Only six of the 34 grocery chains priced for Consumer Reports came in under Walmart: Costco Wholesale, BJ’s Wholesale Club, Lidl, Aldi, WinCo, and H-E-B.
Costco and BJ’s Wholesale Club were the least expensive chains in the study, on average about 21 percent less than Walmart, meaning a hypothetical $100 Walmart grocery bill would have cost shoppers $78.60 at Costco.
Whole Foods Market, the most expensive chain priced, cost on average 39.7 percent more than Walmart for the same basket of groceries. That means the hypothetical $100 Walmart grocery bill would have cost shoppers $139.70 at Whole Foods.
Here’s the full list of chains, starting with the priciest and ending with the most wallet-friendly, as well as the city or cities where each one was checked (it’s just one for most of them).
How the Prices Were Compared
To conduct the analysis, CR hired Strategic Resource Group, a New York–based retail research firm, to compare the prices shoppers would pay for baskets of groceries—including packaged goods, meat and produce—at major supermarkets and warehouse clubs with prices shoppers would pay for the same items at Walmart. Prices were compared in six metro areas—Boston, Chicago, Dallas-Fort Worth, Denver, Los Angeles and Virginia Beach—and all prices were shopped in person within a 48-hour period during late summer 2025.
The comparison doesn’t take into account the quality of the food or level of service, just the price shoppers would pay. CR factored in sales prices and discounts available to shoppers who sign up for free store loyalty programs, but not discounts available only through a store’s app or with manufacturer coupons.
In Chicago, for example, it compared prices on 56 items at mainstream supermarkets, but only 23 items at Trader Joe’s, since many of the products at the latter are store brand. (Items had to be available at both the supermarket and Walmart to be included in the comparison.) And while warehouse clubs tended to have the lowest prices, the comparison doesn’t factor in the cost of a membership at Costco or BJ’s.
CR published its analysis in February 2026.
No. 34 to No. 28: The Priciest Chains
Whole Foods was the most expensive grocery chain in the study, with prices 39.7 percent higher than at Walmart. The premium was greatest in Virginia Beach (57.7 percent) and smallest in Chicago (28.4 percent). Shaw’s (31.9 percent higher; Boston only), El Rancho (30.1 percent higher; Dallas-Fort Worth only), Jewel-Osco (29.7 percent higher; Chicago only), Mariano’s (27.6 percent higher; Chicago only), Vons (26.6 percent higher; Southern California only) and Big Y (26.2 percent higher; Boston only) followed in order.
In Boston, Shaw’s prices were higher than at all other chains except Whole Foods. In Chicago, Jewel-Osco was the most expensive chain, even edging out Whole Foods.
No. 34: Whole Foods
You pay $39.70 more for every $100 at Whole Foods than you would at Walmart. The gap ran from 28.4 percent in Chicago to 57.7 percent in Virginia Beach.
No. 33: Shaw’s
You pay $31.90 more for every $100 at Shaw’s than you would at Walmart. Its sister chain Safeway, also owned by Albertsons Cos., came in 23.1 points cheaper.
No. 32: El Rancho
You pay $30.10 more for every $100 at El Rancho than you would at Walmart. It was priced only in Dallas-Fort Worth, where it came in 11 of 13 chains, cheapest first.
No. 31: Jewel-Osco
You pay $29.70 more for every $100 at Jewel-Osco than you would at Walmart. Its sister chain Safeway, also owned by Albertsons Cos., came in 20.9 points cheaper.
No. 30: Mariano’s
You pay $27.60 more for every $100 at Mariano’s than you would at Walmart. Its sister chain King Soopers, also owned by Kroger Co., came in 19.7 points cheaper.
No. 29: Vons
You pay $26.60 more for every $100 at Vons than you would at Walmart. Its sister chain Safeway, also owned by Albertsons Cos., came in 17.8 points cheaper.
No. 28: Big Y
You pay $26.20 more for every $100 at Big Y than you would at Walmart. It was priced only in Boston, where it came in 9 of 11 chains, cheapest first.
No. 27 to No. 21
Other expensive stores included both Albertsons Companies stores – Tom Thumb (25.4 percent more) and Albertsons (24.8 percent more), Harris Teeter and Piggly Wiggly (both in Virginia Beach) at 23.5 and 22.6 percent more, Stop & Shop (Boston) at 22.2 percent more and Ralphs (Southern California) at 21.9 percent more.
Trader Joe’s was the most expensive store checked in Denver, though nationally (across five cities) its prices averaged 24.6 percent more than Walmart’s, ranging from 15.3 percent more in Virginia Beach to 33.0 percent more in Dallas-Fort Worth. Keep in mind that its basket was smaller than at most other stores since many of the items are store brand.
No. 27: Tom Thumb
You pay $25.40 more for every $100 at Tom Thumb than you would at Walmart. Its sister chain Safeway, also owned by Albertsons Cos., came in 16.6 points cheaper.
No. 26: Albertsons
You pay $24.80 more for every $100 at Albertsons than you would at Walmart. The gap ran from 23.4 percent in Dallas-Fort Worth to 26.1 percent in Los Angeles area.
No. 25: Trader Joe’s
You pay $24.60 more for every $100 at Trader Joe’s than you would at Walmart. The gap ran from 15.3 percent in Virginia Beach to 33.0 percent in Dallas-Fort Worth.
No. 24: Harris Teeter
You pay $23.50 more for every $100 at Harris Teeter than you would at Walmart. Its sister chain King Soopers, also owned by Kroger Co., came in 15.6 points cheaper.
No. 23: Piggly Wiggly
You pay $22.60 more for every $100 at Piggly Wiggly than you would at Walmart. It was priced only in Virginia Beach, where it came in 11 of 13 chains, cheapest first.
No. 22: Stop & Shop
You pay $22.20 more for every $100 at Stop & Shop than you would at Walmart. Its sister chain Food Lion, also owned by Ahold Delhaize USA, came in 9.7 points cheaper.
No. 21: Ralphs
You pay $21.90 more for every $100 at Ralphs than you would at Walmart. Its sister chain King Soopers, also owned by Kroger Co., came in 14.0 points cheaper.
No. 20 to No. 14
At Fiesta (21.7 percent, Dallas-Fort Worth) and Publix (20.3 percent, Virginia Beach), shoppers paid more than a fifth more for the same products than at Walmart. Even Save A Lot, which styles itself a discount grocer, was 19.3 percent more expensive in Denver.
Stater Bros., a Southern California chain, was 15.6 percent higher than Walmart. Kroger was consistently more expensive at 14.7 percent in Dallas-Fort Worth and 14.9 percent in Virginia Beach.
The gap narrows somewhat at Hannaford (13.2 percent, Boston) and Food Lion (12.5 percent, Virginia Beach).
No. 20: Fiesta
You pay $21.70 more for every $100 at Fiesta than you would at Walmart. It was priced only in Dallas-Fort Worth, where it came in 8 of 13 chains, cheapest first.
No. 19: Publix
You pay $20.30 more for every $100 at Publix than you would at Walmart. It was priced only in Virginia Beach, where it came in 10 of 13 chains, cheapest first.
No. 18: Save A Lot
You pay $19.30 more for every $100 at Save A Lot than you would at Walmart. It was priced only in Denver, where it came in 6 of 8 chains, cheapest first.
No. 17: Stater Bros.
You pay $15.60 more for every $100 at Stater Bros. than you would at Walmart. It was priced only in Los Angeles area, where it came in 7 of 12 chains, cheapest first.
No. 16: Kroger
You pay $14.80 more for every $100 at Kroger than you would at Walmart. The gap ran from 14.7 percent in Dallas-Fort Worth to 14.9 percent in Virginia Beach.
No. 15: Hannaford
You pay $13.20 more for every $100 at Hannaford than you would at Walmart. Its sister chain Food Lion, also owned by Ahold Delhaize USA, came in 0.7 points cheaper.
No. 14: Food Lion
You pay $12.50 more for every $100 at Food Lion than you would at Walmart. It was the cheapest of the Ahold Delhaize USA chains in the study.
All 34 Chains, Side by Side
But look at them all together and you’ll notice that the bars aren’t distributed evenly, as six chains are below Walmart’s line and 28 are above (with 21 being 10 percent higher or more).
For the most part, the former are discounters and warehouse clubs while almost all conventional grocery stores fall into the latter category.
Same Owner, Different Price
Prices at Food 4 Less, a Kroger chain, averaged 10.3 percent higher than Walmart’s in the Los Angeles area, while Ralphs, another Kroger chain, averaged 21.9 percent higher. In Chicago, prices at Mariano’s averaged 27.6 percent higher than Walmart’s, while Food 4 Less prices averaged 7.7 percent higher.
Prices at Harris Teeter, which Kroger also owns, averaged 23.5 percent higher than Walmart prices in Virginia Beach, while prices at Kroger-branded stores in the same city averaged 14.9 percent higher. Prices at Stop & Shop averaged 22.2 percent higher than Walmart’s in Boston, while prices at Hannaford, which is also owned by Ahold Delhaize USA, averaged 13.2 percent higher.
No. 13 to No. 7
Prices ran 9.9 percent more at Meijer (Chicago), 9.0 percent more at Food 4 Less (average of Chicago and Southern California store prices), 8.8 and 7.9 percent more at Safeway and King Soopers (Denver), and 7.6 percent more at Wegmans (average of Boston and Virginia Beach store prices).
Target’s prices ranged from 3.4 to 9.0 percent higher than Walmart’s in the five cities where Target was priced. Market Basket, a New England chain, was closest to Walmart without undercutting it at 1.2 percent more in Boston.
No. 13: Meijer
You pay $9.90 more for every $100 at Meijer than you would at Walmart. It was priced only in Chicago, where it came in 6 of 10 chains, cheapest first.
No. 12: Food 4 Less
You pay $9.00 more for every $100 at Food 4 Less than you would at Walmart. The gap ran from 7.7 percent in Chicago to 10.3 percent in Los Angeles area.
No. 11: Safeway
You pay $8.80 more for every $100 at Safeway than you would at Walmart. It was the cheapest of the Albertsons Cos. chains in the study.
No. 10: King Soopers
You pay $7.90 more for every $100 at King Soopers than you would at Walmart. It was the cheapest of the Kroger Co. chains in the study.
No. 9: Wegmans
You pay $7.60 more for every $100 at Wegmans than you would at Walmart. The gap ran from 7.0 percent in Boston to 8.1 percent in Virginia Beach.
No. 8: Target
You pay $5.90 more for every $100 at Target than you would at Walmart. The gap ran from 3.4 percent in Chicago to 9.0 percent in Dallas-Fort Worth.
No. 7: Market Basket
Market Basket comes within pennies of Walmart: $1.20 more on every $100. It was priced only in Boston, where it came in 5 of 11 chains, cheapest first.
No. 6 to No. 1: The Six That Beat Walmart
In Dallas-Fort Worth, H-E-B’s prices were just 0.2 percent below Walmart’s — virtually a tie. WinCo prices were 2.3 percent under Walmart’s in Dallas-Fort Worth and 4.3 percent under in Southern California.
Aldi was 8.3 percent cheaper than Walmart on average, but its advantage ranged from 4.0 percent in the Los Angeles area to 16.3 percent in Virginia Beach, which is almost on par with Costco. Lidl, measured only in Virginia Beach, was 8.5 percent cheaper than Walmart.
BJ’s Wholesale Club, measured in Boston, posted prices 21.0 percent below Walmart’s.
In all six cities, Costco had the lowest prices, from 16.8 percent below Walmart’s in Virginia Beach to 37.0 percent lower in Boston. Its overall advantage was 21.4 percent. In Denver, it was the only chain to undercut Walmart.
No. 6: H-E-B
You save $0.20 on every $100 at H-E-B compared with Walmart. It was priced only in Dallas-Fort Worth, where it came in 4 of 13 chains, cheapest first.
No. 5: WinCo
You save $3.30 on every $100 at WinCo compared with Walmart. It undercut Walmart in all 2 cities where it was priced, by 2.3 percent in Dallas-Fort Worth and 4.3 percent in Los Angeles area.
No. 4: Aldi
You save $8.30 on every $100 at Aldi compared with Walmart. It undercut Walmart in all 5 cities where it was priced, by 4.0 percent in Los Angeles area and 16.3 percent in Virginia Beach.
No. 3: Lidl
You save $8.50 on every $100 at Lidl compared with Walmart. It was priced only in Virginia Beach, where it came in 3 of 13 chains, cheapest first.
No. 2: BJ’s Wholesale Club
You save $21.00 on every $100 at BJ’s Wholesale Club compared with Walmart. It was priced only in Boston, where it came in 2 of 11 chains, cheapest first.
No. 1: Costco Wholesale
You save $21.40 on every $100 at Costco Wholesale compared with Walmart. It undercut Walmart in all 6 cities where it was priced, by 16.8 percent in Virginia Beach and 37.0 percent in Boston.
How to Pay Less Wherever You Shop
Keep in mind that these are average prices across six cities, so results in your area could vary. For the most accurate assessment of where you can save the most money, compare prices on items you typically purchase at two or three nearby stores.
Prices here reflect savings shoppers receive using free loyalty cards, so if the store offers one, it’s a good idea to sign up. And if you’re considering shopping at BJ’s or Costco, don’t forget to factor in the cost of the membership when calculating your savings, since those extra expenses aren’t reflected in item prices.
Martha ‘Marti’ Jones founded Fitness Four after three decades of living with IBS, Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, and pernicious anemia.
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