Unit Price Compare Calculator
Unit price comparison: enter two prices and sizes to get each price per ounce, milliliter or item and see which is the better value. How it works
Use the Unit Price Compare Calculator
About the Unit Price Compare Calculator
$5.00 for 500 g costs $0.28 an ounce and $4.00 for 16 oz costs $0.25 an ounce, so product B is the better value, 11.8% cheaper per ounce. The unit price calculator divides each price by its size in one common unit (ounces for weights, milliliters for volumes, items for counts) and compares two products of the same kind at a time.
Package sizes in the unit the tool compares
| Package size | Compared as |
|---|---|
| 100 g | 3.527 oz |
| 250 g | 8.818 oz |
| 500 g | 17.637 oz |
| 1,000 g | 35.274 oz |
| 1 lb | 16 oz |
| 2 lb | 32 oz |
| 250 ml | 250 ml |
| 500 ml | 500 ml |
| 1 L | 1,000 ml |
| 2 L | 2,000 ml |
Grams use 28.3495 g to the ounce and a pound is 16 ounces. A weight compares only with a weight and a volume only with a volume.
Worked comparisons
| Product A | Product B | Unit price A | Unit price B | Better value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $5.00 for 500 g | $4.00 for 16 oz | $0.28/oz | $0.25/oz | B, 11.8% cheaper |
| $3.99 for 12 oz | $6.49 for 24 oz | $0.33/oz | $0.27/oz | B, 18.7% cheaper |
| $3.00 for 12 oz | $6.50 for 24 oz | $0.25/oz | $0.27/oz | A, 7.7% cheaper |
| $2.49 for 1 L | $1.29 for 500 ml | $0.00249/ml | $0.00258/ml | A, 3.5% cheaper |
| $4.99 for 1 lb | $9.50 for 2 lb | $0.31/oz | $0.30/oz | B, 4.8% cheaper |
| $7.00 for 12 ct | $10.00 for 18 ct | $0.58/ct | $0.56/ct | B, 4.8% cheaper |
Percent cheaper is the saving divided by the dearer unit price. The third row shows that the larger package is not always the cheaper one.
How to use this tool
- Enter the price, the quantity and the unit of product A, then the same for product B. For a multipack, fill Items per pack (a whole number from 1 to 10,000): Quantity is then the size of one item, so 12 × 355 ml counts as 4,260 ml. Leave it blank for a single item.
- Use the same kind of unit on both sides: two weights, two volumes or the same count unit (ct, bg or pk).
- Read each unit price, the product marked Best Value, the percent cheaper and the saving per unit.
- Press Reset values to go back to the two example products.
Frequently asked questions
- How do I calculate unit price?
- Divide the price by the quantity in a common unit. $3.99 for 12 oz is $0.33 an ounce ($0.3325) and $6.49 for 24 oz is $0.27 an ounce, so the larger pack is 18.7% cheaper per ounce.
- Can I compare grams with ounces, or liters with milliliters?
- Yes. Grams and pounds are converted to ounces and liters to milliliters. $2.49 for 1 L is $0.00249 a milliliter and $1.29 for 500 ml is $0.00258, so the liter is 3.5% cheaper per milliliter.
- What does 11.8% cheaper mean?
- It is the saving divided by the dearer unit price: ($0.2835 − $0.25) ÷ $0.2835 is 11.8%, so product B is 11.8% cheaper than product A. Measured against B instead, the saving would read 13.4%.
- Is the bigger package always cheaper per unit?
- No. $4.99 for 1 lb is $0.31 an ounce and $9.50 for 2 lb is $0.30, so the larger one saves 4.8%. But $3.00 for 12 oz is $0.25 an ounce and $6.50 for 24 oz is $0.27, so the smaller one is 7.7% cheaper.
- Why does a unit price show so many decimals?
- When two decimals would read $0.00, the tool shows significant digits instead: $0.00249 per milliliter. Larger unit prices show cents, such as $0.28 an ounce.
- How do I compare drinks priced in fluid ounces?
- The tool has no fluid ounce unit, and it will not set the weight ounce against milliliters, so convert to milliliters first: 1 US fl oz is 29.57 ml, so 64 fl oz is about 1,893 ml and 32 fl oz about 946 ml. $3.49 for the 64 fl oz jug is then $0.00184 a milliliter and $1.99 for 32 fl oz is $0.0021, so the jug is 12.4% cheaper.
Related Tools
View all toolsCooking Unit Price Calculator
Unit price for up to five groceries: price, quantity and unit give the cost per gram, per 100 g, per ml or per item, with the cheapest marked.
Car Lease vs. Buy Calculator
Total cost of buying with a loan versus leasing a car over one period: down payment, loan, tax, upkeep and resale value against lease payments and fees.
Discount Calculator
Discount calculator: sale price after a percent or amount off, the percent off between two prices, or the original price. A second discount can stack on top.
Profit Margin Calculator
Margin calculator: gross, operating and net margin, markup and profit from cost and price, or the selling price for a target margin or markup.
Markup Calculator
Markup, sale price, profit and gross margin from a cost plus a markup %, a sale price or a profit. A 50% markup on $50 sells for $75.00 (33.33% margin).
Sales Tax Reverse Calculator
Enter the total you paid and the sales tax rate to get the price before tax and the tax inside it, worked out as total ÷ (1 + rate).