Budget Calculator
How to Calculate Your Grocery Budget
At Instacart, we know how much time meal planning, budgeting, and grocery shopping can take, and just how quickly those grocery lists can add up.
Between prepped family meals, last-minute recipes, and rushing back to the store to pick up a missing ingredient, it can be tough to keep up with your financial goals.
To help, Instacart has developed custom guides and a grocery budget calculator to keep you on track so you can spend more time on the things you love.
Try the Calculator
Add details about people in your household and select preferences to calculate your grocery budget.
This calculator utilizes data from the average USDA grocery plan estimates.
How many people do you live with?
What kind of shopper are you?
$
You buy lower-cost groceries and may receive food assistance.
You buy lower-cost groceries and may receive food assistance.
How do you get your groceries?
Your grocery budget
Weekly cost:0.00
Monthly cost:0.00
How to Make a Grocery Budget In 3 Easy Steps
1. Use the calculator above to determine your best grocery budget depending on your household’s ages, genders, grocery preferences, and more. 2. Make a grocery list that includes household necessities, cooking ingredients, snacks, drinks, and common monthly purchases. You may want to track this for over a month. 3. Track the costs of all grocery items and compare them to your calculated budget. Utilize this total to make changes where needed to your shopping habits.Quick Tips For Grocery Budgeting
1. Determine Your Budget
The first step is to get a better understanding of how much you should spend on groceries per week or month. Use the calculator above if you’re not sure what yours is yet, and then keep track of all your food expenses. Whether you do that on your phone, computer, tablet, or on paper is completely up to you!
2. Track Relevant Promos & Coupons
Check for products on sale from your favorite retailers or make use of applicable Instacart promos. Visit our promos & coupons resource for more information.
3. Plan Your Meals
Make use of meal planning to cut down on food waste and meals eaten out of the home. Check out our meal planning ideas for more information.
4. Buy More Frozen Food
Frozen, canned, and other less perishable food items are one of the easiest ways to cut down on food waste and to make the most of your budget. You can also freeze pre-portioned meals as part of a meal plan to help stretch your budget.
5. Eat At Home
Eating out of the home is one of the quickest ways to increase your overall food spending. Instead, make your favorite meals at home, try new recipes, and bring homemade food to work.
6. Stay Organized
Make sure to write down items in the weekly or monthly shopping list to keep track of everything you need and to cut down on costly last-second trips to the store to grab missing ingredients. You can slowly add items to your Instacart shopping cart as you run out or remember them to make things even easier when it’s time to place your order.
Frequently asked questions
This calculator utilizes data from the average USDA grocery plan estimates, which is updated for accuracy and inflation monthly and modifies totals based on user-entered factors such as gender, age, total family members per household, meals eaten outside of the home per week, spending habits, and grocery sourcing preference.
According to 2022 data from the USDA, a moderate-cost plan for a grocery budget for one person can range between $76.92 and $96.72 per week, or between $333.48 and $418.80 per month. These totals range based on gender and age, and don’t take into account factors including grocery source, meals eaten out per week, and dietary restrictions. Use the calculator above for a budget catered to you.
According to 2022 data from the USDA, a thrifty food budget for one person can range between $56.88 and $78.12 per week, or between $246.24 and $338.64 per month. These totals range based on gender and age, and don’t take into account factors including grocery source, meals eaten out per week, and dietary restrictions. Use the calculator above for a budget catered to you.
According to 2022 data from the USDA, a reasonable food budget for a family can vary dramatically. Due to factors including age, total family members, gender, spending habits, and meals eaten per week out of the house, the best way to determine a reasonable food budget for a family is to use the calculator shown above.
According to 2022 data from the USDA, the cost of a thrifty food budget for a family of four was an average weekly cost of $204.90 and an average monthly cost of $887.80. This was based on a reference family: Male and Female, 20-50 years, and Two Children, 6-8 and 9-11 years. Your own totals may range based on gender, age, grocery source, meals eaten out per week, and dietary restrictions. Use the calculator above for a budget catered to your family.
Please visit our meal planning resources for more information.