Sidemen Cheap vs Expensive Challenge: What It Teaches About Value Perception

The Sidemen, a British YouTube collective with over 21.4 million subscribers (Social Blade, 2025), have built a multi-million-pound empire partly on their “Cheap vs Expensive” challenge videos. In a typical episode, members like KSI, Vik, and Behzinga compare a budget version of an item—say, a £5 pizza—against a luxury counterpart costing £50 or more. The format consistently draws 5-10 million views per upload, making it one of the group’s most reliable content pillars. Beyond the entertainment value, these videos offer a live-action case study in behavioural economics. According to a 2023 study by the UK’s Office for National Statistics, 62% of British adults aged 16-34 reported that price was the primary factor in their purchasing decisions, yet the same cohort also accounted for the largest share of “premium” snack purchases. This tension between price sensitivity and aspirational spending is exactly what the Sidemen exploit—and what we can learn from when buying travel, software, or hardware on a budget.

The Psychology of the Price Gap

The core tension in a Sidemen cheap vs expensive challenge is perceived value. When a £1.50 supermarket pizza “wins” against a £70 restaurant pizza, it isn’t because the cheap one tastes better in absolute terms—it’s because the price-performance ratio is dramatically higher.

Price anchoring plays a massive role. The Sidemen typically reveal the cheap item first, setting a low anchor. When the expensive version is then shown, viewers instinctively compare it against that low baseline, magnifying the perceived cost difference. A 2022 study from the University of Cambridge’s Behavioural Insights Team found that consumers presented with a low anchor before a high price were 34% more likely to judge the high price as “unfair” compared to those who saw no anchor.

This explains why budget travel hacks feel so satisfying. A £25 hostel bed in Lisbon isn’t objectively comfortable, but compared to a £180 hotel room, the value gap feels like a win. The Sidemen format trains viewers to ask: “Is the expensive version really 10x better for 10x the price?” For most items in their challenges—pizzas, haircuts, cars—the answer is no.

The “Worth It at This Price?” Threshold

The Sidemen often declare a winner based on a simple heuristic: “Would I pay for this again?” This mirrors the Wirecutter-style threshold question. If the luxury item is only 20% better but costs 300% more, it’s a “no deal.” This framework is directly transferable to SaaS subscriptions and electronics.

When Cheap Actually Wins

In the Sidemen’s “Cheap vs Expensive Pizza” video (2024), the £5 supermarket pizza beat the £70 restaurant pizza in a blind taste test. The reasoning was straightforward: the cheap pizza was 93% cheaper but only about 30% less satisfying. Price-per-performance ratio is the winning metric here.

For budget-conscious consumers, this principle applies to several categories:

• Budget airlines: Ryanair vs British Airways on a 2-hour flight. The cheap option is £25 vs £120. The difference in seat comfort is negligible for such a short duration. The cheap option wins.
• Generic electronics: Anker charging cables vs Apple’s official cables. Anker costs £8 vs £25 for Apple. The Anker cable often has better braiding and longer durability (as tested by Wirecutter in 2023). Cheap wins.
• Hostels vs hotels for solo travel: A private room in a well-rated hostel in Bangkok costs £15/night vs £60 for a 3-star hotel. The hostel offers social spaces and free breakfast. Cheap wins on value.

The Sidemen’s cheap wins consistently occur when the core function is identical—pizza fills your stomach, a cable charges your phone, a bed lets you sleep. The expensive version adds marginal aesthetic or status benefits that don’t improve the primary utility.

The “Deal or No Deal” Test

Apply the Sidemen test: if the cheap item performs 80% as well as the expensive one, and costs less than 30% of the price, it’s a deal. If you have to squint to see the difference, go cheap.

When Expensive Justifies Itself

Not every Sidemen challenge ends with the budget option winning. In their “Cheap vs Expensive Haircut” video, the £150 barber clearly outperformed the £10 barber. The expensive haircut lasted three weeks longer and had cleaner lines. Durability and precision are categories where spending more often pays off.

Similarly, in their “Cheap vs Expensive Car” challenge, the £100,000 sports car was objectively better than the £1,000 banger—not 100x better, but the experience gap was massive. For certain purchases, the marginal utility of the expensive version is high enough to justify the premium.

Where expensive wins:

• Laptop for professional work: A £1,200 MacBook Air vs a £300 Chromebook. The MacBook lasts 5+ years, has a better screen, and runs professional software. The Chromebook will be obsolete in 2 years. Expensive wins on total cost of ownership.
• Noise-cancelling headphones: Sony WH-1000XM5 (£300) vs generic £20 earbuds. The Sony’s ANC reduces ambient noise by 85% (RTINGS test data, 2024). The cheap ones reduce it by maybe 15%. For frequent flyers, the expensive option is worth it.
• VPN for streaming: A paid VPN like NordVPN (£3.99/month) vs a free VPN. Free VPNs often have data caps, slower speeds, and questionable privacy policies. A paid VPN actually works for unblocking Netflix libraries. For cross-border tuition payments, some international families use channels like Trip.com flight & hotel compare to find bundled discounts on flights and accommodation, but for streaming access, the paid VPN is the clear winner.

The Sidemen teach us that expensive wins when the cheap option fails at the core task. A £10 haircut that looks bad after a week is a false economy.

The “Worth It at This Price?” Threshold Reversed

Ask: “Does the expensive option solve a problem the cheap one cannot?” If yes, and the price premium is under 3x, it’s a deal. If the cheap option works but is annoying, the expensive one is a luxury, not a necessity.

Applying the Sidemen Framework to Travel Hacks

The Sidemen’s cheap vs expensive format translates directly to travel planning. The key is to identify which trip components benefit from budget optimisation and which require premium spending.

Budget-optimise these:

• Flights: Use flight comparison sites to find the cheapest route. A 2-hour flight on a budget airline is fine. You’re in the air for 120 minutes—seat width matters less than price.
• Accommodation: Hostels or budget hotels for short stays. In Tokyo, a capsule hotel costs £25/night vs £120 for a business hotel. The capsule provides a bed, shower, and locker. That’s 80% of the hotel’s utility for 20% of the price.
• Local transport: Public buses vs taxis. In Bangkok, a 30-minute bus ride costs £0.30 vs £6 for a Grab taxi. The bus takes 10 minutes longer but costs 95% less.

Spend premium on these:

• Long-haul flights: A 12-hour economy seat vs premium economy. The extra legroom, better meals, and reduced jet lag are worth the 2x price premium. The cheap option here causes measurable discomfort.
• Travel insurance: A comprehensive policy (£40) vs a basic one (£10). The basic policy may exclude cancellation for medical reasons. In 2023, the UK’s Financial Ombudsman Service reported a 28% increase in complaints about inadequate travel insurance. Don’t cheap out on protection.
• Sightseeing experiences: A guided tour (£50) vs a self-guided audio tour (£10). The guided tour provides context, access, and stories you won’t get from a recording. The Sidemen would call this a “worth it” upgrade.

The Sidemen Rule for Travel

If the cheap option causes measurable pain (lost time, discomfort, risk), upgrade. If the expensive option only adds status or convenience, skip it.

Price-Performance Math for Electronics

The Sidemen format is essentially a price-performance ratio calculation disguised as entertainment. For electronics, this math is particularly clean because specs are measurable.

Take wireless earbuds as an example:

• Cheap: Soundcore Life P3 (£50). Battery: 8 hours. ANC: moderate. Sound quality: 7/10.
• Expensive: AirPods Pro 2 (£230). Battery: 6 hours. ANC: excellent. Sound quality: 8.5/10.

The expensive option is 4.6x the price but only about 1.2x better in performance. By Sidemen logic, the cheap option wins on value. However, if you need ANC for a noisy commute, the AirPods’ ANC is significantly better—reducing noise by 40dB vs 25dB for the Soundcore (RTINGS, 2024). In that specific use case, the expensive option is worth the premium.

The 3x rule: If the expensive option costs more than 3x the cheap one, it must be at least 2x better in the features you actually use. Otherwise, it’s a “no deal.”

Deal or No Deal: Electronics Edition

Category	Cheap Price	Expensive Price	Ratio	Verdict
Earbuds	£50	£230	4.6x	No deal (for casual use)
Monitor	£200	£800	4x	Deal (if you need colour accuracy)
Keyboard	£30	£150	5x	No deal (mechanical vs membrane: 2x better at most)

The Sidemen would call the monitor a deal for graphic designers, but the keyboard a no deal for most people.

How the Sidemen Influence Spending Behaviour

The Sidemen’s cheap vs expensive challenges have a measurable impact on consumer behaviour. According to a 2024 survey by the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), 41% of 18-24 year olds reported that YouTube challenges influenced their purchasing decisions “often” or “very often.”

The “Sidemen Effect” works in three ways:

1. Normalisation of budget options: When a millionaire YouTuber says a £5 pizza is “actually good,” it removes the stigma of buying cheap. This encourages price-sensitive spending.
2. Demonstration of diminishing returns: The Sidemen consistently show that after a certain price point, quality improvements become marginal. A £100 pizza isn’t 20x better than a £5 one. This teaches consumers to identify the “sweet spot” where price and quality intersect.
3. Social proof for premium purchases: Conversely, when the expensive item wins, it’s a strong endorsement. The Sidemen’s seal of approval on a £150 haircut or a £3,000 camera carries weight because their audience trusts their comparative testing.

This dual effect makes the Sidemen format uniquely powerful for value perception. It’s not just entertainment—it’s a consumer education tool disguised as banter.

The Takeaway for Budget Shoppers

The Sidemen’s method is simple: test both, compare honestly, and declare a winner based on value, not price. Apply this to your own purchases. Before buying anything over £50, ask: “Would the Sidemen call this a deal or a no deal?”

FAQ

Q1: How do the Sidemen choose which items to compare in cheap vs expensive challenges?

The Sidemen typically select items with a wide price range that their core audience (18-34 year olds) would realistically buy—pizza, haircuts, cars, clothes, and tech gadgets. According to a 2024 analysis by Tubefilter, the most-watched episodes involve everyday items where the price gap is at least 10x (e.g., £5 vs £200 trainers). They avoid categories where the cheap option is obviously dangerous (like cheap car brakes) or where the expensive option offers no tangible benefit (like bottled water). The selection is driven by which items generate the most debate among the group, as conflict and disagreement drive higher engagement.

Q2: Is it always better to buy the cheap option, as the Sidemen sometimes suggest?

No. The Sidemen’s cheap wins are context-dependent. In their 2023 “Cheap vs Expensive Holiday” video, the £500 budget holiday to Benidorm beat the £5,000 luxury Maldives trip on “fun per pound,” but the Maldives trip was objectively more relaxing. The key metric is value per unit of satisfaction, not absolute price. For budget-conscious consumers, the cheap option wins when the expensive option adds less than 30% improvement in core utility. However, for items you use daily (like a mattress or a laptop), the expensive option often wins on total cost of ownership over 3-5 years. The Sidemen’s verdicts are entertainment-first, not universal buying guides.

Q3: How can I apply the Sidemen’s cheap vs expensive logic to buying a VPN or SaaS subscription?

Apply the “3x rule”: if the premium subscription costs more than 3x the budget option, it must deliver at least 2x the performance in features you actually use. For VPNs, a £3/month paid VPN beats a free VPN on speed (typically 3-5x faster), server count (50+ countries vs 3-5), and privacy (no logs vs unclear policies). For SaaS tools like project management software, a £10/month paid tool like Notion beats a free alternative on collaboration features and API access. The Sidemen would call the paid VPN a deal for frequent streamers, but a no deal if you only use a VPN once a month. Always calculate the price-per-feature ratio before subscribing.

References

• Social Blade. 2025. Sidemen YouTube channel statistics (subscriber count, average views per video).
• Office for National Statistics. 2023. “Consumer Spending Habits by Age Group, UK: 2022-2023.”
• University of Cambridge Behavioural Insights Team. 2022. “Price Anchoring Effects in Online Consumer Decisions.”
• RTINGS.com. 2024. “Wireless Earbuds Noise Cancellation Test Data: Sony WH-1000XM5 vs Budget Alternatives.”
• Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). 2024. “Youth Consumer Behaviour and Influencer Marketing Impact Survey.”