★ COST COMPARISON · EVERYDAY · FOOD
At the defaults, cooking at home costs $1,170.00 a year and delivery apps cost $6,237.40 a year — so cooking saves $5,067.40 a year. The menu price is only part of the delivery bill: fees and tip push a $16.00 meal to $23.99 before you eat a bite. Enter your own meals per week and costs below.
The delivery total surprises people because it is built from three lines, not one. This calculator prices a home-cooked meal against the full delivery meal — menu price plus delivery fees plus tip — then multiplies both by your meals per week and by 52 weeks, so the yearly gap is visible in one number.
Delivery cost per meal = menu price + delivery fees + tip. Weekly cost = per-meal cost × meals per week. Annual cost = weekly cost × 52. At the defaults, delivery is $16.00 + $4.99 + $3.00 = $23.99 per meal, and home cooking is $4.50 per meal. Weekly, that is $22.50 at home against $119.95 for delivery. Over 52 weeks, home costs $1,170.00 and delivery costs $6,237.40, so cooking saves $5,067.40 a year.
Setup: 5 meals a week, home cooking at $4.50 per meal, delivery at $16.00 menu + $4.99 fees + $3.00 tip.
Line 1 — delivery per meal. $16.00 + $4.99 + $3.00 = $23.99 per meal.
Line 2 — weekly totals. Home: 5 × $4.50 = $22.50. Delivery: 5 × $23.99 = $119.95.
Line 3 — annual totals. Home: $22.50 × 52 = $1,170.00. Delivery: $119.95 × 52 = $6,237.40.
Line 4 — the saving. $6,237.40 − $1,170.00 = $5,067.40 a year by cooking.
(A) Fewer meals: 3 meals a week. Home: 3 × $4.50 × 52 = $702.00. Delivery: 3 × $23.99 × 52 = $3,742.44. Cooking saves $3,040.44 a year.
(B) Every night: 7 meals a week. Home: 7 × $4.50 × 52 = $1,638.00. Delivery: 7 × $23.99 × 52 = $8,732.36. Cooking saves $7,094.36 a year.
(C) Cheaper menu: $12 menu, same fees and tip, 5 meals a week. Delivery per meal is $12.00 + $4.99 + $3.00 = $19.99, so delivery costs $5,197.40 a year and cooking saves $4,027.40. Even a cheap menu stays far above home cooking once fees and tip are added.
(D) Pricier groceries: home cooking at $7.00 a meal, 5 meals a week. Home costs 5 × $7.00 × 52 = $1,820.00 a year, and cooking still saves $4,417.40 against the $6,237.40 delivery total.
| Output | Formula | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Delivery cost per meal | Menu price + fees + tip | $23.99 at the defaults — the real price of one delivered meal, not the menu number. |
| Weekly home cost | Meals per week × home cost per meal | $22.50 at the defaults — five home dinners for less than one delivered meal. |
| Weekly delivery cost | Meals per week × delivery cost per meal | $119.95 at the defaults — the weekly habit, priced honestly. |
| Annual home cost | Weekly home cost × 52 | $1,170.00 at the defaults. |
| Annual delivery cost | Weekly delivery cost × 52 | $6,237.40 at the defaults. |
| Annual saving | Annual delivery cost − annual home cost | $5,067.40 at the defaults — the money cooking keeps in your pocket each year. |
This calculator prices groceries and delivery charges only. Grocery waste is not counted: food you buy and throw away raises the true home cost, so the saving is smaller if you waste a lot. Delivery subscription fees, such as a DashPass-style monthly plan, are not counted either: a subscription lowers per-order fees but adds a fixed monthly cost, so subscribers should add that fee to the delivery side. Your time is excluded on purpose: cooking takes time that delivery does not, and no dollar value is assigned to it here — the saving is a money saving, not a claim that cooking costs nothing. Taxes are not modelled, and both sides assume the same number of meals.
Bright Side Kit. "Cook at Home vs Delivery Cost Calculator." https://brightoolbox.com/cook-at-home-vs-delivery/ Accessed October 24, 2026.At the defaults, $5,067.40 a year. Five meals a week costs $1,170.00 a year cooked at home and $6,237.40 a year delivered, because fees and tip push a $16.00 menu item to $23.99 per meal.
Menu price plus fees plus tip. At the defaults that is $16.00 + $4.99 + $3.00 = $23.99. The menu price alone understates the meal by almost 50%.
It narrows the gap but rarely closes it. A subscription lowers per-order fees yet adds a fixed monthly charge, which this calculator does not count. Add your monthly subscription cost to the delivery side for a fair comparison.
No, deliberately. Cooking takes time that delivery does not, and this calculator prices money only. Weigh the $5,067.40 saving against the hours cooking takes before deciding how many nights to cook.
At 1 meal a week, delivery costs $1,247.48 a year and home cooking $234.00, saving $1,013.48. The saving scales with frequency: the more nights you order, the more cooking saves.
Yes, it shrinks it. Food bought and thrown away raises the true home cost. Planning meals and using leftovers keeps the home figure close to the $4.50 default.
No. Sales tax varies by location and is left out, so the delivery total here is slightly conservative. Adding tax would widen the saving further.
To show the yearly habit, not one order. A single delivery feels affordable; the same habit repeated weekly for a year is $6,237.40, which is the number that changes decisions.