When your kitchen is out of action, most people default to one of two strategies: eat out and order takeaways, or muddle through with a microwave and a kettle in the living room.
Very few people think to hire a temporary kitchen — and those who do often assume it is an expensive luxury.
So which actually costs less — and is a temporary kitchen worth it? This guide breaks down the real numbers honestly. The short answer: at today's hire rates a temporary kitchen usually costs more in total than living on takeaways — but it buys you something takeaways can't, and if your kitchen loss is an insurance claim it can cost you nothing at all. Here's the full picture.
What Eating Out Actually Costs
Let us start with what most families actually spend when they lose their kitchen.
Scenario: Family of Four, 8-Week Renovation
Without a functioning kitchen, a typical family of four in the UK will rely on a combination of:
- Takeaways (2 to 3 times per week)
- Eating out at restaurants or cafes (1 to 2 times per week)
- Ready meals and microwave food
- Meal deals and sandwiches for lunches
- Breakfast from cafes or bakeries
Here is a realistic weekly breakdown:
| Expense | Estimated Weekly Cost |
|---|---|
| Takeaways (3x per week at £30 average) | £90 |
| Eating out (1x per week at £60 for 4) | £60 |
| Ready meals and microwave food | £40 |
| Cafe breakfasts and lunches | £30 |
| Weekly total | £220 |
Over an 8-week renovation, that is approximately £1,760.
And that is a conservative estimate. Many families report spending significantly more, especially if they have children who need regular hot meals.
The Cost of a Temporary Kitchen
Now compare that to hiring a temporary kitchen:
| Expense | Cost |
|---|---|
| Driveway pod hire (8 weeks at £350–800/week, delivery & collection included) | £2,800–£6,400 |
| Gas bottle (if LPG hob — usually 1 refill) | £30 |
| Total | £2,830–£6,430 |
Your grocery bill stays roughly the same as normal — around £80 to £100 per week for a family of four. You are cooking your own meals, eating at home, and maintaining your normal routine.
Total Comparison Over 8 Weeks
| Option | 8-week total |
|---|---|
| Eating out and takeaways | £1,760 |
| Temporary kitchen hire + your normal grocery shop (£640–£800) | £3,470–£7,230 |
| Difference | The pod route costs roughly £1,710–£5,470 more |
Let's be straight about it: a temporary kitchen is not the cheaper option here. You're paying to hire the kitchen on top of buying the food you'd cook anyway, so the total lands above what you'd spend living on takeaways. What that extra outlay buys you is the next section — and if you're claiming on insurance, skip ahead, because the maths changes entirely.
What About Shorter or Longer Renovations?
4-Week Renovation
| Option | 4-week total |
|---|---|
| Eating out and takeaways | £880 |
| Temporary kitchen hire (£1,400–£3,200) + normal groceries (£320–£400) | £1,720–£3,600 |
The pod route costs roughly £840–£2,720 more over four weeks — but you cook and eat normally throughout.
12-Week Renovation
| Option | 12-week total |
|---|---|
| Eating out and takeaways | £2,640 |
| Temporary kitchen hire (£4,200–£9,600) + normal groceries (£960–£1,200) | £5,160–£10,800 |
The pod route costs roughly £2,520–£8,160 more over twelve weeks. The longer the job, the bigger the gap — because you're hiring the kitchen for longer. The case for a pod over a long renovation isn't price; it's not living on takeaways for three months (and, again, insurance often covers it).
The Costs You Cannot Put a Number On
Money aside, there are real quality-of-life costs to living without a kitchen:
Health
Weeks of takeaways, ready meals, and cafe food takes a toll. Families report weight gain, poor energy levels, and children becoming fussy about food after weeks of disrupted meals. With a temporary kitchen, you can cook fresh, healthy meals exactly as you normally would.
Stress
Deciding what to eat three times a day when you have no kitchen is genuinely stressful. The mental load of "where are we eating tonight?" adds up fast, especially for families with young children. A temporary kitchen removes this stress entirely.
Family Routine
Mealtimes are a big part of family life. Eating together at a table — even a small one in a kitchen pod on the driveway — is far better for family wellbeing than weeks of eating on the sofa from takeaway containers.
Waste
Takeaways and ready meals generate enormous amounts of packaging waste. Cooking your own food in a temporary kitchen is significantly better for the environment.
What If Insurance Is Paying?
If your kitchen is out of action due to an insured event (flood, fire, burst pipe or escape of water), your policy will often cover temporary kitchen hire in full under loss-of-use / alternative-accommodation cover. In that case the kitchen effectively costs you nothing — so there's little sense funding takeaways out of your own pocket when your insurer would pay for a proper kitchen instead. (This applies to insurance claims, not to out-of-pocket renovations.)
Check if your insurance covers it →
So, Is It Cheaper Than Eating Out?
No — not on the hire cost alone. At current UK rates a temporary kitchen costs more in total than living on takeaways, for renovations of any length, because you're paying to hire the kitchen as well as buying your groceries. If pure short-term spend is all that matters and your renovation is only a week or two, eating out will be cheaper.
But "cheapest" and "best value" aren't the same thing. For anything beyond a couple of weeks, most families decide the extra cost is worth it to cook proper meals, keep the household running normally, and avoid weeks of takeaway fatigue — especially with children. And there's one situation where a temporary kitchen is the obvious financial choice…
What Families Tell Us
While every family is different, here are some common patterns we see:
- "We thought we would save money by not hiring a kitchen. We spent over £2,000 on takeaways and eating out in 10 weeks." — This is the most common regret we hear.
- "We did not even consider a temporary kitchen until week 3 of our renovation. By then we had already spent £500 on takeaways." — The sooner you arrange a temporary kitchen, the sooner family life gets back to normal.
The Verdict
For a renovation of more than a few weeks, a temporary kitchen is:
- Not the cheapest option — it costs more in total than living on takeaways, because you hire the kitchen and buy your groceries
- Far better for your family — proper home-cooked meals instead of weeks of takeaways
- Less stressful and better for routine, especially with children
- Often free if you're claiming on insurance — in which case it's the clear choice
The honest takeaway: choose a temporary kitchen for the quality of life it protects, not to save money — unless your insurer is paying, in which case it's a no-brainer.
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