Analysis from NIQ revealed the average price of a pint of stout in UK pubs reached £5.28 in February 2026, with a pint of Guinness estimated at £5.27.
Guinness also came in 1p cheaper than the rest of the stout category in 2024, having remained flat in 2023.
Despite undercutting its rivals by a penny, the price of a pint of the black stuff has risen sharply in recent years.
Since 2023, when a pint cost £4.55, the brew has increased by 16% in total.
Guinness is also now pricier than the average pint across the total beer category, according to NIQ.
Increasing prices
The data showed a pint of draught beer cost £4.51 in 2023, compared to £4.55 for Guinness, marking a 16% rise. Against the wider stout category, Guinness has climbed by 22% since 2022.
However, the Diageo-owned stout still sits below the price of a pint of World Lager. NIQ figures show the average cost of World Lager hit £5.68 in 2025, compared with £5.27 for Guinness.
Separate data from digital marketing agency Tank estimated the average cost of a pint of Guinness, based on figures from 138 pubs across the country, is currently £5.41.
The Tank figures showed a 31% price rise between 2023 and 2026 for Guinness, albeit off a smaller sample size. Meanwhile, Tank’s figure for the increase during that period for the wider stout category was 19.1%.
Despite Guinness being 9p per pint cheaper than rival stouts in 2023, it has outpaced the market each year since, according to digital marketing agency’s research.
This comes after Diageo announced it would be increasing the price of Guinness Draught by 5.2% for on-trade customers from April this year, as exclusively reported by The Morning Advertiser (The MA).
Business as usual
Last year, the global drinks giant upped the price of Guinness by 4.2%.
A spokesperson for Diageo told The MA the business was not immune to the rising cost of doing business, adding the uptick would allow the company to invest more in the brand and that price hikes had been kept to a minimum.
Operators are also continuing to struggle when it comes to ordering Guinness, with many telling The MA Guinness Draught orders have been delayed or restricted for months now. Guinness 0.0 in cans have also proved difficult to get hold of.
Some have opted to switch to other brands, including Heineken-owned Murphy’s Irish Stout, in recent months, while Molson Coors threw its hat in the ring in January this year with the on-trade launch of Caffrey’s stout.
However, a Diageo spokesperson assured The MA it was business as usual and claimed there were no supply issues for Guinness Draught or Guinness 0.0 cans, despite multiple repeated complaints from operators to the contrary.
It’s not just the price of stout that has increased. Last month, The MA reported one fifth of UK beer drinkers were unwilling to pay more than £2.99 for a pint 10 years ago. The average draught pint of lager now sits at £5.17 with premium lines regularly exceeding £6.
As the price gap between Guinness and others stouts continues to widen, particularly with April’s increases fast approaching, the question for many pubs will be how far brand loyalty can stretch at the bar before price-sensitive consumers consider switching allegiances.
