Who is Cheaper for Groceries? – Low Dough Family (2024)

I keep hearing everyone say that Aldi is so much cheaper than all the other grocery stores, but I always have issues with this. I just don’t think shopping everything on my list at Aldi comes out cheaper.

So today we will do a side-by-side comparison of Publix and Aldi to see who has cheaper groceries. We will also determine if it is worth just going to one store, or if there is a savings by going to both stores for our grocery list. Let’s see how it goes!

Is Aldi cheaper than Publix?

For this price comparison, I have made a meal plan for a family of 4 using “25 Cheap food that fills you up when you are broke!” as a guide. Our plan is to get groceries for a week that are healthy and cheap!

Here is our meal plan:

Breakfasts

• Egg & Bacon Breakfast Burritos with Orange Slices
• Muffins, Yogurt, & Diced Pears
• Banana Smoothies and Scrambled Eggs
• Banana Raisin Pancakes with Pancake Syrup and Diced Pears

Lunches

• Sloppy Joe & Cheese Taquitos with sour cream
• BLT wraps
• Leftovers from Dinners

Dinners

• Sloppy Joes with Carrot Salad and Homemade Potato Wedges
• Tuna Casserole with Green Peas
• Ground Beef Burrito Bowls with Rice, served with (lettuce, tomato, black beans, sour cream, & cheddar cheese)
• Smoke Sausage Foil Packs with carrots, potatoes, & onion
• Mississippi Chicken in the Crockpot served over white rice with Brussell Sprouts
• One Pot Chicken Parmesan Pasta with Garlic Bread & Green Beans

Snacks

• Orange Slices
• Popcorn
• Yogurt
• Diced Pears

Sweet Treat

• Easy Maple Cookies (uses pancake syrup)

For this price comparison, I am using prices available inSmyrna, Tennessee. I will be selecting items for our meal plan that are the absolute cheapest.

This means mostly generic store brand options and the smallest size needed. This may not be the best value, but we are going for the cheapest option.

We are assuming that we already have kitchen basics like cooking oil, seasonings, salt/pepper, and baking powder at home. Everything else needed for the meal plan will need to be purchased.

For a more in depth break down on how I would make this meal plan work, check out “Healthy Grocery List Week #12 (Quick, Healthy and Cheap for a Family!)”

Produce Section

This is all the fresh vegetables and fruits we need for the week.

In the produce section, Aldi came out cheaper with a total of $17.82. This was $1.90 cheaper than Publix’s total of $19.72.

Deli/Meats

This is all the meats that we will need from the deli and meat counter.

In the meat section, Aldi came out cheaper with a total of $24.58. This was $5.97 cheaper than Publix’s total of $30.55.

*It is worth noting that not only was Aldi cheaper, but we also got 4oz more of the bacon and 2 lbs more of the chicken breasts.

Dry Goods

This is all the dry goods and shelf stable items that we need for our meal plan.

In the dry goods section, Aldi came out cheaper with a total of $51.62. This was $7.30 cheaper than Publix’s total of $58.92.

Frozen Foods

These are the frozen items needed for this week’s meal plan.

In the frozen section, Aldi came out cheaper with a total of $2.60. This was $1.80 cheaper than Publix’s total of $4.40.

*It is worth noting that not only was Aldi cheaper, but we also got 3 oz more of the peas and the Brussel sprouts.

Dairy Section

These are all the dairy items needed like milk and cheeses.

In the dairy section, Aldi came out cheaper with a total of $18.31. This was $9.18 cheaper than Publix’s total of $27.49.

Is Publix more expensive than Aldi?

Aldi dominated in pretty much every section, but let’s look at the overall totals.

Overall, Aldi came out cheaper than Publix with a total of $114.93. This was $26.15 (about 18%) cheaper than Publix’s total of $141.08.

If I could only go to one store, I would obviously pick Aldi since they were much cheaper than Publix.

If I had the time to go to both stores or do a curbside pick up order, I could have potentially saved another 7% on my weekly shopping trip. By just getting the cheapest items at each store, our total would have been $106.75.

The combined total of both stores of $106.75 is much closer to my grocery budget of $100. So, I believe the time to go to both stores would be worth it, since that would save me an additional $8.18.

For more grocery store comparisons, check out “Rouses vs Publix” and “Aldi vs Kroger.”