Homemade vs Packaged Kimchi Cost Calculator

Compare kimchi costs for the amount you will actually eat

A box of cabbage and a package of finished kimchi do not represent the same edible quantity.
Trimming, salting and draining change cabbage weight, while radish and seasoning add weight to the finished batch.
Some finished kimchi may also go uneaten, so purchased kilograms and kilograms served at the table can differ.

This homemade vs packaged kimchi calculator starts with household consumption and works backward to ingredient purchases.
It then calculates how many whole packages meet the same target and compares the cash needed, including delivery.
Use it for a shared family kimjang batch, a smaller household order or a decision to buy instead of preparing kimchi yourself.
Both language versions use the same formulas, with kilograms, grams and Korean won (KRW); no exchange-rate conversion is applied.

What the results show

Check target intake first, followed by the ingredient list and package count.
Then review storage excess and household allocations before buying.
The result is a budget based on your assumptions and quotes, not an order or a guarantee of final yield.

Match the input meanings and units

Work backward from edible demand

Multiply each purchased quantity by its quoted price per kilogram and add the costs.
Drained cabbage plus prepared ingredients equals the required finished weight in this model.
Any additional preparation loss must be reflected in your measured yields and recipe assumptions.
Removing every ingredient row produces a cabbage-only weight model, not a recommended kimchi recipe.

Whole packages and two per-kilogram measures

Worked example: 18kg for four people over three months

These prices and yields are fictional assumptions, not current market prices or official averages.
Four people × 50g daily × 30 days × three months gives 18kg of target intake.
At 10% homemade waste, prepare 20kg of finished kimchi.
With other ingredients at 25% of drained cabbage weight, that requires 16kg of drained cabbage and 4kg of prepared ingredients.

If packaged waste alone changes to 0%, four packages still cost the same but leave 2kg of surplus.
Cost per all edible purchased kg becomes KRW 8,250, while cash per target kg remains KRW 9,166.67.
Alternatively, reducing only the other-ingredient yield to 50% requires 8kg purchased, raising homemade cash to KRW 140,000 while finished weight remains 20kg.

How to prepare and save a family plan

1. Set people and the consumption period.
   Replace example intake with your household records.
   Use separate rows for families that eat at home at different rates.
   
2. Check the recipe and quote units.
   Enter cabbage yield and ingredient ratios.
   Convert box or bag prices to price per net purchased kilogram before entering them.
   
3. Add overlooked costs and unpaid work.
   Include delivery, containers, used salt and paid help in other cash expenses.
   Only unpaid person-hours belong in the separate time-value calculation.
   
4. Confirm the purchase quote and storage.
   Record net package weight, price, total shipping and an optional quote date.
   If the whole batch exceeds storage, plan distribution or separate orders yourself.
   
5. Save the TXT shopping and allocation plan.
   The file includes inputs, recipe ratios, yields, quantities, prices, household shares and assumptions.
   Cash shares are proportional to target intake; labor sharing is separate.
   Display rounding may produce differences of a few won when individual shares are summed.
   

Scenarios to compare

Input boundaries and practical limits

• Yield must be 0.01–100%, package weight 0.001–100kg and expected waste 0–99%.
  Zero yield or 100% waste cannot produce a finite purchase requirement.
  
• The planning period accepts 0.1–24 months, with up to 10 households of 0–20 people and 0–1,000g daily per person.
  Up to 12 other-ingredient rows accept ratios of 0–100% each and purchased prices up to KRW 1,000,000/kg.
  
• When every household has zero people or zero intake, no preparation or purchase is planned.
  Ingredients, packages, fixed expenses and time cost become zero; per-kg values are unavailable.
  Zero prices can represent ingredients or packages obtained free of charge.
  
• Ingredient sales packs, reuse of leftover seasoning, transport between homes, refrigerator electricity and equipment depreciation are not automatically priced.
  Include relevant cash expenses consistently when comparing your options.
  
• Expected waste is a user assumption, not a prediction of spoilage or food safety.
  The consumption period is not a safe storage period and does not determine whether kimchi is safe to eat, nutritious or desirable in taste.
  

Frequently asked questions