Calculator
Cost Per Batch and Per Pint Calculator
The number that decides whether the expensive system was worth it.
Equipment cost spreads across every batch you ever make, which is why a more expensive system used fortnightly can work out cheaper per pint than a budget one used twice a year. If your home cost per pint is not below the shop price, the equipment never pays back, and this calculator says so plainly instead of returning a very large number.
The formula
Equipment cost spreads across every batch you ever make, which is why a more expensive system used fortnightly can work out cheaper per pint than a budget one used twice a year. If your home cost per pint is not below the shop price, the equipment never pays back, and this calculator says so plainly instead of returning a very large number.
What rests on a standard and what rests on convention
- Standard Straightforward cost arithmetic.
A standard is a published equation, a published constant or a manufacturer specification. A convention is widely repeated brewing practice with no governing document behind it. Both are useful. Confusing one for the other is how a habit ends up being quoted as a fact.
Systems and starter kits
This grid re-orders itself against the numbers you enter above. Prices are those returned when the page was built and change often.
BrewZilla Gen 4 (35L, 110V, with pump)
Wifi and RAPT integrated 35 litre all-in-one with a recirculation pump and automatic step mashing, on standard US household power.
BrewZilla Gen 4 35L (110V)
The 110V Gen 4 BrewZilla: stainless construction, automatic step mashing, nine gallon capacity.
BrewZilla Gen 3.1.1 (35L)
The previous generation BrewZilla at a lower price, with the same 35 litre stainless body and step mashing.
Brewer's Edge Mash & Boil Series 2 with Pump
Programmable electric all-in-one kettle with a recirculation pump, sized for five gallon batches.
Brewer's Edge Mash & Boil Series 2 (no pump)
The same programmable all-in-one without the recirculation pump, which is the single cheapest way into all-grain electric brewing.
Brewer's Edge Mash and Boil with Pump (7.5 gal)
All-grain electric system with pump, 7.5 gallon capacity, no propane or separate mash tun required.
Brewer's Edge Mash and Boil
The original Mash and Boil, an electric mash tun and kettle in one vessel.
Grainfather G30 (3rd generation)
Stainless all-in-one with counterflow chilling and app control, aimed at brewers who want repeatable step mashes.
Clawhammer Supply 10.5 Gallon Electric System
Digital semi-automated 120V BIAB system with a 10.5 gallon kettle, the largest single-vessel option here.
VEVOR Electric Brewing System (9.2 gal)
Budget 35 litre all-in-one with pump, the cheapest route to a full electric mash and boil.
VEVOR 16 Gallon Brewing System (3000W)
Sixteen gallon all-in-one with anti-burn pump and wort chiller, sized for ten gallon batches.
VEVOR 8 Gallon Home Beer Brewer (1500W)
Eight gallon 304 stainless all-in-one, the smallest full electric system that still handles a five gallon batch.
FOHERE All-in-One Electric Brewing System (9.2 gal)
A 35 litre single-vessel electric system at entry pricing.
Northern Brewer Brew Share Enjoy Starter Set
Equipment and a recipe for five gallon batches, which is the most complete single-purchase route into brewing.
Northern Brewer Essential Starter Set
The cut-down Northern Brewer kit with equipment and a five gallon recipe.
Northern Brewer Starter Kit with Chinook IPA
Full equipment kit supplied with a Chinook IPA recipe.
Northern Brewer Starter Kit, Block Party Amber
Equipment kit with an amber ale recipe for five gallons.
Craft A Brew Oktoberfest Beer Making Kit
One gallon complete equipment and ingredient kit, a low cost way to find out whether you enjoy the process.
Craft A Brew Hefeweizen Beer Making Kit
One gallon hefeweizen kit with reusable equipment.
Craft A Brew Oak Aged IPA Making Kit
One gallon oak aged IPA kit with complete equipment.
Mr. Beer 2 Gallon Craft Beer Making Kit
The simplest possible entry kit. It makes real beer, though the fermenter is small and the process skips most of what all-grain brewing teaches.
BrewDemon Craft Beer Kit Pro (2 gallon conical)
Two gallon conical starter kit, which lets a beginner dump trub the way a stainless conical does.
Related on BrewGearCalc
Frequently asked questions
- Does home brewing actually save money?
- On ingredients alone, usually yes, and often substantially against craft beer prices. Once equipment is included the answer depends entirely on how often you brew. Someone brewing monthly pays off a mid-range system within a year or two. Someone brewing twice a year is buying a hobby, which is a perfectly good reason to do it, just not a financial one.
- What losses should I assume?
- Around ten percent between trub, hop absorption and what stays behind in transfers is a reasonable starting point for a five gallon batch, though it varies by system and by how heavily hopped the beer is. Measure what actually reaches your bottles or keg once, and use that figure instead.
- Should equipment cost be in the per pint price?
- It depends on the question you are asking. For deciding whether to brew a particular batch, ingredients are the relevant cost because the equipment is already bought. For deciding whether to buy the equipment at all, it very much belongs in the calculation, which is why the payback figure here is kept separate from cost per pint.
Researched from published brewing formulas, manufacturer specifications and verified owner reviews. This is general guidance, not professional advice.