According to new research, a low-fat vegan diet cuts food costs by 19%, or $1.80 per day, compared with a standard American diet that includes meat, dairy, and other animal products. The study also found that a Mediterranean diet costs 60 cents more per day. Total food costs on a vegan diet were 25% lower, $2.40 per day, compared with the Mediterranean diet.

“As grocery prices remain quite high, consumers might consider replacing meat and dairy products with a low-fat vegan diet of fruits, vegetables, grains, and beans. This change could potentially save more than $650 a year on grocery expenses compared to a standard American diet and over $870 compared to the Mediterranean diet,” says Hana Kahleova, MD, PhD, the lead author of the study and director of clinical research at the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. “Adopting a vegan diet can not only lead to financial savings but also improve health by reducing the risk or severity of conditions such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease.”

The decrease in costs on the vegan diet was mainly attributable to savings of $2.90 per day on meat, 50 cents per day on dairy products, and 50 cents per day on added fats. These savings outweighed the increased spending of 50 cents per day on vegetables, 30 cents per day on grains, and 50 cents on meat alternatives on the vegan diet.

The new research is a secondary analysis of a previous study by the Physicians Committee, which compared a low-fat vegan diet to a Mediterranean diet. In this study, participants were randomly assigned to follow either a low-fat vegan diet—which included fruits, vegetables, grains, and beans—or a Mediterranean diet, which emphasized fruits, vegetables, legumes, fish, low-fat dairy, and extra-virgin olive oil, for 16 weeks. There were no calorie restrictions for either group. After this phase, participants returned to their baseline diets for a four-week washout before switching to another diet for 16 weeks. The findings showed that the low-fat vegan diet resulted in better outcomes for weight, body composition, insulin sensitivity, and cholesterol levels compared to the Mediterranean diet.

For the food cost assessment, intakes from the study participants’ dietary records were linked to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Thrifty Food Plan, 2021, a database of national food prices, which are calculated from data collected for the consumer price index. The reduction in costs associated with a vegan diet primarily resulted from savings of $2.90 per day on meat, $0.50 per day on dairy products, and $0.50 per day on added fats. These savings exceeded the additional expenses of $0.50 per day on vegetables, $0.30 per day on grains, and $0.50 per day on meat alternatives. Overall, the vegan diet proved to be more economical.