Price Per Everything

What it is for

Shelf labels compare price per kilo, but that's not always the question. A pair of boots is better compared by price per wear, a printer cartridge by price per page, a lamp by price per hour, a mattress by price per year. Price Per Everything lets you pick the basis — unit, use, serving, hour or year — enter two or more products with their price and quantity, and ranks them from cheapest to most expensive on that basis.

It can also account for waste: coffee that goes stale, the bit of shampoo you can't get out of the bottle, the part of a big bag you never finish. Usable quantity is the quantity minus the waste share.

It doesn't judge quality, taste or convenience, and it assumes the prices include the same taxes and shipping.

Worked example

Coffee: a 250 g bag for 4.99 EUR, or a 1 kg bag for 15.49 EUR. You expect about 10% of the big bag to go stale before you finish it. Basis: unit (g).

Result: "Coffee 1 kg is cheapest at 0.01721 EUR per g, 14% less than Coffee 250 g." With waste, the big bag gives 900 usable grams at 0.0172 EUR/g; the small bag costs 0.0200 EUR/g. The small bag is 1.16 times as expensive per gram.

Shoes, cost per wear: budget sneakers at 40 USD that last about 120 wears, or leather boots at 180 USD that last about 900. Basis: use.

Result: "Leather boots is cheapest at 0.2 USD per use, 40% less than Budget sneakers" (0.33 USD per wear). The expensive option is cheaper if your wear estimate is right.

Breakfast, per serving: oats for 0.99 EUR (12.5 servings), granola for 3.49 EUR (15 servings), instant porridge cups at 2.79 EUR for 6. Oats come out at 0.0792 EUR per serving, 83% less than the cups at 0.465 EUR; granola sits in between at 0.233 EUR.

How to read the result

• Cheapest and saving vs. most expensive — the headline.
• Ranking — each product's usable quantity and price per unit, cheapest first.
• Relative to cheapest — 1.16 means 16% more expensive per unit than the winner.
• Assumptions — which products were given no waste, and the reminder that quality isn't compared.

Tips and common mistakes

• Choose the basis that matches how you use the product. Per gram is meaningless for shoes; per wear is meaningless for rice.
• Be honest about lifespan and waste. The bigger or more durable option only wins if you really use it up or wear it that often.
• Use the same unit for all products — all grams or all millilitres. The tool doesn't convert between units.
• For "per serving", use the serving size you actually eat, not the one printed on the pack.
• If one product needs extra things (pods need a machine, a cheap printer needs expensive ink), add that cost to its price or compare with the True Cost Calculator.

FAQ

How do I estimate uses or hours?

Use a realistic count: wears per week × weeks per year × years it should last. For electronics, the manufacturer's rated hours are a starting point.

Should I always buy the cheapest per unit?

Not if you'd waste a lot of it, or if it's clearly worse. For perishables, the Bulk Buy Brain tool also takes shelf life and storage into account.

Can I compare more than two products?

Yes, from 2 up to 20 products, all ranked together.

Why does a product with waste still win?

Because its price per usable unit can still be lower. In the coffee example, even with 10% waste the big bag is 14% cheaper per gram.