The “pumpkin tax” is real.
As pumpkin spice lattes top seasonal café menus across the country, a new study reveals that the specialty-flavored items carry an average 8.4% markup over standard versions.
That’s up from a 7.4% markup just two years ago — though still down from 2022’s 14.1% spike, when pumpkin harvests were suffering due to a drought.
Researchers audited prices and package sizes for 146 products, including coffee, donuts and even ravioli, pitting pumpkin-flavored items from mass retailers like Starbucks and Trader Joe’s against their plain, non-nutmeg versions.
While researchers surveyed everything from trail mix to cereal, coffee showed a stark price markup: Trader Joe’s Pumpkin Spice Coffee, for example, clocked in at a staggering 42.9% more expensive than its standard roast.
Meanwhile, a Grande Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte now costs between $6.45 and $7.45 across 51 U.S. cities. (On Uber Eats, that same drink costs a median 23% more — pushing the price to $7.95 before delivery fees and tips.)
Yet the high prices haven’t stopped caffeine addicts from getting their morning pumpkin brew. U.S. Google search interest for “Pumpkin Spice Latte” hit a five-year high, surging 10% in 2026.
To help caffeine fiends save their hard-earned cash, researchers at the vaping company Go Smoke Free broke down a DIY pumpkin spice latte recipe using ingredients from ALDI and Target.
A company spokesperson said coffee buyers overlook the daily small expense of buying a coffee on the way to work, adding, “If you’re doing it a couple of times a week, it soon adds up.”
But the recipe with ALDI ingredients slashed the cost of a latte by a whopping 87%, compared to the median Starbucks price, coming out to just $0.83 per Grande-sized cup, or $1.01 using Target ingredients.
Ingredient list:
Prices below are for the amount used in one serving, using ALDI ingredients.
- 2% milk: 1½ cups, $0.30
- Pure pumpkin purée: 2 tbsp, $0.13
- Granulated sugar: 2 tbsp, $0.04
- Vanilla extract: ½ tsp, $0.15
- Instant coffee: 2 rounded tsp, $0.11
- Pumpkin pie spice blend: ½ tsp for the drink, plus ⅛ tsp to sprinkle on top, $0.04
- Whipped cream: 4 tbsp, $0.07
Those grabbing two Pumpkin Spice Lattes a week for ten weeks will soon see the difference in their budget:
Making the ALDI version at home costs just $16.60, compared to $129 spent at Starbucks — a seasonal savings of over $112.
Health-conscious drinkers can cut back on sugar with two quick swaps: trade granulated sugar for a zero-calorie sweetener and skip the whipped cream.
In the sugar-free rendition, the Target version costs $0.96 per serving with roughly 19.9 grams of total sugar – nearly 60% less than Starbucks. The price difference between different homemade versions comes down to choice of sweetener.
Starbucks prices were sampled from one store in each state’s largest city, and DIY costs were calculated using regular grocery store prices at ALDI and Target in Columbus, Ohio, priced out per Grande-sized serving.
