who drink × drinks each × price per drink (or the minimum spend, if higher)each total × (1 + service charge + tax)break-even = package price ÷ (price per drink × share who drink)A package fixes the bar bill before the event: the guest count times a price per head. A consumption bar, also called a bar on consumption, bills each drink poured. Which costs less depends on how much the guests drink, and that is the one figure nobody knows in advance.
The break-even does the work
Instead of betting on one estimate, the page gives the number of drinks per drinking guest at which the two bills are equal. That number depends only on the package price, the drink price and how many guests drink. Your estimate then only has to be good enough to say which side of it the evening will fall.
Service charges and tax
Venues add a service charge, and sales tax applies to the bar. Both apply the same way to either bill, so they scale both totals and leave the break-even alone. Whether tax is also charged on the service charge varies by place and by how the contract labels the charge, so it is a switch rather than an assumption.
What it leaves out
One average price stands for every drink, so a mix of beer, wine and cocktails can be entered as a weighted average. Bartender fees, glassware and corkage that apply to either bar do not change the comparison and are not asked for. The prefilled drinks figures are placeholders, not a suggestion of how many drinks a guest has, and the page does not say which bar to choose.
With your numbers
- Open bar = 120 × $38.00 × 1.30875 = $5,967.90
- Consumption bar = 384 drinks × $8.50 × 1.30875 = $4,271.76
- Break-even = $38.00 ÷ ($8.50 × 80%) = 5.6 drinks
Quick reference
The consumption total depends on your drinks estimate; the break-even does not.
| Example | Drinks per drinking guest at which the two cost the same |
|---|---|
| 150 guests at 30 a head against 900 drinks at 7 | 4.3 |
| Worked example: 120 guests, 22% service | 5.6 |
| Same with tax on the service charge | 5.6 |
| Five hours at 0.9 drinks an hour | 3.6 |
| A 3,000 minimum spend | |
| 80 guests, 20% service and 20% tax | 6.7 |
Common questions about the Open Bar vs Consumption Bar Calculator
- What is the break-even number of drinks?
- The number of drinks per drinking guest at which the two bars cost the same. If your guests drink more than that on average, the package costs less; if they drink fewer, paying per drink costs less. It depends only on the package price, the average drink price and the share of guests who drink.
- Why does the service charge not change the break-even?
- Because the venue applies the same service charge and tax to both bars, and multiplying both totals by the same factor does not move the point where they meet. The charges still change what you pay, which is why the totals include them.
- Is tax charged on the service charge?
- It depends on where the event is and how the contract describes the charge. In New York, for example, a separately stated service charge that is not identified as a gratuity is taxable, while a gratuity that meets the state’s conditions is not. The switch lets you match your contract.
- Why ask for the share of guests who drink?
- An open bar package is priced per guest on the quote, whether or not each guest drinks, while a consumption bar only bills the drinks poured. Children, drivers and non-drinkers lower the consumption total but not the package.
- Where does the drinks estimate come from?
- From you. The form opens with 4 drinks per drinking guest, or 1 an hour, only so that it shows a result; those are placeholders to replace with your own estimate, not a typical figure, because drinking varies with the crowd, the length of the bar and the time of day. Entering drinks per hour and the hours open is one way to build the estimate; the break-even tells you how far off it can be before the answer flips.
- What is a minimum spend?
- Some venues bill a consumption bar at no less than a set amount. If the drinks come to less, you pay the minimum. If the minimum is above the whole package total, the consumption bar can never cost less, and the page says so.