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© 2026. The Purpl Co Limited. All rights reserved.
13 min read
Written by
Georgina, Founder of Purpl
Published on
June 29, 2026
Last reviewed: 26 June 2026
Applies to: UK
Written by: Georgina, Founder of Purpl
The Disability Price Tag is the extra amount disabled households need to spend to have the same standard of living as non-disabled households. Scope’s latest research puts this at an average of £1,095 a month, or £13,140 a year, for disabled households in the UK.
This is not about luxury spending. It reflects the real extra cost of living with a disability, long term health condition, chronic illness or neurodivergence. These costs can include higher energy bills, specialist equipment, accessible transport, care, therapies, food deliveries, mobility aids, home adaptations and paying more because the cheapest option is not always accessible.
Scope also estimates that this extra cost could rise to £1,224 a month by the 2029 to 2030 financial year (https://www.scope.org.uk/campaigns/disability-price-tag). For many disabled people, parents and carers, this means household budgets may feel tighter even when spending has already been cut back.
At Purpl, we hear every day from people who are doing everything they can to manage their money. The issue is not poor budgeting. The issue is that disability often makes basic living more expensive.
You shouldn’t have to pay a premium just to live your life. Purpl is the UK’s closed-group discount platform built exclusively for disabled people, those with long-term health conditions, neurodivergent individuals, and carers. Join Purpl today for just £1 a month and start saving on everyday essentials
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This guide explains what the Disability Price Tag means, why disabled people often face higher everyday costs, what financial support may help, and how Purpl discounts can reduce some of the regular spending that disabled households already have.
• The Disability Price Tag refers to the extra costs disabled households face compared with non-disabled households.
• Scope puts the average extra cost at £1,095 a month, or £13,140 a year.
• These costs often come from essentials, including energy, food, transport, care, equipment and accessible services.
• Disability benefits such as PIP, Adult Disability Payment and Attendance Allowance may help, but many households still face a shortfall.
• Grants, council support, energy help and disability discounts can all reduce pressure when used together.
• Purpl helps disabled people, people with long term health conditions, neurodivergent people and carers save money on everyday costs.
The Disability Price Tag means the extra money disabled households need to spend because life costs more when you live with a disability or long term health condition.
Scope uses the phrase to describe the gap between disabled and non-disabled households when comparing the standard of living they can achieve. Its latest research says disabled households need an extra £1,095 a month on average to have the same standard of living as non-disabled households (https://www.scope.org.uk/campaigns/disability-price-tag).
Here’s the reality: these are not luxury choices, they are survival costs.
Someone may need to heat their home more because pain, fatigue or stiffness gets worse in the cold. Another person may need taxis because the bus route is not accessible or reliable enough. A parent may need specialist equipment for a disabled child. Someone with a chronic illness may need food deliveries because shopping in person uses every bit of energy they have.
The Disability Price Tag helps explain why “just budget better” does not work for many disabled households. You cannot budget away the cost of needing accessible transport, heating, care, equipment or safe food.
Georgina’s note: As a disabled person myself, I know how frustrating it feels when people treat extra costs as lifestyle choices. They are not. Many disabled people pay more simply to get through the same day that non-disabled people can access more easily.
Disability can cost more because daily life often becomes less flexible, less accessible and more expensive.
Non-disabled people may be able to choose the cheapest option more easily. Disabled people often have to choose the option that is safe, accessible, reliable or realistic for their condition.
That might mean:
• Paying for taxis because buses, trains or walking routes are not accessible enough.
• Using more energy because medical equipment needs power or symptoms worsen in cold homes.
• Choosing delivery because pain, fatigue, sensory overload, anxiety or mobility needs make shops harder.
• Buying specialist clothing, shoes, bedding, food, equipment or furniture.
• Paying for support with cleaning, cooking, childcare, personal care or admin.
• Replacing items more often because illness, mobility aids or treatment affect daily use.
• Spending more on private assessments, therapies or reports when NHS waits are long.
In the Purpl community, we often hear from members who pay more for grocery delivery because standard shopping does not work around fatigue, pain, mobility, sensory overload or caring responsibilities. Partnering with major supermarkets like Morrisons, Ocado, and Tesco allows us to directly offer our members targeted savings on their grocery deliveries and weekly shops to offset this exact premium.
Others tell us they cannot choose the cheapest brand because the product is not accessible, does not work with their condition, or creates more risk at home. Some costs feel obvious, like a wheelchair, stairlift or mobility scooter. Others stay hidden, like needing a more expensive supermarket because it has better delivery slots, accessible substitutions or a lower minimum basket.
A note on accessibility: Accessibility often decides what disabled people can buy, where they can shop and how much they have to pay. The cheapest option is not always accessible, safe or possible.
The Disability Price Tag can show up in almost every part of life. Some disabled people face one or two extra costs. Others face several at the same time.
Common examples include:
• Higher heating bills if symptoms worsen in the cold, or if someone spends more time at home. (Purpl partners like Octopus Energy can help ease this strain with direct bill credits).
Electricity for medical equipment, powered beds, hoists, stairlifts, charging mobility aids or running air purifiers.
Accessible transport, including taxis, fuel, parking, vehicle adaptations (Purpl partners like Mobility in Motion or Accessible Vehicale Club (AVC) can help members who require accessible vehicles) or travel to hospital appointments.
Food costs, especially if someone needs specialist diets, easy-prep food, safe foods, delivery or smaller regular shops.
Household equipment such as freezers, washing machines, pressure-relief mattresses, supportive chairs or adapted bathroom items. Upgrading these essentials shouldn’t break the bank, which is why we offer member discounts with household names like Currys, AO, and Haier UK.
Care and support, even when it only covers a few hours a week.
Higher clothing costs when standard clothes, shoes or bras do not work with pain, swelling, sensory needs, splints, stomas or mobility aids. We have partnered with specialist brands like Cosyfeet and DB Wider Fit Shoes, alongside adaptive fashion pioneers like Unhidden, to give our community affordable, comfortable options.
Admin and paperwork costs, including printing, postage, evidence letters, document copies or support with forms.
Home adaptations, from grab rails and ramps to wet rooms, widened doorways and accessible kitchens. Specialist retailers like Millercare offer dedicated savings on independent daily living aids to make these structural needs more attainable.
Home adaptations can become one of the biggest costs. Disabled Facilities Grants can help with changes that allow someone to keep living safely at home, such as access, bathing or essential facilities (https://www.gov.uk/disabled-facilities-grants).
The smaller costs matter too. Batteries, extra laundry, parking, replacement clothes, support cushions, safer shoes, delivery fees and printed evidence can all add up. Many people do not realise how much they spend until they write it down.
Practical tip: Track your disability related spending for one month. Include the small things, not just the big purchases. This can help you understand your own Disability Price Tag and may also help when applying for support.
Scope’s latest Disability Price Tag research puts the average extra cost at £1,095 a month for disabled households. This equals £13,140 a year (https://www.scope.org.uk/campaigns/disability-price-tag).
Scope also estimates that the figure could reach £1,224 a month by the 2029 to 2030 financial year. That would equal £14,688 a year.
These are averages, so your own costs may be lower or higher. The amount can depend on:
• Your condition or disability.
• Whether you need care, equipment, adaptations or transport support.
• Whether you live alone, with family or with a carer.
• Whether you work, study, claim benefits or receive informal support.
• Where you live in the UK.
• Whether accessible services exist near you.
• Whether you can access online shopping, delivery, support groups or local schemes.
For some people, the Disability Price Tag comes in waves. A new diagnosis, flare-up, relapse, operation, broken appliance or change in mobility can suddenly increase costs. For others, the extra spending sits there every month and quietly drains the household budget.
Real life reality: Your personal Disability Price Tag may not match the national average, but it is still valid. What matters is how your condition affects your real spending, choices and access.
Disability benefits can make a huge difference, but they do not always cover the full extra cost of disability.
Personal Independence Payment (PIP) can help with extra costs if you have a long term physical or mental health condition or disability and have difficulty with daily living or getting around. GOV.UK explains that PIP has a daily living part and a mobility part, and the amount depends on how your condition affects you rather than the diagnosis alone (https://www.gov.uk/pip).
In Scotland, Adult Disability Payment has replaced PIP for most working-age disabled adults. Mygov.scot explains that Adult Disability Payment provides extra money if you have a disability or long term health condition that affects your everyday life (https://www.mygov.scot/adult-disability-payment).
Attendance Allowance may help if you are State Pension age or older and need support because of a disability or illness. GOV.UK explains that Attendance Allowance helps with extra costs if you have reached State Pension age and have care or supervision needs (https://www.gov.uk/attendance-allowance).
The problem is that benefits often sit alongside rising costs, not above them. A payment may help with mobility, care, heating or food, but it may not cover every extra cost at once.
A disabled person might use PIP for taxis, but still struggle with heating. Someone else might use it for care support, but still need to pay for food deliveries or equipment. Parents of disabled children may face transport, clothing, bedding, sensory, therapy and childcare costs all at the same time.
That is why many disabled households need a mix of support, including benefits, grants, council help, energy support, charity support, discounts and community advice.
System reality: Disability benefits matter, but they do not erase the Disability Price Tag. Many people still have to patch together support from several places just to cover the basics.
There is no single support scheme that covers every extra cost of disability. It often helps to check several types of support.
Depending on your age, location and needs, you may want to check:
• Personal Independence Payment (PIP) in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
• Adult Disability Payment in Scotland.
• Disability Living Allowance for children.
• Child Disability Payment in Scotland.
• Attendance Allowance if you are over State Pension age.
• Universal Credit, including health-related elements if you have limited capability for work.
• Employment and Support Allowance if you cannot work or have limited ability to work.
• Carer’s Allowance or carer-related support if someone provides regular care.
The Purpl Disability Benefits and Support Handbook is a helpful starting point if you need clear information and trusted signposting. It brings together links to official websites, alongside Purpl’s own easy-to-read guides, to help disabled people, people with long term health conditions, neurodivergent people and carers find support more easily.The Purpl Disability Benefits and Support Handbook is great source of information with signposting to the official websites as well as links to Purpl’s own easy to read guides to help make life easier for the community.
You can use independent benefits calculators to check what you may be entitled to. GOV.UK lists free and anonymous benefits calculators that estimate possible benefits and how changes in circumstances may affect payments (https://www.gov.uk/benefits-calculators). Turn2us also offers a benefits calculator, grants search and support with benefits and grants (https://www.turn2us.org.uk/get-support).
Grants can sometimes help with costs that benefits do not cover. This may include white goods, mobility equipment, beds, bills, clothing, education costs, respite, travel or emergency support.
Turn2us has a grants search that can help people look for charitable funds based on their circumstances (https://www.turn2us.org.uk/get-support).
Some charities focus on specific conditions, professions, age groups, locations or family situations. For example, support may differ if you are living with cancer, MS, a spinal cord injury, a visual impairment, a disabled child, a mental health condition or a rare disease.
Energy can become one of the biggest disability costs. Citizens Advice explains that you may be able to get help if you are struggling to afford energy bills or top up a prepayment meter, depending on how you pay, the energy you use and whether you claim benefits (https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/energy/energy-supply/get-help-paying-your-bills/grants-and-benefits-to-help-you-pay-your-energy-bills/).
You may also want to ask your energy and water suppliers about:
• Priority Services Register support.
• Payment plans if bills have become unaffordable.
• Energy debt grants or hardship schemes.
• Extra help if you rely on medical equipment, communication equipment or temperature control.
• Accessible bills and communication formats.
Your local council may offer support through Council Tax Reduction, Disabled Facilities Grants, discretionary help or social care assessments.
Disabled Facilities Grants can help towards the cost of home changes that allow a disabled person to live more safely and independently (https://www.gov.uk/disabled-facilities-grants).
Support varies by nation and local authority, so it is worth checking your council website or asking Citizens Advice for help.
If you work, your employer may need to make reasonable adjustments. This could include equipment, flexible working, accessible software, changed duties, remote working or adjustments to sickness absence triggers.
If you study, support may be available through Disabled Students’ Allowance, university disability teams or college support services.
Support note: The best financial support often comes from layering different help together. One benefit, grant or discount may not solve everything, but several forms of support can reduce pressure across the month.
We built Purpl to help disabled people, people with long-term health conditions, neurodivergent people and carers directly reduce the extra cost of disability.
Many disabled households already spend more on essentials. Purpl helps members save money on everyday purchases through verified disability discounts with hundreds of top UK brands.
Helping with costs such as:
Purpl is a closed-group platform, which means members verify their eligibility before accessing exclusive offers. This protects discounts for the disabled community and helps brands support the people these offers are designed for.
For many members, the biggest difference comes from regular savings. A discount on a weekly food shop, a broadband bill, a household appliance or a mobility product can have more impact than a one-off saving on something they would not normally buy.
You can browse current Purpl discounts and brand offers at Purpl
Purpl perspective: Start with the categories you already spend money on every month. Regular savings on groceries, household items, energy, broadband or mobility products usually matter more than occasional discounts.
You cannot budget away every extra disability cost, and no one should suggest that disabled people can solve structural inequality with a spreadsheet.
But practical steps can still help you take back some control.
For one month, write down every cost linked to your disability or health condition.
Include:
• Taxis, fuel, parking and hospital travel.
• Extra heating, electricity or laundry.
• Food delivery, safe foods or easy-prep meals.
• Equipment, repairs, batteries, chargers and replacement items.
• Private assessments, therapy, reports or letters.
• Care, cleaning, gardening or admin help.
• Anything you pay extra for because the cheaper option is not accessible.
This can help you understand where your money goes and what support may help most.
Use a benefits calculator or speak to an adviser. Your entitlement may change if your condition worsens, your income changes, you move home, you start or stop work, or your caring arrangements change.
Contact energy, water, broadband, mortgage, rent or credit providers early if costs become unmanageable. Many companies have hardship teams, accessibility support or payment options.
Before buying expensive equipment, appliances or adaptations, check whether a grant, charity or council scheme could help.
Search for discounts before buying items you already need. For Purpl members, this can include supermarket savings, appliances, mobility products, clothing, technology and more.
Cancel anything you do not use, but be careful with services that support your health, safety or independence. The goal is not to cut everything. It is to protect the things that matter most.
A final practical thought: Reducing the Disability Price Tag is not about blaming disabled people for extra costs. It is about finding every possible way to make an unfair system feel a little less heavy.
The Disability Price Tag is the extra amount disabled households need to spend to have the same standard of living as non-disabled households. Scope’s latest research puts this average extra cost at £1,095 a month, or £13,140 a year.
Disabled people may have higher living costs because they often need more energy, accessible transport, specialist equipment, home adaptations, care, food deliveries or support services. They may also have fewer low-cost choices if the cheapest option is not accessible or safe.
Scope’s latest Disability Price Tag research says disabled households need an extra £1,095 a month on average to have the same standard of living as non-disabled households. Scope estimates this could rise to £1,224 a month by the 2029 to 2030 financial year.
PIP can help with extra costs, but it does not always cover the full Disability Price Tag. The amount someone receives depends on how their condition affects daily living and mobility. Many disabled households still face extra costs even when they receive disability benefits.
Benefits that may help include PIP, Adult Disability Payment in Scotland, Attendance Allowance, Disability Living Allowance for children, Child Disability Payment in Scotland, Universal Credit, ESA and Carer’s Allowance. Eligibility depends on your age, location, income, care needs and how your condition affects you.
You may be able to get grants for disability-related costs such as white goods, mobility equipment, home adaptations, bills, clothing or emergency support. Turn2us has a grants search that can help you look for charitable support based on your circumstances.
Some disabled people can get help through energy supplier hardship schemes, payment plans, the Priority Services Register or grants. Citizens Advice has guidance on grants and benefits that may help with energy bills.
Purpl helps disabled people, people with long-term health conditions, neurodivergent people and carers access verified disability discounts. Members can save money across everyday areas such as groceries with Morrisons and Tesco, appliances with Currys and AO, tech with Sky and EE, and wellbeing with Holland & Barrett.
Purpl is for disabled people, people with long term health conditions, neurodivergent people and carers or parents applying on behalf of someone eligible. Members need to verify their eligibility before accessing closed-group discounts.
No. The Disability Price Tag is an average. Your personal extra costs may be higher or lower depending on your disability, health needs, household, income, transport options, home, location and available support.
The Disability Price Tag is the extra cost disabled people and people with long term health conditions face just to live day to day.
Scope’s latest research puts this at £1,095 a month on average for disabled households. That figure shows why disability costs cannot be dismissed as small, occasional or optional.
For many people, the extra cost of disability shows up in heating, food, transport, care, equipment, home adaptations, delivery fees and paying more because the cheapest option does not meet their needs.
Financial support can help, but it often works best when you combine different types of help. Benefits, grants, council support, energy schemes, workplace adjustments, community advice and disability discounts can all play a part.
Purpl exists because disabled people deserve practical ways to reduce everyday costs. We cannot remove the Disability Price Tag entirely, but we can help members save money on the things they already need.
Georgina is the founder of Purpl, the UK’s first disabled discount website. She lives with multiple sclerosis and ADHD and created Purpl to help disabled people, people with long term health conditions, neurodivergent people and carers reduce the extra cost of everyday life.
Purpl combines verified disability discounts with practical guides, signposting and community support. Georgina’s mission is to make Purpl a trusted place where disabled people can save money, access useful information and feel less alone.
Purpl Life articles: https://www.purpldiscounts.com/blog
Benefits calculator: https://www.purpldiscounts.com/benefits-calculator
Purpl community grant fund: https://www.purpldiscounts.com/disability-grants-uk
Disability Benefits and Support Handbook: https://www.purpldiscounts.com/uk-disability-benefits
Supermarket discounts for people with disabilities: https://www.purpldiscounts.com/supermarket-disability-discount