Eating Out vs Cooking Calculator
Example: Meals eaten out per week: 6 meals · Restaurant cost per meal: 16 $ · Home-cooked cost per meal: 4.5 $
| Monthly savings by cooking | $299 |
| Annual savings by cooking | $3,588 |
| Monthly cost if cooked at home | $117 |
Worked example
Suppose you eat out six times a week at about $16 a meal, while the same meals cooked at home run about $4.50. Restaurant spending works out to roughly $416 a month; cooking those meals costs about $117. Switching them all home saves close to $299 a month and about $3,600 a year. Even moving just half of those meals home banks about $1,800 annually — real money toward savings, debt, or investing.
Frequently asked questions
Does this include tips, delivery fees, and drinks?
It should. Restaurant cost per meal is far higher once you add tax, tip, a drink, and any delivery or service fees, so use the all-in amount you actually pay rather than the menu price. That is where most of the gap versus home cooking comes from.
Is a home-cooked meal really that much cheaper?
Typically, yes. Government spending data consistently shows food prepared at home costs a fraction of the same food away from home, because restaurants price in labor, rent, and margin. A meal that costs a few dollars in groceries commonly sells for three to four times as much prepared.
What about the value of my time?
Time matters, and cooking is not free. But many home meals take 20 to 30 minutes, and the savings per hour of cooking often far exceed most people's after-tax wage. Meal prep can push that hourly return even higher by cooking several meals at once.
How should I use this without giving up eating out entirely?
Pick a sustainable number. Many people keep one or two restaurant meals a week they truly enjoy and cook the rest, capturing most of the savings while keeping the social and convenience benefits. Set the meals-per-week input to that target and see the yearly result.