Wegmans vs Giant Foods: Who is Cheaper for Groceries?
One of the easiest ways to save money on your grocery bill is to constantly keep an eye on prices at your local stores. We do this by comparing prices at different grocery retailers.
Today we will do a side-by-side comparison of Wegman’s and Giant Foods. We will determine who has cheaper groceries, if it is better to go to one store, or if it would be a better savings to split our grocery list between the two stores.
Is Wegman’s cheaper than Giant?
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
- Spinach Egg Bites with Cottage Cheese & Bananas
- Cottage Cheese with Pineapple & Blueberries
- Egg & Cheese Biscuits with Apple Slices
- Mini Monkey Bread with Blueberries
- Scrambled Eggs, Pepperoni, and Apple Slices
Lunches
- Chicken Salad with Celery & Saltines
- Black Bean Hummus Quesadillas & Carrots with Ranch
- Leftover Dinners
Dinners
- Herb Chicken Leg Quarters with Sweet Potatoes & California Blend veggies
- Chicken and Rice Soup with Spinach Salad (tomatoes, cucumbers, cheese, & ranch dressing)
- Ground Beef and Black Bean Enchiladas with Cilantro Lime Rice & Canned Corn
- Ground Beef Chili with Red Kidney Beans (served with tortillas, sour cream, & cheese) and California Blend veggies
- BBQ pulled chicken sandwiches with coleslaw and baked beans
- Mini Pepperoni Pizzas with Spinach Salad
Snacks
- Apple Slices
- Celery & Carrots with Ranch Dressing
- Saltine Crackers
- Bananas & Blueberries
- Tortilla Chips
Sweet Treat
- Pineapple Upside Down Cake
For this price comparison, I am using prices available in Bel Air, Maryland. 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 Week #11 (Really Cheap, Easy, and Toddler Friendly) .”
Produce Section
This is all the fresh vegetables and fruits we need for the week.
| Item | Wegmans Price | Giant Price |
| Bananas x5 | $0.15 each= $0.75 | 1 bunch= $1.52 |
| Blueberries | 1 pint=$5.19 | 1 pint=$3.99 *on sale* |
| Apples | 3lb bag of Gala Apples= $4.09 | 3lb bag of Gala Apples= $4.99 |
| Carrots | 1lb bag of baby carrots= $1.19 | 1lb bag of baby carrots= $1.29 |
| Celery | 1 bunch= $2.19 | 1 bunch= $2.49 |
| Spinach | 6oz bag= $2.29 | 8oz bag= $1.99 |
| Sweet Potatoes (need 4) | $0.71 each= $2.84 | $0.82 each= $3.28 |
| Tomato | Organic= $1.02 | Tomatoes on the Vine= $0.62 |
| Cabbage (small) | Shredded 16oz bag= $1.79 | 1 head= $1.98 |
| Cucumber | $0.89 each | $0.79 each |
| Lime | $0.69 each | $0.66 each *on sale* |
| Cilantro | 1 bunch= $1.19 | 1 bunch= $1.49 |
| Total: (12 items) | $24.12 | $25.09 |
In the produce section, Wegmans came out cheaper with a total of $24.12. This was $0.97 cheaper than Giant’s total of $25.09.
Deli/Meats
This is all the meats that we will need from the deli and meat counter.
| Item | Wegmans Price | Giant Price |
| Chicken Leg Quarters (need 5lbs) | $2.09 a lb (5lbs)= $10.45 | $1.29 a lb (4.25lbs)= $5.48 |
| Ground Beef (need 1 pound) | 80/20 fresh 1lb= $5.79 | 80/20 fresh 1lb= $5.39 |
| Pepperoni Slices | Wegmans 6oz bag= $3.49 | Giant 6oz bag= $2.50 |
| Total: (3 items) | $19.73 | $13.37 |
In the meat section, Giant came out cheaper with a total of $13.37. This was $6.36 cheaper than Wegmans total of $19.73.
Dry Goods
This is all the dry goods and shelf stable items that we need for our meal plan.
| Item | Wegmans Price | Giant Price |
| Canned Pineapple | Wegmans 20oz can= $2.09 | Giant 20oz can= $1.89 |
| Brown Sugar | Domino 1lb box= $2.09 | Domino 1lb box= $2.25 |
| Yellow Cake Mix | Betty Crocker 15.25oz box= $1.79 *on sale* | Pillsbury 15.2oz box= $1.50 *on sale* |
| Tortillas | Wegmans 8ct= $1.59 | Mission 12ct= $2.09 *on sale* |
| Black Beans (can) | Wegmans 15.5oz can= $0.89 | Bush’s 15.5oz can= $1.49 |
| Ranch Dressing | Wegmans 16oz bottle= $2.29 | Hidden Valley 8oz bottle= $2.85 |
| Hamburger Buns | Wegmans 8ct= $1.79 | Giant 8ct= $1.59 |
| Baked Beans | Wegmans 20oz can= $2.19 | Serious Bean Co 16oz can= $2.49 |
| Tomato Sauce | Wegmans 15oz can= $0.99 | Giant 15iz can= $1.25 |
| Diced Tomatoes (can) | Wegmans 14.5oz can= $1.19 | Giant 14.5oz can= $0.99 |
| Chili Powder | Spice Classics 2.87oz jar= $1.49 | Giant 2.5oz jar= $2.95 |
| Corn (can) | Wegmans 15.25oz can= $0.69 | Giant 15.25oz can= $1.00 *on sale* |
| White Rice | Wegmans 1lb bag= $1.19 | Mahatma 2lb bag= $3.29 |
| Taco Seasoning | Old El Passo 1oz pack= $1.19 | Nature’s Promise 1oz pack= $1.09 |
| Kidney Beans (can) | Wegmans 15.5oz can= $0.99 | Giant 15.5oz can= $1.00 *on sale* |
| Tortilla Chips | Wegmans 9oz bag= $3.79 | Giant 13oz bag= $3.09 |
| Cornbread Mix | Jiffy 8.5oz box= $0.99 | Jiffy 8.5oz box= $0.89 |
| Garlic Herb Seasoning Blend | McCormick 2.75oz jar= $3.29 | Weber 2.75oz jar= $2.99 |
| Barbeque Sauce | Kraft 18oz bottle= $2.59 | Stubb’s 18oz bottle= $2.05 *on sale* |
| Total: (18 items) | $33.11 | $36.74 |
In the dry goods section, Wegmans came out cheaper with a total of $33.11. This was $3.63 cheaper than Giant’s total of $36.74.
Frozen Foods
These are the frozen items needed for this week’s meal plan.
| Item | Wegmans Price | Giant Price |
| California Blend Veggies | Wegmans 16oz bag= $2.19 | Giant 12oz bag= $1.75 |
| Garlic Bread | Wegmans 8ct= $3.49 | Furlani 6ct= $2.00 *on sale* |
| Total: (2 items) | $5.68 | $3.75 |
In the frozen section, Giant came out cheaper with a total of $3.75. This was $1.93 cheaper than Wegmans total of $5.68.
Dairy Section
These are all the dairy items needed like milk and cheeses.
| Item | Wegmans Price | Giant Price |
| Eggs | Wegmans 12ct large white= $4.09 | Giant 12ct large white= $3.99 |
| Cottage Cheese | Wegmans 16oz container= $2.79 | Daisy 16oz container =$2.99 *on sale* |
| Milk (1/2 gallon) | Wegmans half gallon= $3.29 | Giant half gallon= $2.69 |
| Biscuits (can) | Pillsbury 10ct= $3.49 | Pillsbury 8ct= $3.39 |
| Butter | Wegmans 16oz= $3.89 | Giant 16oz= $4.09 |
| Cheddar Cheese | Wegmans 16oz shredded= $5.09 | Giant 16oz shredded= $4.69 |
| Mozzarella Cheese | Wegmans 16oz shredded= $5.09 | Giant 16oz shredded= $4.69 |
| Total: (7 items) | $27.73 | $26.53 |
In the dairy section, Giant came out cheaper with a total of $26.53. This was $1.20 cheaper than Wegmans total of $27.73.
Is Giant more expensive than Wegmans?
There was a lot of back and forth on who was cheaper in each section. Let’s look at the overall totals!
| Section | Wegmans Price | Giant Price |
| Produce | $24.12 | $25.09 |
| Deli/Meats | $19.73 | $13.37 |
| Dry Goods | $33.11 | $36.74 |
| Frozen Foods | $5.68 | $3.75 |
| Dairy | $27.73 | $26.53 |
| Overall Total: (42 items) | $110.37 | $105.48 |
Overall, Giant was cheaper than Wegmans with a total of $105.48. This was $4.89 (about 4%) cheaper than Wegmans total of $110.37.
The totals were very close for each store, so if I could only go to one store, I would choose to go to Giant.
If I had the time to go to each store or order a curbside pickup, I could potentially save even more money on my groceries! If I only purchased the item at the store that was cheaper, my total would have been $95.82.
That is additional savings of $9.66 which is about 9% of savings on this grocery list. Another way to save money, would be to use the sales flyer each week to make our meal plan.
By shopping produce that is in season, as well as looking at the deals and sales prices, we could have easily gotten this grocery haul for less than $100.
For more grocery store price comparisons, check out “Wegmans vs Price Chopper” and “Food Lion vs Giant.”
