Is it cheaper to buy Limes or Lime Juice?
Lime juice is an essential flavorful ingredient in many dinner, salad, and desserts recipes. Growing up in Florida and eating a lot of Mexican food has made lime juice an essential item in our fridge.
Now that I no longer live in Florida and don’t have access to a lime tree, it made me wonder if it is cheaper to buy pre-squeezed lime juice or just buy a bag of limes. Let’s find out!
How much does fresh squeezed lime juice cost?
The average lime will make 2 tablespoons (1 oz) of lime juice. So, to make 1/2 a cup of lime juice you will need to have at least 4 limes.
Let’s head to the grocery store and see how much fresh limes typically cost.
| Amount of Limes | Store & Price | Cost per Lime |
| 1 lime | Stop & Shop, $0.59 each | $0.59 |
| 32oz bag of limes (approx. 10 limes) | Wegmans, $5.19 | $0.51 |
| 1 lime | Food Bazaar, $0.33 each | $0.33 |
| 1 lime | ShopRite, $0.44 each | $0.44 |
| 16oz bag of limes (approx. 5 limes) | Aldi, $2.55 | $0.51 |
| 1 lime | Fairway, $0.86 | $0.86 |
| 32oz bag of limes (approx. 10 limes) | ACME Markets, $5.59 | $0.55 |
| 3lb bag of limes (approx. 15 limes) | Sam’s Club, $4.60 | $0.31 |
| Average cost of 1 oz fresh lime juice: | $0.51 |
After taking an average cost of fresh limes at a few different grocery stores, we have determined that the average cost of fresh squeezed lime juice came out to $0.51 per 1 ounce.
We also noticed that buying limes in a bag was not always cheaper than buying them individually. So, keep an eye out and do the math before buying limes, it could save you a lot of money to just pick out your own limes.
How much is lime juice in the grocery store?
Now let’s head back to the grocery store and see how much pre-squeezed lime juice runs. This will let us find out which way comes out cheaper.
| Lime Juice (Size) | Price & Store | Price per 1 oz of juice |
| ReaLime 8oz | ShopRite, $2.54 | $0.32 |
| Nature’s Nectar, 32 oz | Aldi, $3.09 | $0.09 |
| Wegman’s, 16oz | Wegman’s, $5.79 | $0.36 |
| Badia, 10 oz | Stop & Shop, $2.39 | $0.23 |
| Signature Farms 4oz | ACME Markets, $1.79 | $0.44 |
| Great Value 15oz | Walmart, $1.00 | $0.07 |
| Santa Cruz Organic, 16oz | Target, $6.39 | $0.39 |
| ReaLime, 64oz (2x32oz bottles) | BJ’s Wholesale Club, $6.79 | $0.10 |
| Average Cost per 1 oz juice: | $0.25 |
The average cost of pre-squeezed lime juice found at the grocery store comes out to about $0.25 per 1 ounce of juice.
The cheapest option was actually from Walmart, where a $1.00 bottle came out to only $0.06 per 1 ounce of juice.
Buying already squeezed lime juice is the cheaper option compared to fresh squeezed lime juice.
Is it worth it to squeeze your own lime juice?
Even though it is cheaper to buy lime juice than make your own, there are some instances when making your own lime juice makes sense.
One of my favorite spots in the grocery store is the “discount produce” bin. I have found so many great deals on less than perfect or ripe produce.
Another option is if you happen to have a lime tree or know someone who does! When you take the cost of the limes out, then it is definitely worth it to make your own.
One of the major downsides of making your own lime juice is that the juice will not last a long time. You can pre-squeeze a whole bunch of limes and just store it in the fridge. You can freeze the juice in ice cube trays and then pull them out when needed though.
Before you juice limes, you can also zest them for their flavorful aroma and add the zest to rice, desserts, or even iced tea!
For more cost breakdown of buying versus making, check out “Is it Cheaper to make or buy Oat Milk?” and “Is it Cheaper to make or buy a Key Lime Pie?“
