Fry Up Index

FAQ

How is each ingredient price calculated? ▼

Not all ingredients are tracked the same way. Here's exactly how each one works.

◑ Hybrid — Last real ONS price, tracked forward item by item

These items use the ONS's own average shelf prices, recorded by price checkers in shops across the UK, for every month the ONS published them. The ONS stopped publishing those series (eggs in January 2022; the rest in January 2025), so from that point we track each price forward using the ONS's month-by-month price changes for that specific item, from its Shopping Prices Comparison Tool, which since March 2026 also includes supermarket checkout data. We join on price changes rather than switching to the new price levels, because the ONS redefined its items in 2025 and the two don't line up; mixing them would put a fake jump in the chart.

Back Bacon	DOIF → Pork – bacon
Pork Sausages	CZOQ → Pork sausages
Toast	CZOH → Bread – sliced white
Flat Mushrooms	CZNC → Mushrooms
Plum Tomatoes	CZNJ → Tomatoes
Coffee	CZNP → Coffee – instant
Butter	KW9B → Butter – dairy (block or tub)
Free Range Eggs	J9DM → ONS eggs average price (2022–25) → Eggs – free-range

◆ CPI est.

No ONS shelf price existed for these exact items. We use a known base price from 2021, derived from a national average across the top five UK supermarkets, and track it with the relevant ONS Consumer Prices Index sub-index up to January 2025, then with ONS price changes for the closest matching item. The potato and processed-vegetable indices only begin in 2015, so for 2013–14 hash browns and beans follow the wider vegetables index.

Hash Browns	L79Q Potatoes → Frozen potato chips & wedges
Baked Beans	J2M8 Canned vegetables → Baked beans
Black Pudding	D7D6 Meat → Pork sausages
Cooking Oil	D7D9 Oils & fats → Rapeseed oil (from 2026)

If the ONS item data can't be reached, the site uses a saved copy, and for any newer months it falls back to the broader CPI category for each item.

But this isn't what I have in my fry up? ▼

Everyone's fry up is different — some skip the black pudding, others only have one sausage. The Index tracks the full, uncompromising fry up with every component included, which means the price you see is the most you'd ever pay. Yours will almost certainly cost less. By using the complete version as our benchmark, we give you the most accurate and consistent measure of how fry up prices are changing over time.

How do you calculate the cost of a fry up? ▼

Every month, the UK government's Office for National Statistics (ONS) sends people into supermarkets and shops across the country to record the actual shelf price of hundreds of everyday items — bacon, eggs, bread and more. We take those real retail prices, work out exactly how much of each ingredient goes into a standard fry up (2 eggs, 2 rashers of bacon, etc.), and add it all up. The number you see is what a full English would cost you at an average UK shop — no guesswork, just official government price data.

What is the ONS? ▼

The ONS (Office for National Statistics) is the UK government's official number-crunching body. They track the prices of thousands of everyday items every month — everything from bread to bacon — to measure how the cost of living is changing. All the price data on this site comes from them.

How often is the data updated? ▼

The ONS publishes new inflation data roughly once a month, usually about six weeks after the reference period. So the prices you see here are typically one to two months behind today — but they're official, verified figures rather than supermarket estimates.

Why does the Fry Up Index matter? ▼

Bacon, eggs, sausages — these aren't luxuries. Tracking their price is a surprisingly honest window into the cost of living crisis, and frankly if we can't afford a proper fry up, something has gone very wrong with this country.