How consumers could save money eating out (2024)

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Everyone has seen a stark increase in their grocery bill from the start of the pandemic to now.

It used to be said that eating out costs more than making food at home, but with inflation, that is not always the case.

The average annual food-at-home price rose 5% from 2022 to 2023. This is double than the average consumers have seen over the past 20 years. The steep increase is mainly due to grocery stores being directly impacted by supply chain issues and rising food costs.

The cost of ingredients is a small part of the bill when eating out at restaurants. When dining out, the cost is spread around and you’re often paying for the experience (labor, ambiance, etc.). However, eating out has been impacted by inflation too.

The Department of Labor and Statistics reports the cost to dine out last month was about 5% higher compared to January 2023.

A lot of factors go into which way of eating is cheaper. For example, shopping at high end grocery stores can be compared to fine dining. It also depends on what you’re buying at the grocery store. The argument for cooking at home has been that families or individuals could stretch their groceries with leftovers and meal prepping, but many restaurants have expanded their catering menus to help consumers eat out in a cost effective way.

“It's a way to, you know, bring in customers who may not normally go into the restaurant very often that they do want to eat at home,” said John Barker who is with the Ohio Restaurant and Hospitality Alliance. “I know in our home if we do that, we typically then have that for two or three days. You have the actual meal and then the next day you're eating some sandwiches and the next day you're sort of finishing up a few of the sides, and so you can stretch it out a little bit.”

The restaurant industry is projected to make about $1 trillion in revenue this year.