Meal Prep Cost Calculator

About this calculator

Batch cooking only saves money if you actually know what a serving costs you. This calculator adds up every ingredient that goes into a batch — plus any packaging or containers — and divides by how many servings it makes, so you get an honest cost per serving instead of a vague guess. Enter a typical takeout price for the same meal and it shows exactly how much each home-cooked portion saves. It works whether you are a student stretching a grocery budget, a family planning the week, or someone meal-prepping lunches to hit a fitness goal.

How to read your results

The big number is your cost per serving — the headline figure for deciding whether a recipe is worth repeating. Underneath, the batch total is what the whole cook actually costs, and the servings tell you how far it stretches. If you fill in a takeout price, two more stats appear: how much you save on each serving and what percentage cheaper cooking is than ordering out. A serving that costs $3 against a $12 takeout meal is 75% cheaper, which adds up fast across a week of lunches.

Worked example

A chicken-and-rice meal prep: chicken $6, rice and veg $4, sauce and spices $2, in 4 containers that cost $0 (reused). The batch makes 4 servings. A similar takeout bowl runs $12.

The batch totals $12, so each serving costs $3. Against the $12 takeout price you save $9 per serving — 75% cheaper — which is about $36 saved across the whole 4-serving batch. Reusing those containers all week turns a small cook into real money kept.

Frequently asked questions

What counts as an ingredient cost?

Enter what you actually paid for the portion of each item the recipe uses, not the price of the whole package. If a bag of rice costs $4 and you use half, enter $2. For staples you buy in bulk — oil, spices, salt — a small estimate per batch is fine; they rarely change the per-serving figure much. The goal is a realistic batch total, not accounting to the cent.

Should I include packaging and containers?

Use the optional packaging field for anything that is not food but still costs you for this batch — disposable containers, foil, parchment, a one-off storage box. Reusable containers you already own are effectively free, so you can leave them at zero. Including real packaging cost keeps the cost per serving honest, especially for grab-and-go lunches.

How does the takeout comparison work?

Enter what one serving of a comparable meal would cost if you ordered it out. The calculator subtracts your home cost per serving from that price to show the saving per serving and the percentage cheaper, then multiplies by your servings to estimate the batch saving. Leave it blank if you just want the cost per serving — the comparison stats only appear once a takeout price is set.

Are my ingredient names saved anywhere?

No. Names exist only in your browser during the session as labels to keep your list organised. Nothing is uploaded, and if you copy the share link it records each ingredient cost, the servings, packaging, and takeout price so your totals match — but not the names. Everything is calculated on your device.

How it's calculated

The total cost is the sum of every ingredient cost plus any packaging or extras you enter. Cost per serving is that total divided by the number of servings the batch makes, rounded to two decimal places. When you provide a takeout price per serving, the per-serving saving is the takeout price minus your cost per serving (never below zero, so a recipe that costs more than takeout simply shows no saving), the percentage is that saving as a share of the takeout price, and the batch saving multiplies the per-serving saving by the number of servings. Ingredient names live only in your browser for the session and are never stored or included in a shared link — the link records each ingredient cost, the servings, packaging, and takeout price so the totals reproduce exactly.