Meal Deal vs Packed Lunch Calculator
See what your weekday lunch really costs over a year, a bought café lunch, a supermarket meal deal, or a packed lunch from home, and how much switching down a tier could save you.
Estimate only. Prices are editable examples, real café, supermarket and ingredient prices vary by retailer, location and loyalty-scheme membership. This is an estimate, not financial advice.
Enter your lunch prices
Your annual cost for each option, and the saving from switching, appear here as you type.
How this is worked out
Each lunch option is priced per day, then multiplied by the number of days you buy or pack lunch each week and by 52 weeks. A bought café or sandwich-shop lunch typically costs around £7, a supermarket meal deal around £3.79, and a home-packed lunch (bread, filling, snack, drink) around £1.50 in ingredients. Small daily differences add up fast over a working year, this calculator shows the annual cost of each option side by side, plus the saving from moving down a tier.
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