The average cost of an open bar at a wedding is easiest to read per guest: $25 to $40 for a standard open bar, or $50 to $90 for premium spirits and craft cocktails, which puts 100 guests at $2,500 to $9,000 for the drinks alone. Across all weddings, couples spent $2,800 on alcohol on average in the 2025 Real Weddings Study by The Knot, a figure pulled down by dry and beer-and-wine receptions.
The bar is one of the few wedding costs that scales directly with your guest list, so the useful number is the per-guest one. Below you’ll find what an open bar quote should include, a cost table from 50 to 200 guests, how much alcohol 100 guests actually drink and the bar formats that bring the total down without a cash bar.
Staffing is a separate line on every quote. Before you compare numbers, check how many bartenders your guest count needs, because an understaffed bar is the most common reason a cheap quote turns into a long line.
What a wedding open bar cost includes
An open bar quote is several costs bundled together, and two quotes rarely bundle the same things. A complete one covers:
- Alcohol: beer, wine, spirits and any champagne toast, the largest share of the bill.
- Mixers, garnishes and ice: sodas, juices, citrus and syrups, plus ice, which we plan at 2 lbs per guest once shaking, chilling and melt are counted.
- Bar staff: bartenders and, for larger weddings, a barback, billed for the full shift including setup and breakdown.
- Equipment: the bar itself, glassware, coolers and tools, unless the venue provides them.
- Venue fees: if the venue lets you bring your own alcohol, ask whether it charges a corkage fee, which The Knot recommends building into the alcohol budget from the start.
The per-guest ranges in this guide cover the drinks. Bartender labor is priced on its own, and we break it down in our guide to how much a bartender costs at a wedding, including hidden fees.
Average open bar cost by guest count
Based on Magic & Cocktails’ estimates of $25 to $40 per guest for a standard open bar (beer, wine and well drinks) and $50 to $90 per guest for a premium bar, here is what the drinks typically cost before staffing:
| Guests | Standard open bar | Premium open bar |
|---|---|---|
| 50 | $1,250 to $2,000 | $2,500 to $4,500 |
| 100 | $2,500 to $4,000 | $5,000 to $9,000 |
| 150 | $3,750 to $6,000 | $7,500 to $13,500 |
| 200 | $5,000 to $8,000 | $10,000 to $18,000 |
Survey data lands inside that range. In The Knot’s 2021 study, couples with more than 100 guests spent over $3,000 on alcohol, against an average of $1,300 for weddings of 50 guests or fewer, according to The Knot’s wedding alcohol cost data. With the average wedding at $33,000 in the 2025 study, the $2,800 alcohol average works out to roughly 8.5% of the total budget.
How much does an open bar cost for 50 guests?
For 50 guests, expect $1,250 to $2,000 for a standard open bar and $2,500 to $4,500 for a premium one, before bartenders. One bartender usually covers 50 guests on a standard bar, so the staffing side stays small at this size.
How much alcohol 100 wedding guests drink
Our planning rule is 2 drinks per guest in the first hour and 1 per hour after that, which comes to about 600 drinks for 100 guests over a five-hour reception. The Knot’s calculator, built on a five-hour reception with a champagne toast and a mix of 50% liquor, 25% beer and 25% wine, lands at a similar shopping list for 100 guests:
- 17 bottles of champagne (750 ml)
- 20 bottles of wine (750 ml)
- 11 bottles of liquor (1 liter)
- 100 cans or bottles of beer
To convert drinks into bottles, The Knot counts 5 glasses per 750 ml bottle of wine and 19 drinks per 1-liter bottle of liquor at a 1.75 oz pour, according to The Knot’s wedding alcohol calculator. Your own number moves with the crowd: a brunch or lunch wedding can scale total drinks back by about 15%, while a summer evening reception burns through more beer, white wine and water.
Open bar options that change the price
The format you choose moves the total more than the brands you pour:
- Full open bar: beer, wine and a full range of spirits all night. The most expensive format and the slowest to serve.
- Beer, wine and signature cocktails: two or three custom drinks instead of a full liquor selection. A caterer quoted by The Knot puts the gap between a beer-and-wine bar and one with liquor at about $10 to $15 per person, and signature cocktails close most of that gap while still giving guests a cocktail.
- Limited hours: a full bar during cocktail hour and dinner, then beer and wine for dancing.
- Per-person or consumption billing: a per-person package charges a flat rate per guest whatever they drink, while consumption billing charges for what is actually poured, which can be cheaper for a light-drinking crowd and riskier for a heavy one.
Is a cash bar cheaper than an open bar?
On alcohol, yes; on the total, less than you’d expect, because bartenders, ice, mixers and equipment cost the same either way. Wedding etiquette sources such as The Knot advise against a cash bar for that reason: the saving is small next to how guests react to paying for drinks at a wedding.
How to lower your open bar cost
- Limit the spirits. Three or four well-chosen spirits cover most orders and leave fewer half-empty bottles.
- Batch your signature cocktails. Pre-mixed drinks cut both alcohol waste and labor time.
- Skip the full champagne pour. Many guests toast with the drink already in hand, so a glass for every guest often goes unfinished.
- Match the bar to the timeline. A shorter full-bar window costs less than trimming the guest list’s favorite drinks.
- Ask for a turnkey quote. One price for staff, bar, glassware, ice and mixers is easier to compare and rarely hides extras.
Mocktails belong on the list too. A zero-proof signature drink keeps non-drinkers included at a lower cost per glass than spirits.
Planning a wedding open bar in Los Angeles
Magic & Cocktails builds your bar around your guest count, timeline and budget: a custom cocktail menu designed in advance, a team sized to your crowd and a turnkey setup with the mobile bar, glassware and ice. Every bartender is RBS certified, and we carry liquor liability insurance, with the certificate sent to your venue ahead of the event.
Send us your date, venue and guest count, and we’ll put together a quote for wedding bartenders and a turnkey mobile bar in Los Angeles.
