Cooking at Home vs Eating Out: Which Is Actually Cheaper? I Did the Math

'Cooking at home is cheaper' is common wisdom, but is it really true? I actually calculated a month's food costs to compare.

■ Home Cooking Pattern (Monthly Food Cost)
- Groceries: approx. 15,000 yen (3,750 yen/week shopping)
- Seasonings: approx. 1,000 yen
- Utilities (increased gas/water): approx. 2,000 yen
- Total: approx. 18,000 yen

■ All Eating Out Pattern (Monthly Food Cost)
- Breakfast: Matsuya morning set 350 yen x 30 days = 10,500 yen
- Lunch: One-coin lunch 500 yen x 30 days = 15,000 yen
- Dinner: Chain restaurant 600 yen x 30 days = 18,000 yen
- Total: approx. 43,500 yen

■ Hybrid Pattern (Mostly cooking + eating out twice/week)
- Home cooking portion: approx. 12,000 yen
- Eating out (2x/week x 500 yen x 4 weeks): 4,000 yen
- Seasonings + utilities: 2,500 yen
- Total: approx. 18,500 yen

■ Conclusion
Home cooking ≈ Hybrid << All eating out

However, cooking at home has the cost of 'time.'
30 min/day x 30 days = 15 hours. At 1,000 yen/hour, that's 15,000 yen worth of labor.

Personally, I think the hybrid approach - meal prepping on weekends + mixing in budget chain restaurants on weekdays - offers the best balance.

Which pattern are you? Let us know in the comments!

* Listed prices are from 2025. Prices may vary by location and time. Please check with each restaurant for current prices.