How much should you budget for groceries a month? The calculator for your household

The calculator above shows, for your household, the 2025/2026 guideline value from Budgetberatung Schweiz, the Swiss budget counselling association, and the average measured by the Federal Statistical Office (FSO). The FSO average for 2023 across all households (2.07 persons on average) is about CHF 638 a month for food and non-alcoholic drinks consumed at home; the guideline values run from CHF 370 to 1'250 depending on household type and net income.

Updated October 2026. Sources: FSO, Household Budget Survey 2023 (press release of 17 November 2025) and tables T20.02.01.00.13 and T20.02.01.00.43 (2018-2019 and 2020-2021); Budgetberatung Schweiz, budget examples 2025/2026 (in German; viewed on 21 October 2026).

How much should you plan for groceries? The calculator

The grocery budget is the amount you plan each month for food and non-alcoholic drinks consumed at home. The calculator starts from your household and does not ask for your income. To use it:

1. Enter how many adults are in the household: 1, 2, 3 or more.
2. Enter how many children there are (0 to 6) and how many of them are aged 12 or over.
3. If you are a single person or a couple without children, say whether you are aged 65 or over (for a couple, the older partner counts).
4. If you like, enter what you spend on groceries per month.
5. Read the result: the guideline value, the measured average and, if you entered your spending, where you stand.

The values you enter stay in your browser: the page does not send them and does not save them.

Guideline values and measured averages

Source: FSO, rounded to the franc; for couples the age is that of the older person, and the tables do not split single-parent households by number of children. Average of all households in 2023: CHF 638, with 2.07 persons; the FSO has not published 2023 figures by household type, and the 2022-2024 series is announced for November 2026.

Budgetberatung Schweiz publishes no range for three or more adults, for a couple with four or more children or for a single parent with four or more children: the calculator says so, shows only the measured average (for three or more adults, the one for all households) and does not place your figure.

How do you read the result?

If you entered your spending, the calculator says whether it is below the range, within the range or above the range, and by how many francs it is from the nearest end. It is a comparison, not a verdict: being above or below does not say whether you spend well or badly.

The guideline value says how much to plan for; the measured average says how much the surveyed households spent, high earners included. Under the result the calculator reminds you that the guideline depends on net income, that the average describes past spending and that neither is a target.

For each child aged 12 or over, the calculator raises the range by CHF 50 at the lower end and by CHF 100 at the upper end; the 65-or-over answer only picks the matching average, because the guideline does not depend on age.

More detail by household: how much money for food a month, the grocery budget by number of people, and the budgets for someone living alone, a family of four, a single parent and seniors.

How do you find your own figure?

You find your figure by adding up the receipts of a whole month.

1. Keep every grocery receipt for a whole month; note the amount of any purchase without a receipt.
2. Add up only food and non-alcoholic drinks for home: restaurants, alcohol, cleaning products and personal care stay out.
3. Enter the monthly total in the calculator.
4. If you can, repeat with a second month: a single month may not be typical.

Use the result as a reference, not a target. The grocery budget is only one line of a household budget: for fixed costs there is the fixed-costs calculator.

How do you keep track of groceries after the calculation?

You can take the first step today: keep this week’s grocery receipts. Rappn is a free Swiss app (iOS and Android) that compares the current promotions of seven Swiss retailers and turns receipts into a spending overview: you photograph a receipt, upload it from your gallery or enter a purchase by hand, and the app sorts your purchases into categories and shows your spending by month, next to your own monthly average. Rappn covers groceries only, not rent, insurance or taxes. Rappn is building an AI assistant for groceries: you can join the waitlist.