Is it Cheaper to buy Frozen Chicken?
Over the past 2 years, prices for chicken have steadily climbed. We have had issues with bird flu causing shortages, and supply chain slowdowns.
Since chicken is an American meat staple for dinner, I decided to deep dive into the prices of chicken breasts, tenderloins, thighs, and wings. I wanted to find out if in general, it was cheaper to buy chicken frozen or from the meat section of the grocery store.
Is it cheaper to buy frozen chicken wings?
First, let’s look at chicken wings. These are fairly common to find in the fresh section and in the freezer section.
| Frozen Chicken Wings | Store & Price | Price per Pound |
| 48oz Schnucks Wings | Schnucks, $15.99 | $5.33 |
| 64oz Kirkwood Wings | Aldi, $14.29 | $3.57 |
| 10lb Members Mark Wings | Sam’s Club, $35.83 | $3.58 |
| 48oz State Street Wings | Save A Lot, $15.39 | $5.13 |
| 48oz Publix Wings | Publix, $21.89 | $7.29 |
| Average Cost per Pound: | $4.98 |
| Fresh Chicken Wings | Store & Price | Price per Pound |
| 4.66 pounds | Schnucks, $27.45 | $5.89 |
| 4.5 pounds | Aldi, $13.91 | $3.09 |
| 3.75 pounds | Sam’s Club, $12.90 | $3.44 |
| 4.53 pounds | Save A Lot, $12.64 | $2.79 |
| 4.93 pounds | Publix, $22.92 | $4.65 |
| Average Cost per Pound: | $3.92 |
The average cost per pound of frozen chicken wings was about $4.98 a pound. The average cost per pound of fresh chicken wings at the grocery store was about $3.92.
It is most likely cheaper to buy chicken wings fresh and not frozen! Most stores will run sales, and I have seen them go really low per pound.
Is it cheaper to buy frozen chicken breasts?
One of the most popular cuts of chicken is the skinless boneless breasts. Let’s see if it is cheaper fresh or frozen!
| Frozen Chicken Breasts | Store & Price | Price per Pound |
| 48oz Kirkwood Breasts | Aldi, $9.59 | $3.19 |
| 3lb Perdue Breasts | Publix, $14.69 | $4.89 |
| 40oz State Street Breasts | Save A Lot, $12.65 | $5.06 |
| 6.5lbs Kirkland Breasts | Costco, $23.62 | $3.63 |
| 40oz Tyson Breasts | Target, $12.99 | $5.19 |
| Average Cost per Pound: | $4.39 |
| Fresh Chicken Breasts | Store & Price | Price per Pound |
| 5.38 pounds | Aldi, $14.47 | $2.69 |
| 2.27 pounds | Publix, $10.01 | $4.41 |
| 2 pounds | Save A Lot, $9.50 | $4.75 |
| 9.25 pounds | Costco, $40.14 | $4.34 |
| 3.11 pounds | Target, $19.69 | $6.33 |
| Average Cost per Pound: | $4.50 |
The average cost of frozen chicken breasts is about $4.39 a pound. The average cost of fresh chicken breasts from the grocery store is about $4.50 a pound.
It is more likely to be cheaper to buy frozen chicken breasts. This is why checking the weekly flyers is so important, because I regularly see fresh chicken breasts on sale!
Is it cheaper to buy frozen chicken thighs?
Chicken thighs are a super easy chicken cut for baking or for using in the Crockpot or Air Fryer.
| Frozen Chicken Thighs | Store & Price | Price per Pound |
| 48oz Kirkwood thighs | Aldi, $10.35 | $3.45 |
| 40oz Tyson thighs | Publix, $9.09 | $3.63 |
| 2.5lbs Koch Foods thighs | Walmart, $6.96 | $2.78 |
| 48oz Heritage Farm thighs | Kroger, $10.49 | $3.49 |
| 40oz Tyson thighs | Brookshire’s, $12.77 | $5.10 |
| Average Cost per Pound: | $3.69 |
| Fresh Chicken Thighs | Store & Price | Price per Pound |
| 4.1 pounds | Aldi, $9.80 | $2.39 |
| 5.25 pounds | Publix, $10.34 | $1.97 |
| 4.63 pounds | Save A Lot, $8.75 | $1.89 |
| 11 pounds | Costco, $20.35 | $1.85 |
| 5.38 pounds | Winn-Dixie, $15.55 | $2.89 |
| Average Cost per Pound: | $2.19 |
The average cost of frozen chicken thighs is about $3.69 a pound. The average cost of fresh chicken thighs in the meat section is about $2.19.
It is more likely to be cheaper to buy fresh chicken thighs at the meat counter. Check for sales on the frozen ones though because it does happen periodically!
Is it cheaper to buy frozen chicken tenderloins?
Chicken tenderloins are a great way to use smaller portions and still get white meat. These cook just like chicken breasts and are amazing when breaded!
| Frozen Chicken Tenderloins | Store & Price | Price per Pound |
| 40oz Kirkwood tenderloins | Aldi, $9.89 | $3.95 |
| 32oz Tyson tenderloins | Publix, $10.29 | $5.14 |
| 6lbs Kirkland tenderloins | Costco, $24.87 | $4.14 |
| 40oz Tyson tenderloins | Target, $14.19 | $5.67 |
| 48oz Tyson tenderloins | Walmart, $12.72 | $4.24 |
| Average Cost per Pound: | $4.62 |
| Fresh Chicken Tenderloins | Store & Price | Price per Pound |
| 1 pound | Aldi, $6.29 | $6.29 |
| 1.08 pound | Publix, $8.37 | $7.75 |
| 1.5 pounds | Save A Lot, $8.39 | $5.59 |
| 2.26 pounds | Walmart, $8.94 | $3.94 |
| 2 pounds | Kroger, $8.98 | $4.49 |
| Average Cost per Pound: | $5.61 |
The average cost of frozen chicken tenderloins is about $4.62 a pound. The average cost of chicken tenderloins from the meat section was about $5.61 a pound.
It is more likely that frozen chicken tenderloins will be cheaper! Always keep an eye on the size of the frozen bags though.
Is frozen chicken cheaper than fresh?
We found out some pretty interesting information during this cost breakdown. It looks like it is cheaper to buy fresh chicken thighs and wings. It is also cheaper to buy frozen chicken breasts and tenderloins.
Now all of our cost breakdowns were based on “regular” prices and not necessarily sale prices. If we are trying to truly save money on chicken, we will wait until a really good sale comes along and then stock up at the best price.
When you are shopping for chicken at the grocery store, you should really get out your phone and use your calculator app. Divide the total cost of the pack of chicken by the number of pounds.
The price per pound is usually very clearly marked on fresh chicken in the meat section, but it gets a little confusing in the frozen section. Simply take the number of ounces on the package and divide by 16 to get the number of pounds in the bag.
Once you know how many pounds are in the bag, like 48oz is 3 pounds, then you can see what the price per pound is of the frozen options.
Always keep an eye out for weekly sales on chicken, and don’t be afraid to use your calculator to make sure you are getting the cheapest options for chicken breasts, thighs, wings, and tenderloins.
For more ways to save money on meat, check out “Is it more cost effective to buy a whole chicken?” and “What Meat is the Cheapest?“
