How much does a daily coffee cost a year?

A single bought coffee on workdays can cost well over a thousand dollars a year, and more than one a day or seven days a week pushes it much higher. Making it at home costs a fraction per cup once you have a machine.

Is it worth making coffee at home?

For the money, yes; the per-cup cost at home is a fraction of a cafe price, so the yearly saving can be large. Many people keep a balance, buying coffee as a treat or social outing while making most at home.

What could the saving grow to?

Invested rather than spent, the difference between bought and home coffee can grow meaningfully over years thanks to compounding. This calculator shows the yearly saving and what it might become if invested.

Coffee Habit Cost Calculator

This New Zealand calculator shows the annual cost of bought coffee versus making it at home, and what the difference could grow to if invested. A daily flat white feels small but adds up to far more than most people expect over a year, let alone a decade. You enter how many you buy, the cafe and home prices, and the tool shows the yearly cost, the saving from making it at home, and the long-term value of investing that saving.

Coffees bought per day

Days per week

Cafe price each

Home cost each

saved a year by making it at home

Bought, per year$0

Home, per year$0

Saving invested 10 years (6%)$0

The investment figure grows the yearly saving as a regular contribution at 6% for 10 years, to show the long-term effect; returns are not guaranteed. A balance of home and the occasional bought coffee is perfectly reasonable. Estimate only.

How it works

The calculator works out how many coffees you buy a year from your per-day and per-week figures, then costs them at the cafe price and at the home price. The difference is your yearly saving from making coffee at home. To show the bigger picture, it grows that yearly saving as a regular yearly investment at 6% over 10 years, which is where a small daily habit turns into a surprisingly large number.

Worked example

One coffee a day, 5 days a week, is 260 a year. At $5.50 that is $1,430; at 80 cents to make at home, about $208. The saving is around $1,222 a year, which invested at 6% for 10 years could grow to roughly $16,100.

Related calculators

Takeaway vs Cooking Calculator: takeaways versus cooking.
Compound Interest Calculator: how the saving grows.
Budget Calculator: your budget.
Subscription Cost Calculator: subscription costs.

If you've found a bug, or would like to contact us, or learn more about James Graham and Calculate.co.nz.

Calculate.co.nz is partnered with Interest.co.nz for New Zealand's highest quality calculators and financial analysis.

All calculators and tools are provided for educational and indicative purposes only and do not constitute financial advice.

Calculate.co.nz is proudly part of the Realtor.co.nz group, New Zealand's leading property transaction literacy platform, helping Kiwis understand the home buying and selling process from start to finish. Whether you're a first home buyer navigating your first property purchase, an investor evaluating your next acquisition, or a homeowner planning to sell, Realtor.co.nz provides clear, independent, and trustworthy guidance on every step of the New Zealand property transaction journey.

Calculate.co.nz is also partnered with Health Based Building and Premium Homes to promote informed choices that lead to better long-term outcomes for Kiwi households.

Calculate.co.nz is hosted in Auckland via SiteHost new Zealand.

All content on this website, including calculators, tools, source code, and design, is protected under the Copyright Act 1994 (New Zealand). No part of this site may be reproduced, copied, distributed, stored, or used in any form without prior written permission from the owner.