Grocery Price Showdown: Acme vs Save A Lot
The next stop in our New Franklin/ Akron Ohio area is to Acme and Save A Lot. Acme is part of the Albertsons company and Save A Lot is a discount retailer. It will be interesting to see if that makes a difference in their food prices.
We like to use real meal plans and real grocery lists to do our price comparisons because we feel this more accurately portrays what a real family would see at the grocery store.
Key Takeaways
- Acme did not come out cheaper but Save A Lot was missing some items too.
- Save A Lot did not carry zucchini or yellow squash for online ordering.
- Both grocery stores went over our $100 budget.
Meal Plan and Grocery List
We have a $100 or less grocery budget plan this week. Here is our overview of all the meals:
Here is the broken down by department grocery list:
Our total came out to $91.68 at the local Walmart in New Franklin, OH so let’s see how these two stores compare to that.
Will we stay within our $100 budget?
Is Save A Lot Cheaper than Acme?
I’ve been fairly impressed with Albertson company prices, so I am going to guess they will actually come out slightly cheaper than Save A Lot.
| Ingredient | Acme Price | Save A Lot Price |
| Strawberries (1lb) | $3.50 | $2.99 |
| Apples (3lb) | $4.47 *on sale* | $4.39 (4lb) |
| Lettuce | $1.99 | $2.19 |
| Tomato (x2) | $3.49 | $2.58 |
| Watermelon | $5.99 | $6.59 |
| Sweet Potatoes (x2) | $2.58 | $0.64 |
| Onion (x1) | $0.59 | $0.42 |
| Bell Pepper (x1) | $1.25 *on sale* | $0.89 |
| Zucchini (x1) | $0.80 | did not carry |
| Yellow Squash (x1) | $1.67 | did not carry |
| Ground Turkey (3lbs) | $13.99 | $12.09 |
| Smoked Sausage (12-13oz) | $2.99 *on sale* | $3.29 |
| Ham Lunchmeat (1lb) | $4.99 *on sale* | $6.59 |
| Hot Dogs (8ct) | $2.49 *on sale* | $1.29 |
| Chicken Breasts (3lbs) | $10.47 | $9.87 |
| Chicken Nuggets (30oz) | $4.99 (24oz) *on sale* | $6.29 (32oz) |
| Pancake Mix | $3.00 *on sale* | $3.19 |
| Pancake Syrup | $1.99 | $2.99 |
| Orange Soda | $1.25 | $1.55 |
| Chicken Broth (32oz) | $3.00 | $2.09 |
| Pineapple Rings (20oz) | $2.29 | $2.19 |
| White Rice (1lb) | $2.69 (2lb) | $2.75 (2lb) |
| Green Beans (14.5oz) | $1.19 | $0.89 |
| Pasta (1lb) | $1.25 | $1.39 |
| Italian Diced Tomatoes (14.5oz) | $1.19 | $1.09 |
| Teriyaki Sauce | $2.50 *on sale* | $2.19 |
| Hamburger Buns | $2.49 *on sale* | $1.65 |
| Corn Muffin Mix | $0.99 | $0.85 |
| Alfredo Sauce (16oz) | $3.00 *on sale* | $3.29 |
| Taco Seasoning | $0.89 | $0.79 |
| Potato Wedges (2lb) | $3.99 *on sale* | $4.09 |
| Vanilla Ice Cream | $3.69 | $3.69 |
| Tater Tots (2lbs) | $3.99 *on sale* | $4.09 |
| Frozen Peas (12oz) | $2.49 | $1.29 |
| Canned Biscuits (x2) | $5.58 | $2.18 |
| Cheddar Cheese (8oz) | $2.99 | $2.75 |
| Parmesan Cheese (7oz) | $2.99 | $3.29 |
| Milk (half gallon) | $2.15 | $2.19 |
| Eggs (12ct) | $2.99 | $2.19 |
| Total: | $124.83 | $112.77 |
Technically Save A Lot came out cheaper with a total of $112.77 but they didn’t have 2 of the items that we needed.
So even though their total was $12.06 less, we didn’t get all the items that we would have needed for our meal plan.
Food for Thought
Since we would have had to go to multiple stores to complete our meal plan if we shopped Save A Lot, let’s see if shopping both stores could actually save us more money!
If we only bought what was cheaper at each grocery store, our total would have been $108.82.
That would be an additional savings of $3.95 (about 4%) but we would also be getting all the items needed.
So, in this case even though the overall saving was low, I still would go to both places to maximize my savings!
