Grocery Store Price Comparison: Aldi, Walmart, Costco

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 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 a 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 lowest prices. (Keep in mind, there were a some “ties” for 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 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 beat 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.

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Does the winner of our grocery store price comparison list surprise you? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!