Food Lion vs Aldi: Who is Cheaper?
Food Lion is a pretty large chain of grocery stores with 1103 locations in 10 states in the US. Aldi is a bit bigger grocery store chain with 1800 stores in 35 states all across the US.
To determine if Food Lion or Aldi is cheaper for groceries, we will do a side-by-side price comparison of a week’s worth of groceries. Scroll to the end to see the final verdict!
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Is Aldi cheaper than Food Lion?
For this test, I have prepared a meal plan for one week that consists of breakfasts, lunches, snacks, and dinners for a family of 4 (2 adults and 2 young kids). I am using the “25 Cheap food that fills you up when you are broke!” as my guide to pick not only healthy foods but also ones that should be fairly cheap.
Here is the meal plan for this grocery trip:
Breakfasts
- Peanut Butter Toast with Bananas x2
- Overnight Oats with Apples and Raisins x3
- Scrambled Eggs with Cheese on top and Toast x2
Lunches
- Tuna Salad Sandwiches x 2
- Veggie & Pepperoni Pasta Salad with Zesty Italian Dressing
- Salad Wraps with tomato, cucumber, and cheese
- Leftovers
Snacks
- Carrots
- Apples
- Popcorn
Dinners
- Baked Whole Chicken with rice and sautéed carrots
- Leftover Chicken in a Pasta with Alfredo Sauce, Broccoli, and side salad
- Ground Turkey Tacos with Corn and Refried Beans
- Leftover Taco Meat in a Mexican Baked Potato Bar with Side Salads
- Pork Loin with Mashed Potatoes and Corn
- Hawaiin Pizza with Leftover Pork, Pepperoni, and Pineapple (using a little Alfredo Sauce as the Base)
Sweet Treat
- Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
For this meal plan, I am going to shop at both stores and look for the best deals on price. We will be using prices in Glasgow, Kentucky. for this store comparison.
Most items will be the generic store brand, and I will be aiming to get my groceries needed for the cheapest price available.
Even though my pantry is very well stocked, for this experiment I will shop as if I only have the bare basics at home like seasonings, salt, sugar, and cooking oil. For a full breakdown of this meal plan, and how I would make it work, check out “Healthy Grocery List for Family of 4 on a Budget #1.”
Produce
These are the fresh vegetables and fruits needed in the produce section for my meal plan this week.
| Items | Food Lion Price | Aldi Price |
| 8 Bananas | $0.53 a lb (3.3lbs)= $1.74 | $0.20 each= $1.60 |
| Apples | Gala Apples 3lb bag= $3.49 *on sale* | Honeycrisp Apples 2lb bag= $2.75 |
| Lettuce | 1 head Romaine= $1.89 | 1 head green leaf= $1.89 |
| Potatoes | 5lb bag of white potatoes= $4.59 | 5lb bag of red potatoes= $3.85 |
| Tomatoes x3 | 1lb on the vine= $1.99 | On the vine pack= $2.55 |
| Cucumber | $0.99 each | $0.65 each |
| Carrots | 1lb of carrots= $0.69 | 1lb bag of baby carrots= $1.05 |
| Totals: 7 Items | $15.38 | $14.34 |
In the produce section, Aldi came out cheaper with a total of $14.34. This was $1.04 cheaper than Food Lion’s total of $15.38.
It is worth noting we only got 2lbs of apples at Aldi instead of the 3lbs at Food Lion.
Deli/Meats
Here are the items I will need from the deli and meat section of the stores.
| Items | Food Lion Price | Aldi Price |
| Pepperoni | Food Lion 6oz pack= $2.48 | Mama Cozzi’s 6oz pack= $2.75 |
| Whole Chicken | Food Lion $1.29 a lb (5lbs)= $6.45 *on sale* | Kirkwood $1.99 a lb (4.85lbs)= $9.65 |
| Ground Turkey | Butterball 1lb roll= $3.79 | Kirkwood 1lb roll= $3.29 |
| Pork Loin | Food Lion $2.49 a lb (1.5lbs)= $3.74 | Roseland $3.79 a lb (1.21 lbs) = $4.59 |
| Totals: 4 Items | $16.46 | $20.28 |
In the meat section, Food Lion came out cheaper with a total of $16.46. This was $3.82 cheaper than Aldi’s total of $20.28.
Dry Goods
This is the center area of most grocery stores, and I call this area dry goods. It is all items that are considered shelf stable and are typically stored in a cabinet or on a pantry shelf.
| Items | Food Lion Price | Aldi Price |
| Sandwich Bread | Cha-Ching 20oz white bread= $0.99 | L’oven 20oz white bread= $1.09 |
| Peanut Butter | Food Lion 16.3oz jar= $2.18 | Peanut Delight 18oz jar= $1.89 |
| Quick Oats | Food Lion 18oz container= $2.19 | Millville 42oz container= $3.85 |
| Raisins | Food Lion 12oz bag= $1.69 | Southern Grove mini boxes 6oz= $1.35 |
| Canned Tuna Fish (2 cans) | Starkist 5oz can x 2= $2.50 *on sale* | Northern Catch 5oz can x 2= $1.70 |
| Pasta | Food Lion 16oz rotini= $0.96 | Reggano 16oz rotini= $1.05 |
| Zesty Italian Dressing | Food Lion 16oz bottle= $2.29 | Tuscan Garden 16oz bottle= $2.15 |
| Flour Tortillas | Chi-Chi’s 10ct= $1.79 | Pueblo Lindo 20ct= $1.95 |
| Microwave Popcorn | Food Lion 3 bags= $1.79 | Clancy’s 6 bags= $2.19 |
| White Rice | Food Lion 1lb bag= $0.99 | Earthy Grains instant white rice 28.8oz= $2.85 |
| Alfredo Sauce | Food Lion 16oz jar= $1.89 | Botticelli 14.5oz jar= $4.95 |
| Canned Corn | Cha-Ching 15.25oz can= $0.60 | Happy Harvest 15.25oz can= $0.65 |
| Refried Beans | Food Lion 16oz can= $1.49 | Casa Mamita 16oz can= $1.05 |
| Salsa | Food Lion 16oz jar= $2.19 | Casa Mamita 24 oz jar= $2.15 |
| Canned Pineapple | Food Lion 20oz can= $1.38 | Sweet Harvest 20oz can= $1.45 |
| All Purpose Flour | Food Lion 2lb bag= $1.49 | Baker’s Corner 5lb bag= $2.35 |
| Dry Active Yeast | Food Lion 3ct= $0.25 *on sale* | Baker’s Corner 3ct= $0.95 |
| Brown Sugar | Food Lion 1lb bag= $1.69 | Baker’s Corner 2lb bag= $1.89 |
| Totals: 18 items | $28.35 | $35.51 |
In the dry goods section, Food Lion came out cheaper with a total of $28.35. This was $7.16 cheaper than Aldi’s total of $35.51.
Frozen Foods
This is the area in the store that typically has frozen meats, vegetables, fruits, and ice cream. We will mainly stick to the frozen veggie section.
| Items | Food Lion Price | Aldi Price |
| Frozen Mixed Vegetables | Bird’s Eye 10oz bag= $1.39 *on sale* | Season’s Choice 12oz bag= $0.95 |
| Frozen Broccoli | Bird’s Eye 10.8oz bag= $1.39 *on sale* | Season’s Choice 12oz bag= $1.05 |
| Totals: 2 items | $2.78 | $2.00 |
In the frozen section, Aldi came out cheaper with a total of $2.00. This was $0.78 cheaper than Food Lion’s total of $2.78.
Dairy
This is the final section of the store and will cover all dairy needs like cheeses and milk.
| Item: | Food Lion Price | Aldi Price |
| Eggs | Food Lion 12ct white= $1.89 | Goldhen 12ct white= $2.35 |
| 2% Milk (gallon) | Food Lion gallon= $3.79 | Friendly Farms gallon= $2.19 |
| Cheddar cheese (shredded) | Food Lion 8oz bag= $2.00 *on sale* | Happy Farms 12 oz bag- $3.29 |
| Mozzarella cheese (shredded) | Food Lion 8oz bag= $2.00 *on sale* | Happy Farms 12 oz bag- $3.29 |
| Sour Cream | Food Lion 8oz container= $1.39 | Friendly Farms 16oz container= $1.89 |
| Totals: 5 items | $11.07 | $13.01 |
In the dairy section Food Lion came out cheaper with a total of $11.07. This was $1.94 cheaper than Aldi’s total of $13.01.
It is worth noting that Aldi’s smallest bag of shredded cheese is only available in 12oz bags, so we did get more cheese than at Food Lion. Same thing with sour cream. So, for the dairy section, Aldi was a better value!
Is Food Lion more expensive than Aldi?
There was a little back and forth and one store was not cheaper for all sections. Let’s look at the overall totals!
| Section | Food Lion Price | Aldi Price |
| Produce | $15.38 | $14.34 |
| Deli/Meats | $16.46 | $20.28 |
| Dry Goods | $28.35 | $35.51 |
| Frozen Foods | $2.78 | $2.00 |
| Dairy | $11.07 | $13.07 |
| Overall Total | $74.04 | $85.20 |
Overall, Food Lion was cheaper than Aldi with a total of $74.04. This was $11.16 (about 13%) cheaper than Aldi’s total of $85.20.
One of the downsides of Aldi is that they offer limited options and limited sizes. This means that for some things like cheese and sour cream, I had to purchase more than I really needed.
This is great for stocking up, but not so great for trying to buy a week’s worth of groceries as cheaply as possible.
We could have saved a little bit more money by breaking our list up and buying items at each location that had the best deals. For instance, buy meat at Food Lion but pick up eggs and milk at Aldi.
If I am only going to one store, I will be much more likely to just swing by Food Lion. If you use the weekly sales ad to make your meal plan and shop what is on sale, you could potentially save even more money.
Food Lion has a program called “Shop & Earn” where you not only get digital coupons and savings, but you can also collect cash back off your total. Plus you will want to sign up for their MVP card that gives you access to all sale prices.
For more grocery store price comparisons, check out “Hy-Vee vs Target: Who is Cheaper?” and “Schnucks vs Dierbergs: Who is Cheaper?“
