Inflation and Valentine’s Day: You Can Expect to Pay 8.3% More for Chocolate and 4.5% More for Jewelry This Year

Planning to surprise your beloved with a box of chocolates and some jewelry this Valentine’s Day? According to a new LendingTree report, you’ll likely pay more for each than a year ago.

LendingTree utilized retailer websites and the Wayback Machine to compare current prices on 48 Valentine’s Day-themed chocolates and 20 jewelry items to those in February 2024.

We looked at sites such as Walmart, Target and Macy’s and product brands such as Hershey’s, Ghirardelli and Pandora. (Note: We excluded items on sale during either period to avoid skewed results. See the full methodology for more.)

Here’s what we found.

Key findings

• Valentine’s Day chocolate is 8.3% more costly this year than last. LendingTree analyzed prices on 48 popular Valentine’s Day chocolates — from Lindt to Godiva to Hershey’s to Ghirardelli — from 2024 to 2025. Of the 48 chocolates examined, 35 saw price increases in this period, while 11 held steady. Notably, only two saw a decrease, both at just 1 cent per ounce.
• Among chocolates with price increases between Valentine’s Day 2024 and 2025, the average jump was 11.5%. Some products experienced more dramatic changes. For example, the M&M’s Valentine’s Milk Chocolate Classroom Exchange Bag saw a significant 35.4% per-ounce increase. In contrast, Hershey’s Hugs & Kisses Assorted Milk Chocolate and White Creme Valentine’s Candy had a modest 0.3% increase.
• Similarly, Valentine’s Day jewelry is 4.5% more expensive than last year. LendingTree analyzed prices on 20 jewelry items from Pandora and Macy’s. Of the analyzed items, nine saw price increases from 2024 to 2025, while 11 remained the same. The jewelry that increased in price did so by an average of 9.9%, with the highest increase (40.0%) seen in the least expensive item — the Pandora Beaded Open Heart Charm, which rose from $25 to $35.

Valentine’s Day chocolate is more costly this year than last

The price of seemingly everything has risen in the past few years, and our report shows that Valentine’s Day items are no exception.

LendingTree analyzed the difference in prices of 48 types of Valentine’s Day chocolates from 2024 to 2025, finding an overall increase of 8.3% per ounce or piece during that period.

More than 7 in 10 of the chocolates reviewed, which included Lindt, Godiva, Ghirardelli and Hershey’s, saw price increases during that period. That includes two that saw their per-ounce prices rise by more than 30.0%, led by the M&M’s Valentine’s Milk Chocolate Classroom Exchange Bag at 35.4%.

Five other chocolates saw increases of at least 23.0%. Among the 35 chocolates that saw increases in the past year, the average jump was 11.5%.

Eleven chocolates saw no change in price from year to year, while another — Hershey’s Hugs & Kisses Assorted Milk Chocolate and White Creme Valentine’s Candy — increased by just 0.3%.

Only two products saw their prices fall, albeit by a single cent per ounce. Dove Milk Chocolate Truffle Hearts Valentine’s Day Candy Gift fell from $2.32 to $2.31 per ounce, while Elmer Chocolate Assorted Chocolate Romantic Rose Chic dipped from $0.92 to $0.91 per ounce.

When chocolate (and cocoa) prices rise, it costs more for the Hersheys, Ghirardellis and Doves of the world to produce their products. Those increased costs usually get passed on to consumers in the form of higher prices. However, our analysis seems to hint that chocolate companies aren’t quite passing along all of these higher costs to consumers right now.

Full chocolate rankings

Chocolate products by increase/decrease in price per ounce

Source: LendingTree analysis of prices and product sizes from 2024 and 2025, via retailers and the Wayback Machine. Note: Products with asterisks are priced per piece.

Valentine’s Day jewelry is more expensive than last year, too

Rising prices weren’t as common with the jewelry items we reviewed as they were with the chocolate products. Just nine of the 20 items we reviewed had higher prices in 2025 than in 2024, while 11 were unchanged. None, unfortunately, had lower prices.

Overall, the prices of the 20 items rose by 4.5%. Among the items that increased in price, the average was 9.9%. However, that average is skewed higher primarily by one item — the Pandora Beaded Open Heart Charm, which was the least expensive item reviewed. That piece rose 40.0% from $25 to $35. Remove that item from the calculations and the average increase among the remaining items that saw increases falls to 6.1%, as opposed to 9.9%. The former is still a significant increase but not quite as eye-opening as the latter.

Just one other item saw a double-digit percentage increase. The Pandora Moments Heart Clasp Snake Chain Bracelet rose 15.4% from $65 to $75 in a year.

The biggest increase by dollars? The Grown With Love Lab Grown Ruby & Lab Grown Diamond Heart Halo Pendant Necklace in Gold is $50 more expensive in 2025 than in 2024, rising from $2,000 to $2,050.

Like with chocolate, the PPI also shows an increase in jewelry and silverware manufacturing prices. However, the jump isn’t nearly as dramatic as with cocoa. The PPI showed jewelry prices rose 5.9% from December 2023 to December 2024.

Full jewelry rankings

Jewelry products by increase/decrease in price

Source: LendingTree analysis of prices and product sizes from 2024 and 2025, via retailers and the Wayback Machine.

Keep costs down for Valentine’s Day while still making it special

Start by controlling what you can control. There’s nothing one person can do about the skyrocketing costs of producing chocolate, for example, but you can do plenty of things to help yourself.

• Make a realistic budget. This report makes it crystal clear that if you think you can get that same necklace and box of chocolates you bought last year for the same price in 2025, you’ll likely be disappointed. When budgeting for Valentine’s Day expenses — or any holiday — expect to spend an extra 5% to 10% over the previous year. You may have to shuffle some spending to allow for that, but it’s better to prepare for higher costs and be surprised than it is to hope for the best and be let down.
• Shop around. Some of the oldest, simplest advice is still the best. Where you shop and when you shop can make a difference. It’s worth your time.
• Consider setting a spending limit. It isn’t the sexiest conversation, but consider talking to your partner about setting boundaries for Valentine’s Day spending. I’m not saying it’ll be the easiest talk, but it can be worthwhile. These talks can be very different from one couple to another based on circumstances, but it can work if you approach the chat with sensitivity, compassion and a willingness to compromise. The right partner isn’t going to want you to take on a bunch of debt to celebrate Valentine’s Day.
• Get creative. Creativity can take many forms around Valentine’s Day. Even just a little bit can go a long way toward creating a romantic holiday and preventing debt.
• Use credit cards wisely. The right card, used thoughtfully, can make a real difference in your holiday budget. Consolidating debts with a 0% balance transfer credit card can dramatically reduce the amount of interest you pay over the life of the transferred balance, leaving you a little extra money to put toward the right holiday gift. Buying gifts with a rewards card can put a few extra dollars in your pocket or earn you points and miles that can pay dividends later. Just make sure you don’t overspend in pursuit of rewards and take on debt. Otherwise, the interest you pay on that debt can easily outweigh any rewards you might receive.

Methodology

To analyze the prices of Valentine’s Day products, LendingTree researchers examined 48 chocolate and 20 jewelry items.

Historical prices and product sizes were retrieved using the Wayback Machine, focusing on listings from Feb. 2-14, 2024, that we compared to listings from Jan. 1-8, 2025.

Researchers collected historical prices and product sizes and compared them to current prices, calculating each product’s price per ounce or piece and determining any changes.

We gathered chocolate and jewelry data from the following retail websites online:

• Godiva
• Lindt
• Macy’s
• Pandora
• Target
• Walmart