Reusable Bottle vs Single-Use Plastic: Savings Calculator
Multiply bottles per day by days per week by 52 to count the single-use bottles you buy in a year. Multiply that by the price per bottle for your yearly spend. A reusable bottle pays for itself once its price equals your savings. Enter your numbers below.
How it works
Bottles per year = bottles per day x days per week x 52. Yearly spend = bottles per year x price per bottle. Savings in year 1 = yearly spend - refill cost - the price of the reusable bottle. Break-even days = reusable bottle price / daily savings, where daily savings = bottles per day (averaged over 7 days) x (bottle price - refill cost). Gallons = bottles x ounces / 128.
The starting values are examples. Replace them with what you pay. The tool uses no outside data and makes no claim about environmental impact.
Sources
Reference information only. Not medical advice. Last reviewed 2026-10-30.
Frequently asked questions
How many plastic bottles does one person use in a year?
It depends on you. Multiply the bottles you buy each day by the days per week by 52. At 2 bottles a day, 7 days a week, that is 728 bottles.
How much money can a reusable water bottle save?
Your yearly spend on bottled water minus your refill cost. At 2 bottles a day at $1.50 each, that is about $1,092 a year before the cost of the reusable bottle.
How long until a reusable bottle pays for itself?
Divide its price by your daily savings. A $40 bottle against $3 a day of single-use bottles breaks even in 14 days.
Does this calculator use real prices?
No. The starting prices are examples. Enter what you actually pay for bottles and refills.
Does it include the environmental impact?
No. It counts bottles, money and volume only, using the numbers you enter.
The HydroTumbler holds 32 oz, which replaces about two 16.9 oz single-use bottles per fill.
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