Albertsons vs Smart & Final: Who is Cheaper?
Albertsons is a major grocery chain with over 2200 locations, that operate under names like Albertsons, Safeway, Vons, Jewel-Osco, and Shaw’s. Smart and Final is a warehouse style grocery store that has about 257 locations mainly in California, Arizona, and Nevada.
We are going to build a meal plan and grocery list, and then price compare both stores. This will help us determine if Albertsons or Smart & Final has the cheaper groceries. Scroll to the end to see the final verdict.
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Is Smart and Final cheaper than Albertsons?
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
- Scrambled Eggs with Bacon and Toast
- Banana Pancakes with Syrup
- Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Bars
Lunches
- Leftover Chicken Salad with Raisins Sandwiches
- Black Bean Hummus (using leftover black beans) with Homemade Potato Chips and Carrots
- Taco Salads (leftover taco meat)
- Baked Potatoes with Sour Cream, Cheese, and Bacon
- Dinner Leftovers
Dinners
- Lentil Veggie Soup (using dry lentils, canned tomatoes, chicken broth made from whole chicken, and frozen mixed vegetables)
- Baked BBQ Pork Chops with Carrot Raisin Salad (mayo, lemon juice, & maple syrup), and Baked Potato Wedges
- Chicken Carbonara-ish Pasta with Bacon and Frozen Peas (alfredo sauce with Italian seasoning) *using leftover chicken*
- Whole Baked Chicken with Brown Rice and Baked Carrots
- 1/2lb Ground Turkey and Black Bean Tacos (with lettuce, tomato, cheese, sour cream) and Brown Rice
- 1/2lb Ground Turkey Chili with Cornbread and Side Salad with lemon juice & oil dressing
Snacks
- Bananas
- Carrots
- Popcorn
Sweet Treat
- Cinnamon Raisin Bread Pudding
For this price comparison, I am using prices available in Phoenix, Arizona. 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 #3.”
Produce Section
This is all the fresh vegetables and fruits we need for the week.
| Item | Albertsons Price | Smart & Final Price |
| 8 bananas | $0.24 each= $1.92 | $0.69 a lb=$2.24 |
| Potatoes | 5lb bag of Russets= $3.29 | 5lb bag of Russets= $2.99 *on sale* |
| Carrots | 1lb bag= $0.99 | 1lb bag= $1.39 |
| Lettuce | 1 head Romaine= $0.99 *on sale* | 8oz shredded lettuce= $1.79 |
| 1 Tomato | On the Vine= $0.66 | 10oz grape tomatoes= $2.99 |
| 1 Cucumber | $0.50 each | 3ct package= $3.99 |
| 2 lemons | $0.69 each x2= $1.38 | 16oz lemon juice= $1.99 |
| Total: (7 items) | $9.73 | $17.38 |
In the produce section, Albertsons was cheaper with a total of $9.73. This was $7.65 cheaper than Smart & Final’s total of $17.38.
It is worth noting that Smart & Final is a warehouse type store and does not carry all products regularly. This means that their produce department did not have individual items.
For instance, they only had a 5lb bag of lemons, so we opted for a 16oz bottle of lemon juice instead.
Deli/Meats
This is all the meats that we will need from the deli and meat counter.
| Item | Albertsons Price | Smart & Final Price |
| Pork Chops | Sirloin Pork Chops $3.49 a lb (1.5lb pack)= $5.24 | Bone In Porkchops $4.99 a lb (1.35lb pack)= $6.74 |
| Whole Chicken | Sanderson $2.19 a lb (4.5lbs)= $9.86 | Foster Farms $1.69 a lb (5.7lbs)= $9.63 *on sale* |
| Precooked Bacon | Hormel 2.5oz pack= $3.99 *on sale* | First Street 12oz raw bacon= $4.99 |
| 1lb ground turkey | Jennie-O 1lb roll= $4.29 *on sale* | Carolina 1lb roll= $3.99 |
| Total: (4 items) | $23.38 | $25.35 |
In the meat section, Albertsons’ came out cheaper with a total of $23.38. This was $1.97 cheaper than Smart & Final’s total of $25.35.
Dry Goods
This is all the dry goods and shelf stable items that we need for our meal plan.
| Item | Albertsons Price | Smart & Final Price |
| Peanut Butter | Signature Select 16oz jar= $2.49 | Skippy 18oz jar= $2.99 |
| Sandwich Bread | Signature Select 20oz white bread= $1.79 *on sale* | First Street 24oz white bread= $2.49 |
| Pancake Syrup | Signature Select 12oz bottle= $1.99 | Hungry Jack 27.6oz bottle= $4.99 |
| Quick Oats | Open Nature 25oz container= $3.49 | First Street 42oz container= $3.99 |
| Brown Sugar | C &H 1lb box= $2.49 | Zulka lb bag= $0.99 |
| Mayonnaise | Signature Select 15oz jar= $3.49 | First Street 30oz jar= $2.99 *on sale* |
| Raisins | O Organics 6oz mini boxes= $2.99 | Mariani 6oz= $2.99 |
| Black Beans dried | Signature Select 15oz can= $0.89 *on sale* | Bush’s Best 15oz can= $1.39 |
| Lentils (dry) | Signature Select 16oz bag= $2.49 | First Street 16oz bag= $1.69 |
| Canned tomatoes x 2 | Signature Select 14.5oz can= $0.89 *on sale* | Del Monte 14.5oz can= $1.29 |
| BBQ sauce | Signature Select 18oz bottle= $1.99 | Kraft 18oz bottle= $1.49 |
| Alfredo Sauce | Ragu 16oz jar= $2.79 | Ragu 16oz jar= $2.49 |
| Brown Rice | Signature Select 2lb bag= $1.99 | First Street 1lb bag= $0.89 |
| Taco Seasoning | Signature Select 1oz pack= $0.99 | McCormick 1oz pack= $0.99 |
| Flour Tortillas | Mission 8ct=$1.79 | Calidad 8ct= $1.29 |
| Kidney Beans | Signature Select 15.5oz can= $0.89 *on sale* | Bush’s Best 16oz can= $1.39 |
| Chili Powder | El Guapo 2.5oz bag= $1.99 | First Street 3.1oz container= $2.49 |
| Cornbread Mix | Jiffy 8.5oz box= $1.29 | Marie Callenders 5lb bag= $7.99 *on sale* |
| Microwave Popcorn | Pop Secret 3bags= $2.99 *on sale* | First Street 3bags= $1.99 |
| Total: (18 items) | $39.71 | $48.81 |
In the dry goods section, Albertsons came out cheaper with a total of $39.71. This was $9.10 cheaper than Smart & Final’s total of $48.81.
Frozen Foods
These are the frozen items needed for this week’s meal plan.
| Item | Albertsons Price | Smart & Final Price |
| Frozen Mixed Vegetables | Signature Select 16oz bag= $2.49 | First Street 2oz bag= $1.59 |
| Frozen Peas | Signature Select 16oz bag= $2.49 | C & W 16oz bags= $2.79 |
| Total: (2 items) | $4.98 | $4.38 |
In the frozen section, Smart & Final came out cheaper with a total of $4.38. This was $0.60 cheaper than Albertsons’ total of $4.98.
Dairy Section
These are all the dairy items needed like milk and cheeses.
| Item | Albertsons Price | Smart & Final Price |
| Eggs | Open Nature 12ct brown eggs= $3.99 | Barnstar 12ct brown eggs= $3.49 |
| Sour Cream | Lucerne 8oz container=$1.49 | First Street 16oz container= $2.19 |
| Shredded Cheddar Cheese | Lucerne 8oz bag= $2.49 *on sale* | First Street 32oz bag= $7.99 |
| Shredded Mozzarella Cheese | Lucerne 8oz bag= $2.49 *on sale* | First Street 32oz bag= $7.99 |
| Butter (sticks) | Lucerne 1lb= $4.99 | First Street 1lb= $4.49 |
| Milk | Lucerne gallon= $3.49 | First Street gallon= $3.39 |
| Total: (6 items) | $18.94 | $29.54 |
In the dairy section, Albertsons came out cheaper with a total of $18.94. This was $10.60 cheaper than Smart & Final’s total of $29.54.
Is Albertsons more expensive than Smart and Final?
Albertsons came in cheaper for most of the sections, but let’s look at overall totals!
| Section | Albertsons Price | Smart & Final Price |
| Produce | $9.73 | $17.38 |
| Deli/Meats | $23.38 | $25.35 |
| Dry Goods | $39.71 | $48.81 |
| Frozen Foods | $4.98 | $4.38 |
| Dairy | $18.94 | $29.54 |
| Overall Total: (37 items) | $96.74 | $125.46 |
Overall, Albertsons came out cheaper than Smart and Final with a total of $96.74. This was $28.72 (about 23%) cheaper Smart & Final’s total of $125.46.
You may have noticed that sometimes Smart and Final only offered weird sizes or didn’t carry some items at all! For instance, the smallest package of shredded cheese is 32oz, that is 4 times as large as a regular grocery store.
Now the price of their 32oz bag of shredded cheese came out much cheaper than at Albertsons, but that is a lot of cheese! If you can’t use that up in a week, you will have to get creative about storage and start freezing it to use later.
If you have a larger family (8+) than shopping at Smart & Final may be a huge money saver for you. On the other hand, if you are trying to spend the least amount possible, then Smart and Final may not be the best option.
If these are my two store options, I would be looking at their sales flyer every week and shopping based on sales and deals. This may mean going to both stores, but the potential to save is huge!
For more grocery store price comparisons, check out “Albertsons vs Target” and “Kroger vs SaveALot.”
For more grocery store price comparisons, check out “Smart & Final vs Ralphs: Who has Cheaper Groceries?” and “Vons vs Smart & Final: Who is Cheaper?“
