Eating less ultra-processed food costs a lot more
Short answerYes, but
On this page
Yes, it often costs more, but less than people fear when they pick the right staples. On the NIH ward in 2019, the ingredients for 2,000 calories a day cost an estimated $106 a week on the ultra-processed menu and $151 on the unprocessed one. Frozen, canned and dried foods that keep for months are groups 1 and 3, and they’re where to start.
What we’d do
Accept that a less processed diet can cost more, and spend where the swap does the most. Swap the drinks first, since sparkling water or tap water costs less than soda and there’s nothing to cook. Then build the rest around oats, eggs, dried beans and lentils, rice, frozen vegetables and canned fish, which are groups 1 and 3 and don’t spoil in a week.
If you remember three things
- The gap is real. Two studies found less processed menus cost more, by about 40% to 60%.
- Waste is part of the cost. In one study, the less processed foods expired in a median of 35 days, against 120.
- Some swaps save money. Water for soda costs nothing extra.
Why people believe it
The whole food aisle can look expensive, with its fresh berries, grass-fed meat and organic labels. Anyone shopping on a budget has stood in front of it and done the math.
But “less processed” doesn’t have to mean fresh, organic and fancy. NOVA’s groups 1 and 3 include frozen vegetables, canned beans, dried pasta, rice and oats.
The two studies
The NIH ward, 2019. Kevin Hall’s team estimated what the ingredients for each menu would cost at one supermarket chain. For 2,000 calories a day, the ultra-processed menu came to $106 a week and the unprocessed menu to $151, about 42% more. The researchers gave this as their own estimate for one set of menus, not a national average.
A typical American menu, 2024. Researchers built a low-quality, typical American menu twice, once mostly from ultra-processed food (67% of calories) and once from less processed versions of the same meals (20%). At fall 2023 grocery prices, the less processed copy cost $15.91 a day per person against $9.85, about 62% more. It also expired faster, a median of 35 days for its foods against 120 days. Both menus scored about the same on the Healthy Eating Index, 44 and 43 out of 100.
The second study makes a point the first doesn’t. Making the same meals with less processed ingredients cost more and didn’t make them healthier. The money is better spent changing what you eat than making the same meals from scratch.
What spoilage costs
Food you throw away costs the same as food you eat. NOVA’s authors say ultra-processed food is designed around low-cost ingredients and a long shelf life. The 2024 study found its ultra-processed menu items lasted a median of 120 days, and the less processed ones 35.
That’s why frozen, canned and dried food is the shortcut. Frozen peas are group 1 and keep for months. Canned beans and fish are group 3, and dried beans, lentils, rice, pasta and oats are group 1. You get the swap without the waste.
What the staples give you
A few of these, by the USDA’s figures:
| Food | Group | Calories | Protein | Fiber |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canned kidney beans, 1 cup | 3 | 218 | 13 g | 16.4 g |
| Cooked lentils, 1 cup | 1 | 230 | 18 g | 15.6 g |
| Frozen peas, 1 cup cooked | 1 | 125 | 8 g | 8.8 g |
| Oatmeal, 1 cup cooked | 1 | 145 | 6 g | 4.0 g |
| Eggs, 2 large | 1 | 156 | 12 g | 0 g |
| Canned tuna, 3 oz | 3 | 99 | 22 g | 0 g |
The best case for the belief
The belief holds up. Both studies found less processed food costs more, and for a family on a tight budget, 40% to 60% more is a real barrier. In the CDC’s numbers, US adults in families under 130% of the poverty line got 54.7% of their calories from ultra-processed food, and those at 350% and above got 50.4%. Price is likely part of why.
Where it goes too far is the idea that it’s all or nothing. Swapping a daily soda for water saves money. Swapping a frozen meal for pasta, jarred tomato sauce and ground beef you brown yourself takes about the time it takes to boil water.
What to do
- Swap the sweet drinks first. Water is the cheapest swap on this site.
- Buy frozen vegetables and fruit, canned beans and fish, dried pasta, rice and oats.
- Spend the extra on the one or two staples you eat every day, where the swap repeats most. The swap ladder shows the options.
- Cook one dinner a week from raw ingredients, and make enough to freeze.
6 sources
- Hall et al., Ultra-processed diets cause excess calorie intake and weight gain: an inpatient randomized controlled trial of ad libitum food intake, Cell Metabolism, 2019pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Hess et al., Using less processed food to mimic a standard American diet does not improve nutrient value and may result in a shorter shelf life at a higher financial cost, Current Developments in Nutrition, 2024pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Williams et al., Ultra-processed food consumption in youth and adults: United States, August 2021 to August 2023, NCHS Data Brief 536, 2025cdc.gov
- Monteiro et al., The UN Decade of Nutrition, the NOVA food classification and the trouble with ultra-processing, Public Health Nutrition, 2018pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Monteiro et al., Ultra-processed foods: what they are and how to identify them, Public Health Nutrition, 2019pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Gebhardt and Thomas, Nutritive Value of Foods, USDA Home and Garden Bulletin 72, 2002ars.usda.gov
