WinCo purchases directly from farmers and manufacturers and has a large quantity of bulk foods, which means their prices undercut many other low-cost retailers. Another way to cut costs is by not accepting credit cards for payment. But fear not: they do allow payment with debit cards and federal food assistance cards.

Market Basket is one of the smaller chains on this list, but their savings make it one of the most affordable places to shop in the U. A recent study provided by the customer data firm dunnhumby revealed that the New England-based chain was the "top grocery retailer for inflationary times.

For over years, Market Basket has maintained the fierce loyalty of their customers for the high quality food at low prices. You can find anything from international cheeses, freshly squeezed juices, to even handmade sushi without racking up a massive grocery bill.

Trader Joe's is one of our go-to spots for affordable essentials, some of the best frozen food around, and unique snacks.

Beyond the adorably kitschy decor and friendly staff, it's also one of the best grocery stores to visit when you're on a budget. Even amidst the current egg-price hike, the cartons at Trader Joe's remain inexpensive. While some items can get more expensive than at standard grocery stores the produce section can get costly if you're feeding a big family , their private label goods deliver on quality without sacrificing affordability.

If you need shopping inspiration, check out our favorite items here. When you're hunting for low-cost, high quality groceries, Food4Less is an obvious choice. It's literally in the name. Owned by Kroger, this no-frills grocery chain sacrifices a few amenities to save you money.

From bagging your own groceries to using the steep discounts offered in their weekly ads, you're sure to find what you need and pay less. Unlike some of these other affordable grocery stores, Food4Less offers at-home delivery, a pharmacy, and a wide variety of household essentials.

But there's a catch: they have locations, but they're only in California, Illinois, and Indiana. What grocery stores in your area have the lowest prices?

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Some of the products you buy at these stores might be close to or past their expiration date, but will still be safe to eat. Read the article Food Product Dating for more information about expiration dates.

Wherever there's an Amish community, you're almost guaranteed to find an Amish grocery store that sells bulk foods. Grains, beans, spices, candies and other dry goods are packaged in bags and containers and sold at bargain prices. Salvage grocery stores and dollar stores have a limited selection of products and their inventories can change on a weekly or daily basis.

It's very unlikely that you'll be able to find all of your weekly grocery needs at any one of these stores, so you'll have to do at least some of your shopping at a traditional grocery store. The stores listed below are the cheapest places to do your grocery shopping and are listed in order from lowest priced store at the top to the highest priced store at the bottom.

Aldi comes in at first place as the food retailer with the lowest prices for the sixth year in a row. Fresh produce that's delivered daily, fresh meats and fish, and an extensive line of organic, gluten-free and vegan foods can be found at Aldi stores throughout the US no stores in Alaska, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Maine, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington or Wyming.

You'll find the best deals on bread, milk, yogurt, cereals, baking essentials, fresh produce, canned goods, cheese and wine. Many products, such as coffee, grains, snacks and pastas are sold in bulk and can be purchased by the pound, and a good selection of herbs and spices can be purchased by the ounce.

You'll have to bag your own groceries and only cash and debit cards are accepted as payment. View specials and find locations at www.

Grocery Outlet has operates more than stores in California, Idaho, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Washington. This "extreme value" supermarket has been described as "the TJMaxx of grocery stores" and they keep their loyal customers returning for the warehouse store-like prices without the membership fees.

You'll find affordable groceries and big savings on brand name items, but you'll have to be flexible when it comes to your shopping list since Grocery Outlet is, in many ways, a salvage grocery store.

Considered to be New England's bargain grocery chain, the motto at Market Basket is "more for your dollar. Some locations have a "Market's Kitchen" serving up salads, sub sandwiches, pizza, burgers, chicken wings, fried chicken and more. Food4Less operates about 50 no-frills grocery stores in Southern California, Illinois, Indiana, and Nevada.

A division of grocery giant Kroger, the company offers deeply discounted groceries, fresh produce, bakery and dairy items, ethnic foods, and meat. Select locations also include gas stations, photo processing, pharmacies, and wellness services. According to research by Eat This, Not That , Food4Less is the most popular chain of grocery stores within California.

Get coupons, view specials and find locations at www. Lidl has an excellent fresh produce selection as well as a very impressive fresh bakery where you'll find ciabattas, focaccias, and rustic loaves made on site that can be sliced to order along with muffins, croissants artisan breads, oversized cookies, yeast doughnuts, and more.

Since Lidl is an international grocery store, they bring in lots of products from other countries: pasta from Italy, chocolate from Germany and cured meats from Spain. They also carry familiar brands like Jif and Coca-Cola, but availability will vary and name brand product availability won't be consistent.

Lidl also has an award-winning wine department that has won more than industry awards. Most of the stores offer about 80 wines at any given time. When shopping at Lidl be sure to bring your own bags, otherwise you'll have to pay for them or go without.

Save-A-Lot keeps their prices low by selling only the most purchased items and selling their own brands.

FoodLess (West Coast) Lidl (Northeast & South-Atlantic) Save-A-Lot

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Affordable grocery sales - Market Basket (New England) FoodLess (West Coast) Lidl (Northeast & South-Atlantic) Save-A-Lot

That definitely is worth considering when you are comparing prices. If you are going by the everyday low prices at the store, the clear winner to the cheapest grocery store in is Aldi.

Walmart is a runner up, with Meijer and Kroger trailing behind. Walmart is probably the cheapest grocery store available nationwide with overall low grocery prices. I say probably, because Walmart does not have sales, so that is a factor because sale shopping can save you a lot of money on groceries.

To find the cheapest grocery store near you, do your own quick price comparison at your local grocery stores. Here is how you can do this project in less than an hour. Start by making a list of 20 to 25 items you buy on a regular basis.

Trust me. Pick the top 2 dozen items you use every week and start there. Then, make a list of the grocery stores nearest to you. Maybe you will be surprised by your findings! Next, take your list and price those 25 products at your local grocery store and the grocery chains nearest you.

Quick tip. Many grocery stores now have great websites or apps where you can view the prices from the comfort of your own home. For Aldi, unfortunately, you have to venture into the store to see the actual prices. Aldi uses Instacart to fulfill online orders so prices online are slightly higher than in store.

If you want a true price comparison, go in person to Aldi to compare prices. Once you have compared prices at your closest stores, hopefully it will be clear who has the cheapest groceries near you.

I did it in , and While prices have definitely increased in the past year, Aldi is still the winner as it was back in Here are the results. I did the original research in when Walmart was the cheapest. This is a huge difference from what we see now!

What can we take away from this? It is important to continually monitor prices because they do change. I will always go where the prices are lowest to get the best value for my every dollar in my grocery budget.

That is why I am shopping at Aldi more. Remember, these price comparisons do not factor in sales. Shopping at different grocery stores to take advantage of sales is a great way to save money. At the same time, with gas prices increasing as much as they are, we need to be smart shoppers.

Gone are the days of running to one store just because. We need to combine errands and be wise about how we shop. For me, I shop the amazing sales at Kroger because their sale prices usually beat the every day low price at Aldi and Walmart. Then, I do a stock up trip once or twice a month at Aldi where prices are the lowest to fill in the gaps.

This is what it currently looks like for me, but I am constantly reevaluating to be a smart shopper. After this price comparison, I have a list of what I should buy at Aldi and what items I should buy elsewhere. I also used these prices to create a stock-up list of the best prices for each item — so you can watch for sales at any store to beat those every day prices.

That list is included in my printable grocery ebook. See below for more on that. If you are going to mainly shop at one store — make Aldi your go-to grocery store.

But if you really want to save money? Start shopping at more than one store. Knowing the cheap prices on the staples you buy, allows you to stock up your pantry staples, knowing these are the lowest food costs available.

The best way to use this information is to combine every day cheap food items with great sale purchases. Stacking every day low prices with amazing sales is a great way to stretch your food budget. My plan? I plan to grocery shop at Aldi more regularly, stocking up on their cheap groceries, and supplement with sales at Kroger.

I will occasionally shop the meat sales especially ground beef! at Meijer. Walmart will still be my go to when I need a low price pick-up because their prices are close to Aldi on quite a few things. I will shop where the prices are the lowest to save me money.

Fortunately, I have all these stores very close to me, allowing me to take advantage of the different deals. I will also be using the store apps more regularly to check prices.

That is incredibly helpful and convenient! I compiled way too much information to share in one blog post. This blog post is already quite long, but there is still more I could share. If you want a copy of all my charts with prices and statistics, you are welcome to it!

I compiled all my research into a 51 page printable PDF ebook — with lots of detailed lists! I hope this price comparison helps you save money next time you are shopping!

Will it change where you shop? What is the cheapest grocery store near you? Hello and welcome! Check out how we're thriving when our income has been cut in half , take a look at some of my custom, Biblical books with free printables or learn how to build a stockpile that works for your family.

You can sign up for blog updates with my email newsletter here. Thanks for stopping by! I wish that the tables were labeled.

I see Walmart 68, Kroger The tables are labeled…as it says just above the chart. All numbers and percentages are out of the items I calculated. Good morning Kristen, I enjoyed your article, lot of effort on your part! The one item I did not see was QUALITY. Have you tried their meats? I gave them a chance.

Not for my family. I use Aldi for canned goods, bread great selection , crackers, cereal, cheese, snacks, etc. Great insights, Greg! I agree with you. I skip the produce at Aldi as well. It never lasts for me.

And meats? I go to Meijer or Kroger where I get a much better quality meat than at Walmart or Aldi. I agree that price is not the only important factor. Sometimes, you have to weigh in other factors as well. Thanks for taking the time to read and share your insights as well!

I have learned to shop the weekly and 5X digital sales at Kroger. They also frequently have markdowns. I brew my own kombucha and kefir and I can anticipate the sales on fruit juice and milk where I buy multiple items to last me until the next sale.

Aldi rarely has lower meat prices. I basically shop the sales for my needs and avoid processed foods and sugary items. I also bake my own keto bread which, in turn, generates keto breadcrumbs. I freeze in bulk as well. Good points!

I buy ahead on the Kroger sales too. They really make for some fabulous deals! As for meat, the sales at Kroger often beat Aldi for me too. Taking into account as well, the viability of travel distance and time required. Kroger knows this and thus often has the biggest and most diverse inventory…as does WallMart.

This study is great, but only if you have all four options fairly close to each other. Using coupons for items you are going to buy anyway is still a good option, and you are helped by stores like Kroger and Meijer that often mail you coupons for such items.

Presently I find myself shopping at Aldi and supplementing with Kroger along with coupons. Hi, Daniel! No, I have not, as Costco is exclusive to members and does not publically share prices on their website. If I ever add those two stores to my price comparison, I will let you know!

Walmart has equal or higher prices than Meijer. Meijer has very good sales that Walmart never has. While I agree that Meijer has good sales that Walmart does not have and I shop those regularly! This was true where I lived in Chicagoland.

Both areas had other stores that were known to have higher prices. Sometimes I could even get a nice toy almost free when combining a coupon with clearance. I would just go to Aldi once per month to stock up on stuff that was always cheapest there.

Thanks so much for the info. I have always wondered about Aldi. I will certainly take your advice! I find your article very interessting I think that two years has made a major change in pricing. We only have two local stores Piggly Wiggly and Dollar General Market. The PIG is very overpriced since we are in a tourist area.

Walmart s are about an hour away 4 within 15 minutes of each other and are among at least six other grocery stores in that area. Aldis in past home locations has always been lower than Walmart on everything they sell.. Every where prices have sky rocketed and most stores have large gaps on shelves.

The closest ones to us have now priced themselves higher than several Grocery chains. These little decisions can add up in a big way by the time you get to the checkout counter.

But a new study shows that perhaps the most important food buying decision occurs before shoppers even enter the store. While many people might expect to pay a premium for organic produce or certain cuts of meat, according to the Dunnhumby retail preference index which measures consumer data , food prices on the exact same items can vary widely by store.

Aldi , a German grocer widely known for its great value, earned the top spot. In general, Aldi offers buyers a smaller selection of products when compared to giants like Costco — and features private-label options at lower-than-average cost, which is similar to Trader Joe's model.

But smaller regional grocers like Market Basket, a Northeastern chain; Winco, a West Coast and Midwest grocer; and Food4Less which has stores in California, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio made the top five.

TODAY Food tested the data science analysis by comparing prices of a few items at six of the top national, brick and mortar grocers to see if the results measured up. It turns out that these stores differ in the items they stock, not just the prices at checkout.

And, depending on the item, Aldi might not always offer the cheapest option. Take a popular cereal brand, for example. Currently, Aldi sells a Dunnhumby ranked each grocer by its average checkout price, not just how individual items overall compared.

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