Is Gousto Cheaper Than a Takeaway? We Did the Maths

It's 7.42pm on a Wednesday. You've had back-to-back calls, the fridge holds half a pepper and some suspicious spinach, and the delivery app is right there. Twenty minutes later, dinner for two has cost £30.

We've all been there. And once it's become a habit, it's one of the quietest ways your money disappears. So we crunched the numbers on one popular alternative, the recipe box, to see whether it saves you money or just feels virtuous.

The Real Cost of "I Can't Be Bothered"

A takeaway is rarely just the food. Here's what a typical night in costs:

• Indian takeaway for two: around £25–£35, including delivery

• Chinese for two: around £20–£30

• Burger and chips on a delivery app: £12–£18 each, plus £2–£4 in delivery and service fees

• Hidden extras: service fees often add another 5–15%, and menu prices on apps can be 15–30% higher than ordering direct from the restaurant

Have three midweek takeaways for two at around £30 each and you've spent £90 in a week without really noticing.

The Other Money Leak: The Bin

Here's the part nobody likes to admit. Even when we do shop, loads of it goes to waste. WRAP, the UK waste charity, puts the value of edible food thrown away at £1,000 a year for an average household of four. That's roughly £250 a person, spent on bagged salad and the bunch of coriander you needed a tablespoon of.

This is where recipe boxes have an edge. Every ingredient arrives pre-measured, so there's no half-used jar at the back of the fridge.

So, What Does Gousto Actually Cost?

Gousto's pricing depends on two things: how many people you're cooking for and how many recipes you order each week. The more you order, the cheaper each portion gets. At the time of writing:

• 1 person, 2 recipes: £20.50 a box, about £10.25 a portion

• 2 people, 3 recipes: £32.25 a box, about £5.38 a portion

• 4 people, 5 recipes: £64 a box, from £3.20 a portion

• Delivery: £3.99 a box, which isn't covered by the discount

At full price, the two-person, three-recipe box works out at about £6 a portion including delivery. That's already well under a takeaway. With the current new-customer offer, it drops a lot further.

The Discount, Broken Down

Right now, new UK customers get 50% off the first box, 40% off the second, and 20% off boxes for two months. Here's what that means for a two-person, three-recipe box (six dinners), including delivery:

• Box one (50% off): about £20.12, or £3.35 a portion

• Box two (40% off): about £23.34, or £3.89 a portion

• Boxes for the rest of the first two months (20% off): about £29.79, or £4.97 a portion

Compare that with the £90 takeaway week above. Your first box saves you around £70, and even at 20% off you're about £60 better off each week. That's a train fare home, a gym class or two, or a meaningful top-up to your savings pot.

How to Make the Offer Work Harder

A discount only saves you money if you use it wisely. A few ways to get the most out of it:

• Stick to standard recipes. Premium dishes cost extra, and the discount doesn't cover the surcharge.

• Order more recipes, not fewer. Four recipes cost less per portion than two, so if you'll cook them, size up.

• Skip weeks you're away. Gousto is a flexible subscription, and you can pause or skip boxes from your account.

• Set a reminder. Put a note in your calendar for just before the two months end, so you can decide whether it's still worth it at full price. You make the call, not the auto-renewal.

• Save the recipe cards. Once the discount ends, you've got a collection of tried-and-tested dinners to cook from your own shop.

Top Tip: Treat your Gousto nights as your "danger nights", the evenings you'd usually order in. That's where you'll save the most.

Who This Makes Sense For

• Couples and flatmates who keep defaulting to the delivery app

• Solo city dwellers tired of buying a family-sized bag of spinach for one recipe

• Anyone trying to cook more without the Sunday meal-planning spiral

• Budgeters who like knowing exactly what dinner will cost each week

If you already batch-cook on a tight supermarket budget, a recipe box probably won't beat that. The real win is replacing takeaways and food waste, not a well-run Aldi shop.

Your Questions, Answered

Is the discount for new customers only? Yes. It's for new UK customers.

Can I cancel or pause? Gousto runs as a flexible subscription, so you can skip weeks, pause or cancel from your account.

Does the discount cover everything? No. It doesn't cover premium recipe surcharges, Gousto Market extras or delivery fees.

Can I combine it with other codes? No. It can't be used with any other offer.

The Bottom Line

That 7.42pm Wednesday moment isn't a willpower problem. It's a planning problem, and planning is something you can fix. Swap a few takeaway nights for a box that turns up with everything measured out, and the savings add up quickly. The £90 week becomes a £20 week, and dinner stops draining your budget.

Offer valid for new UK customers only. 50% off your first box, 40% off your second box, and 20% off all subsequent boxes for two months from the date of sign-up. Excludes premium recipe surcharges, Gousto Market items and delivery fees. Cannot be used with any other offer. Once redeemed, you'll be enrolled into a flexible subscription. See the Gousto website for full T&Cs. Prices correct at the time of publishing.

This post contains affiliate links.

Written on 23rd September.