Grocery Price Showdown: Safeway vs Sprouts
Price comparing your groceries is a huge way to save money each and every week. You can combine this strategy with just buying the cheapest item at each store as well and possibly save even more.
Today we will take our grocery list to both Safeway and Sprouts, and see which store had the better prices.
Key Takeaways
- Safeway was the clear winner, but they were still $22 (about 20%) higher than Walmart.
- Sprouts may have been very expensive but if you value all organic items, it may be worth it compared to other stores
- Shopping both stores did not result in a huge savings.
Meal Plan and Grocery List
This is one of our weekly meal plans that covers breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, and a sweet treat for a family of four. We priced this out at the Walmart Supercenter in Denver, CO and the total came out to $88.03.
If you want the full meal plan, including recipes and the free printable PDF with grocery list, go check it out here!
Is Safeway Cheaper than Sprouts?
Our first stop is Safeway, and we will be focusing on getting the items we need at the cheapest price possible. If there are any discounts or coupons available on their website, we will apply them as well.
| Ingredient | Safeway Price |
| 1 red onion | $0.97 |
| 5lb bag of potatoes | $3.99 |
| Minced Garlic | $2.49 |
| 1 Green Bell Pepper | $0.99 |
| 1 Zucchini | $1.00 |
| 1 cucumber | $1.29 |
| 3 Roma Tomatoes | $1.35 |
| 3lbs of Fuji Apples | $2.99 *store coupon* |
| Iceberg Lettuce | $1.59 *on sale* |
| 6 Bananas | $1.14 |
| 1lb Cubed Ham <2-8oz packs> | $5.98 *on sale* |
| 1lb Ground Beef | $6.49 |
| 1lb Turkey Lunchmeat | $6.99 *on sale* |
| 3lb Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs | $10.47 *on sale* |
| Sandwich Bread | $2.79 |
| Vanilla Pudding Mix | $1.50 *on sale* |
| Corn Muffin Mix | $0.79 |
| Dry Active Yeast | $2.29 |
| Worcestershire Sauce | $2.99 |
| BBQ Sauce | $1.99 |
| Mushrooms (8oz can) <only 7oz can available> | $1.99 |
| Crushed Pineapple (20oz can) | $1.99 |
| Green Beans (14.5oz can) | $1.29 |
| Stuffing Mix | $2.29 |
| Green Chiles (4oz can) | $0.99 |
| White Beans (15.5oz can) | $1.00 *on sale* |
| Corn (15oz can) | $1.29 |
| Beef Bouillion Cubes | $2.99 |
| Pasta (16oz) | $1.67 *on sale* |
| Soy Sauce | $1.99 |
| Rice (1lb) <smallest available was 2lb bag> | $1.99 |
| Tortilla Chips | $1.99 *on sale* |
| Onion Soup Mix | $1.29 |
| Frozen Strawberries | $4.29 |
| Frozen Broccoli | $2.49 |
| Whipped Topping | $1.49 |
| Cheddar Cheese (8oz) | $2.19 *store coupon* |
| American Cheese | $2.49 *store coupon* |
| Vanilla Yogurt (32oz) | $2.79 |
| Mozzarella Cheese (16oz) | $4.38 *store coupon* |
| Eggs | $2.29 *on sale* |
| Milk (1/2 gallon) | $2.49 |
| Cream Cheese (8oz block) | $2.29 |
| Total: | $110.03 |
The total at Safeway came out to $110.03, so it is a little higher than I would like but it is still pretty close to a $100 budget. There were quite a few items on sale and there were some digital coupons that showed up on some items.
Overall, not a bad shopping trip. We didn’t have to make too many substitutions or size changes either.
Is Sprouts Cheaper than Safeway?
Next, we will head out to Sprouts to check our list over there. Sprouts lists themselves as a “Healthy Grocery Store” and they offer most of their products as organic.
So, it will be interesting to see how their prices stack up to Safeway where we just looked at regular options and did not go for all organic options.
| Ingredient | Sprouts Price |
| 1 red onion | $1.73 |
| 5lb bag of potatoes | $3.99 |
| Minced Garlic | $1.99 |
| 1 Green Bell Pepper | $1.99 |
| 1 Zucchini | $1.01 |
| 1 cucumber | $0.99 |
| 3 Roma Tomatoes | $1.86 |
| 3lbs of Fuji Apples <cheaper to get 3lb Cosmic Apples> | $4.44 *on sale* |
| Iceberg Lettuce | $1.99 |
| 6 Bananas | $1.68 |
| 1lb Cubed Ham <2-8oz ham steaks was the closest fit> | $14.98 |
| 1lb Ground Beef | $6.99 |
| 1lb Turkey Lunchmeat | $9.71 |
| 3lb Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs | $11.97 *on sale* |
| Sandwich Bread | $4.29 *on sale* |
| Vanilla Pudding Mix | $2.50 *on sale* |
| Corn Muffin Mix | $2.99 |
| Dry Active Yeast | $2.49 |
| Worcestershire Sauce | $3.99 |
| BBQ Sauce | $4.99 |
| Mushrooms (8oz can) <only had a 6.5oz can available> | $2.99 |
| Crushed Pineapple (20oz can) | $2.99 |
| Green Beans (14.5oz can) | $1.49 |
| Stuffing Mix <had to substitute croutons, no stuffing available> | $2.49 |
| Green Chiles (4oz can) | $1.99 |
| White Beans (15.5oz can) | $1.67 *on sale* |
| Corn (15oz can) | $1.49 |
| Beef Bouillion Cubes | $7.99 |
| Pasta (16oz) | $1.99 |
| Soy Sauce | $3.99 |
| Rice (1lb) | $1.79 |
| Tortilla Chips | $2.00 *on sale* |
| Onion Soup Mix | $1.67 *on sale* |
| Frozen Strawberries | $3.29 |
| Frozen Broccoli | $3.50 |
| Whipped Topping | $3.99 *on sale* |
| Cheddar Cheese (8oz) | $5.49 |
| American Cheese | $4.80 |
| Vanilla Yogurt (32oz) | $4.99 |
| Mozzarella Cheese (16oz) <2-8oz packs> | $10.98 |
| Eggs | $3.99 |
| Milk (1/2 gallon) | $2.69 |
| Cream Cheese (8oz block) | $2.49 |
| Total: | $167.32 |
The total at Sprouts came out to $167.32. This total really blew me away, but I started to realize early into our list, that Sprouts does not carry brands that most Americans would be familiar with like Kraft because they only offer organic & non-GMO. They also have a very large selection of Keto, Plant Based, Gluten Free, and Paleo options.
There were a few items that Sprouts just did not carry at this time because they are probably consider seasonal like the Stuffing Mix. We opted for croutons instead since they are basically the same thing and would work in a pinch.
If any of these options are important to you, then Sprouts may be a great place to shop. If these styles of food are not hugely important to your family, I would not suggest them as a grocery store to save money every week on your grocery budget.
Food for Thought
Hands down, Safeway came out as the cheaper option for our grocery list this week. They were actually $57.29 or 34% cheaper than Sprouts. That’s a pretty huge price difference to me.
Now if we only bought the cheapest options at each store, our total would have come out to $108.03, which would have been an additional savings of $2.00. Personally, that low amount of savings would not have been worth it to me to go to both stores.
If you want to see how these grocery stores compared to others in the Denver area, go check out the battle between Target and King Soopers!
