Fred Meyer vs Grocery Outlet: Who is Cheaper?
Price comparing grocery stores can be an effective way to save money on your grocery bills. Different grocery stores often have different prices for the same products, and by comparing prices, you can identify the stores that offer the best deals on the items you regularly purchase.
Today we will do a side-by-side comparison of Fred Meyer and Grocery Outlet to see who is cheaper for groceries! We will also determine if going to just one store is cheaper, or if shopping both places can save us even more on our grocery budget.
Is Grocery Outlet cheaper than Fred Meyer?
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 Grant Pass, Oregon 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 | Fred Meyer Price | Grocery Outlet Price |
| 8 Bananas | $0.25 each= $2.00 | $0.34 each = $2.72 |
| Apples | 3lb bag of Fuji apples= $4.49 *on sale* | 5lb bag of Pink Lady Apples= $4.59 |
| Lettuce | 1 head Iceberg= $1.99 | 1 head Iceberg= $1.89 |
| Potatoes | 5lb bag of Russets= $2.99 | 5lb bag of Russets= $3.09 |
| Tomatoes x3 | 1 on the vine bunch= $2.93 | 3 Roma Tomatoes= $1.89 |
| Cucumber | $0.79 each | $1.09 each |
| Carrots | 1lb bag= $0.99 | 1lb bag of baby carrots= $1.69 |
| Totals: 7 Items | $16.18 | $16.96 |
In the produce section, Fred Meyer came out cheaper with a total of $16.18. This was $0.78 cheaper than Grocery Outlet’s total of $16.96.
Deli/Meats
Here are the items I will need from the deli and meat section of the stores.
| Items | Fred Meyer Price | Grocery Outlet Price |
| Pepperoni | Kroger 6oz pack= $2.79 | Armour 5oz pack= $3.49 |
| Whole Chicken | Heritage Farms $1.29 a lb (5.5lbs)= $7.10 | Sanderson Farms $1.59 a lb (5.3lbs)= $8.44 |
| Ground Turkey | Jennie-O 1lb roll 85%= $3.99 | Jennie-O 1lb roll 90%= $3.99 |
| Pork Loin | Smithfield 23oz pack= $7.99 *on sale* | Smithfield 23oz pack= $7.99 |
| Totals: 4 Items | $21.87 | $23.91 |
In the meat section, Fred Meyer came out cheaper with a total of $21.87. This was $2.04 cheaper then Grocery Outlet’s total of $23.91.
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 | Fred Meyer Price | Grocery Outlet Price |
| Sandwich Bread | Kroger 20oz white= $1.79 *on sale* | Western Farms 20oz white= $1.69 |
| Peanut Butter | Kroger 15oz jar= $1.99 *on sale* | Nut N Better 16oz jar= $1.19 |
| Quick Oats | Kroger 18oz container= $2.69 | Mom’s Best Cereal 42oz container= $3.79 |
| Raisins | Kroger 6ct boxes= $2.39 | Mariani 32oz bag= $6.89 |
| Canned Tuna Fish (2 cans) | Bumble Bee 5oz cans ($0.99 each) = $1.98 *on sale* | Starkist 5oz cans ($1.19 each)= $2.38 |
| Pasta | Kroger 16oz box= $1.25 | Pagasa 16oz bag= $1.19 |
| Zesty Italian Dressing | Smart Way 16oz bottle= $1.00 *on sale* | Tessamae’s 10oz bottle= $2.29 |
| Flour Tortillas | Kroger 10ct= $1.49 *on sale* | Don Pancho 12ct = $2.29 |
| Microwave Popcorn | Jolly Time 4ct box= $2.99 *on sale* | *substitution* LesserEvil 4.6oz bag popped popcorn= $2.29 |
| White Rice | Torn & Glasser 1lb bag= $1.49 | Roberts 2lb bag= $1.89 |
| Alfredo Sauce | Kroger 16oz jar= $2.19 | Prego 22oz jar= $4.39 |
| Canned Corn | Kroger 14.5oz can= $0.89 | Del Monte 15.2oz can= $1.49 |
| Refried Beans | Kroger 16oz can= $1.19 | S & W 16oz can= $1.39 |
| Salsa | Private Selection 14oz container= $2.49 *on sale* | On The Border 16oz jar= $3.29 |
| Canned Pineapple | Kroger 20oz can= $1.50 | Neostar 20oz can= $1.49 |
| All Purpose Flour | Kroger 5lb bag= $2.49 | Pillsbury 5lb bag= $4.89 |
| Dry Active Yeast | Fleishmann’s 3pack= $2.79 | *Did not have yeast* $2.79 |
| Brown Sugar | Kroger 2lb bag= $2.19 | C & H 2lb bag= $3.29 |
| Totals: 18 items | $34.79 | $48.90 |
In the dry goods section, Fred Meyer came out cheaper with a total of $34.79. This was $14.11 cheaper than Grocery Outlet’s total of $48.90.
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 | Fred Meyer Price | Grocery Outlet Price |
| Frozen Mixed Vegetables | Kroger 12oz bag= $1.25 | TJ Farms 12oz bag= $1.19 |
| Frozen Broccoli | Kroger 12oz bag= $1.25 | TJ Farms 12oz bag= $1.19 |
| Totals: 2 items | $2.50 | $2.38 |
In the frozen foods section, Grocery Outlet came out cheaper with a total of $2.38. This was $0.12 cheaper than Fred Meyer’s total of $2.50.
Dairy
This is the final section of the store and will cover all dairy needs like cheeses and milk.
| Item: | Fred Meyer Price | Grocery Outlet Price |
| Eggs | Kroger 12ct white large eggs= $1.49 | Williamette 12ct large white eggs= $2.29 |
| Milk (gallon) | Fred Meyer gallon= $3.39 | Real California gallon= $4.49 |
| Cheddar cheese (shredded) | Kroger 8oz shredded bags ($2.00each) = $4.00 *on sale* | Wisconsin Premium 16oz block= $4.59 |
| Mozzarella cheese (shredded) | Kroger 8oz shredded bag= $2.00 *on sale* | Wisconsin Premium 8oz shredded bag= $2.69 |
| Sour Cream | Kroger 8oz container= $1.39 | Green Valley 12oz container= $2.29 |
| Totals: 5 items | $12.27 | $16.35 |
In the dairy section, Fred Meyer came out cheaper with a total of $12.27. This was $4.08 cheaper than Grocery Outlet’s total of $16.35.
Is Grocery Outlet more expensive than Fred Meyer?
Fred Meyer came out cheaper in most the of the sections, but let’s look at the overall totals.
| Section | Fred Meyer Price | Grocery Outlet Price |
| Produce | $16.18 | $16.96 |
| Deli/Meats | $21.87 | $23.91 |
| Dry Goods | $34.79 | $48.90 |
| Frozen Foods | $2.50 | $2.38 |
| Dairy | $12.27 | $16.35 |
| Overall Total | $87.61 | $108.50 |
Overall, Fred Meyer came out cheaper than Grocery Outlet with a total of $87.61. This was $20.89 (about 19%) cheaper than Grocery Outlet’s total of $108.50.
If I could only choose one store to go to, I would obviously choose Fred Meyer for my weekly grocery shopping. Not only were they the cheapest, but they also had a larger selection, and had everything on our list. (At Grocery Outlet, I had to make some substitutions to make it work and they didn’t have any yeast online.)
If I had the time to go to both stores (or order a grocery pick-up) and only shopped what was cheaper at each store, my total would have been $84.68.
That would be an additional savings of $2.93 or about 3% off our total from Fred Meyer. I don’t believe that amount of savings would be worth my time, so I would just go to Fred Meyer.
For more grocery store price comparisons, check out Fred Meyer vs QFC and Cheapest Groceries in Eugune OR.
