Food delivery vs. cooking at home: what do you really save in 30 days?
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The question that plagues every working person in 2026
It's 6 pm, work was exhausting, and the push notification from Lieferando (one of the big German delivery apps) says “€2.50 delivery fee saved!”. Three taps, and 35 minutes later the food is there — convenient, no effort, tastes good. But what does it really cost? And how much do you save if you cook instead?
We did the maths: 30 days = 60 main meals (lunch + dinner), a realistic mix of “quick things” and “something a bit more elaborate”.
The real figures — the food-delivery scenario
Assumption: you order dinner from a delivery app 4 times a week; the rest is “something at home” or the canteen.
| Item | Per order | × 4 / week | × 30 days (≈ 17 orders) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Meal (avg. €15) | €15 | €60 | €255 |
| Delivery (€2.50–4.50) | €3.50 | €14 | €60 |
| Tip/service fee (approx. 10% on food + delivery) | €1.80 | €7.20 | €31 |
| Total | €20.30 | €81.20 | €346 |
Plus the remaining 43 or so main meals as well as breakfast and snacks (canteen, bread, leftovers, the occasional restaurant): another €150–250. Realistic total food budget per person: €500–600 a month.
The real figures — the cooking-at-home scenario
Assumption: you cook 5 days a week; on 2 days it's a restaurant or a leftovers meal.
| Item | Per unit | Per week | × 30 days (≈ 21 cooking evenings) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dinner ingredients (avg. €4 per person) | €4 | €20 | €85 |
| Lunch (last night's leftovers or canteen, avg. €3) | €3 | €15 | €65 |
| Restaurant 2× / week | €25 | €50 | €215 |
| Breakfast + snacks | — | — | €60 |
| Total | — | — | €425 |
Difference: €500–600 (delivery-dominated) vs. €425 (cooking-dominated) = €75–175 saved per month, which is €900–2,100 a year.
The hidden costs of both options
Hidden costs of food delivery
- Packaging waste: a pizza box, plastic tub and napkins 4 times a week = an estimated 15 kg or so of rubbish per person per year
- Health: restaurant and delivery meals are on average higher in salt, fat and sugar than home cooking — according to the 15th DGE Nutrition Report (the German Nutrition Society), most fast-casual restaurant dishes are well above the reference values for calories, fat, sugar and salt
- Waiting time: 30–50 min from order to food — time in which you could long since have cooked and eaten yourself
Hidden costs of cooking at home
- Food waste: without planning, one person throws an estimated €235 a year in the bin. With planning that can be cut by 40–50%.
- Time: shopping + cooking + clearing up = 1–1.5 h a day. But: last night's leftovers as lunch bring that down to an average of 30–45 min.
- Buying equipment: a one-off €200–300 for an AirFryer, pans and knives
When is what really worth it?
Ordering makes sense
- Getting home late (after 8 pm) and hungry
- Family turning up unannounced → pizza for 8
- A weekend evening when you want to relax
- Tired + ill → no energy for cooking
Cooking makes sense
- Routine weekdays (Monday to Thursday)
- Households of 2+ people (time and effort per person halve)
- Health or diet goals (delivery apps have limited diet options)
- Families with children (cooking together = an experience)
The hurdle that stops many people cooking
It isn't the time. It's the decision fatigue at 6 pm: “What shall I cook? Have I got everything? How long will it take?” This 3-minute paralysis leads to the delivery-app tap 4 times a week.
KI-Kochhilfe solves exactly that: you type in what you have (“I've got chicken, rice and peppers”), and in 60 seconds a recipe with a photo, quantities and steps is on your screen. No research, no Pinterest board, no decision.
The actual sums for KI-Kochhilfe users
The €75–175 above compares two lifestyles. Calculated conservatively, far less is enough: Premium plan €11.99/month (Premium because of the weekly menu planner — on the Basis plan at €5.99 the surplus is even bigger).
Expected saving: 2–3 fewer delivery orders a month → €40–60 less spent, minus €8–12 of ingredients for the home-cooked replacement dinners.
Net: around €20–35 a month in the black, plus less waste, healthier meals and weeks you can plan. The subscription pays for itself through avoided delivery-app taps alone.
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