Vegetarian/Vegan Diet Grocery Savings Calculator
The 19% figure comes from a Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) study published in JAMA Network Open, which randomly assigned participants to a low-fat vegan diet for 16 weeks and tracked their actual grocery receipts -- they spent 19% less than typical standard American diet spending, over $650/year on average. The vegetarian figure is a softer, unconfirmed estimate (roughly half the vegan rate) since PCRM's study didn't measure a vegetarian diet separately -- treat it as a rough guess, not a confirmed number. Your actual savings depend on what you currently buy and how you shop.
See your estimated annual grocery savings from switching to a vegan or vegetarian diet, based on PCRM's peer-reviewed study finding a 19% ($650+/year) grocery cost reduction on a low-fat vegan diet vs. the standard American diet.
How it works
- Enter your current weekly grocery spending
- Pick vegan (the diet PCRM's study actually measured) or vegetarian (a softer, unconfirmed estimate)
- See your projected annual savings, based on PCRM's real-receipt study data
Frequently asked questions
Where does the 19% savings figure come from?
A Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) study published in JAMA Network Open randomly assigned participants to a low-fat vegan diet or a Mediterranean diet for 16 weeks and tracked their actual grocery receipts. The vegan group spent 19% less ($1.80/day, over $650/year) than typical standard American diet spending -- mostly from buying less meat, dairy, and added fats.
Is the vegetarian savings number from the same study?
No -- PCRM's study measured a vegan diet, not a vegetarian one. We show a softer, clearly-labeled estimate for vegetarian (roughly half the vegan savings rate) because we couldn't verify an exact vegetarian figure from this or any other reliable source -- treat it as a rough guess, not a confirmed number.
Is this exactly what I'll save?
No -- it's a projection based on one study's average findings applied to your own grocery spending. Your actual savings depend on what you currently buy and how you shop on a new diet.
Was this a small, informal study?
No -- it was a randomized controlled trial with real grocery receipt tracking over 16 weeks, published in a peer-reviewed journal (JAMA Network Open), which is a meaningfully stronger form of evidence than a survey or estimate.
Related tools
From the blog
Update history
- 2026-10-03 Added links to related tools.
- 2026-10-01 Launched: personalized grocery savings estimate for vegan/vegetarian diets, based on PCRM's JAMA Network Open study (19% grocery cost reduction on a vegan diet).