Pret A Manger has revealed it is the leading coffee chain with the biggest price increases over the past five years, with the cost of its most popular drinks rising by an average of 51%.
According to research by Stocklytics, the price of Pret’s Americano coffee has seen the biggest rise, jumping by £1.41 since January 2019.
The study compared the prices of seven popular drinks across five major UK coffee chains – Pret a Manger, Costa Coffee, Caffè Nero, Starbucks and Greggs – looking at the cost of a regular cup of tea, an Americano, a cappuccino, a flat white, a latte, a single espresso and a hot chocolate.
While Pret has slashed the price of filter coffee to 99p, most of the food menu has seen significant increases, with drinks now over the £4 mark. Caffe Nero follows closely behind Pret in terms of price increases, with an average increase of £0.94 per drink, representing a 39% increase. Costa Coffee is not far behind, with an average increase of £0.91, also around 38%.
Surprisingly, Starbucks came in second place in terms of cost for basic drinks, with the average price increasing by 25% (£0.57) over the same period. This makes Starbucks a more cost-effective option compared to its competitors.
Meanwhile, Greggs stands out as the most budget-friendly place to grab a coffee on the high street. Despite some minor price increases for food, including a 5-10p increase on its famous sausage rolls, Greggs has only increased coffee prices by 7% in the past five years, making it the cheapest place to grab a coffee on the go.
The research also highlighted that hot chocolate remains the most expensive drink across all chains, with an average price of £3.38 as of July 2024. As the cost of coffee continues to rise, consumers may increasingly turn to Greggs for an affordable caffeine fix.
A Pret spokesperson said: “This research is misleading as it fails to take into account the significant savings customers have made through our Club Pret subscription since 2020. The cost of a subscription is cheaper than buying two lattes each week, with customers saving over £60 per month on average, so subscribers are often paying significantly less than the menu price. The data also does not include the price of our filter coffee, which costs just 99p.”