HEB vs Tom Thumb: Who is Cheaper for Groceries?
Checking out prices at different grocery stores is super important because it helps you save some serious dough! By comparing prices, you can score the best deals, keep your wallet happy, and make the most out of your shopping experience.
Today we will do a side-by-side price comparison of HEB and Tom Thumb to determine which store is cheaper for groceries. We will also see if it is better to just go to one store or if shopping at both stores can save us some extra cash for our grocery budget!
Is Heb cheaper than Tom Thumb?
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 Frisco, Texas 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 Meal Plan on a Budget #1.”
Produce
These are the fresh vegetables and fruits needed in the produce section for my meal plan this week.
| Items | HEB Price | Tom Thumb Price |
| 8 Bananas | $0.55 a lb = $1.76 | $0.25 each= $2.00 |
| Apples | 3lb Ambrosia Apples ($1.01 a lb)= $3.03 *on sale* | 3lb Gala Apples ($1.99 a lb)= $5.97 |
| Lettuce | 1 head Iceberg= $1.96 | 1 head Iceberg= $1.89 |
| Potatoes | 5lb bag of Russets= $3.10 | 5lb bag of Russets= $3.49 |
| Tomatoes x3 | Fresh on the Vine bunch= $1.23 | Hot House tomatoes 4 pack= $2.99 |
| Cucumber | $0.58 each | $0.59 each |
| Carrots | 1lb of baby carrots= $1.62 | 1lb of baby carrots= $1.29 |
| Totals: 7 Items | $13.28 | $18.22 |
In the produce section, HEB came out cheaper with a total of $13.28. This was $4.94 cheaper than Tom Thumb’s total of $18.22.
Deli/Meats
Here are the items I will need from the deli and meat section of the stores.
| Items | HEB Price | Tom Thumb Price |
| Pepperoni | HEB 5oz pack= $2.68 | Signature Select 6oz pack= $2.99 |
| Whole Chicken | HEB $1.74 a lb (4.21lbs)= $7.33 | Signature Farms $1.78 a lb (5.5lbs)= $9.79 |
| Ground Turkey | HEB 85% roll= $2.59 | Jennie-O 90% roll= $4.99 |
| Pork Loin | HEB 1.24lbs pack= $5.15 | Smithfield 27.2oz pack= $8.49 |
| Totals: 4 Items | $17.75 | $26.26 |
In the meat section, HEB came out cheaper with a total of $17.75. This was $8.51 cheaper than Tom Thumb’s total of $26.26.
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 | HEB Price | Tom Thumb Price |
| Sandwich Bread | Hill Country 20oz bread= $1.02 | Value Corner 20oz bread= $0.99 |
| Peanut Butter | Hill Country 18oz jar= $2.37 | Signature Select 16oz jar= $2.49 |
| Quick Oats | Moms Best 16oz container= $2.08 | Open Nature 25oz container= $4.29 |
| Raisins | HEB 6ct mini boxes 6oz= $2.16 | Signature Farms 10oz bag= $2.99 |
| Canned Tuna Fish (2 cans) | Orleans 5oz can $0.92 each= $1.84 | Chicken of Sea $0.99 each= $1.98 *on sale* |
| Pasta | HEB 16oz bag= $1.16 | Signature Select 16oz box= $1.19 |
| Italian Dressing | Hill Country 16oz bottle= $2.01 | Wish Bone 8oz bottle= $2.00 *on sale* |
| Flour Tortillas | HEB 10ct= $1.29 | Mission 12ct= $2.29 |
| Microwave Popcorn | HEB 3ct box= $2.58 | Jolly Time 3ct box= $2.79 *on sale* |
| White Rice | HEB 1lb bag= $0.92 | Mahatma 1lb bag= $1.69 |
| Alfredo Sauce | Hill Country 16oz jar= $1.89 | Signature Select 16oz jar= $2.79 |
| Canned Corn | Hill Country 15.25oz can= $0.81 | Signature Select 15.25oz can= $0.79 *on sale* |
| Refried Beans | Hill Country 16oz can= $0.96 | Signature Select 16oz can= $1.19 |
| Salsa | HEB 16oz jar= $1.92 | Signature Select 16oz jar=$2.29 |
| Canned Pineapple | Hill Country 20oz can= $1.33 | Signature Select 20oz can= $1.79 |
| All Purpose Flour | Hill Country 2lb bag= $1.21 | Signature Select 2lb bag= $1.69 |
| Dry Active Yeast | Red Star 3 pack= $1.49 | Signature Select 3pack= $1.99 |
| Brown Sugar | Imperial 1lb box= $1.30 | Signature Select 1lb bag= $1.29 |
| Totals: 18 items | $28.34 | $36.52 |
In the dry goods section, HEB came out cheaper with a total of $28.34. This was $8.18 cheaper than Tom Thumb’s total of $36.52.
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 | HEB Price | Tom Thumb Price |
| Frozen Mixed Vegetables | HEB 12oz bag= $1.23 | Green Giant 10oz bag= $2.29 *on sale* |
| Frozen Broccoli | HEB 16oz bag= $1.23 | Green Giant 10oz bag= $2.29 |
| Totals: 2 items | $2.46 | $4.58 |
In the frozen foods section, HEB came out cheaper with a total of $2.46. This was $2.12 cheaper than Tom Thumb’s total of $4.58.
Dairy
This is the final section of the store and will cover all dairy needs like cheeses and milk.
| Item: | HEB Price | Tom Thumb Price |
| Eggs | Sunups 12ct large white eggs= $1.16 | Lucerne 12ct large white eggs= $1.39 |
| Milk (gallon) | HEB gallon= $3.08 | Lucerne gallon= $3.19 |
| Cheddar cheese (16oz) | HEB 16oz block= $4.46 | Lucerne 16oz block= $4.49 |
| Mozzarella cheese (8oz) | Hill Country 8oz bag shredded= $2.31 | Lucerne 8oz block= $2.29 *on sale* |
| Sour Cream | HEB 8oz container= $1.21 | Lucerne 8oz container= $1.29 |
| Totals: 5 items | $12.22 | $12.65 |
In the dairy section, HEB came out cheaper with a total of $12.22. This was $0.43 cheaper than Tom Thumb’s total of $12.65.
Is Tom Thumb more expensive than HEB?
HEB definitely came out cheaper in every section of the store, but let’s look at the overall totals.
| Section | HEB Price | Tom Thumb Price |
| Produce | $13.28 | $18.22 |
| Deli/Meats | $17.75 | $26.26 |
| Dry Goods | $28.34 | $36.52 |
| Frozen Foods | $2.46 | $4.58 |
| Dairy | $12.22 | $12.65 |
| Overall Total | $74.05 | $98.23 |
Overall, HEB came out so much cheaper than Tom Thumb with a total of $74.05. This was $24.18 (about 24%) cheaper than Tom Thumb’s total of $98.23.
I am always happy to see my weekly grocery total under $100, but if I could only choose one store to shop at, I am definitely picking HEB.
If I had the time to shop both store or place a pick up, and I only picked the items that were cheapest at each store, my total would have been $73.56. This is only a savings of $0.49 (less than 1%).
I really don’t feel that the extra $0.49 savings would have been worth my time. I would still keep an eye on the weekly sales at Tom Thumb, but I would say that shopping at HEB was definitely more cost effective for my grocery budget.
Since my total was only $74.05 and if my budget was $100, that leaves me an extra $25.95 that I could use to stock up on meat and pantry items. If I had any leftover after stocking up, I would roll it over to the next week’s budget just in case we need it!
