It’s no secret that groceries are easily one of the biggest expenses for most families. I wanted to find out: Is Costco cheaper than Walmart? Is Aldi Cheaper than Walmart? Is Walmart cheaper than Costco?!? I went on my own grocery store price comparison to find the answer!
We live in the southeastern portion of the United States and often make trips throughout the week to our favorite grocery stores: Walmart, Aldi, and Costco. We shop at these different grocery stores because they each carry specific products or have rock-bottom prices that may be hard to find all in one store.
We set out to complete our grocery store price comparison, find out the answer for ourselves, and share with you what we found out!
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Aldi vs. Walmart vs. Costco: How We Compared Prices
Here’s how we went about our grocery store price comparison:
- We compared prices at Walmart, Aldi, and Costco using comparable items. And, when possible, we used the exact same brand to make sure that it was truly an “apples to apples” comparison.
- We’ve not included the shelf price of the grocery items. Instead, we broke that down to price per ounce.
- Prices will vary per region! But you should see that if bread prices are more expensive in your area compared to ours shown here, you should see that consistently across the board at the three stores we’re highlighting in this post.
- Our grocery store price comparison lists the original price and not the sale price.
- We tried to focus on staple food items that most families buy regularly.
- As we go through, we’ll take each item one by one and then highlight the lowest price. At the end, we’ll announce our overall winner and wrap up our discussion with a few parting conclusions based on our findings.
Grocery Store Price Comparison between Aldi, Walmart, and Costco
Tortilla Chips
Cheapest Price: Costco
- Walmart: Great Value Organic – price per oz ($0.22)
- Aldi: Simply Nature Organic Yellow Corn Tortilla Corn Chips – price per oz ($0.18)
- Costco: Kirkland Signature Organic Tortilla Chips – price per oz ($0.12)
Peanut Butter
Cheapest Price: Walmart
- Walmart: Great Value All Natural – price per oz ($0.08)
- Aldi: Simply Nature Organic Creamy Peanut Butter – price per oz ($0.21)
- Costco: Kirkland Signature Organic Peanut Butter – price per oz ($0.18)
Bread
Cheapest Price: Aldi
- Walmart: Nature’s Own Honey Wheat – price per oz ($0.14)
- Aldi: Loven Fresh Honey Wheat Bread – price per oz ($0.07)
- Costco: Nature’s Own Honey Wheat (2 Pack) – price per oz ($0.11)
Butter
Cheapest Price: Costco
- Walmart: Great Value Sweet Cream Unsalted Butter – price per oz ($0.19)
- Aldi: Countryside Creamery Sweet Cream Unsalted Butter – price per oz ($0.19)
- Costco: Kirkland Signature Unsalted Sweet Cream Butter (4 Pack) – price per oz ($0.16)
Organic Spinach
Cheapest Price: Costco
- Walmart: Marketside Organic Baby Spinach – price per oz ($.69)
- Aldi: Simply Nature Organic Baby Spinach – price per oz ($0.54)
- Costco: Olivia’s Organics Baby Spinach – price per oz ($0.28)
Clover Honey
Cheapest Price: Costco
- Walmart: Great Value Clover Honey – price per fl oz ($0.29)
- Aldi: Berryhill Clover Honey – price per fl oz ($0.25)
- Costco: Kirkland Signature Wildflower Honey – price per fl oz ($0.13)
BBQ Sauce
Cheapest Price: Tie between Walmart & Costco
- Walmart: Sweet Baby Ray’s Barbecue Sauce – price per fl oz ($0.08)
- Aldi: Sweet Baby Rays Honey Barbecue Sauce – price per fl oz ($0.09)
- Costco – Sweet Baby Ray’s Barbecue Sauce – price per fl oz ($0.08)
White Vinegar
Cheapest Price: Tie between Walmart, Aldi, & Costco
- Walmart: Great Value White Vinegar – price per fl oz ($0.02)
- Aldi: Tuscan Garden White Vinegar – price per fl oz ($0.02)
- Costco: Heinz All Natural White Vinegar – price per fl oz ($0.02)
Ketchup
Cheapest Price: Aldi
- Walmart: Heinz Tomato Ketchup – price per oz ($0.08)
- Aldi: Burman’s Tomato Ketchup – price per oz ($0.05)
- Costco: Heinz Tomato Ketchup – price per oz ($0.06)
Mac and Cheese
Cheapest Price: Aldi
- Walmart: Kraft Macaroni & Cheese (5 Pack) – price per oz ($0.13)
- Aldi: Cheese Club Macaroni and Cheese – price per oz ($0.07)
- Costco: Kraft Macaroni & Cheese (18 Boxes) price per oz ($0.11)
Peanuts
Cheapest Price: Walmart
- Walmart: Great Value Dry Roasted Peanuts – price per oz ($0.11)
- Aldi: Southern Grove Dry Roasted Peanuts – price per oz ($0.16)
- Costco: Planters Dry Roasted Peanuts – price per oz ($0.13)
Maple Syrup
Cheapest Price: Costco
- Walmart: Great Value Pure Maple Syrup – price per fl oz ($0.44)
- Aldi: Specially Selected Maple Syrup – price per fl oz ($0.55)
- Costco: Kirkland Signature Maple Syrup – price per fl oz ($0.32)
Coconut Oil
Cheapest Price: Costco
- Walmart: Great Value Organic Unrefined Virgin Coconut Oil – price per oz ($0.28)
- Aldi: Simply Nature Organic Coconut Oil – price per oz ($0.29)
- Costco: Kirkland Signature Organic Virgin Coconut Oil – price per oz ($0.17)
Olive Oil
Cheapest Price: Costco
- Walmart: Great Value Extra Virgin Olive Oil – price per fl oz ($0.20)
- Aldi: Carlini Extra Virgin Olive Oil – price per fl oz ($0.23)
- Costco: Kirkland Signature Extra Virgen Olive Oil – price per fl oz ($0.14)
Dried Basil
Cheapest Price: Costco
- Walmart: Great Value Organic Basil Leaves – price per oz ($7.94)
- Aldi: Simply Nature Organic Basil Leaves – price per oz ($4.34)
- Costco: McCormick Organic Basil Leaves – price per oz ($1.05)
Hummus
Cheapest Price: Aldi
- Walmart: Sabra Singled Classic Hummus – price per oz ($0.39)
- Aldi: Classic Hummus Singles (6 Pack) – price per oz ($0.25)
- Costco: Kirkland Signature Organic Hummus (20 Cups) – price per oz ($0.32)
Mozzarella Shredded Cheese
Cheapest Price: Costco
- Walmart: Great Value Finely Shredded Low-Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella Cheese – price per oz ($0.17)
- Aldi: Happy Farms Shredded Low-Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella – price per oz ($0.23)
- Costco: Kirkland Signature Low Moisture Shredded Mozzarella Cheese – price per oz ($0.16)
Mexican Blend Shredded Cheese
Cheapest Price: Tie between Walmart & Costco
- Walmart: Great Value Finely Shredded Colby & Monterey Jack Cheese – price per oz ($0.17)
- Aldi: Happy Farms Finely Shredded Colby Jack – price per oz ($0.25)
- Costco: Kirkland Signature Shredded Mexican Style Blend Cheese – price per oz ($0.17)
Whole Almonds
Cheapest Price: Costco
- Walmart: Great Value Natural Whole Almonds – price per oz ($0.40)
- Aldi: Southern Grove Whole Almonds – price per oz ($0.41)
- Costco: Kirkland Signature Whole Almonds– price per oz ($0.25)
Cage Free Eggs
Cheapest Price: Costco
- Walmart: Cage Free Grade AA Large Eggs – price per dozen ($2.48)
- Aldi: Cage-free not available
- Costco: Cage Free Grade AA Large Eggs – price per dozen ($1.34)
Whole Milk
Cheapest Price: Aldi
- Walmart: Great Value Whole Milk – price per gallon ($2.38)
- Aldi: Friendly Farms Whole Milk – price per gallon ($2.00)
- Costco: Kirkland Whole Milk – price per gallon ($2.79)
Rolled Oats
Cheapest Price: Tie between Costco and Aldi
- Walmart: Quaker Oats – price per oz ($0.10)
- Aldi: Millville Rolled Oats – price per oz ($0.06)
- Costco: Quaker Oats – price per oz ($0.06)
Kitchen Trash Bags
Cheapest Price: Costco
- Walmart: Great Value Flex Kitchen Bags – price per bag ($0.11)
- Aldi: Boulder Kitchen Bags – price per bag ($0.11)
- Costco: Kirkland Flex-Tech Kitchen Trash Bags – price per bag ($0.07)
Bacon
Cheapest Price: Costco
- Walmart: Great Value Bacon – price per oz ($0.23)
- Aldi: Appleton Farms Bacon – price per oz ($0.30)
- Costco: Kirkland Premium Bacon – price per oz ($0.22)
Which store has the cheapest groceries?
Costco came out as the winner in our grocery store price comparison experiment! Out of the 24 items we surveyed, Costco had the lowest price for 17 of them!
Aldi took second place for lowest prices with 7 wins. And Walmart is in last place with 5 of the lowest prices. (Keep in mind, there were some “ties” for the winner on a few items, so there may seem to be more total wins compared to surveyed items).
Final thoughts
Costco requires a membership starting at $60 for one year. This membership also includes discounts on Costco gas, travel, car maintenance, and more! For most families, they will easily earn back the fee in savings. Plus, executive membership earns 2% back on every purchase for even more savings!
Aldi has KILLER prices on produce which was not highlighted in this grocery store price comparison list. In our opinion, Aldi’s prices cannot be beaten when it comes to fruits and veggies. However, the quality is not always the best. In terms of produce quality, Costco takes the top spot.
Want to save even MORE money?
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Add these 25+ Dirt Cheap Meals to your menu this week to save big on groceries.
Become a pro at saving money at the grocery store with this Ultimate Guide to Saving Money on Groceries!
Does the winner of our grocery store price comparison list surprise you? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
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