Ingles vs Walmart: Who is cheaper for Groceries?
These days it is very wise to try to get the most food for the least amount of money. In my small town, we have an Ingles Market and Walmart available for grocery shopping.
I am going to do a side-by-side comparison of a weekly shopping list that includes produce, meat, dry goods, frozen foods, and dairy items to see which store comes out as the cheaper option!
Is Ingles cheaper than Walmart?
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
Drinks
- Milk
- Water
- Coffee
- Pineapple Water (leftover pineapple juice mixed with water)
For this meal plan, I am going to shop at both stores and look for the best deals on price. 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 on how I would make this meal plan 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 | Walmart Price | Ingles Price |
| 8 Bananas | $0.58 cents lb =$1.84 | $0.68 cents a lb =$2.17 |
| Gala Apples | 3lb bag = $4.52 | 3lb bag = $5.68 |
| Green Leafy Lettuce | 1 head =$3.98 | 1 head =$3.98 |
| Potatoes | 5lb bag Idaho = $4.78 | 5lb bag Idaho = $4.48 |
| Tomatoes x3 | $1.48 a lb/Slicing Tomato=$2.04 | $0.98 a lb *on sale*Beefsteak Tomatoes =$1.47 |
| Cucumbers | $0.63 each | $0.98 each |
| Carrots | 16oz bag = $0.98 | 16oz bag = $0.98 |
| Totals: 7 Items | $18.77 | $19.74 |
So far, we are looking pretty close on our grocery trips. The Walmart total is a little better at $18.77 versus the Ingles total of $19.74. The difference at this point is $0.97 with Walmart being a tiny bit cheaper.
Deli/Meats
Here are the items I will need from the deli and meat section of the stores.
| Items | Walmart Prices | Ingles Prices |
| Pepperoni | 6oz Great Value Brand = $2.58 | 5oz Armour brand =$3.78 |
| Whole Chicken | Southern Hens-$1.18 a lb/6.8 lb bird = $8.08 | Tyson- $1.58 a lb/6.8 lb bird = $10.74 |
| Ground Turkey | Festive Frozen Ground Turkey 1lb Roll = $1.82 | Butterball 85% fresh ground turkey 1lb= $4.68 |
| Pork Loin | Roasted Garlic and Herb Pork Loin- $3.12 a lb = $6.36 | Smithfield Garlic and Herb Pork Loin – 27.2oz =$8.48 |
| Totals: 4 Items | $18.84 | $27.68 |
The meat section definitely had some major differences in price. Most of the meats were definitely cheaper at Walmart. Walmart’s total for meat was $18.84 and Ingles came in almost $9 higher at $27.68.
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 | Walmart Prices | Ingles Prices |
| Sandwich Bread | Great Value Wheat Bread Loaf 20oz = $1.00 | Laura Lynn Wheat Bread Loaf 20oz =$1.97 *on sale* |
| Peanut Butter | Great Value Creamy Peanut Butter 18oz = $1.74 *on sale* | Laura Lynn Creamy Peanut Butter 16.3 oz = $2.78 |
| Oatmeal | Great Value Old Fashioned Oats 42oz container =$3.98 | Laura Lynn Old Fashioned Oats 42oz container = $4.18 *on sale* |
| Raisins | Great Value Raisins – 20 oz = $3.78 | Laura Lynn Raisins – 12oz = $2.98 |
| Canned Tuna Fish (2 cans) | Starkist Tuna in water 5oz (0.67 each *on sale* ) =$1.34 | Laura Lynn Tuna in water 5oz (0.95 each) = $1.90 |
| Pasta | Great Value Penne 16oz $0.92 | Laura Lynn Ziti 16 oz = $1.68 |
| Zesty Italian Dressing | Great Value Zesty Italian 16 oz $1.97 | Laura Lynn Traditional Italian 6oz $2.00 *on sale* |
| Tortillas | Great Value Medium Flour Tortillas 10 count $1.48 | Laura Lynn Fajita Tortillas 10 count $1.98 |
| Popcorn | Great Value Microwave popcorn – 3bags $1.36 | Jolly Time microwave popcorn – 3bags $2.28 *on sale* |
| White Rice | Great Value 1lb bag – $0.72 | Laura Lynn 1lb bag – $1.28 |
| Alfredo Sauce | Great Value Classic Alfredo Sauce 16 oz – $1.74 | Ragu Classic Alfredo Sauce 16oz – $3.18 *on sale* |
| Canned Corn | Great Value Canned Corn 15.25 oz -$0.58 | Laura Lynn Canned Corn 15.25 oz – $0.98 |
| Refried Beans | Great Value Refried beans 16oz – $0.92 | Laura Lynn Refried Beans 16 oz – $1.28 |
| Salsa | Great Value thick and chunky Mild Salsa 24oz – $1.98 | Laura Lynn Mild Salsa 16oz – $2.00 *on sale* |
| Canned Pineapple | Great Value Tidbits 20oz – $1.28 | Dole Tidbits 8 oz – $1.28 |
| All Purpose Flour | Great Value 2lb bag of flour – $1.16 | Gold Medal 2lb bag of flour – $2.58 |
| Dry Active Yeast | Great Value Fast Acting Yeast – 3ct – $0.77 | Fleischmann’s dry active yeast – 3ct- $1.98 *on sale* |
| Brown Sugar | Great Value light brown sugar 32oz – $1.70 | Domino Light brown sugar 16oz box $0.50 *on sale* |
| Totals: 18 items | $28.42 | $36.81 |
Once again, Walmart is coming in the winner at $28.42, which is about $8 cheaper than the $36.81 at Ingles. Walmart offers a lot more store brand options than Ingles does for things like flour, brown sugar, and dry active yeast.
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 | Walmart Prices | Ingles Prices |
| Frozen Mixed Vegetables | Great Value Mixed Frozen Vegetables 12oz -$0.84 | Bird’s Eye Mixed Frozen Vegetables 19oz – $1.88 *on sale* |
| Frozen Broccoli | Great Value Broccoli Florets 12oz – $0.98 | Laura Lynn Chopped Broccoli 10 oz – $1.38 |
| Totals: 2 items | $1.82 | $3.26 |
There wasn’t a whole bunch of items that we needed in the frozen section, but Walmart still came in cheaper at $1.82, which was $1.44 cheaper than Ingles at $3.26.
Dairy
This is the final section of the store and will cover all dairy needs like cheeses and milk.
| Item: | Walmart Prices | Ingles Prices |
| Eggs | Large Great Value 1 dozen – $2.16 | Large Laura Lynn 1 dozen – $2.22 |
| 2% Milk (gallon) | Great Value Gallon – $3.86 | Laura Lynn Gallon – $3.86 |
| Cheddar cheese (shredded) | Great Value 16 oz bag – $3.98 | Laura Lynn 16 oz bag – $4.68 |
| Mozzarella cheese (shredded) | Great Value 16 oz bag – $3.98 | Laura Lynn 16 oz bag – $4.68 |
| Sour Cream | Great Value 8oz tub – $1.16 | Laura Lynn 8 oz tub – $1.28 |
| Totals: 5 items | $15.14 | $16.72 |
This was by far the closest section for prices! Walmart barely wins again with a total of $15.14 which was about $1.50 less than Ingles at $16.72.
Final Verdict
After carefully picking out our 36 items needed for this week’s meal plan, let’s look at the results!
| Section | Walmart Prices | Ingles Prices |
| Produce | $18.77 | $19.74 |
| Deli/Meats | $18.84 | $27.68 |
| Dry Goods | $28.42 | $36.81 |
| Frozen Foods | $1.82 | $3.26 |
| Dairy | $15.14 | $16.72 |
| Overall Total | $82.99 WINNER!!! | $104.21 |
It looks like Walmart is definitely cheaper than Ingles. Walmart came in at $82.99 and Ingles came out to $104.21. That means Walmart was cheaper by $21.22 which is about a 20% savings.
Even with a good number of items on sale at Ingles, they still could not beat the cheaper Walmart Great Value brand of products in price.
If you do want to shop at Ingles, I recommend that you shop their sales flyer and also compare prices using the Walmart App. Personally, I only buy “loss leaders” or super sale prices at Ingles.
To me the overall pricing of their products is higher than other stores and the quality is about the same as other places, so it is not worth doing my big grocery trips at Ingles every week.
For more ways to save on groceries, check out “How often should you go grocery shopping?” and “Is it more cost effective to buy a whole chicken?“
