Non-Alcoholic Beer Brands Compared: Calories and Carbs

By the DrinkLeader team · Published 2026-10-13 · Data updated 2026-10-13 · 8 min read

Non-alcoholic beers in the catalog list about 50 calories for Budweiser Zero and 69 for Heineken 0.0, with Athletic Brewing spanning 25 calories upward, but carbs start at 5g and often pass 10g. That is fewer calories than regular beer, whose catalog average is 166, but not fewer carbs than a light lager. This guide compares the brands people search for, one table at a time.

What "non-alcoholic" means on the can

In the US a beer can be labeled non-alcoholic if it contains less than 0.5% alcohol by volume. Athletic Brewing says on its own site that this is the standard, that some brands make 0.0% beers, and that removing all alcohol changes flavor significantly. So two cans can both say non-alcoholic and still differ in trace alcohol. Heineken 0.0 and Guinness 0 are labeled 0.0% and 0% respectively in the catalog and Guinness's page states 0% alcohol, while Athletic lists 0.5% as the ABV ceiling. For alcohol-free needs such as pregnancy, medication or recovery, read the label for the exact figure and talk to a health professional, since this page is not medical advice. The alcohol label guide explains how TTB treats label statements, and the non-alcoholic beer nutrition article explains the 0.5% rule in more depth.

The big brands

The mainstream names have the easiest-to-find cans:

The first thing to notice is the carb column. Several of these list more carbs per can than Michelob Ultra or other light lagers, even where calories are in the 50s and 60s. Heineken 0.0 lists 16g in the catalog. The second is that serving sizes differ: the Heineken and Guinness cans are 11.2 oz, so scale before comparing with a 12 oz can. The Heineken and Guinness brand pages list their other products. Guinness states on its own site that Guinness 0 is 0% alcohol with 17 kcal per 100 ml.

Athletic Brewing

Athletic Brewing is a brewery that makes only non-alcoholic beers and has by far the most entries. Here are the lowest-carb ones in the catalog:

On its own site Athletic lists Athletic Lite at 25 calories and 5g of carbs and Upside Dawn at 45 calories and 10g per 12 oz, which matches the catalog rows. The range inside the brand is wide, so the beer you pick matters more than the brand name. The Athletic Brewing brand page lists every product.

IPAs and hoppy beers

Hoppy non-alcoholic beers are a popular category:

Carbs here vary widely, from single digits to the teens, so a hoppy style is not automatically a heavy one. Sierra Nevada's Trail Pass line and the Lagunitas non-alcoholic beers are among those that appear. See the Sierra Nevada rows:

The Sierra Nevada brand page has the rest of the line. Fuller-bodied styles tend to list more carbs than light lagers, as these four rows show.

Stouts and dark beers

Non-alcoholic stouts exist, and they sit toward the heavier end of the non-alcoholic styles:

Compare with regular beers at the same serving:

The non-alcoholic stouts list fewer calories than the regular beers, but their carbs are in the same range or higher, since the malt is still there. This is the same pattern as in the rest of the category: alcohol accounts for much of a regular beer's calories, and removing it saves those, not the carbs.

0.0% versus under 0.5%

The catalog records the stated ABV for each can. Here are non-alcoholic beers and beer-style drinks from smaller brands that state 0.0%:

A 0.0% statement means the brand reports no alcohol, while a 0.5% figure is the legal ceiling for a non-alcoholic label in the US, not a measured value for any particular can. NIAAA's standard drink is 14 grams of alcohol, and a 12 oz can at 0.5% holds well under a gram, but if you avoid alcohol for any reason, the 0.0% cans give a clearer label. The standard drink guide shows the arithmetic and the low-ABV drinks guide covers drinks that do contain alcohol.

How to choose

If you want the lowest calories and carbs, pick a light lager style such as Athletic Lite from the Athletic table above. If you want a big-brand can you can find anywhere, compare the numbers in the mainstream table. If you want a hoppy beer, accept the higher carbs. If trace alcohol matters, choose cans stating 0.0% and check the label. For calorie planning in general, the under 100 calories list and the calories in alcohol guide help, and the Michelob Ultra and light beer article shows how a real light lager compares. If you also want spirit alternatives, see the non-alcoholic spirits guide.

Catalog numbers come from producers where available, as the methodology page explains. A few non-alcoholic rows list zero calories and zero carbs, which are plausible for hop waters but are not beers, so we leave them out of the beer tables above. The FDA notes that label figures apply to one serving, so check the can size. Use the compare tool to put two cans side by side.

This page is information, not medical advice. The CDC defines moderate drinking as up to two drinks a day for men and one for women when adults choose to drink, and says that drinking less is better for health than drinking more.