Harris Teeter vs Ingles: Who is Cheaper for Groceries?
In today’s fast-paced and expensive world, everyone is looking for ways to save money. One of the simplest yet effective ways to cut down on expenses is by price comparing at grocery stores. With the rising cost of groceries, it’s crucial to be a savvy shopper and compare prices before making a purchase.
So, today we will do a side-by-side comparison of Harris Teeter and Ingles Market to see who is cheaper. We will determine if it is worth going to just one store or if going to both stores will actually save us more money. Let’s find out!
Is Ingles cheaper than Harris Teeter?
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 & Bacon Breakfast Burritos with Orange Slices
- Muffins, Yogurt, & Diced Pears
- Banana Smoothies and Scrambled Eggs
- Banana Raisin Pancakes with Pancake Syrup and Diced Pears
Lunches
- Sloppy Joe & Cheese Taquitos with sour cream
- BLT wraps
- Leftovers from Dinners
Dinners
- Sloppy Joes with Carrot Salad and Homemade Potato Wedges
- Tuna Casserole with Green Peas
- Ground Beef Burrito Bowls with Rice, served with (lettuce, tomato, black beans, sour cream, & cheddar cheese)
- Smoke Sausage Foil Packs with carrots, potatoes, & onion
- Mississippi Chicken in the Crockpot served over white rice with Brussell Sprouts
- One Pot Chicken Parmesan Pasta with Garlic Bread & Green Beans
Snacks
- Orange Slices
- Popcorn
- Yogurt
- Diced Pears
Sweet Treat
- Easy Maple Cookies (uses pancake syrup)
For this price comparison, I am using prices available in Greenville, South Carolina. 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 #12.”
Produce Section
This is all the fresh vegetables and fruits we need for the week.
| Item | Harris Teeter Price | Ingles Price |
| Bananas x8 | $0.49 a lb (3.2lbs)= $1.56 | $0.57 a lb (3.2lbs)= $1.82 |
| Oranges | 4lb bag of Naval Oranges= $3.99 | 4lb bag of Naval Oranges= $6.98 |
| Lettuce | 1 head of Iceberg= $1.79 | 1 head of Iceberg= $2.48 |
| Tomato x2 | 2 beefsteak tomatoes= $2.98 | 2 beefsteak tomatoes= $2.98 |
| Onion x2 | 1lb Vidalia onions= $1.29 *on sale* | 1lb yellow onions= $1.18 |
| Potatoes | 5lb bag of Russet potatoes= $4.99 *on sale* | 5lb bag of red potatoes= $3.00 *on sale* |
| Carrots | 1lb bag of carrots= $0.99 *on sale* | 1lb bag of carrots= $1.28 |
| Total: (7 items) | $17.59 | $19.72 |
In the produce section, Harris Teeter came out cheaper with a total of $17.59. This was $2.13 cheaper than Ingle’s total of $19.72.
Deli/Meats
This is all the meats that we will need from the deli and meat counter.
| Item | Harris Teeter Price | Ingles Price |
| Bacon | Harris Teeter 16oz pack= $3.99 *on sale* | Jamestown 16oz pack= $2.98 *on sale* |
| Ground Beef | 80/20 1lb fresh= $3.99 | 75/25 1lb fresh= $4.98 |
| Smoked Sausage (kielbasa, etc) | Hillshire 13oz pack= $3.99 *on sale* | R/W Lumberjack 16oz pack= $3.00 *on sale* |
| Chicken Breasts (need 4-5) | Harris Teeter $2.99 a lb (4.6lbs)= $13.93 *on sale* | Tyson $3.98 a lb (3.2lbs)= $12.73 |
| Total: (4 items) | $25.90 | $23.69 |
In the meat section, Ingles came out cheaper with a total of $23.69. This was $2.21 cheaper than Harris Teeter’s total of $25.90.
*It is worth noting that even though Harris Teeter came out more expensive, we did get 1.3lbs more of chicken breasts. So, they were the better value.
Dry Goods
This is all the dry goods and shelf stable items that we need for our meal plan.
| Item | Harris Teeter Price | Ingles Price |
| Flour Tortillas | Harris Teeter 10ct= $1.59 | Chi-Chi’s 10ct= $1.98 *on sale* |
| Muffin Mix | Martha White Blueberry 7oz pack= $1.25 *on sale* | Jiffy Blueberry 7oz box= $1.00 *on sale* |
| Pancake Syrup | Harris Teeter 24oz bottle= $2.49 | Laura Lynn 12oz bottle= $2.18 |
| Ketchup | Harris Teeter 32oz bottle= $1.79 *on sale* | Laura Lynn 24oz bottle= $1.38 |
| Brown Sugar | Harris Teeter 2lb bag= $2.49 | Laura Lynn 1lb box= $1.28 *on sale* |
| Worcestershire Sauce | Harris Teeter 10oz bottle= $0.99 | French’s 10oz bottle= $1.88 *on sale* |
| Hamburger Buns (8ct) | Harris Teeter 8ct= $1.99 | Laura Lynn 8ct= $1.77 *on sale* |
| Raisins | Harris Teeter 6oz mini boxes= $1.99 | Laura Lynn 6oz mini boxes= $1.88 *on sale* |
| Diced Pears (canned) | Harris Teeter 15oz can= $1.79 | Laura Lynn 15.25oz can= $1.98 |
| Mayonnaise | Harris Teeter 12oz bottle= $2.49 | Kraft 15oz jar= $2.38 |
| Egg Noodles | Harris Teeter 16oz bag= $1.99 | No Yolks 12oz bag= $2.98 *on sale* |
| Tuna (canned) | Harris Teeter 5oz can= $0.89 *on sale* | Laura Lynn 5oz can= $0.98 |
| Breadcrumbs | HT Traders 8oz container= $1.79 *on sale* | Progresso 15oz container= $2.98 |
| Taco Seasoning Pack | Harris Teeter 1.25oz pack= $0.50 *on sale* | Laura Lynn 1.25oz pack= $0.50 *on sale* |
| White Rice | Harris Teeter 1lb bag= $0.99 | Laura Lynn 1lb bag= $1.28 |
| Black Beans (canned) | Harris Teeter 15.25oz can= $0.79 *on sale* | Hanover 15.5oz can= $0.68 *on sale* |
| Au Jus Seasoning Pack | Pioneer 1oz pack= $1.59 | Laura Lynn 1oz pack= $0.50 *on sale* |
| Ranch Seasoning Pack | Harris Teeter 1oz pack= $0.99 *on sale* | Hidden Valley oz pack= $0.50 *on sale* |
| Pepperoncini | Harris Teeter 16oz jar= $1.99 *on sale* | Mt Olive 12oz jar= $2.78 |
| Tomato Sauce | Harris Teeter 15oz can= $0.99 | Laura Lynn 15oz can= $1.25 *on sale* |
| Italian Seasoning | Smidge and Spoon 0.85oz jar= $1.19 | McCormick 0.77oz jar= $2.48 *on sale* |
| Green Beans | Harris Teeter 14.5oz can= $0.99 *on sale* | Libby’s 14.5oz can= $1.00 *on sale* |
| Microwave Popcorn | Harris Teeter 3ct box= $1.99 | Act II 2ct box= $2.58 |
| All Purpose Flour | Harris Teeter 5lb bag= $2.59 | Martha White 2lb bag= $2.68 |
| Sugar | Harris Teeter 2lb bag= $2.89 | Laura Lynn 2lb bag= $1.98 *on sale* |
| Baking Soda | Harris Teeter 16oz box= $0.99 | Laura Lynn 16oz box= $0.98 |
| Vanilla Extract | McCormick Imitation 2oz bottle= $3.29 | Badia Imitation 4oz bottle= $2.28 |
| Total: (26 items) | $45.30 | $46.12 |
In the dry goods section, Harris Teeter came out cheaper with a total of $45.30. This was $0.82 cheaper than Ingle’s total of $46.12.
Frozen Foods
These are the frozen items needed for this week’s meal plan.
| Item | Harris Teeter Price | Ingles Price |
| Frozen Peas | Green Giant 8oz box= $1.50 *on sale* | Pictsweet 10oz bag= $2.38 |
| Frozen Brussell Sprouts | Green Giant 8oz box= $1.50 *on sale* | Laura Lynn 16oz bag= $2.50 *on sale* |
| Total: (2 items) | $3.00 | $4.88 |
In the frozen section, Harris Teeter came out cheaper with a total of $3.00. This was $1.88 cheaper than Ingle’s total of $4.88.
*It is worth noting that we did get 6 more ounces of Brussel Sprouts at Ingles, but I don’t believe that the price made it a better value.
Dairy Section
These are all the dairy items needed like milk and cheeses.
| Item | Harris Teeter Price | Ingles Price |
| Vanilla Yogurt | Harris Teeter 32oz container= $1.99 | Laura Lynn 32oz container= $3.18 |
| 1/2 gallon of Milk | Harris Teeter half gallon= $1.89 | Laura Lynn half gallon= $2.38 |
| Eggs | Harris Teeter 12ct large white eggs= $2.69 | Laura Lynn 12ct large white eggs= $1.98 |
| Cheddar Cheese (16oz) | Harris Teeter 16oz block= $5.39 | Laura Lynn 16oz shredded= $4.68 |
| Sour Cream | Breakstone 8oz container= $1.50 *on sale* | Laura Lynn 8oz container= $1.28 |
| Butter | Harris Teeter 16oz sticks= $4.39 | Laura Lynn 16oz sticks= $3.98 |
| Mozzarella Cheese (8oz) | Harris Teeter 8oz block= $2.99 *on sale* | Laura Lynn 8oz shredded= $2.58 |
| Total: (7 items) | $20.83 | $20.06 |
In the dairy section, Ingles came out cheaper with a total of $20.06. This was $0.77 cheaper than Harris Teeter’s total of $20.83.
Is Ingles more expensive than Harris Teeter?
There was a lot of back and forth with very close totals in each section. Let’s look at the overall totals.
| Section | Harris Teeter Price | Ingles Price |
| Produce | $17.59 | $19.72 |
| Deli/Meats | $25.90 | $23.69 |
| Dry Goods | $45.30 | $46.12 |
| Frozen Foods | $3.00 | $4.88 |
| Dairy | $20.83 | $20.06 |
| Overall Total: (46 items) | $112.62 | $114.47 |
Overall, Harris Teeter was cheaper than Ingles with a total of $112.62. This was $1.85 (about 1.6%) cheaper than Ingle’s total of $114.47.
These two stores were so close in their totals, but if I could only choose one, I would pick Harris Teeter to shop at every week.
If I had the time to go to both stores or do a curbside pickup, I could have potentially saved a lot of money. By only shopping the cheapest items at each store, our total would have been $98.63.
Wow! That is a savings of $13.99 (about 12%)! To me it would totally be worth going to both stores and just buying the cheapest option!
For more grocery store price comparisons, check out “Harris Teeter vs Lidl” and “Ingles vs Food Lion.“
