How the Braai Calculator Works
The calculator turns three inputs, guest count, items chosen, and country, into a shopping list and an estimated total. This page is the working, including the serving rules and why a shared pack of pap is not multiplied the same way as steak.
The maths in plain words
Items fall into three categories, and each is calculated differently:
- Meat, multiplied by guest count and a per-person weight (e.g. 0.2 kg of boerewors per person).
- Individual drinks (single-serve beers), multiplied by guest count and rounded up.
- Shared items (pap, salads, bottles, brandy), total servings needed are divided by servings-per-pack, then rounded up.
Worked example: 8 guests on the Checkers tab
| Item | Calculation | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|
| Championship Boerewors | 8 × 0.2 kg = 1.6 kg × R129.99/kg | R207.98 |
| Rump Steak | 8 × 0.25 kg = 2.0 kg × R226.99/kg | R453.98 |
| Iwisa Braaipap 2.5kg | 8 ÷ 36 = 1 pack × R39.99 | R39.99 |
| Miami Tomato & Onion Mix | 8 ÷ 2 = 4 cans × R21.99 | R87.96 |
| Windhoek Lager 440ml | 8 × 2 = 16 bottles × R23.99 | R383.84 |
Those rand figures are Checkers planning estimates from our last check, not a till slip. Tick more items, change the guest count, or switch country and the same logic re-runs instantly.
Per-person serving sizes (the defaults)
| Item | Estimated per person | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Boerewors | 200 g | One coil ≈ 500 g, so a 1.6 kg buy covers 8. |
| Rump / Sirloin | 250 g | Standard adult portion of red meat. |
| Fillet | 200 g | Richer cut, slightly smaller portion. |
| Lamb chops | 100 g | Side meat, not main. |
| Lamb riblets | 150 g | Bone-in: more raw weight needed. |
| Chicken | 150 g | Often a "third meat" alongside wors and steak. |
| Beer (340-440 ml) | 2 bottles | 3-4 hour braai average. |
| 2 L Coca-Cola | 4 servings/bottle | 500 ml glass per serving. |
| Brandy 750 ml | 15 servings/bottle | 50 ml tots. |
The full guide on portion sizing is on our meat per person page.
Where the prices come from
Each item in the calculator has its own price, a source label, and a last-checked date, shown next to the tick. We do not invent a single “average braai price” and scale it. A Checkers rump and a Pick n Pay rump are different lines.
South African figures start from shelf prices we have seen at Pick n Pay, Checkers (including Sixty60 listings) and Woolworths. Some Woolies lines do not have a clean equivalent, maize meal is the obvious one, and those rows are marked as estimates. Overseas figures mix SA specialty shops (Aubergine, St Marcus, SA Butchery and similar) with ordinary supermarket prices for Coke, rolls and local beer.
- Pick n Pay, Checkers, Woolworths: estimates based on common shelf prices at those retailers.
- USA: SA-specialty shops like Aubergine Foods for boerewors and smoor, plus Walmart shelf prices for steaks, chicken, Coke and local beer.
- UK: SA-specialty shops like St Marcus Fine Foods and Savanna Foods, plus typical UK supermarket pricing.
- Australia: SA-specialty shops like SA Butchery, Springbok Delights and Biltong Boys, plus typical AU supermarket pricing.
Pick n Pay, Tesco, and Woolworths Australia are estimates from the 25 September 2026 check. Checkers, Woolworths, and the Walmart P.A.N. corn meal pack are estimates from the 24 September 2026 check. Tesco 2L Coke, Woolworths Australia sparkling water, and the other USA lines are older estimates. Lines marked est. are stand-ins, not a shelf we have seen. Estimated, not guaranteed, your shelf will vary.
Currency conversion
The "Compare to SA" button hits a free public exchange-rate API in real time and re-renders your whole shopping list in Rand. If the API is down, we fall back to a recent cached rate so the page never breaks.
What we don't include
- Taxes already in shelf price (so VAT is included; sales tax in the US is not).
- Specials, "buy 2 get 1 free" promos, fuel-discounts.
- Charcoal, firelighters, sauces, cutlery, assumed you have them.
- Inflation between the calculator's last-updated date and today.
Our promise
The calculator is free. There is no login and no email sign-up. If ads appear on the site, they help pay hosting. We may later earn a small affiliate share if you click through to an overseas shop. That will be labelled if it happens. How we handle cookies and ad partners is on the privacy policy.
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