I Compared Prices for 11 Popular Groceries at Aldi, Trader Joe’s, and Walmart — and Am Still in Disbelief by How Much Cheaper One Store Is
Grocery stores are a staple in many of our lives, whether visited once a month, every other week, or even daily. We need to eat, and there’s a growing number of places (even online options!) for us to get our food. Which in return, means that we have more options than ever on where to spend our hard-earned dollars.
According to our recent home cooking survey, nearly half of home cooks (48%) stick to a grocery budget, though most admit it’s not very strict — 86% reported flexibility if, say, they spot a sale on peanut butter or hummus. Surveyors’ spending patterns also varied predictably with household size. For instance, individuals living alone spent somewhere between $0 to $100 per week, while three- to five-person households typically allocated anywhere from $100 to $200 a week on groceries.
We have a strong feeling a lot of you who are reading this, like us, are in a similar position. The price of food has been steadily rising, 25% from 2019 to 2023 to be exact, according to the Consumer Price Index ( CPI), which has made stretching our grocery dollars even more burdensome. To help us all keep our food bills at a manageable level, we set out to find the cheapest national grocery store in America right now.
We compared 11 groceries at Aldi, Trader Joe’s, and Walmart — three of the most popular and reasonably priced retailers — to figure out once and for all which one offers the most affordable options for shoppers.
How We Picked Our List of Groceries
To figure out which grocery store has the most affordable groceries, we made a list of 11 of the most popular staples and headed out to Aldi, Trader Joe’s, and Walmart to do some VIP — very important price-comparing. With grocery prices seemingly changing by the day, we visited all three stores on the same day in suburban Long Island, roughly 90 minutes outside of New York City. The stores were all within a 10-minute drive of each other.
To keep the assessment as fair as possible, we purchased as many of the same items as possible (for example, we bought half gallons of whole milk), focusing on the cheapest option available, which — spoiler — usually meant the store’s private-label brand. If a grocer didn’t offer a specific item on our list (four cheese frozen pizza), we bought the cheapest and most comparable one available (with the exception of eggs, we always purchased cage-free eggs).
So, How Did Aldi, Trader Joe’s, and Walmart Stack Up?
1. Whole Milk
First up, we put three whole milk half-gallons side by side (by side) and were shocked at how similar they all looked, down to the shape of the sticker and color of the cap. In terms of price, though, the differences were some of the most glaring in our haul. Aldi clinched the winning title against Walmart (by just 11 cents), while Trader Joe’s was more than double.
Walmart Great Value Whole Milk $1.42 for one half gallon
WINNER! Aldi Friendly Farms Whole Milk $1.31 for one half gallon
Trader Joe’s Whole Milk $2.69 for one half gallon
2. Salted Butter
Butter! One of the most used items in our kitchen, we were most excited for this matchup because those of us who are bakers can go through four sticks (or more!) in a week — and we haven’t even hit the peak of baking season. The winner, once again, was Aldi. At $3.55 for a pound (aka four sticks), Aldi beat out Trader Joe’s and Walmart. Trader Joe’s was just under $4, making it a more affordable option compared with Walmart; one of the few times Trader Joe’s was cheaper than Walmart.
Walmart Great Value Sweet Cream Salted Butter $4.26 for 1 pound
WINNER! Aldi Countryside Creamery Sweet Cream Salted Butter $3.55 for 1 pound
Trader Joe’s Salted Butter $3.99 for 1 pound
3. Bananas
Not all stores price their bananas the same: Trader Joe’s sold them individually for $0.23, while Aldi and Walmart price them by the pound for $0.42 and $0.50, respectively. We picked up bundles of six at each store, and Aldi pulled through with the most bang for our bunch. Important to note, though, at the time we shopped, all of Aldi’s bananas were green — really, all of them. So if you wanted a banana for an immediate snack, it wouldn’t be the best option as you’d have to wait a day or so before it ripened.
Walmart Del Monte Bananas $1.01 ($0.17 cents per banana)
WINNER! Aldi Chiquita Bananas $0.81 ($0.14 cents per banana)
Trader Joe’s Chiquita Bananas $1.38 ($0.23 cents per banana)
4. Broccoli
Broccoli! Steamed, roasted, or thrown into a pasta there’s something so reliable about it. We shopped for fresh broccoli heads and had some interesting outtakes. Aldi won, yet again, at $1.65 a pound beating both Walmart and Trader Joe’s. Though, Aldi did only sell broccoli crowns, not the entire cruciferous vegetable. Trader Joe’s broccoli was the most expensive, and also the least amount of vegetables by weight and size.
Walmart Broccoli Head $2.97
WINNER! Aldi Broccoli Head $2.56
Trader Joe’s Broccoli Head $3.29
5. Eggs
We’ve been steadily watching the prices of eggs go up (and back down) for years now. Anyone else exhausted by it? Same! So which retailer has the best price for a dozen cage-free eggs? Trader Joe’s. We couldn’t believe it either: The grocer’s eggs are 50 cents cheaper than Aldi’s and a staggering $1.31 cents cheaper than the ones at Walmart. Score one for TJ’s! We specifically chose cage-free eggs — which are eggs that come from chickens that are not confined to a cage — even though it may not have been the cheapest option at each store.
Walmart Simply Nature Cage-free Eggs $4.78 for a dozen eggs
Aldi Marketside Cage-free Eggs $3.99 for a dozen eggs
WINNER! Trader Joe’s Cage-free Eggs $3.49 for a dozen eggs
6. Sandwich Bread
When shopping for sandwich bread, we were surprised at the sheer number of options Walmart offered in the bakery department (an entire aisle!), whereas Trader Joe’s and Aldi each only had a handful of loaves, with Aldi stocking just one whole wheat sliced bread. Ultimately, Walmart had the cheapest bread at $1.42 for 20 ounces (!), which is not only $1.07 cheaper than the most expensive, Trader Joe’s, but also 25% bigger.
WINNER! Walmart Great Value Whole Wheat Bread $1.42 for 20 ounces ($0.07 per ounce)
Aldi Whole L’oven Farm Whole Wheat Bread $1.79 for 20 ounces ($0.09 per ounce)
Trader Joe’s Whole Wheat Bread $2.49 for 16 ounces ($0.15 per ounce)
7. Ground Beef
If your household goes through a lot of ground beef, then you’re going to want to shop at Aldi. It’s not only the cheapest option, it’s the only ground beef that is certified 100% grass-fed, which yields a better tasting and more humanely raised product than grain-fed. That being said, labels can also be misleading as they’re not strongly enforced by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA); if you want to know more, strike up a convo with the employees at your store or reach out to the producers directly.
Walmart Great Value Ground Beef $5.64 for 1 pound
WINNER! Aldi Simply Nature Ground Beef $4.79 for 1 pound
Trader Joe’s Ground Beef $4.99 for 1 pound
8. Jarred Marinara Sauce
Although Walmart had the cheapest marinara sauce overall, interestingly enough, it’s also the smallest — by a single ounce. So when we looked at the price tags more closely, we noticed they were actually the exact same price per ounce ($0.072!). We’re giving a slight edge to Walmart’s sauce for saving us a few extra pennies on the bill.
WINNER! Walmart Great Value Pasta Sauce $1.67 for 23 ounces ($0.072 per ounce)
Aldi Priano Marinara Sauce $1.75 for 24 ounces ($0.072 per ounce)
Trader Joe’s Tomato Basil Marinara Sauce $1.99 for 24 ounces ($0.08 per ounce)
9. Rice
Rice is one of our favorite grains — and probably foods. We go through bags upon bags and will now be buying it at Aldi every chance we get because it is by far the cheapest at just $1.99 for 3 pounds. Aldi only had a five-pound bag of jasmine rice at the time we shopped, so we chose a long grain variety of white rice that we felt was a similar enough alternative for this test. That said, the price is especially convincing because Walmart’s version is sold in smaller, 2-pound bags and $1.13 more than Aldi’s. Trader Joe’s 3-pound bag is the most expensive, but cheaper than Walmart per ounce.
Walmart Great Value Jasmine Rice $3.12 for 2 pounds ($1.56 per pound)
WINNER! Aldi Earthy Grains White Rice $1.99 for 3 pounds ($0.66 per pound)
Trader Joe’s Jasmine Rice $3.29 for 3 pounds ($1.09 per pound)
10. Frozen Pizza
Frozen cheese pizzas are the unsung heroes of dinner and the best store to snag one? Aldi. Not only is Aldi’s cheese pizza the most affordable out of the three, the Mama Cozzi line has a HUGE fan following behind it. It’s $4.38 for 28 ounces, which is DOUBLE the size of Trader Joe’s Margherita Pizza (which, similar to rice, was the closest alternative available) in addition to being cheaper than it.
Walmart Great Value Frozen Four Cheese Pizza $4.97 for 28 ounces ($0.17 per ounce)
WINNER! Aldi Mama Cozzi’s Frozen Four Cheese Pizza $4.39 for 28 ounces ($0.15 per ounce)
Trader Joe’s Frozen Pizza Margherita $4.79 for 14 ounces ($0.34 per ounce)
11. Potato Chips
Aldi is on fire! The budget-friendly retailer won this category as well with its Clancy’s Original Potato Chips for $1.89 (reader if you’re counting, it’s up to eight). Though, if you’re a volume shopper, the Walmart chips are a few cents cheaper at 14 cents per ounce compared with Aldi’s 18 cents per ounce.
Walmart Great Value Potato Chips $1.98 for 13 ounces ($0.14 per ounce)
WINNER! Aldi Clancy’s Original Potato Chips $1.89 for 10 ounces ($0.18 per ounce)
Trader Joe’s Classic Potato Chips $2.99 for 10 ounces ($0.29 per ounce)
Which Grocery Store Was the Absolute Cheapest?
Although no one retailer had the lowest price for all 11 items, Aldi is considerably cheaper than Trader Joe’s and Walmart in almost every category — and our winner for the most affordable grocery store. TBH, it wasn’t all that close! Aldi was the only place we spent under $30. We cut our budget by nearly $5 from our trip to Walmart ($4.42) and spent almost $7 less than we did at Trader Joe’s ($6.56).
WINNER! Aldi Total: $28.82
Trader Joe’s Total: $35.38
Walmart Total: $33.24
Before You Shop at Aldi, Trader Joe’s, or Walmart, a Few Tips
After spending an entire morning in Aldi, Trader Joe’s, and Walmart, we learned a few things we’ll keep in mind for our future shops.
We spent the most time at Walmart. As the largest grocer out of the three, the store’s layout can be somewhat spread out, which makes shopping time-consuming. It wasn’t just because of its sheer size, though; the setup wasn’t as intuitive as at other stores. It has two baked good sections, which resulted in us flopping between each to find sliced bread. The more time you spend in the grocery store, the more likely you are to spend more money. To save money, go in with a list and work your way around picking up the things that you need.
Trader Joe’s was more expensive than we expected. We often associate the retailer as cheaper than alternative grocery stores but, with the exception of eggs, it was often the most expensive of the three. But! We’ll continue to shop there for high-quality staples, two-ingredient dinners, and all of the fun seasonal items.
Aldi won’t always carry everything on your list. If you’ve spent even just five minutes in an Aldi, you probably know the grocer does things a little differently, including stocking a highly curated list of items — just 1,600 compared to more than 30,000 at standard supermarkets. You might not always find exactly what you came for (yellow bananas, jasmine rice, or whatever’s on your list), so be prepared to make swaps or even a second stop.
Understand unit prices. This applies to any and every grocery store you shop at. The unit price, which is on the price tag in small-ish print, tells you how much you are paying per ounce/pound/liter/or any other measurement standard, and is especially useful when comparing different sizes. For example, Trader Joe’s frozen pizza was 18 cents cheaper than the one at Walmart, and also half the size, which meant we paid $0.17 more per ounce of dough, sauce, and cheese at TJ’s.
Further Reading
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