How Much do Bell Peppers Cost?

Updated on August 31, 2026 | Written by Alec Pow
This article was researched using 12 sources. See our methodology and corrections policy.

Bell peppers currently cost about $0.75 to $1 for a green pepper and roughly $1.25 to $1.70 each for red, yellow, or orange peppers at major U.S. retailers. Multipacks can be cheaper. Current three-count rainbow packs are about $2.72 to $2.99, while organic two-packs are around $2.96 to $3.46.

Color makes a noticeable price difference. Target currently lists a green bell pepper at $0.99 and red, yellow, and orange peppers at $1.69 each. That makes one colored pepper about 71% more expensive than the green version. The premium has a practical farming explanation: green peppers are commonly harvested earlier, while peppers sold fully red, yellow, or orange stay on the plant longer and face more time for field losses.

Article Highlights

• Current green bell peppers are about $0.78 to $0.99 each in major-retailer examples.
• Red, yellow, and orange bell peppers commonly run about $1.25 to $1.70 each.
• A three-count mixed bell pepper pack currently costs about $2.72 to $2.99.
• Walmart currently lists a two-count organic green pack at $2.96 and a two-count organic colored pack at $3.46.
• Bell peppers do not contain capsaicin, the compound responsible for the heat in hot peppers.
• One-half cup of raw red sweet pepper supplies 95 mg of vitamin C, or 106% of the Daily Value.

How Much Do Bell Peppers Cost?

Bell pepper product	Current price example	Useful comparison
Green bell pepper, Walmart	$0.78 each	Lowest current single-pepper example
Green bell pepper, Target	$0.99 each	About $1 per pepper
Red bell pepper, Walmart	$1.27 each	About 63% above Walmart’s current green sale price
Red bell pepper, Target	$1.69 each	About 71% above Target green
Yellow or orange pepper, Target	$1.69 each	Same current price as red
Rainbow bell peppers, 3 count	$2.72 to $2.99	About $0.91 to $1 each
Organic green bell peppers, 2 count	$2.96	About $1.48 each
Organic colored bell peppers, 2 count	$3.46	About $1.73 each
Precut stoplight peppers, 6 oz	$2.49	About $6.64 per pound

Target currently lists a fresh green bell pepper at $0.99. Its current fresh-pepper selection puts red, yellow, and orange peppers at $1.69 each, with a three-count rainbow pack at $2.99.

Walmart’s current bell pepper listings show green peppers around $0.78 on the current offer, red around $1.27, orange around $1.46, and mixed three-count packs around $2.72 to $2.97 depending on the listing and location.

Why Green Costs Less

Green and colored bell peppers are not always separate types of pepper. Many bell pepper cultivars start green and develop red, yellow, orange, or another mature color when left on the plant longer.

Illinois Extension notes that colored bell peppers can be left on the plant to develop full flavor and ripen to their mature color. Green peppers are commonly harvested earlier when they are fully sized, firm, and still green.

That extra growing time has a cost. The University of Georgia Extension says growers can receive more money for mature red, orange, and yellow peppers, but those peppers must stay in the field longer and are exposed to more disease, rot, and sun damage.

The price gap is visible at Target. A green pepper costs $0.99, while a red pepper costs $1.69.

$1.69 – $0.99 = $0.70 more per pepper.

$0.70 ÷ $0.99 = about 70.7%.

So the current red pepper costs about 71% more per piece than the green pepper in that store.

Three-Packs Can Beat Singles

The mixed bag can be much cheaper than buying three colored peppers separately. Target currently lists its three-count rainbow pack at $2.99, while individual red, yellow, and orange peppers are each $1.69.

Buying one of each separately costs:

$1.69 × 3 = $5.07.

Buying the three-pack costs $2.99.

$5.07 – $2.99 = $2.08 saved.

That is about a 41% saving versus three individual colored peppers at the same store. The pack also cuts the effective price to about $1 per pepper.

The tradeoff is choice. A mixed pack decides the colors and sizes for you, while singles let you select each pepper individually.

Why National Averages Are Tricky

Bell peppers are sold both by the piece and by weight, which makes a single national “price per pepper” misleading. The USDA Economic Research Service maintains separate fruit and vegetable price datasets for green peppers and red peppers and reports both average retail prices and prices per edible cup equivalent.

That is why the most useful shopping comparison is often within the same store and package format. A $0.99 green pepper and a $1.69 red pepper are directly comparable because both are sold per piece at the same retailer. A per-pound wholesale or advertised price is not directly interchangeable with a per-piece supermarket price.

The Organic Premium

Organic bell peppers can cost more, but the old claim that they are automatically three times the price is too broad.

Walmart currently lists two organic colored bell peppers at $3.46, or $1.73 each. Its organic green two-pack is currently about $2.96, or $1.48 per pepper.

Compare that $1.48 organic green unit cost with Walmart’s current $0.78 conventional green offer:

$1.48 – $0.78 = $0.70 extra per pepper.

That snapshot puts the organic premium at about 90%. It is a current store comparison rather than a national average, and the conventional pepper is on sale, so the gap can narrow when regular prices change.

The Hidden Precut Premium

Precut peppers can cost far more by weight than whole peppers. Target’s current fresh-pepper assortment includes a six-ounce package of diced stoplight peppers at $2.49.

Six ounces is 0.375 pound:

$2.49 ÷ 0.375 = $6.64 per pound.

That $6.64-per-pound unit price is the hidden cost of having the peppers washed, cut, mixed, packaged, and prepared for cooking. Whole peppers are often sold by the piece, so an exact whole-versus-diced percentage would require weighing the peppers you are comparing rather than assuming every pepper weighs the same amount.

A Stuffed-Pepper Budget

Color can change the vegetable portion of a recipe by several dollars. Suppose dinner requires four peppers.

Four Target green peppers at $0.99 cost:

4 × $0.99 = $3.96.

Four red peppers at $1.69 cost:

4 × $1.69 = $6.76.

The colored version adds $2.80 before buying meat, rice, sauce, cheese, or other filling ingredients.

A shopper who does not need four identical colors could buy a $2.99 rainbow three-pack plus one $0.99 green pepper. That combination costs $3.98, almost the same as four green singles and $2.78 less than four red singles.

Bell Peppers Are Not Hot

Bell peppers belong to Capsicum annuum, but they should not be given the health claims associated with hot-pepper capsaicin. Mississippi State University Extension states that sweet or bell peppers contain no capsaicin.

That means claims that ordinary bell peppers lower cholesterol, control diabetes, or relieve pain because of their capsaicin content are based on the wrong ingredient.

What the Nutrition Data Say

Bell peppers do have a strong nutrition profile without adding disease-treatment claims. The NIH Office of Dietary Supplements lists one-half cup of raw red sweet pepper at 95 mg of vitamin C, or 106% of the Daily Value. The same amount of raw green sweet pepper supplies 60 mg, or 67% of the Daily Value.

Red peppers also supply provitamin A carotenoids, but the amount should not be exaggerated. The NIH vitamin A data put one-half cup of raw red sweet pepper at 117 micrograms RAE, or 13% of the Daily Value, not three-quarters of a day’s requirement.

These nutrition figures describe food content. They do not establish bell peppers as a treatment for cancer, heart disease, diabetes, depression, or another medical condition.

Pregnancy Does Not Require Avoiding Them

There is no sound basis for warning pregnant women that normal amounts of bell pepper cause uterine contractions. The FDA’s produce guidance for pregnancy focuses on safe handling. Raw fruits and vegetables should be rinsed thoroughly under running water before eating or cutting.

Pregnancy food guidance treats properly washed vegetables as part of normal food intake rather than singling out bell peppers as a food to avoid.

Choosing and Storing Peppers

Look for peppers that are firm, smooth, glossy, and heavy enough for their size. Avoid fruit with deep wrinkles, soft spots, cracks, decay, or sunken areas.

Do not buy a green pepper expecting it to become dramatically sweeter after several days on the counter. Bell peppers are nonclimacteric. UC Davis’ postharvest guidance says they produce very little ethylene and respond little to it after harvest.

Iowa State Extension says fresh peppers can be stored for up to three weeks under cool, humid conditions around 45 to 50°F. Home refrigerators are colder and drier than those ideal commercial conditions, so quality can decline sooner. Use peppers while they are still firm and crisp.

Peppers can also be sliced and frozen for later cooking. Freezing changes their crisp raw texture, making thawed peppers better suited to sauces, soups, fajitas, casseroles, and other cooked dishes.

When the Cheaper Color Wins

Green peppers make financial sense when the recipe does not depend on the sweeter flavor of a fully colored pepper. They work well in cooked dishes, stuffing, sauces, pizzas, omelets, and mixtures where several other ingredients contribute flavor.

Red, yellow, or orange can be worth the premium when peppers are eaten raw, roasted on their own, or used where sweetness and color are central to the dish.

If produce costs are part of a larger grocery budget, see our guides to the price of asparagus, sweet potatoes, and cucumbers.

What We Verified

• Checked: current Target pricing puts green bell peppers at $0.99 each and red, yellow, and orange peppers at $1.69 each.
• Confirmed: current Walmart listings show green around $0.78, red around $1.27, orange around $1.46, and mixed three-packs around $2.72 to $2.97.
• Cross-referenced: USDA keeps separate retail-price datasets for green and red peppers, while current store pricing shows a clear color premium.
• Verified: bell peppers contain no capsaicin, while NIH data confirm that both red and green sweet peppers are rich sources of vitamin C.

Answers to Common Questions

How much does one bell pepper cost?
A green bell pepper currently costs about $0.75 to $1 in major-retailer examples. Red, yellow, and orange peppers are closer to $1.25 to $1.70 each.

How much are bell peppers per pound?
Per-pound prices vary by color, store, region, and promotion. Many supermarkets sell whole bell peppers by the piece instead. Precut peppers can be much higher by weight. A current Target six-ounce diced package at $2.49 works out to about $6.64 per pound.

Why are red bell peppers more expensive than green?
Colored peppers are usually left on the plant longer to reach full maturity and color. That adds growing time and exposes the fruit to more field losses. In the current Target example, red costs about 71% more per pepper than green.

Is a three-pack cheaper than buying individual bell peppers?
It can be much cheaper. At Target, three individual colored peppers currently total $5.07, while a three-count rainbow package costs $2.99, a modeled saving of about 41%.

How much do organic bell peppers cost?
Current Walmart examples are about $2.96 for two organic green peppers and $3.46 for two organic colored peppers. Organic pricing varies by retailer and promotion.

Do bell peppers contain capsaicin?
No. Sweet bell peppers do not contain the capsaicin responsible for the burning sensation associated with hot peppers.