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How much should groceries cost a week in 2026?

By Robin Lange · 7 October 2026 · updated 8 October 2026

In the US, the USDA’s Thrifty Food Plan puts a healthy diet on a tight budget at $236.30 a week ($1,023.70 a month) for a family of four in August 2026. On its moderate plan, the same family’s four people add up to $320.50 a week. In New Zealand, the University of Otago puts a basic healthy diet for a family of four at NZ$295 a week (about NZ$1,278 a month) at February 2025 prices, or NZ$383 a week on its moderate diet. For one adult living alone, the USDA figures come to about $70 a week for a woman and $88 for a man on the Thrifty plan. Otago gives NZ$82 for a woman and NZ$95 for a man as part of a family, and says someone living alone probably pays more.

Both cost a nutritious diet bought at the supermarket and cooked at home, which makes them a sound starting point for your own budget. The grocery budget calculator gives a weekly and monthly figure for any mix of ages, in the US or New Zealand.

A family of four, by the week and the month

A month is the week times 4.333, the USDA’s own conversion. The US Thrifty month is the USDA’s published figure; the rest are worked out. The USDA’s reference family is two adults aged 20 to 50 and two children aged 6 to 8 and 9 to 11. Otago’s is two adults and two children aged 10 and 4.

United States: USDA food plans, August 2026

The USDA publishes four food plans each month, from Thrifty up to Liberal. The Thrifty plan’s family-of-four figure is the one used to set the maximum SNAP benefit.

The family of four is two adults aged 20 to 50 and two children aged 6 to 8 and 9 to 11. The USDA publishes a family total only for the Thrifty plan; the other three are the four people in the table added together. The USDA rounds each figure to the nearest 10 cents, so the Thrifty column adds up to $236.20 against its published $236.30.

For a man, the Thrifty plan costs slightly more than the Low-cost plan. The plans rest on different foundations: the Thrifty plan was reevaluated in 2021, while the Low-cost, Moderate and Liberal plans are still based on 2001 and 2002 data, brought up to date with food price indexes.

For one person or a couple

The figures are for people in a four-person household. For smaller households, the USDA suggests adding 20% for one person and 10% for two. Applied to the table:

For other sizes, the USDA’s rule is to add the people up, then add 5% for three people, take off 5% for five or six, and take off 10% for seven or more.

New Zealand: University of Otago estimates, 2025 prices

The University of Otago’s Department of Human Nutrition costs a healthy diet at 16 supermarkets across Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin. Its 2025 edition, used here, collected prices in February 2025.

The family here is two adults and two children aged 10 and 4, a little different from the USDA’s family. Moderate is the basic diet plus 30%, with some convenience foods; liberal is moderate plus 20%.

By city, the family of four costs NZ$302 a week on the basic diet in Auckland, NZ$298 in Wellington, NZ$294 in Dunedin and NZ$281 in Christchurch.

The survey uses shelf prices without specials, so a shopper who buys on special can spend less. It also prices family-size packs, and says that for one, two and three-person households the costs are probably underestimated. It doesn’t say by how much.

Prices have moved since February 2025: in the year to August 2026 alone, Stats NZ measured food prices up 1.9%.

Prices are still rising, slowly

In the US, food-at-home prices rose 2.2% in the year to August 2026, by the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ measure, and the USDA forecasts 2.4% for food at home in 2026 as a whole. In New Zealand, food prices rose 1.9% in the same year, on a Stats NZ measure that also counts restaurant meals and ready-to-eat food. A budget that worked last year probably needs a couple of percent more now.

Setting your own budget

1. Pick the plan closest to how you shop now. You can adjust after a real week.
2. Add up your household from the per-person rows, then adjust for its size. The grocery budget calculator does this for every age group.
3. Add non-food items separately. These figures are food only; cleaning products and toiletries come on top.
4. Check it against a real shop. Keep a running total for a week or two and compare. The free shopping calculator on this site keeps that total in your browser.

Sources

• USDA Food and Nutrition Administration, USDA Food Plans: Monthly Cost of Food Reports, August 2026: the Thrifty, Low-cost, Moderate and Liberal tables, the household-size adjustments, the SNAP note, and the footnotes on the 2021 Thrifty plan, the 2001-02 basis of the other three, the rounding to 10 cents and the 4.333 weekly-to-monthly conversion. Published September 2026.
• University of Otago, Department of Human Nutrition, Information Package for Users of the New Zealand Estimated Food Costs 2025, Table 3 (national and city figures), its methods (16 supermarkets, family-size packs, moderate as basic plus 30% with some convenience foods, and liberal as moderate plus 20%) and its notes on specials and household size; prices collected 13 to 23 February 2025.
• Stats NZ, Selected price indexes: August 2026, key facts table (the food group’s annual change and its subgroups, which include restaurant meals and ready-to-eat food); released 18 September 2026.
• US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index, food at home (series CUUR0000SAF11), August 2025 and August 2026.
• USDA Economic Research Service, Food Price Outlook: summary findings, September 2026.