What Saffron Should Cost in 2026, Per Gram

Saffron is sold in packs of half a gram, one gram, two grams, five grams, sometimes in "tolas". Every seller picks a different size, which makes comparing prices harder than it should be. The fix is simple: divide the price by the grams and compare that.

Why saffron costs what it does

Each crocus flower gives three threads. It takes somewhere around 150,000 flowers, all picked by hand in a few autumn weeks, to make one kilogram of dried saffron. There is no machine that does it well. That labour is most of the price.

What moves the price

• Grade. Mongra (all-red stigma tips) costs the most. Lacha, which includes some of the yellow style, costs less. Zarda and Choora are lower grades, mostly style and broken bits.
• Origin. Kashmiri saffron is scarce and usually costs more per gram than Iranian or Spanish saffron.
• The harvest. A dry year in Pampore means less saffron and higher prices the following winter.
• Pack size. Many sellers charge less per gram for bigger packs. We do not: our Mongra is ₹359 a gram whether you buy one gram or ten.

Prices that should worry you

Genuine Kashmiri Mongra cannot be grown, picked, dried, tested and posted for a few rupees a gram. If a listing is dramatically cheaper than everyone else, it is almost always a lower grade sold under a higher grade's name, or not saffron at all.

How much you actually need

A single gram holds roughly 400 to 450 threads. Most recipes need 8 to 10 threads, so one gram is about 45 servings. At ₹359 a gram, that is around ₹8 a dish, less than most people guess.

Before you pay

• Work out the price per gram.
• Check the grade is named (Mongra, Lacha) rather than "premium" or "A1".
• Ask for an ISO 3632 lab report.
• Do the water test the day it arrives.