Firstly, let's cover off the elephant in the room. Nespresso’s Vertuo system doesn't have any equivalent compatible competitor brands. Why? Nespresso has a patent in place until the end of the decade, meaning other brands can’t manufacture the larger dome shaped Vertuo coffee pods. Prices are at the premium end, sitting between 55p-65p per pod for most styles, with some larger style pods now as high as 82p. Way cheaper than your coffee shop, but high for single serve home machines.
So what about the smaller Nespresso Original Capsules?
You won’t be short of choice in Nespresso’s original capsule range. Over 40 styles, from flavoured coffees to single origins, means finding the style you like might be tricky. Whilst cheaper than the Vertuo pods, Nespresso original pod prices remain at the premium end at around 50p per pod. Prices are as follows when you look at their coffees on a collections basis*:
| Collection | Price Per Pod |
| Barista creations | £0.49 |
| Master Origin | £0.51 |
| World explorations | £0.43 |
| Ispirazione Italiana | £0.42 |
| Reviving Origins | £0.60 |
|
Espresso |
£0.39 |
| Decaffeinato | £0.41-0.44 |
Nespresso’s aluminium pods are a cheaper, energy intensive material that take up to 500 years to break down. Given only around 30% of their pods get recycled, that’s a lot of waste!
Step forward the nespresso compatible compostable pod market, aimed at eco conscious customers, who are looking to reduce their single serve household waste. Compostable pods can allow for disposal via food waste bins, green garden waste & home composting.
There are a lot of compatible brands around currently. Prices vary massively from around 30p per pod up to a whopping £1, so you’ll need to do your research. Remember, not all compostable pods are equal! Many are industrially compostable pods, meaning they won’t break down in your garden compost. So look out for the home compostable certification on the pod or the box to make sure you're making the most sustainable decision.
What About You Guys, Roar Gill?
We’ve always been super focused on ensuring our certified home compostable pods are competitive. That’s why we’ve held prices for 5 years, even as inflation has taken hold across the food and beverage sector. Our pods are natural material derived from 100% biobased cellulose and vegetal oils. No aluminium. No fossil plastics. This is of course expensive to produce, especially for a small independent company, but we work hard not to pass on these costs to you. Here’s a quick fire summary that shows, on average, how much customers pay at Roar Gill:
| Example | Price Per Pod |
| Intro Subscription Price (1st subscription delivery) | £0.19 |
| Bold Intensity 8 (on subscription) | £0.30 |
| Average Ongoing Subscription Price | £0.33 |
| Bold Intensity 8 (one-time purchase) | £0.37 |
| Average Single Box Price (one-time purchase) | £0.43 |
That’s before taking into account our Barista rewards programme, which gives you extra discounts on repeat coffee deliveries. Not yet tried Roar Gill? We’d definitely recommend our Roar Gill Bundle Builder which allows you to try all our coffees for only 19p per pod on your first delivery.
Well that’s enough on price. Time to make a brew!
*Article covers pricing in GBP and outlines pricing in Spring 2023