HEB vs Walmart: Who is Cheaper for Groceries?
I recently had a conversation with a friend of mine that lives in Texas. She absolutely adores HEB and she cannot fathom that it could be cheaper to buy groceries at Walmart.
In my area in North Georgia, Walmart is a solid option to buy cheap groceries and pantry staples, so I decided to test out if HEB was actually cheaper than Walmart. I compiled a meal plan and priced out the list of foods needed at both stores. Scroll to the end to see the final result!
Is HEB cheaper than Walmart?
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
- Egg, Cheese, and Bacon Burritos x2
- Toast with Peanut Butter and Bananas x2
- Baked Apple Oatmeal Bars x3 (easy recipe here)
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 (easy dumpling recipe here) using frozen mixed vegetables and 1 can of cream of chicken soup)
- Ham and Cheese Quiche with Homemade Rice a Roni (rice a roni recipe here)
- 3 Meat Pizza using leftover Ham, leftover Bacon, and Pepperoni with a Spinach Side Salad (easy pizza dough recipe here)
- 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 (see recipe here)
For this meal plan, I am going to shop at both stores and look for the cheapest prices. This may mean that the price per ounce is higher, but we are going for smallest price and not the best value.
Most of the items that I choose will probably by store brand or generic brands, and I am trying to buy just what I need and not have a huge amount leftover.
For some meals we are assuming that basic pantry staples are already at home like cooking oil, spices, and baking supplies like baking powder, salt, and sugar.
For this price comparison, I used all prices available in July 2022 in the city of San Antonio, TX. HEB is a store that is only available in Texas, so I picked a random city to make the price comparison.
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 #2.”
Produce Section
This is all the fresh vegetables and fruits we need for the week.
| Item | HEB Price | Walmart Price |
| 6 Bananas | $0.60 a lb = $1.44 | $0.58 a lb = $1.38 |
| Gala Apples | 3lb bag -$4.06 | 3lb bag- $4.52 |
| Spinach | 7 oz bag (organic because it was the largest bag)= $3.12 | 10 oz bag- $1.98 |
| Whole Carrots | 16 oz bag of mini carrots – $1.01 | 16oz bag- $0.98 |
| Celery | 1 stalk- $1.51 | 1 stalk – $1.96 |
| Potatoes | 5 lb bag Russet – $2.44 | 5 lb bag Russet – $2.38 |
| Tomato | $1.42 a lb = $0.47 | $1.58 a lb =$0.73 |
| Cucumber | $0.62 each | $0.60 each |
| Total: (8 items) | $14.67 | $14.53 |
Wow! This was the closest I have ever seen with Walmart just barely being cheaper at $14.53. This was only a 14-cent difference from HEB with $14.67
Deli/Meats
This is all the meats that we will need from the deli and meat counter.
| Item | HEB Price | Walmart Price |
| Bacon | Branding Iron Bacon 12oz $3.39 | Great Value 12oz $3.72 |
| Ground Beef (1lb) | Hill country 73% 1lb roll – $4.42 | 73% 1 lb roll frozen – $4.37 |
| Chicken Breasts (4-6 needed) | Heb Boneless & skinless Chicken breasts – 3.75lbs $10.74 | Sanderson Farms Boneless & skinless chicken breasts – 3.19lbs $9.34 |
| Diced Ham | Frick’s Diced Ham 12oz – $4.03 | John Morell Diced Ham 8 oz – $3.24 |
| Pepperoni | Heb Pepperoni 6oz – $2.66 | Armour Pepperoni 5oz – $2.14 |
| Total: (5 items) | $25.24 | $22.81 |
Even though Walmart came in cheaper with $22.81, I really feel that at HEB you got bigger packages. The chicken was almost 1/2 pound more, the diced ham was 4 oz more, and the pepperoni was 1 oz more. Even though HEB came in at $25.24 which was $2.43 more, you actually got more meat.
Dry Goods
This is all the dry goods and shelf stable items that we need for our meal plan.
| Item | HEB price | Walmart Price |
| Tortillas | HEB Homestyle Flour Tortillas 12ct – $1.07 | Great Value Flour Tortillas 10ct – $1.48 |
| Loaf bread | Hill Country White Bread 20oz – $0.96 | Great Value White Bread 20oz- $1.00 |
| Peanut Butter | Algood 18oz jar- $1.77 | Great Value 18oz jar- $1.72 |
| Oatmeal | HEB Quick Oats 18oz container – $1.81 | Great Value Quick Oats 18oz container- $1.76 |
| Brown Sugar | Imperial Brown Sugar 16oz – $1.03 | Great Value Brown Sugar 32oz – $1.62 |
| Garbanzo beans (canned) | HEB 15oz can – $0.80 | Great Value 15.5 oz can – $0.78 |
| Mayonnaise | Duke’s 8oz container – $2.06 | Great Value Mayonnaise 15oz – $2.28 |
| Soy Sauce | Lee Kum Kee 5.1oz – $1.52 | Great Value 15oz – $1.58 |
| Hoisin Sauce | Lee Kum Kee 8.5 oz jar – $3.07 | Lee Kum Kee 20oz – $3.67 |
| Sesame Oil | Kikkoman 5oz – $3.27 | Imperial Dragon 5oz – $3.22 |
| Spaghetti Noodles | Tierra Linda 7oz bag .34 each x 2= $0.68 | Great Value 16oz box – $0.82 |
| All Purpose Flour | Hill Country 2lb bag- $0.97 | Great Value 2lb bag- $1.08 |
| Cream of Chicken Soup | Hill Country 10.75oz can – $0.60 | Great Value 10.5oz can – $0.58 |
| Chicken Bouillon Cubes | Maggi 12tabs box – $1.01 | Maggi 12 tabs box- $0.76 |
| Dry Active Yeast (need 2) | Red Star 3ct- $1.42 | Great Value 3 ct- $0.77 |
| White Rice | HEB 1lb bag- $0.78 | Verde Valle 2lb bag- $1.68 |
| Black Beans (canned) | HEB 15oz can – $0.80 | Great Value 15oz can – $0.72 |
| Powdered Sugar | Imperial 16oz box – $1.03 | Great Value 2 lb bag- $1.62 |
| Total: (19 items) | $24.65 | $27.12 |
Even the dry goods section was really close with HEB coming in cheapest with $24.65. That was $2.47 cheaper than Walmart at $27.12. We did end up getting a little bit more mayonnaise, brown sugar, rice, and powdered sugar at Walmart due to the sizes available, but still very close.
Frozen Foods
These are the frozen items needed for this week’s meal plan.
| Item | HEB Price | Walmart Price |
| Frozen Broccoli | HEB Broccoli Cuts 15oz bag – $1.15 | Great Value Florets 12oz bag- $1.00 |
| Frozen Mixed Vegetables | HEB 16oz – $1.22 | Great Value 12oz bag – $0.84 |
| Pie Crust | Hill Country 2ct- $1.81 | Great Value 8inch 2ct- $1.98 |
| Total: (3 items) | $4.18 | $3.82 |
Technically HEB was $0.36 more expensive, but we got more vegetables than what was available at Walmart. Walmart was cheaper at $3.82 versus HEB $4.18.
Dairy Section
These are all the dairy items needed like milk and cheeses.
| Item | HEB Price | Walmart Price |
| Eggs | Hill Country Large White Eggs- $2.67 | Great Value 12ct large brown eggs $1.96 |
| Shredded Cheddar Cheese | Hill Country 8oz bag- $2.49 | Great Value 8 oz bag – $2.22 |
| Shredded Mozzarella Cheese | Hill Country 8oz bag- $2.49 | Great Value 8 oz bag – $2.22 |
| Milk | HEB 2% gallon – $4.41 | Great Value 2% gallon – $3.98 |
| Total: (3 items) | $12.06 | $10.38 |
This was really the only section that the difference was bigger than I was assuming it would be. Walmart definitely came in cheaper at $10.38 which was $1.68 cheaper than HEB at $12.06.
Final Verdict
This has got to be the closest price comparison I have ever seen. I was truly amazed at how close this race went!
| Section | HEB Prices | Walmart Prices |
| Produce | $14.67 | $14.53 |
| Deli/Meats | $25.24 | $22.81 |
| Dry Goods | $24.65 | $27.12 |
| Frozen Foods | $4.82 | $3.82 |
| Dairy | $12.06 | $10.38 |
| Overall Total: (38 items) | $76.62 | $78.66 |
After purchasing 38 items at both locations, the total came out so close! HEB came out with the cheapest groceries for $76.62. That was $2.04 cheaper than Walmart at $78.66.
By shopping HEB for this meal plan, I potentially saved a whopping 2.69%. Now if we had made a meal plan based on the HEB sales flyer and scouted good deals, I believe we could have saved even more money!
If you live in Texas, and really wanted to optimize overall prices for groceries, you may want to split your trip between the two stores. For instance, I felt that you got more meat and frozen foods for the money at HEB, and more dry goods and dairy items for the money at Walmart.
For more tips and tricks for saving money on your food, check out “Cheapest Fast Food Chicken Nuggets (and Strips/Tenders)” and “21 Easy Cheap Lunch Ideas for Men who Work Outside.”
