Caffeine by drink, added up against 400 mg
Typical caffeine for coffee, tea, soft drinks and energy drinks, and a running total against the FDA's 400 mg figure for most adults, kept as a range.
Servings, not cups: the published amounts are per 12 fluid ounces, and 12 ounces is smaller than many cups sold today. Because the FDA gives ranges for coffee, soft drinks and energy drinks, the total is shown as a range too — the low end if every drink is on the weak side, the high end if every one is on the strong side.
| Drink | Serving | Typical caffeine | Servings today |
|---|---|---|---|
| Caffeinated soft drink | 12 fl oz | 23–83 mg | |
| Green tea | 12 fl oz | 37 mg | |
| Black tea | 12 fl oz | 71 mg | |
| Regular brewed non-specialty coffee | 12 fl oz | 113–247 mg | |
| Energy drink | 12 fl oz | 41–246 mg | |
| Decaf coffee | 8 fl oz | 2–15 mg |
The 400 mg figure assumes good health. Sensitivity varies from person to person, some medications interact with caffeine, and people metabolize it at very different speeds — two people can drink the same cup and feel different things. It is a level below which negative effects are not generally expected, not a goal.
Five categories are behind every figure in the calculator. The energy-drink line is the one with a second set of numbers attached: the FDA says those drinks generally run 54–328 mg per 16 fluid ounces, so a larger can is a different drink from the 12-ounce reference serving above.
| Drink | Typical caffeine | Where the number comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Caffeinated soft drink | 23–83 mg | FDA table, per 12 fl oz |
| Green tea | 37 mg | FDA table, per 12 fl oz |
| Black tea | 71 mg | FDA table, per 12 fl oz |
| Regular brewed non-specialty coffee | 113–247 mg | FDA table, per 12 fl oz |
| Energy drink | 41–246 mg | FDA table, 12 fl oz; 54–328 mg per 16 fl oz stated separately |
| Decaf coffee | 2–15 mg | Stated in the article in prose, per 8 fl oz |
Three things sit outside this arithmetic. Caffeine arrives in places with no category here — energy and protein bars, ice cream, chewing gum, supplements, some pain relievers — and your body treats natural and added caffeine the same way, so every source counts toward the same total. Restaurants are not required to tell you how much is in what they serve. And "decaffeinated" is not "caffeine-free": the 2–15 mg row is the correction to that assumption, small but real.
400 mg is a daily level. The figure at the other end is about speed: the FDA estimates that roughly 1,200 mg consumed quickly — less than half a teaspoon of pure caffeine — can cause toxic effects such as seizures. One is a ceiling for a day, the other is a dose taken at once, and a day's total passing 1,200 mg does not mean the same thing as a single 1,200 mg dose.
The product this matters most for is not on the table: pure or highly concentrated caffeine sold in bulk as a dietary supplement, where a single measurement mistake can deliver a toxic or lethal dose.
The FDA’s working number is 400 mg a day for most adults, which is about two to three 12-ounce cups of coffee. Two words in that sentence do the load-bearing work: most and about. Sensitivity varies from person to person, containers do not, and caffeine turns up in places nobody counts.
The tool above adds up a day. What it cannot do is tell you what your own threshold is — so the rest of this page is about reading the total honestly.
Why a range and not a number
The published amounts are ranges. Regular brewed non-specialty coffee is 113–247 mg per 12 fluid ounces, which is a factor of two between the weak end and the strong end of the same category; energy drinks run 41–246 mg on the same reference serving. Averaging those would produce a figure the FDA never published, so the calculator keeps both ends and reports a low and a high total.
The practical consequence: a day can straddle 400 mg. When it does, the answer is not “you are over” or “you are fine” — it is that the total depends on how strong each drink actually was, and the label is the only place to find that out.
What is not on the list
- The serving size. Twelve ounces is the reference the FDA uses, not the size of the cup in front of you. A large coffee-shop drink can hold two of those servings or more, which is how a single drink approaches the daily figure on its own.
- The hidden sources. Energy and protein bars, ice cream, chewing gum, supplements and some pain relievers all carry caffeine. Your body treats natural and added caffeine the same way, so every source counts toward the same total, and only some of them are labeled with an amount.
- What a restaurant serves. Establishments are not required by law to tell you how much caffeine is in what they hand you. Asking is reasonable; expecting a number is not.
- Anything about you. Body weight, medications and medical conditions change the picture, and people metabolize caffeine at very different speeds — two people can drink the same cup and feel noticeably different things.
Two numbers that are not the same kind of number
Four hundred milligrams is a ceiling for a day. The figure at the other end of the page is about speed: the FDA estimates that roughly 1,200 mg consumed quickly — less than half a teaspoon of pure caffeine — can cause toxic effects such as seizures. A day’s total passing 1,200 mg is not that event.
The product the warning is really about is pure or highly concentrated caffeine sold in bulk as a dietary supplement, where a single measurement mistake can deliver a toxic or lethal dose. It is not a row in the table because it is not a drink.
Where the figures come from
Every amount here is the FDA’s, as published in its consumer update on caffeine and reproduced in the source article; they were last checked on 25 October 2026. The 400 mg figure itself was confirmed by a 2017 systematic review, which is why it keeps reappearing in agency guidance rather than fading.
The children, teenagers and pregnancy parts of the question — where the answer comes from a clinician rather than a threshold — are in How much caffeine is too much?.
Frequently asked questions
- How much caffeine is too much in a day?
- The FDA has cited 400 mg a day for most healthy adults as an amount not generally associated with negative effects, roughly two to three 12-ounce cups of coffee. It is a level of caution rather than a target, and it assumes good health: sensitivity, medications and certain medical conditions can make a lower intake more comfortable.
- Why does the total come out as a range?
- Because the published amounts are ranges. The FDA gives 113–247 mg for a 12-ounce serving of regular brewed non-specialty coffee and 23–83 mg for a caffeinated soft drink, so a day built from those drinks has a low end and a high end. The tool adds both and shows you where each one lands against 400 mg rather than inventing a midpoint.
- Is a 12-ounce serving realistic?
- Often not. Twelve fluid ounces is smaller than many cups sold today, and a large coffee-shop drink can hold two of those servings or more. The can, bottle or cup in front of you is the number that counts — the category name is not.
- Is decaf caffeine-free?
- No. Decaf coffee typically has 2 to 15 mg in an 8-ounce cup. It is small, but it is not zero, and it matters if you react strongly to caffeine or are strictly limiting intake.
- Is a day over 1,200 mg the same as the 1,200 mg danger figure?
- No, and the difference is speed. The FDA estimates that roughly 1,200 mg consumed quickly — less than half a teaspoon of pure caffeine — can cause toxic effects such as seizures. That is a dose taken at once; a day's total passing the same figure is not the same event. The product where it matters most is pure or highly concentrated caffeine sold in bulk as a supplement.
Sources
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration — consumer update 'Spilling the Beans: How Much Caffeine is Too Much?' (400 mg a day for most adults; typical amounts by drink; energy drinks 54–328 mg per 16 fl oz; toxic effects at roughly 1,200 mg or less than 1/2 teaspoon of pure caffeine; label disclosure; gradual-taper guidance; the 2017 systematic review confirming the 400 mg level)
- American Academy of Pediatrics — guidance advising against energy drinks for children and teens, cited by the FDA for the caffeine and sugar levels in those products
- Dietary Guidelines for Americans — the recommendation that drinks containing caffeine be avoided for children younger than age 2
- U.S. Department of Agriculture — FoodData Central, the FDA-referenced database for caffeine levels in foods and beverages