Safeway vs King Soopers: Who is Cheaper?
Safeway is a very large grocery store chain with over 900 locations in 17 states. Safeway is also a part of the Albertsons Company. King Soopers has 118 locations in 2 states (Wyoming and Colorado). King Soopers is a part of the Kroger Company.
We have made a solid meal plan for a week and made a grocery list. We will shop both Safeway and King Soopers and see which grocery store comes out cheaper. Scroll to the end to see the final verdict!
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Is Safeway cheaper than King Soopers?
For this price comparison, I have made a meal plan for a family of 4 using “25 Cheap food that fills you up when you are broke!” as a guide. Our plan is to get groceries for a week that are healthy and cheap!
Here is our meal plan:
Breakfasts
- Egg, Cheese, and Bacon Burritos x2
- Toast with Peanut Butter and Bananas x2
- Baked Apple Oatmeal Bars x3 (easy recipe here)
Lunches
- Spinach Salads with Hard Boiled Eggs and Leftover Ham & Ranch Dressing (and tomato & cucumber)
- Homemade Hummus with Carrots and Celery
- Egg Salad Sandwiches
- Leftovers
Dinners
- Meatloaf with Mashed potatoes and Sauteed Carrots
- Chicken Lo Mein with Broccoli (sauce is made with soy sauce, hoisin sauce, and sesame oil)
- Leftover Chicken and Dumplings (easy dumpling recipe here) using frozen mixed vegetables and 1 can of cream of chicken soup)
- Ham and Cheese Quiche with Homemade Rice a Roni (rice a roni recipe here)
- 3 Meat Pizza using leftover Ham, leftover Bacon, and Pepperoni with a Spinach Side Salad (easy pizza dough recipe here)
- Leftover Chicken and Cheese Quesadillas with Rice and Black Beans
Snacks
- Bananas
- Carrots & Celery with Ranch
- Peanut Butter and Apples
Sweet Treat
- Homemade Cinnamon Rolls (see recipe here)
For this price comparison, I am using prices available in Colorado Springs, Colorado. I will be selecting items for our meal plan that are the absolute cheapest.
This means mostly generic store brand options and the smallest size needed. This may not be the best value, but we are going for the cheapest option.
We are assuming that we already have kitchen basics like cooking oil, seasonings, salt/pepper, and baking powder at home. Everything else needed for the meal plan will need to be purchased.
For a more in depth break down on how I would make this meal plan work, check out “Healthy Grocery List for Family of 4 on a Budget #2.”
Produce Section
This is all the fresh vegetables and fruits we need for the week.
| Item | Safeway Price | King Soopers Price |
| 6 Bananas | $0.27 each= $1.62 | $0.27 each= $1.62 |
| Apples | 3lb bag of gala apples= $4.99 | 3lb bag of gala apples= $4.59 *on sale* |
| Spinach | 8oz bag= $2.29 | 10oz bag= $2.49 |
| Carrots | 1lb bag= $0.89 | 1lb bag= $0.89 |
| Celery | Organic Celery bunch= $2.29 | 1 head= $0.99 |
| Potatoes | 5lb bag of Russets= $2.50 *on sale* | 5lb bag of Russets= $2.99 |
| Tomato | Vine Ripe= $1.10 | Beefsteak= $1.23 |
| Cucumber | $0.99 each | $0.69 each |
| Total: (8 items) | $16.67 | $15.49 |
In the produce section, King Soopers came out cheaper with a total of $15.49. This was $1.18 cheaper than Safeway’s total of $16.67.
Deli/Meats
This is all the meats that we will need from the deli and meat counter.
| Item | Safeway Price | King Soopers Price |
| Bacon | Jimmy Dean 12oz pack= $5.99 *on sale* | Kroger 16oz pack= $4.79 |
| Ground Beef (1lb) | 1lb 92% fresh= $5.99 *on sale* | Kroger 80/20 1lb roll= $4.99 |
| Chicken Breasts (4-6 needed) | Open Nature $4.99 a lb (3.05lbs)= $15.22 *on sale* | Heritage Farms $3.29 a lb (4.7lbs)= $15.56 |
| Diced Ham | Smithfield 8oz pack= $3.49 *on sale* | Kroger 8oz pack= $2.49 *on sale* |
| Pepperoni | Signature Select 6oz pack= $2.99 | Kroger 6oz pack= $2.99 |
| Total: (5 items) | $33.68 | $30.82 |
In the meat section, King Soopers came out cheaper with a total of $30.82. This was $2.86 cheaper than Safeway’s total of $33.68.
Dry Goods
This is all the dry goods and shelf stable items that we need for our meal plan.
| Item | Safeway Price | King Soopers Price |
| Flour Tortillas | Signature Select 10ct= $1.79 | Kroger 10ct= $1.99 |
| Loaf bread | Signature Select 20oz white bread= $2.29 | Kroger 20oz white bread= $1.69 *on sale* |
| Peanut Butter | Signature Select 16oz jar= $1.99 | Kroger 16oz jar= $1.69 |
| Quick Oats | Open Nature 25oz container= $3.79 | Kroger 18oz container= $2.69 |
| Brown Sugar | Signature Select 1lb bag= $1.59 | GW 1lb bag=$1.29 |
| Garbanzo beans (canned) | Signature Select 15oz can=$1.00 *on sale* | Kroger 15.5oz can= $0.79 |
| Mayonnaise | Signature Select 30oz jar= $3.99 | Kroger 15oz jar= $3.19 |
| Soy Sauce | O Organics 10oz bottle= $2.99 | Kroger 10oz bottle= $1.69 |
| Hoisin Sauce | Dynasty 7oz jar= $3.49 | Kikkoman 9.4oz jar= $3.09 |
| Sesame Oil | Signature Select 5oz bottle= $4.29 | Dynasty 5oz bottle= $3.29 |
| Spaghetti Noodles | American Beauty 16oz fettucine= $1.67 *on sale* | American Beauty 16oz spaghetti= $1.25 *on sale* |
| All Purpose Flour | Signature Select 5lb bag= $2.99 *on sale* | Kroger 5lb bag= $2.39 |
| Cream of Chicken Soup | Signature Select 10.5oz can= $1.29 | Kroger 10.5oz can= $1.00 |
| Chicken Bouillon Cubes | Knorr 6ct= $1.49 | Knorr 8ct= $1.19 |
| Dry Active Yeast (need 2) | Signature Select 3ct= $1.99 | Fleishmann’s 3ct= $2.79 |
| White Rice | Signature Select 2lb bag= $2.29 | Kroger 2lb bag= $1.69 |
| Black Beans (canned) | Signature Select 15oz can= $1.00 *on sale* | Kroger 15.25oz can= $0.79 |
| Powdered Sugar | Signature Select 1lb bag= $1.59 | GW 1lb bag= $1.29 |
| Total: (19 items) | $41.52 | $33.79 |
In the dry goods section, King Soopers came out cheaper with a total of $33.79. This was $7.73 cheaper than Safeway’s total of $41.52.
Frozen Foods
These are the frozen items needed for this week’s meal plan.
| Item | Safeway Price | King Soopers Price |
| Frozen Broccoli | Signature Select 16oz bag= $1.99 | Bird’s Eye 10.8 oz bag= $1.59 *on sale* |
| Frozen Mixed Vegetables | Signature Select 16oz bag= $1.99 | Kroger 12oz bag= $1.00 *on sale* |
| Pie Crust | Signature Select 2ct= $3.99 | Kroger 2ct= $2.49 |
| Total: (3 items) | $7.97 | $5.08 |
In the frozen section, King Soopers was cheaper with a total of $5.08. This was $2.89 cheaper than Safeway’s total of $7.97.
Dairy Section
These are all the dairy items needed like milk and cheeses.
| Item | Safeway Price | King Soopers Price |
| Eggs | Open Nature 12ct brown eggs= $3.00 *on sale* | Kroger 12ct white eggs= $2.99 |
| Shredded Cheddar Cheese | Lucerne 8oz bag= $2.99 | Kroger 8oz bag= $2.00 *on sale* |
| Shredded Mozzarella Cheese | Lucerne 8oz bag= $2.99 | Kroger 8oz bag= $2.00 *on sale* |
| Milk | Lucerne gallon= $4.29 | King Soopers gallon= $3.79 |
| Total: (4 items) | $13.27 | $10.78 |
In the dairy section, King Soopers came out cheaper with a total of $10.78. This was $2.49 cheaper than Safeway’s total of $13.27.
Is Safeway more expensive than King Soopers?
King Soopers came in cheaper in every section of the store. Let’s look at the overall totals.
| Section | Safeway Price | King Soopers Price |
| Produce | $16.67 | $15.49 |
| Deli/Meats | $33.68 | $30.82 |
| Dry Goods | $41.52 | $33.79 |
| Frozen Foods | $7.97 | $5.08 |
| Dairy | $13.27 | $10.78 |
| Overall Total: (38 items) | $113.11 | $95.96 |
Overall, King Soopers was definitely cheaper than Safeway with a total of $95.96. This was $17.15 (about 15%) cheaper than Safeway’s total of $113.11.
Normally I can find a few items cheaper at each store, but this time King Soopers blew Safeway away with being cheaper every time in every section.
I would probably look at the weekly sales ads for each store and try to buy what is on sale each week. Generally speaking, though it looks like King Soopers is where the grocery savings will be!
Safeway does have weekly ads, and you can use them to help you meal plan for maximum savings. For more savings at Safeway, check out their FreshPass. They are currently offering a 30-day free trial!
For more grocery store price comparisons, check out “Safeway vs Shoppers: Who is Cheaper?” and “Food Lion vs Aldi: Who is Cheaper?“
