Saturday, February 12, 2011

Aldi Versus Save A Lot - Price Comparison

Before Aldi arrived in South Florida I would occasionally stop by Save A Lot to pick up cheap potatoes, plantains, onion and cucumber. I have never been too happy with the condtions at our local Save A Lot store, and I have not been there since Aldi came to South Florida. The other day, I was taking my kids to the playground near Save A Lot after school, and I decided to take a quick peak to compare Save A Lot's prices with Aldi.

As I remembered there were several products where Aldi and Save A Lot came really close in price, but the all in all Aldi prices are still lower than Save A Lot, and I would have saved $13.36, if I had bought all of the below products at Aldi instead of at Save A Lot.

Now, the price difference is not really that big, but the biggest difference was the condition of the stores. I cannot speak for other Aldi stores, but our South Florida Aldi store is clean, well-stocked and organized. I have only encountered apples in less than great condition once, and I have never felt there were any food safety issues. I did not list any meat prices in the Aldi and Save A Lot price comparison below, because I would never buy meat at our local Save A Lot.

The first thing I noticed, when I entered the Save A Lot store was that there were fruit flies swarming over the produce - I did not buy any produce! I have never encountered a similar problem at Aldi. This is not the first time I have seen this at Save A Lot though, and it certainly does not make me want to shop there.

As I mentioned before I have bough potatoes, plantains, bananas, and frozen fries at Save A Lot in the past, but Aldi beat Save A Lot on all of the prices.

Now, where did Save A Lot beat Aldi? Sugar, canned peaches, cucumbers and onion rings. Save A Lot has an advantage over Aldi in three areas:
  • Save A Lot accepts manufacturer coupons, 
  • Save A Lot has more national brand name products
  • Save A Lot has lactaid milk


Product Size Aldi Save A Lot
Milk  1 gal $1.99 $2.69
Eggs 12 ct $0.99 $1.49
OJ  64 oz $1.79 $1.99
White Bread 20 oz $0.89 $0.99
Oats 42 oz $1.99 $1.99
Honey Nut Cheerios Store Brand  14 oz 12.25 oz $1.59 $1.99
Instant Oatmeal Store Brand  10pk $1.39 $1.49
Corn Flakes Store Brand 18 oz $1.29 $1.39
Grape Jelly 32 oz $1.39 $1.53
Flour 5 lbs $1.49 $1.49
Sugar 5 lbs $2.89 $2.19
Powdered Sugar 32 oz $1.29 $1.35
Brown Sugar 32 oz $1.29 $1.35
Tuna in water 5 oz $0.52 $0.59
Solid tuna in water 5 oz $1.09 $1.39
Yellow mustard store brand 14 oz $0.69 $0.69
Apple juice 64 oz $1.19 $1.39
Lasagna noodles 16 oz $1.19 $1.39
Whole Wheat Spagetthi 12 oz  $0.89 $0.99
Frozen Peas 16 oz $0.89 $0.99
Frozen Corn 16 oz $0.65 $0.99
Frozen Onion Rings 16 oz $1.89 $1.49
Crinkle Cut Fries 32 oz $1.79 $1.89
Frozen Potato Puffs 32 oz $1.79 $1.99
Canned Black Beans (cheapest)
$0.55 $0.59
Canned Pineapple 20 oz $0.89 $0.99
Canned Peaches 15.25 oz $1.39 $0.89
Canned tomato sauce 8 oz $0.25 $0.33
Rice  10 lb $4.49 $9.99
Tortilla 16 oz $0.99 $0.99
Cantaloupe  each $1.19 $1.69
Tangerines 3 lb $1.99 $2.49
Plantains each $0.25 $0.33
Iceburg lettuce each $1.29 $1.49
Red seedless grapes 1 lb $0.80 $1.99
Bananas 1 lb $0.39 $0.49
Cucumber each $0.59 $0.50
Baby carrots 16 oz $0.99 $1.39
Carrots 2 lb $1.29 $1.49
Potatoes 8 - 10 lb 10 lb $3.79 8 lb $3.69
White potatoes 5 lbs $2.39 $2.99
Red potatoes 5 lbs $2.89 $2.99
Avocado each $1.09 $1.69








Total
$55.67 $69.03

Bold: indicates best price


Check out the latest comprehensive grocery price comparison list between Aldi, Publix, Target and Aldi.


Do you shop at Save A Lot?

8 comments:

  1. Interesting. We got a new Sav A Lot about a year ago and I have yet to go. It is a bit out of the way, but now I see I can stick with Aldi and not miss much. Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. To Cheryl: The list is not up to date. Also there are taste, texture, flavor product differences.
      For example today, May 3, 2016, ALDI Potatoes are
      $3.69 for 10 lbs whereas Sav A Lot are 99 cents for 5 pounds or $1.98 for 10 lbs.
      Sav A Lot posts their weekly flyer online so you can compare prices.
      Who doesn't love a deal ? Al Schrader

      Delete
  2. Yes, Cheryl, if you have the Aldi close by, you are definitely better off sticking with them. I was sure that they were going to be closer on more prices.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Nice comparisons; I however really prefer Save A Lot's produce and meat, it is much better quality than Aldis I think! scg00387 at yahoo dot com

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks. We've had a sav-a-lot around here since before aldi opened, but its in a pretty rough neighborhood that i dont feel comfortable going in by myself with the kids, so I've never visited. occasionally we get a sale ad and some of the prices have tempted me, but I still haven't visited. I find Aldi's meat great quality, but overpriced. I always look for markdowns though. But here in dallas there are several hispanic grocery chains and they have the best meal deals. I have seen ground meat and boneless skinless chicken breasts as low as $1/lb so I try to stock up when I can, but I sometimes worry about the cleanliness at those too.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous, it sure sounds like your Save A Lot is cleaner than ours.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Amanda, we also have stores like that with the cheap prices on meat, but I stay away from them. Before Aldi arrived, I only bought meat at Publix and Target due to safety concerns, and I am excited to be able to add Aldi to my list. I agree that it is expensive though, and I only buy, it if I can find a better deal than at Target and Publix.

    ReplyDelete
  7. What a great list I like to know where to buy things and save money!

    ReplyDelete