How to work out a unit price

Key points

gives the cost per unit of the item that is being sold. It is calculated by dividing the cost by the quantity.
Examples of unit price are:
- price per litre
- price per packet
- price per kilogram
- price per item
Unit prices can be compared to find the best value for money when shopping.
Using bar models, multiplication and division will help you to calculate unit prices.

Use the information given in a problem to decide the calculation you need to do.
Complete the calculation to work out the cost of one item.
To compare two items, work out the unit price for each to see which is the best value.

Image caption,
A concert venue sells a set of 6 tickets (a block booking) for £171. The cost per ticket needs to be worked out. The bar represents the block booking. It is in 6 parts to represent the 6 tickets in the booking. The diagram is labelled with the known information.
Image caption,
The unit price is represented by 1 of the blocks. The unit price of 1 ticket can be worked out by calculating 171 ÷ 6
Image caption,
The unit price is calculated by 171 ÷ 6. 171 ÷ 6 = 28.5. The unit price for 1 ticket is £28.50
Image caption,
2 different companies are offering a course of kayaking lessons for different prices. The cost per lesson needs to be worked out and compared to see which is the better deal. The 2 offers are represented by the bar models. The cost of the batch of lessons is split into the number of lessons. Company 1 is offering 8 lessons. Company 2 is offering 5 lessons.
Image caption,
Company 1’s unit price is calculated by 236 ÷ 8 = 29.5. The cost is £29.50 per lesson. Company 2’s unit price is calculated by 135 ÷ 5 = 27. The cost is £27 per lesson. It is cheaper per lesson at Company 2

A ready meals company has 2 home delivery offers:

Which offer has the better value for money?

What is the cost of 1 litre of apple juice if 3 litres costs £2.70?

Try this quiz to practise working out a unit price. You may need a pen and paper to solve some of these problems.

Supermarkets have multiple ways of selling an identical product. For example, pasta sauce may be sold separately as 1 jar, or in packs of 2, 4 or 8. They will not all have the same unit price. A family managing a budget may work out the unit price so they can buy pasta sauce at the best value.
Any business managing a budget will use unit prices to compare for better value products.