Grocery Outlet vs FoodMaxx: Who is Cheaper for Groceries
Comparing prices of products and stores is like being a money-saving superhero, swooping in to rescue your hard-earned cash from overpriced villains. It’s all about flexing your frugal muscles and finding those epic deals that make your wallet jump for joy.
Today we will do a side-by-side price comparison of Grocery Outlet and FoodMaxx to determine who is cheaper for groceries. We will also see if it is better to shop at just one store or if going to both places will save us even more money!
Is Grocery Outlet cheaper than FoodMaxx?
For this price comparison, I have made a meal plan for a family of 4 using “25 Cheap & Healthy Food to Buy” as a guide. Our plan is to get groceries for a week that are healthy and cheap!
Here is our meal plan:
Breakfasts
- Egg, Cheese, and Bacon Burritos x2
- Toast with Peanut Butter and Bananas x2
- Baked Apple Oatmeal Bars x3
Lunches
- Spinach Salads with Hard Boiled Eggs and Leftover Ham & Ranch Dressing (and tomato & cucumber)
- Homemade Hummus with Carrots and Celery
- Egg Salad Sandwiches
- Leftovers
Dinners
- Meatloaf with Mashed potatoes and Sauteed Carrots
- Chicken Lo Mein with Broccoli (sauce is made with soy sauce, hoisin sauce, and sesame oil)
- Leftover Chicken and Dumplings using frozen mixed vegetables and 1 can of cream of chicken soup)
- Ham and Cheese Quiche with Homemade Rice a Roni
- 3 Meat Pizza using leftover Ham, leftover Bacon, and Pepperoni with a Spinach Side Salad
- Leftover Chicken and Cheese Quesadillas with Rice and Black Beans
Snacks
- Bananas
- Carrots & Celery with Ranch
- Peanut Butter and Apples
Sweet Treat
- Homemade Cinnamon Rolls
For this price comparison, I am using prices available in Hayward, California. 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 Plan Week #2.”
Produce Section
This is all the fresh vegetables and fruits we need for the week.
| Item | Grocery Outlet Price | FoodMaxx Price |
| 6 Bananas | $0.32 each= $1.92 | $0.29 each= $1.74 |
| Apples | 3lb bag of Pink Lady apples= $3.57 | 3lb bag of Gala apples= $3.87 |
| Spinach | Popeye 10oz bag= $2.69 | Fresh Express 8oz bag= $2.49 |
| Carrots | 1lb bag of baby carrots= $1.69 | 1 lb bag of carrots=$0.99 |
| Celery | 1 bag of 2 hearts= $1.19 | 1 bunch= $2.29 |
| Potatoes | 5lb bag of Russets= $3.09 | 5lb bag of Russets= $3.29 |
| Tomato | $0.47 each | $0.58 each |
| Cucumber | $1.09 each | $0.50 each |
| Total: (8 items) | $15.71 | $15.75 |
In the produce section, Grocery Outlet came out cheaper with a total of $15.71. This was $0.04 cheaper than FoodMaxx’s total of $15.75.
Deli/Meats
This is all the meats that we will need from the deli and meat counter.
| Item | Grocery Outlet Price | FoodMaxx Price |
| Bacon | Top Valu 12oz pack= $2.89 | John Morrell 12oz pack= $3.99 *on sale* |
| Ground Beef (1lb) | Thomas Farms 93% fresh 1lb= $6.89 | FoodMaxx 80% fresh 1lb= $5.29 |
| Chicken Breasts (4-6 needed) | Tyson frozen chicken breasts 40oz bag= $6.89 | Foster Farms frozen chicken breasts 40oz bag= $11.99 *on sale* |
| Diced Ham | Smithfield 8oz pack= $4.59 | Smithfield 8oz pack= $3.49 |
| Pepperoni | Armour 5oz pack= $3.49 | Armour 5oz pack= $3.49 *on sale* |
| Total: (5 items) | $24.75 | $28.25 |
In the meat section, Grocery Outlet came out cheaper with a total of $24.74. This was $3.50 cheaper than FoodMaxx’s total of $28.25.
Dry Goods
This is all the dry goods and shelf stable items that we need for our meal plan.
| Item | Grocery Outlet Price | FoodMaxx Price |
| Flour Tortillas | Don Pancho12ct= $2.29 | Sunny Select 10ct= $2.29 |
| Sandwich Bread | Western Farms 20oz bread= $1.69 | Sunny Select 16oz bread= $1.49 |
| Peanut Butter | Nut ‘n Butter 16oz jar= $1.19 | Skippy 16.3oz jar= $3.29 |
| Quick Oats | Mom’s Best 42oz container= $4.39 | Mom’s Best 16oz container= $1.99 |
| Brown Sugar | C&H 2lb bag= $3.49 | C & H 1lb box= $1.99 |
| Garbanzo beans (canned) | Aunt Penny’s 15oz can= $1.39 | Sunny Select 15oz can= $1.19 |
| Mayonnaise | Chosen Foods 12oz jar= $4.59 | Best Foods 6oz jar= $3.19 |
| Soy Sauce | Kikkomen 20oz bottle= $5.29 | Kikkoman 5oz bottle= $2.49 |
| Hoisin Sauce | Lee Hum Kee 20oz bottle= $3.79 | Lee Hum Kee 20oz bottle= $4.49 |
| Sesame Oil | Kikkoman 10oz bottle= $7.39 | Dynasty 5oz bottle= $4.69 |
| Spaghetti Noodles | Pagasa 16oz box= $1.19 | Sunny Select 16oz box= $1.69 |
| All Purpose Flour | Pillsbury 5lb bag= $4.89 | Sunny Select 5lb bag= $3.79 |
| Cream of Chicken Soup | Campbell’s 10.75oz can= $1.49 | Sunny Select 10.5oz can= $1.49 |
| Chicken Bouillon Cubes | Spice Supreme 12oz container= $1.19 | Knorr 3.1oz box= $0.98 *on sale* |
| Dry Active Yeast (need 2) | Did not carry this product | Fleishmen’s 3 pack= $1.49 |
| White Rice | Roberts 2lb bag= $1.89 | Sunny Select 1lb bag= $1.89 |
| Black Beans (canned) | Sunt Penny’s 15oz can= $1.39 | Sunny Select 15oz can= $1.19 |
| Powdered Sugar | C&H 2lb bag= $3.49 | Sunny Select 2lb bag= $2.99 |
| Total: (19 items) | $51.03 | $42.61 |
In the dry goods section, FoodMaxx came out cheaper with a total of $42.61. This was $8.42 cheaper than Grocery Outlet’s total of $51.03.
*It is worth noting that Grocery Outlet did not carry dry active yeast at the time of pricing*
Frozen Foods
These are the frozen items needed for this week’s meal plan.
| Item | Grocery Outlet Price | FoodMaxx Price |
| Frozen Broccoli | *substitution* Taylor Farms 12oz fresh broccoli= $3.19 | Sunny Select 16oz bag= $2.00 *on sale* |
| Frozen Mixed Vegetables | Summer’s Peak 16oz bag= $2.09 | Sunny Select 16oz bag= $2.00 *on sale* |
| Pie Crust | Did not carry this product | Marie Callender’s 2 pack= $3.79 |
| Total: (3 items) | $5.28 | $7.79 |
In the frozen section, Grocery Outlet did not carry pie crusts, so their total is the lowest and was $5.28. This was $2.51 cheaper than Food Maxx’s total of $7.79.
Dairy Section
These are all the dairy items needed like milk and cheeses.
| Item | Grocery Outlet Price | FoodMaxx Price |
| Eggs | Willamette 12ct white large eggs= $1.69 | Sunnyside 12ct large white eggs= $2.48 |
| Shredded Cheddar Cheese | Land O Lakes 8oz bag= $2.29 | Sunnyside 8oz bag= $1.99 *on sale* |
| Shredded Mozzarella Cheese | Land O Lakes 8oz bag= $2.29 | Sunnyside 8oz bag= $1.99 *on sale* |
| Milk | Ladylee gallon= $4.59 | Bayview gallon= $3.69 |
| Total: (4 items) | $10.86 | $10.15 |
In the dairy section, FoodMaxx came out cheaper with a total of $10.15. This was $0.71 cheaper than Grocery Outlet’s total of $10.86.
Is FoodMaxx more expensive than Grocery Outlet?
Both stores came in cheaper in a few sections but not all. Let’s look at the overall totals.
| Section | Grocery Outlet Price | FoodMaxx Price |
| Produce | $15.71 | $15.75 |
| Deli/Meats | $24.75 | $28.25 |
| Dry Goods | $51.03 | $42.61 |
| Frozen Foods | $5.28 | $7.79 |
| Dairy | $10.86 | $10.15 |
| Overall Total: (38 items) | $107.63 | $104.55 |
Overall, FoodMaxx came out cheaper than Grocery Outlet with a total of $104.55. This was $3.08 (about 3%) cheaper than Grocery Outlet’s total of $107.63.
Don’t be fooled by these totals though, Grocery Outlet did not have 2 of the items we needed and we had to make a substitution, so I bet their total would have been much higher.
If I had to choose one store, I would obviously pick FoodMaxx since they carried all the items we needed. Grocery Outlet can be a great store to shop in, but their inventory is ever changing and there is no constant product inventory.
If I had the time to go to both stores or do pick up orders, and only buy what was cheaper at both places, our total would have been $92.55.
That would be an additional savings of $12.00 (about 11%) and would put us under our $100 grocery budget goal. It would also give us $7.45 that we could put towards stocking up or towards savings.
