Most and Least Expensive Grocery Stores in the U.S.

Costco, BJ's Wholesale Club, Lidl, Aldi, and WinCo were the five least expensive chains in a 2026 Consumer Reports comparison, while Whole Foods, Shaw's, El Rancho, Jewel-Osco, and Mariano's were the five most expensive. The study compared store-shelf prices collected in late summer 2025 across six U.S. metro areas and used Walmart as the baseline. It is the clearest current answer available—but it is a snapshot, not a promise about every cart in America.

The percentages below are averages relative to Walmart for the matched products available at each chain. Consumer Reports commissioned Strategic Resource Group to collect prices at 35 major retailers in Boston, Chicago, Dallas–Fort Worth, Denver, Los Angeles, and Virginia Beach. The baskets included packaged goods, produce, and meat, but basket size varied when a warehouse club, private-label chain, or specialty grocer did not carry the same products. Prices were gathered within short local windows; sales and loyalty discounts counted, while manufacturer coupons and app-only deals did not.

How to read this grocery-store ranking

This list orders the five lowest and five highest results in that study. “Cheapest” means the lowest average price for the comparison basket—not the lowest membership-adjusted annual grocery bill. Costco and BJ's sell many products in larger packages and charge a membership fee. A household that cannot use a six-pack of an item before it spoils may spend less per unit and still waste more money overall.

Likewise, “most expensive” is not a quality score. A grocery store may charge more while offering a different assortment, more prepared food, staffed counters, or locations with different operating costs. The useful question is whether those differences matter to you. Prices vary by location, week, package size, and product mix, so use this ranking to choose stores for a local test rather than to skip comparison shopping forever.

Five least expensive grocery stores in the comparison

1. Costco Wholesale — 21.4% below Walmart

Best for: households that can use warehouse quantities and shop often enough to recover the annual fee. Costco posted the lowest average result in the six-market study, 21.4% below Walmart. That is a price-per-comparison-basket result; it does not mean every receipt will be 21.4% lower.

The trade-off is cash flow and quantity. A lower unit price can require a much higher checkout total, storage space, and a plan to avoid waste. Costco's current U.S. Gold Star membership costs $65 a year, so include that fee in your calculation. Our Costco vs. Sam's Club comparison explains how to compare fees, package specifications, and a household's actual repeat purchases.

2. BJ's Wholesale Club — 21.0% below Walmart

Best for: shoppers near a BJ's who want warehouse pricing but find its particular pack sizes more practical. BJ's finished only 0.4 percentage points behind Costco in the average comparison. That small study gap is less important than travel distance, annual membership cost, and whether your staples were among the products matched.

Do not compare a warehouse multipack with one supermarket package by sticker price. Divide the total by ounces, pounds, or count, then add any unavoidable membership cost. The winning warehouse can change when one store carries the size you can actually finish.

3. Lidl — 8.5% below Walmart

Best for: shoppers who prefer a conventional-size trip without a warehouse membership. Lidl averaged 8.5% below Walmart, making it the least expensive non-warehouse chain in the study. Availability is regional, so the result is useful only where Lidl competes in your market.

A limited assortment can make a comparison basket smaller or require substitutes. Match store brand with store brand, compare ingredient and package specifications, and price the items that dominate your own budget—usually proteins, produce, dairy, and frequently purchased pantry goods—rather than celebrating a few cheap snacks.

4. Aldi — 8.3% below Walmart

Best for: customers comfortable buying mostly private-label groceries from a compact assortment. Aldi averaged 8.3% below Walmart, almost level with Lidl. Aldi says more than 90% of its products are exclusive brands, an operating model that helps explain why a perfect national-brand match is often impossible.

The practical advantage is a focused, no-membership shop; the limitation is choice. Bring or buy bags, expect the quarter cart-deposit system, and compare private labels on ingredients and unit price rather than assuming different packaging is equivalent. Aldi is a strong first stop for a test basket, not automatic proof that every product is cheaper.

5. WinCo Foods — 3.3% below Walmart

Best for: western and south-central shoppers who want a broad, no-frills supermarket and a large bulk-food section without a membership. WinCo averaged 3.3% below Walmart in the Consumer Reports analysis. A separate 150-item Consumers' Checkbook survey in the San Francisco Bay Area, updated in November 2025, also placed WinCo well below its local all-store average.

Regional availability is the obvious constraint, and the 3.3% national-study margin is small enough for a few high-cost items to reverse your result. Compare the entire basket. Bulk bins can reduce waste when you buy only the quantity needed, but a low per-pound price does not save money if the product sits unused.

Five most expensive grocery stores in the comparison

1. Whole Foods Market — 39.7% above Walmart

Best for: shoppers who deliberately value its assortment or a specific promotion enough to accept a higher baseline basket. Whole Foods was the most expensive chain measured, averaging 39.7% above Walmart. This is the study's clearest “most expensive” result, but it still does not mean every Whole Foods item costs more.

Sale prices, Amazon Prime discounts, private-label products, and a tightly chosen specialty purchase can narrow the gap. The expensive habit is using any premium-oriented store as the default without checking the products that make up most of your bill. Compare a repeatable basket, not one dramatic shelf tag.

2. Shaw's — 31.9% above Walmart

Best for: local shoppers whose sale plan, loyalty offers, or shorter trip outweighs the higher average. Shaw's ranked second among the most expensive results at 31.9% above Walmart. The number reflects stores and matched products in the markets studied, not every Shaw's location.

A conventional supermarket can look much more competitive after a weekly promotion and much less competitive at regular shelf prices. Run two totals: the basket you can buy on this week's sale cycle and the basket you buy routinely. If the first requires unwanted substitutions, the advertised savings are not your real savings.

3. El Rancho Supermercado — 30.1% above Walmart

Best for: customers who value products and departments that a generic benchmark basket may not represent well. El Rancho averaged 30.1% above Walmart in the study. A price comparison can measure matched staples; it cannot fully score cultural assortment, prepared foods, or the value of finding the exact cut or ingredient you need.

Separate those decisions. Buy a distinctive product where the assortment earns the trip, then compare commodity items such as milk, eggs, flour, and paper goods elsewhere. Calling the whole store “too expensive” may hide useful categories, while treating specialty value as proof of low prices makes the opposite mistake.

4. Jewel-Osco — 29.7% above Walmart

Best for: Chicago-area shoppers who use promotions strategically or prioritize convenience. Jewel-Osco averaged 29.7% above Walmart. Consumer Reports used a 56-item basket for the Chicago comparison among several mainstream chains, which made that local match broader than some specialty-store comparisons.

The number is a strong warning against an unplanned full-price shop, not an instruction to ignore every weekly deal. Track the five or ten items you buy most, include loyalty prices only when you will actually activate them, and resist adding unplanned products merely to qualify for a promotion.

5. Mariano's — 27.6% above Walmart

Best for: shoppers who value its location, departments, or a specific sale enough to offset the study's higher average. Mariano's rounded out the five most expensive results at 27.6% above Walmart. It was also part of the 56-item Chicago basket, making the comparison more substantial than a handful of cherry-picked products.

The fairest local test uses identical package specifications on the same day. If one store lacks a match, record the substitution rather than quietly comparing unlike products. Convenience has a dollar value, but it should be an explicit choice instead of an invisible surcharge.

What about Roche Bros. and Gelson's?

Roche Bros. and Gelson's were not included in the Consumer Reports comparison used for this ranking. That means the study cannot answer “Is Roche Bros. expensive?” or quantify why Gelson's is so expensive in a particular neighborhood. Both questions require a local basket and a nearby benchmark. Reputation, décor, or a specialty selection is not price evidence.

Choose 15 to 25 products you buy repeatedly, fix the brand or specification, record package size, and compare in-store prices during the same week. Put produce and meat on a per-pound basis, packaged food on a per-ounce basis, and paper goods on a per-sheet or per-roll basis when quality is comparable. Note loyalty requirements, then repeat the test after four to six weeks so one sale does not decide the verdict.

A five-minute test for your own cheapest store

1. Build a personal basket. Use the products that account for most of your spending, not a generic list of bargains.
2. Match specifications. Compare the same brand when possible, or store brands with similar ingredients, grades, and package formats.
3. Calculate unit price. Divide by ounces, pounds, fluid ounces, count, or usable servings.
4. Add access costs. Include membership fees, delivery or pickup charges, extra mileage, and the value of likely food waste.
5. Repeat the check. Prices and promotions move. A second date shows whether the winner was a pattern or a temporary sale.

If you are considering very small packages, our guide to foods worth comparing at the dollar store shows why a low sticker price can lose on unit price. The same discipline applies everywhere: the cheapest grocery store is the one that lowers the cost of your real basket without forcing waste, unnecessary travel, or purchases you did not plan.

Sources and verification

The principal ranking and percentages come from Consumer Reports' Most and Least Expensive Supermarkets, published in 2026 using in-store prices collected in late summer 2025. Its top and bottom results were cross-checked against Supermarket News' report on the same study. A later Northeast comparison, reported by Supermarket News on August 28, 2026, again found wide local variation and placed Aldi first in that regional 50-item basket. Costco's membership fee was checked against its official membership page, and Aldi's private-label share against its official brand page. Sources and volatile details were reviewed September 22, 2026.