Is it cheaper to make your own Coffee?

Mornings are usually a hectic time for getting yourself and your kids ready for school. It seems so much easier to just grab a cup of coffee on the road from a local coffee shop. That convenience for fresh brewed coffee is costing the average American about $2.75 a cup at the most popular coffee spots.

If your goal is to start tightening up your budget and saving money, it may make sense to start brewing that beloved coffee at home. To find out if making coffee at home is truly cheaper, we will look into if grinding your own coffee makes it cheaper, how much can you really save by making coffee at home, and some tips for saving money on making your own coffee at home.

Is coffee cheaper if you grind your own beans?

Let’s take a look and see if it is cheaper to grind your own coffee instead of buying already ground coffee. I priced out some regular non-sale dark roast whole coffee beans and pre-ground coffee to find the difference in price.

I chose dark roast because according to Roastycoffee.com, Starbucks mostly sells dark roast coffee and Starbucks sells the most coffee in the US.

Ground or Bean	Size	Cost per Package	Cost per ounce & cost per 8oz cup of brewed coffee
Eight O’clock Dark Italian Espresso, Whole Beans	32 oz bag	$14.54	$0.45
Starbucks French Dark Roast, Whole Beans	28 oz bag	$16.47	$0.59
Sams Choice Medium Dark, Whole Beans	12oz bag	$5.00	$0.42
Eight O’clock Dark Italian, Ground Coffee	32oz bag	$14.54	$0.45
Starbucks French Dark Roast, Ground Coffee	28oz	$8.29	$0.30
Sams Choice Medium Dark, Ground Coffee	12oz	$5.00	$0.42

I found it very interesting that 1 cup of whole bean coffee is equal to 1 cup of ground coffee, so already we can tell that the Eight O’Clock brand doesn’t charge “extra” for grinding your coffee for you. Whereas if you want whole bean Starbucks coffee, it can cost you almost double compared to them grinding it for you.

The general rule of thumb for making coffee at home is you need 2 tablespoons for every 8 oz of water. There are also approximately 2 tablespoons in every ounce of coffee. This is how we calculated the cost per 8oz cup.

The clear winner here was the pre ground coffee from Starbucks by far was the cheapest option for making coffee at home. This doesn’t even include the cost of a coffee grinder, and a mid-grade coffee burr grinder can cost you anywhere from $20 to $70 depending on the features you want.

I was very surprised at this data, because I assumed that buying whole coffee beans and grinding it yourself would not only be the winner, but that it would be much cheaper.

Overall, if you buy Starbucks brand whole bean coffee and make it at home, it will be much cheaper! The at home version will cost $0.59 per 8 oz cup versus a short (8oz) cup of dark roast coffee at Starbucks for $2.15. That comes out to a 72.6% savings.

If you are wondering about how long the whole bean and ground coffee last and what happens when it expires, check out “What happens if you drink expired coffee? to find out more information.

How much money can you save by making coffee at home?

We now know that grinding your own beans doesn’t really save you money, so how much can you really save making your own coffee at home?

Let’s assume that you buy one 8oz (short) coffee every weekday for 5 days a week. That would cost $10.75 a week at Starbucks.

That same dark roast coffee brewed at home and buying pre ground coffee, will cost you $1.50. That means you would save a total of $9.25 a week.

That averages out to $37 a month and a total of $444 a year. That may not seem like too much of a savings each year, but let’s face it most of us are not buying a short size coffee at Starbucks.

The most common size of coffee bought at Starbucks is actually the Grande which is a16oz cup. That means the average American will save $74 a month and $888 a year if they brew their own coffee at home.

12 Tips to Save Money on Coffee at home

So now that we know you can save almost $900 a year just in coffee, we need to really make the most of this! Let’s tackle some easy tips to save even more coffee.

1. Size of your coffee machine – If there is only one person drinking coffee in the household, then it does not make sense to buy a 12-cup size coffee machine. (Unless you have lots of guests come over frequently). Make sure to buy a coffee pot that is sized to your needs. If you buy a 12 cup coffee maker and make full batches every morning, but you don’t drink all 12 cups then you are literally throwing money down the sink. You can buy a small coffee maker that only makes 5 cups for about $20 at Walmart.
2. Types of Coffee Makers – there are so many options that come with coffee makers, and if you are drinking just straight regular brewed coffee, you may find that a mid grade priced machine does the job fine. If you prefer fancier coffee like lattes or iced coffee, you may want to spend more on a specialty coffee machine. You can also buy different styles like a French press coffee maker if you want that slow drip taste.
3. Programmable Coffee Machines – for years we had the cheapest of cheap coffee makers. You fill it with water and grounds and manually hit the button when you want coffee. It worked fine until one day it died. When shopping for a new coffee maker, I decided to splurge and get one that had a built-in timer. Now my coffee is ready when I want it, and I know longer have to make sure I turn on the coffee maker 20 minutes before I am ready for coffee. If you are rushed in the morning and trying to get kids ready and yourself out the door on time, save the headache and just buy one that turns on by itself in the morning. I make it part of my end of the night routine to prefill the coffee maker with grounds and water before I go to bed, so it is ready to go the next day.
4. Paper Filters – in general most people cannot tell a taste difference between expensive coffee filters and cheap generic ones. There is also not much difference between a brown or a white coffee filter. (spoiler alert: brown and white coffee filters are made of the same paper, just one is bleached to be white) So save yourself a few dollars and just buy the cheap generic filters. Just make sure that you buy the right size filter for your machine. Nothing is worse than making a pot of coffee with the wrong size filter and you end up with tons of coffee grounds in your cup!
5. Coffee Creamer and Syrups – if you prefer extra flavor in your coffee, check out the flavored creamers and syrups available at your grocery store. I personally love a sweet vanilla caramel macchiato creamer in my coffee in the morning, and I have tried multiple kinds. To be honest, I could not a major difference between name brand and the generic version. Save yourself some extra money and try the generic version of your favorite coffee creamer flavor. (For example: Starbucks Caramel Macchiato Creamer is $4.98 for a 28 oz bottle making it 17.8 cents per ounce. The Walmart brand Vanilla Caramel Creamer is $2.34 for a 32 bottle making it 7.3 cents per ounce. To me there is no real taste difference, in fact the Starbucks brand actually tastes a little too sweet for my liking).
6. To-Go Cups – Part of the convenience of buying coffee every morning is buying a cup that you can just throw away and not worry about taking back home. I am absolutely horrible about remembering to bring my coffee cup back home and it ends up sitting in my car for way longer than I had planned. Check out your local dollar store for cardboard to-go coffee cups! We buy a pack of five 16oz cups for $1.25, making each cup cost $0.25. (This used to be a much better deal before when their prices were only $1.00). You can also buy to-go cups at any store, just check the price per cup!
7. Reuse your cups – My husband and I drink our coffee mostly at home, but we do occasionally take our coffee to go with us on errands. To save a little bit more money, we rinse out our cardboard coffee cups and use them again for the next few days. Once it shows signs of cracking or discoloration, we go ahead and recycle them. This not only cuts down on cost, but also cuts down on washing coffee cups. We have very little cabinet space, so this actually eliminated the space needed to store coffee mugs as all.
8. Invest in a quality cup or 2– If you are good about taking your coffee cups home every day, then go ahead and get a good quality metal coffee cup that will not only keep your coffee hot longer but will also be more eco-friendly. Just make sure that the lid is in a good design for how you drink your coffee. I have tried so many different metal coffee cups and they are honestly not meant for people that gulp their coffee. I tend to take gulps of coffee every few minutes instead of sipping coffee slowly, and I have spilled so much coffee on myself while in the car. Due to the mess, I am sticking with my cardboard cups! If the metal cups work well for you, then you may want to invest in two of them so if one is dirty, you will always have a clean one ready to go.
9. Try out new recipes – If you are someone that likes to change your coffee order depending on the season and drinking the same coffee every day is too boring, then jump on Pinterest and check out all the copycat and at-home recipes of popular drinks available at coffee shops. Some of these recipes are so easy to do and are so much cheaper than the coffee house version.
10. Shop the Coffee Sales – Keep your eye on the sales flyers for your local grocery store and stock up when your favorite coffee is on sale. Check out “When you Grocery Shop Matters!” to see how I stock up on 3-6 months of coffee for almost 50% off just by buying it on sale.
11. Start with small packages – If you are just starting your home coffee brewing journey and not sure which coffee you like the best, then start by trying out small packages of multiple kinds, different roast levels, and different flavored coffee. You won’t truly know what you like best until you taste test it at home with your own machine. I would start with buying small bags of coffee that are on sale, and keep trying small bags until you find the one you like the best. Then start buying your coffee in larger packages like the cans because this is typically cheaper. Always check the price per ounce to make sure that bigger package is actually cheaper!
12. Instant Coffee – if you are only an occasional coffee drinker and don’t want to buy a coffee machine, check out instant coffee. There are tons to choose from that include plain coffee to flavored coffee. Even major names like Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts make instant versions of their coffee.

Is it cheaper to make your own Coffee?

Hands down without a doubt it is cheaper to make your own coffee at home. Now there is so much savings in brewing your own coffee you can even brew better quality coffee at home too and still save money.

If you are looking for the maximum amount of savings, check out the generic brands of pre ground coffee and any coffee that is on sale at your grocery store. Always compare the price per ounce to make sure it is a better deal.

Overall, the cup of coffee cost per day can really add up very quickly. I know some people that spend way higher than the average of $2.75 per cup. The most expensive cup of coffee at Starbucks can run $5.75 before taxes. If you are buying a Frappuccino five times a week, that coffee costs you almost $1500 a year.

With all the extra money in your pocket from brewing coffee at home, you can roll that savings into a Savings Challenge like the “$500 Nutty Saver” or apply that money to debt. Use a debt tracker like “Slay the Debt Dragon” to keep the motivation high and track your debt payoff progress!

If you’re a huge fan of Starbucks, check out “Things you may not know about Starbucks!” to get a better idea of how a typical Starbucks works in regard to the food that they serve and if you can even recycle their coffee cups!