Pret A Manger leads high street coffee price increases with a 51% increase in five years, while Greggs remains the most affordable

Pret A Manger has emerged as the high street coffee chain with the strongest price increases over the past five years, with the cost of their most popular drinks increasing by an average of 51%.

According to research conducted by Stocklytics, Pret’s americano has seen the biggest increase, up £1.41 since January 2019.

The study compared the prices of seven popular drinks at five major British coffee chains – Pret A Manger, Costa Coffee, Caffe Nero, Starbucks and Greggs – looking at the cost of a regular cup of tea, americano, cappuccino, flat white, latte, some espresso and hot chocolate.

Although Pret has significantly reduced the price of its filter coffee to 99p, most of the menu has increased significantly, with drinks now exceeding the £4 mark. Caffe Nero follows Pret closely in terms of price increases, with an average increase of £0.94 per drink, representing a 39% increase. Costa Coffee is not far off, with an average increase of €0.91, also around 38%.

Surprisingly, Starbucks emerges as the second most affordable option for basic drinks, with an average price increase of 25% (£0.57) over the same period. This positions Starbucks as a more cost-effective choice than expected compared to its rivals.

Greggs, meanwhile, stands out as the most budget-friendly coffee spot on the high street. Despite some small food price increases, including a 5 to 10 cent increase for its iconic sausage rolls, Greggs has only increased coffee prices by 7% in the past five years, making it the cheapest place to grab a coffee takeaway.

The research also shows that hot chocolate remains the most expensive drink across all chains, with an average price of £3.38 in July 2024. As the cost of coffee continues to rise, consumers may increasingly turn to Greggs for a more affordable caffeine fix .

A spokesperson for Pret said: “This research is misleading as it does not take into account the significant savings available to customers through our Club Pret subscription since 2020. The cost of the subscription is cheaper than buying two lattes every week with customers saving over £. 60 per month on average, so subscribers often pay considerably less than the menu price. The data also does not include our filter coffee price, which costs just 99 cents.”