Is a vegan diet more expensive than a regular diet?
Summary
Usually cheaper, not more expensive. A vegan diet built on staples — beans, lentils, rice, oats, potatoes, and seasonal produce — is typically the most affordable way to eat in high-income countries, cutting food costs by roughly 21-34% (Springmann et al., 2021). The "veganism is expensive" impression comes from specialty meat and cheese analogues, which are optional. One honest caveat: in some low- and middle-income countries where current diets are already very low-cost, a fully healthy plant-based diet can cost more — a reason to support food access, not a reason for most readers here to expect veganism to be pricey.
Supported by 4 cited sources
Key Points
- 1The study found that in high-income countries, vegan diets were the most affordable option, reducing food costs by 21-34% compared to current diets.
- 2Vegetarian diets followed with 27-31% reductions, while flexitarian diets reduced costs by about 14%.
- 3The perception that veganism is costly often stems from the price of specialty processed meat alternatives, which are not required for a nutritious plant-based diet.
- 4A Stanford University study published in One Earth (2023) found that in the EU, approximately 1,200 times more public funding goes to animal-source food products compared to plant-based alternatives.
Evidence Summary
A large-scale modeling study by Springmann et al., published in The Lancet Planetary Health in 2021, compared the cost of seven sustainable dietary patterns across 150 countries.
A key reason plant-based staples tend to be cheaper is that foods like dried beans, lentils, rice, oats, and potatoes are among the most affordable calorie and protein sources globally. In contrast, meat — especially beef — is one of the most expensive sources of protein per gram.
The cost comparison is also distorted by government subsidies. Analysis by the Environmental Working Group found that between 1995 and 2023, the USDA directed over $72 billion in subsidies to livestock and seafood producers, while allocating roughly $124 million to plant-based protein alternatives. These subsidies artificially lower the shelf price of animal products.
The picture is more nuanced in lower-income countries. The same study found that healthy and sustainable diets could be at least a third more expensive than current diets in regions like Sub-Saharan Africa, where existing diets are already very low-cost. A related study by Hirvonen et al. (2020) in The Lancet Global Health found that the EAT-Lancet reference diet cost a median of US$2.84 per day globally — a sum that exceeds household per capita income for at least 1.58 billion people.
Supporting Evidence
The Bottom Line
In summary, for people in high-income countries who build their diet around whole plant foods, a vegan diet is typically cheaper than a diet centered on animal products. The situation is more complex in lower-income settings where food access and pricing dynamics differ significantly.
Sources & Evidence
4 sources cited across 6 claims
The study found that in high-income countries, vegan diets were the most affordable...
Expert ConsensusA large-scale modeling study by Springmann et al., published in The Lancet Planetary...
ObservationalVegetarian diets followed with 27-31% reductions, while flexitarian diets reduced...
Expert ConsensusA Stanford University study published in One Earth (2023) found that in the EU...
ObservationalThe same study found that healthy and sustainable diets could be at least a third more...
Expert ConsensusA related study by Hirvonen et al. (2020) in The Lancet Global Health found that the...
Observational