How Much Does a Fruit Tray Cost?

Updated on August 27, 2026 | Written by Alec Pow
This article was researched using 12 sources. See our methodology and corrections policy.

A prepared fruit tray currently costs about $11 to $50 at many mainstream grocery stores, while larger specialty and catered platters commonly cost $50 to $100+. For event planning, a more useful benchmark is roughly $1.20 to $5 per guest, depending on the retailer, platter size, fruit selection, and whether extras such as cheese or dip are included.

Current examples range from a $20.99 73 oz Kroger fruit tray to a $43.99 Publix platter serving 26-30 people, a $49.99 Whole Foods platter serving 16, and a $95 specialty platter serving up to 20 at Corey’s Bagels. Anthony’s Produce currently sells a $59.99 tray containing 15-16 lb of cut fruit and serving up to 50.

The sticker price alone can be misleading. Larger trays often cost less per guest and per ounce than small ones. Fruit-and-cheese platters can cost nearly twice as much as fruit-only versions serving the same number of people.

Article Highlights

• Prepared supermarket fruit trays currently start around $11-$25 (at $30 per hour, earning that amount would take about 22 to 50 minutes, before taxes) for smaller sizes.
• Large grocery platters generally run around $20-$50.
• Specialty trays can reach $60-$100+ even when they serve fewer people.
• A current Publix large platter works out to about $1.47 per guest when serving 30.
• A Corey’s specialty platter works out to about $4.75 per guest when serving 20.
• Adding cheese can nearly double the price of a large Publix platter from $43.99 to $87.99.
• For events where fruit is one of several foods, roughly 4-6 oz per guest is a practical starting point.

How Much Does a Fruit Tray Cost?

Retailer and tray	Current price	Size or servings	Approx. cost per guest
Kroger Large Fresh-Cut Fruit Tray	$20.99 (about 42 minutes at $30 per hour)	73 oz	Depends on portion size
Publix Small Fresh Fruit Platter	$24.99	60 oz, serves 8-12	$2.08-$3.12
Publix Medium Fresh Fruit Platter	$36.99	104 oz, serves 16-20	$1.85-$2.31
Publix Large Fresh Fruit Platter	$43.99	159 oz, serves 26-30	$1.47-$1.69
Whole Foods Fresh Fruit Platter	$29.99	Serves 8	$3.75
Whole Foods Fresh Fruit Platter	$49.99	Serves 16	$3.12
Anthony’s Produce Large Tray	$59.99	15-16 lb, serves up to 50	About $1.20
Corey’s Bagels Small Tray	$59	Serves up to 12	About $4.92
Corey’s Bagels Large Tray	$95	Serves 13-20	About $4.75-$7.31

The current Kroger large fruit tray is $20.99 for 73 oz, which works out to approximately $0.29 per oz.

Publix currently charges $24.99 for its 60 oz small tray, $36.99 for 104 oz, and $43.99 for its 159 oz large platter.

What You’re Actually Buying

A prepared fruit tray combines fresh produce with the labor required to wash, peel, trim, cut, arrange, package, and refrigerate it. The mix usually contains lower-cost high-volume fruits such as melon and pineapple alongside smaller amounts of berries or grapes. Specialty shops can charge more for presentation, premium fruit, custom combinations, delivery, or event catering. Supermarket trays prioritize convenience and predictable portions.

A DIY platter removes much of the preparation markup but also transfers the shopping, cutting, food-safety handling, cleanup, and presentation work to the buyer. For event budgeting, tray weight and the retailer’s stated serving count are more useful than labels such as “small” or “large,” because two retailers can use the same size name for very different amounts of fruit.

Why Bigger Trays Cost Less

Publix provides a clean example of the volume discount built into prepared fruit trays.

The small platter costs $24.99 (about 50 minutes at $30 per hour) and serves up to 12:

$24.99 ÷ 12 = about $2.08 per guest.

The large platter costs $43.99 and serves up to 30:

$43.99 ÷ 30 = about $1.47 per guest.

Moving from the small tray to the large tray therefore cuts the platter cost per guest by roughly 29% when both are used at their maximum stated serving count.

The price-per-ounce calculation tells the same story. The small tray costs approximately $0.42 per oz, the medium roughly $0.36 per oz, and the large about $0.28 per oz.

That makes buying one correctly sized large platter more economical than stacking several small trays when the fruit selection and presentation meet the event’s needs.

The $1.47 vs $4.75 Difference

Retailer choice can matter even more than platter size.

Corey’s Bagels currently charges $95 for a specialty fruit tray serving up to 20 people. At maximum capacity:

$95 ÷ 20 = $4.75 per guest.

Compare that with Publix’s large platter at $43.99 for up to 30:

$43.99 ÷ 30 = $1.47 per guest.

The specialty tray costs about 3.2 times as much per guest in that comparison.

This does not mean one is necessarily a better purchase. Corey’s price includes a specialty-shop product and different presentation. It does show why a host planning for 30, 50, or 100 people should compare cost per guest rather than simply comparing tray prices.

How Much Fruit Per Person?

Counting individual “pieces” of fruit is not a useful catering measurement. A grape, strawberry, melon slice, and pineapple chunk are completely different serving sizes.

A better planning figure is about 4-6 oz of cut fruit per person when fruit is one of several appetizers, breakfast foods, or desserts. Whole Foods currently uses a 4 oz nutritional serving size for its fruit platter, while the weights and advertised guest counts on current Publix platters work out closer to roughly 5-7 oz per stated guest.

Use the lower end when there are several other foods. Move toward the higher end if fruit is a major part of breakfast, brunch, dessert, or the snack table.

A 159 oz Publix large tray contains almost 10 lb of fruit. At 5 oz per guest, that amount represents about 32 portions. Publix rates it for 26-30 guests, which leaves some additional room for larger servings.

Fruit for 25, 50, or 100 Guests

25 guests: One current Publix large tray at $43.99 is rated for 26-30 people. At 25 guests, the fruit cost is approximately $1.76 per person.

50 guests: Two large Publix platters cost $87.98. Divide by 50 guests and the prepared-fruit cost is about $1.76 per person.

Anthony’s Produce provides another 50-person option. Its $59.99 large fruit tray contains 15-16 lb of fruit and is advertised to serve up to 50. At 50 servings, that is only about $1.20 per guest.

100 guests: Four large Publix platters would cost $175.96, or about $1.76 per guest. Two Anthony’s trays would cost $119.98 if that supplier and its stated serving assumptions work for the event.

These examples show why a flat statement such as “a large tray costs $50-$100” is not enough for event budgeting. The number of people the tray actually feeds can change the economics dramatically.

Cheese Can Double the Price

Adding cheese is one of the clearest hidden upgrades in current platter pricing.

Publix’s large fruit-only platter serving 26-30 is currently $43.99. Its large fruit-and-cheese platter serving the same 26-30 people is $87.99.

The difference is:

$87.99 – $43.99 = $44.

In percentage terms, the upgraded platter is almost exactly 100% more expensive.

At 30 guests, the fruit-only tray costs roughly $1.47 per guest, while the fruit-and-cheese version costs about $2.93 per guest.

Before upgrading to cheese, compare that cost with a dedicated charcuterie board. Combining a lower-cost fruit tray with a smaller cheese or charcuterie platter can sometimes give guests more variety without doubling the entire fruit order.

DIY Fruit Tray vs Prepared

Making your own fruit tray can cost less, but blanket claims that DIY always saves 30% or 50% are difficult to support because fruit prices, usable yield, and the mix of berries versus melon change constantly.

A current Kroger shopping basket provides a concrete example. Recent listed produce prices include a whole watermelon at $5.99, a cantaloupe at $2.50, a whole pineapple at $2.50, a 1 lb container of strawberries at $3.29, and about 2 lb of green grapes at roughly $4.98.

The basket costs:

$5.99 + $2.50 + $2.50 + $3.29 + $4.98 = $19.26.

The melon prices, whole pineapple price, strawberry price, and grape price are current retailer examples and can change with location and promotions.

The DIY basket is $5.73 below Publix’s $24.99 small prepared platter. That is about 23% less at checkout. It is not an equal-volume comparison because whole watermelon, cantaloupe, and pineapple lose rind and trimming weight, while the exact size of each whole fruit varies.

The value of DIY therefore depends on how efficiently you use the whole fruit and how much your preparation time is worth. Leftover uncut fruit can improve the economics because it can be used after the event rather than treated as waste.

For more detail on one of the more expensive tropical ingredients, see current mango prices.

Delivery and Other Hidden Costs

Pickup usually keeps the transaction closest to the advertised platter price. Delivery can introduce additional charges from the retailer, delivery platform, catering service, or tip.

These costs vary too much to use one national $15-$40 delivery estimate. Compare the final checkout amount rather than only the product price.

Other additions can include fruit dip, chocolate, cheese, premium berries, organic fruit, decorative skewers, disposable plates, serving utensils, custom arrangement work, and catering minimums.

Anthony’s Produce, for example, lists fruit dip as an additional-cost option on its large tray. Corey’s also distinguishes standard pickup from its White Glove delivery option.

The fruit itself is therefore only one part of a catered-event price. A simple grocery platter collected in person and placed on your own table will usually cost far less than a specialty arrangement that includes design, delivery, setup, and service.

Three Fruit Tray Budgets

Small office meeting: A Publix small platter costs $24.99 and serves 8-12. For 10 people, that equals about $2.50 per guest.

50-person party: Two Publix large platters cost $87.98, or about $1.76 per guest. One Anthony’s tray is currently $59.99 and advertised for up to 50, bringing that example to about $1.20 per guest.

Specialty presentation: Three Corey’s large trays would cover up to 60 stated servings and cost $285. At 60 guests, that is $4.75 per person, about $180 more than three $34.99-equivalent supermarket-scale platters would cost at a substantially lower per-person price.

Makes sense if: you need a ready-to-serve option, preparation time is limited, presentation matters, or you want a retailer to handle washing, cutting, portioning, and packaging.

Does not make sense if: you are feeding a large group on a tight budget, already have time to cut fruit, or are paying a specialty premium for presentation that guests do not need.

What We Verified

• Checked: Kroger currently lists a 73 oz fresh-cut fruit tray at $20.99.
• Confirmed: Publix current fruit trays run from $24.99 for 60 oz to $43.99 for 159 oz.
• Verified: Whole Foods currently lists fruit platters at $29.99 for 8 people and $49.99 for 16.
• Cross-referenced: Anthony’s Produce still lists a $59.99 tray with 15-16 lb of fruit serving up to 50.
• Confirmed: Corey’s Bagels still lists fruit trays at $59 for up to 12 and $95 for 13-20.
• Checked: Publix’s large fruit-and-cheese platter costs $87.99, almost exactly twice its $43.99 fruit-only platter for the same stated guest range.

Related Food Costs

Fruit trays often overlap with grazing boards at parties and office events. Compare their $1.20-$5 per-person range with current charcuterie board costs, where cured meats and cheese can make the price per guest substantially higher.

If you are building the tray yourself, individual fruit prices matter more than the catering markup. Our mango cost guide provides another example of how season, origin, variety, and retailer affect fruit pricing.

For another common brunch and event ingredient, see current almond milk prices.

Answers to Common Questions

How much does a fruit tray cost?
Current prepared grocery fruit trays commonly cost about $11-$50, while specialty trays often cost $50-$100+. Cost per person is usually a more useful comparison than total tray price.

How much is a fruit tray for 20 people?
A current Publix medium tray costs $36.99 and serves 16-20 people. Whole Foods charges $49.99 for a platter serving 16, while a Corey’s specialty tray serving up to 20 costs $95.

How much fruit should I order per guest?
About 4-6 oz per person is a useful starting point when fruit is one of several foods. Increase the amount when fruit is a major part of the meal or when few other snacks are available.

Is it cheaper to make a fruit tray yourself?
It can be. One current five-fruit Kroger shopping basket totals $19.26, compared with $24.99 for a small prepared Publix platter. The comparison is not equal by weight because whole fruit includes rind, stems, and other trimming loss.

Why are specialty fruit trays more expensive?
Specialty shops may charge for additional preparation, presentation, premium fruit, customization, delivery, and lower production volume. One current specialty example costs about $4.75 per guest, compared with roughly $1.47 for a large supermarket platter.

Does adding cheese make a fruit tray much more expensive?
It can. A current Publix large fruit platter costs $43.99, while the fruit-and-cheese version for the same 26-30 guest range costs $87.99, a difference of $44.