Meijer vs Walmart: Who is cheaper?
Meijer is a fairly large grocery store chain in the Midwest and Walmart is currently available in every state for food shopping.
We will make a meal plan and grocery list, then price compare Meijer and Walmart to find out who has the cheaper groceries. Scroll to the end to see the final verdict! (It may surprise you.)
Is Meijer more expensive 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
- Chocolate Banana Overnight Oats
- Easy Sausage Muffins (1cup of Biscuit Mix, 1 lb of sausage, 4 eggs, 1 cup of cheese)
- Scrambled Eggs with Biscuits and applesauce
Lunches
- Pepperoni Pizza Quesadillas
- Salad with Hard Boiled Eggs x2
- Leftover Chicken & Salad Wraps
- Dinner Leftovers
Dinners
- Eggroll in a Bowl (1 lb ground turkey, 1/2 bag of coleslaw mix, soy sauce)
- Kielbasa Sausage, Potato, Squash Sheet Pan Bake
- Baked Chicken Thighs, Soy Sauce Rice, and California Blend Vegetables
- Chicken Parmesan Pasta (chicken breasts, pasta, tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, breadcrumbs) with side salad
- BBQ Chicken Wraps with Coleslaw (1/2 bag of coleslaw mix)
- Cheesy Shepherd’s Pie (ground turkey, mash potatoes, tomato sauce, frozen peas and cheese) with Biscuits
Snacks
- Bananas
- Celery with Ranch or Peanut Butter
- Homemade Granola Bars (peanut butter, quick oats, and chocolate chips)
- Applesauce
Sweet Treat
- Peach Cobbler (using biscuit mix and canned peaches)
For this price comparison, I am using prices available in Louisville, KY. 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 List for Family of 4 on a Budget #4.”
Produce Section
This is all the fresh vegetables and fruits we need for the week.
| Item | Walmart Price | Meijer Price |
| 6 bananas | $0.52 a lb = $1.26 | $0.56 a lb= $1.68 |
| Celery | 1 stalk= $2.36 | 1 stalk= $2.19 |
| Coleslaw Mix | Marketside 16oz bag= $1.78 | Dole 14oz bag= $1.89 |
| Potatoes | 5lb bag of russets= $3.67 | 5lb bag of russets= $2.99 |
| Yellow Squash | $0.89 each | $0.75 each |
| Cucumber | $0.68 each | $0.69 each |
| Roma Tomato x4 | $0.98 a lb = $1.16 | $1.00 a lb = $1.00 |
| Total: (7 items) | $11.80 | $11.19 |
Meijer came in a tiny bit cheaper at $11.19. That was $0.61 cheaper than Walmart at $11.80.
Deli/Meats
This is all the meats that we will need from the deli and meat counter.
| Item | Walmart Price | Meijer Price |
| 1lb sausage | Festive 1lb turkey roll = $2.54 | Festive 1lb turkey roll = $1.99 |
| Pepperoni | Great Value 6oz= $2.58 | Meijer 5oz = $1.99 * on sale* |
| 2lb ground turkey | Festive 1lb roll $2.54 each x 2= $5.08 | Meijer 1lb roll $2.49 each = $4.98 |
| Kielbasa Style Sausage | Smithfield 13oz = $3.28 | Meijer 12oz = $3.49 |
| Chicken Thighs | Perdue $1.98 a lb (2.04lbs)= $4.04 | Meijer $2.29 a lb (2.12lb)=$4.85 |
| Chicken Breasts | Perdue $3.44 a lb (1.8lb)= $6.33 | meijer $3.29 a lb (2lb)= $6.58 |
| Total: (6 items) | $21.31 | $21.39 |
I thought the produce section came out close, but the meat section was even closer. Only $0.08 separated Meijer at $21.39 and Walmart at $21.31.
Dry Goods
This is all the dry goods and shelf stable items that we need for our meal plan.
| Item | Walmart Price | Meijer Price |
| Quick Oats | Great Value 18oz container=$2.48 | Meijer 18oz container = $2.79 |
| Chocolate Chips | Great Value 12oz bag = $2.32 | Meijer 12oz bag = $1.89 |
| Biscuit Mix | Great Value 40oz box = $2.50 | Pearl Milling Bake mix 32oz box= $2.69 |
| Flour Tortillas | Chi-Chi’s 10 ct = $1.48 | Meijer 10ct = $1.49 |
| Tomato Pasta Sauce | Hunt’s 14oz can = $1.18 | Meijer 24oz jar = $1.00 |
| Ranch Dressing | Wish Bone 15oz bottle = $1.91 | Meijer 16oz bottle = $0.99 |
| Peanut Butter | Great Value 18oz jar= $1.74 | Meijer 16oz jar = $2.19 |
| Soy sauce | Great Value 15oz bottle = $1.58 | Meijer 10oz bottle = $1.19 |
| White Rice | Great Value 2lb bag= $1.38 | Riceland 2lb bag = $1.59 *on sale* |
| Pasta | Great Value Penne 16oz box= $0.92 | Meijer Penne 16oz box = $1.00 |
| Breadcrumbs | Great Value 15oz container = $1.12 | Meijer 15oz container = $1.19 |
| BBQ sauce | Great Value 18oz bottle = $1.34 | Open Pit 18oz bottle = $1.19 |
| salad dressing for coleslaw | Kraft 16oz bottle = $2.52 | Kraft 16oz bottle = $2.79 |
| Canned peaches | Great Value 15oz can = $1.00 | Del Monte 15oz can = $1.89 |
| Applesauce | Great Value 28oz jar = $2.72 | Meijer 46oz jar= $2.69 |
| Total: (15 items) | $26.19 | $26.57 |
Another close section! Walmart squeaked out cheaper with a total of $26.19. That was only $0.38 cheaper than Meijer with a total of $26.57.
Frozen Foods
These are the frozen items needed for this week’s meal plan.
| Item | Walmart Price | Meijer Price |
| California Blend Vegetables | Great Value 12oz bag= $1.00 | Meijer 12oz bag= $0.89 |
| Frozen Peas | Great Value 12oz bag= $0.84 | Meijer 12oz bag= $0.89 |
| Total: (2 items) | $1.84 | $1.78 |
This time Meijer squeaked out cheaper with a total of $1.78. That was $0.06 cheaper than Walmart’s total of $1.84.
Dairy Section
These are all the dairy items needed like milk and cheeses.
| Item | Walmart Price | Meijer Price |
| Eggs | Great Value white 12ct= $1.96 | Penny Smart white 12ct= $2.19 |
| Shredded Cheddar Cheese | Great Value 8oz bag= $2.20 | Meijer 8oz bag = $1.88 *on sale* |
| Shredded Mozzarella Cheese | Great Value 8oz bag= $2.20 | Meijer 8oz bag = $1.88 *on sale* |
| 2% milk | Great Value gallon= $2.96 | Meijer gallon= $3.06 |
| Total: (4 items) | $9.32 | $9.01 |
Meijer squeaked out another cheap win with a total of $9.01. Walmart came in more expensive by $0.31 with a total of $9.32.
Is Walmart or Meijer cheaper for groceries?
This was so close in every section, so I can’t wait to see the overall totals!
| Section | Walmart Price | Meijer Price |
| Produce | $11.80 | $11.19 |
| Deli/Meats | $21.31 | $21.39 |
| Dry Goods | $26.19 | $26.57 |
| Frozen Foods | $1.84 | $1.78 |
| Dairy | $9.32 | $9.01 |
| Overall Total: (34 items) | $70.46 | $69.94 |
Meijer came out cheaper with a total of $69.94. This was $0.52 (about 1%) cheaper than Walmart’s total of $70.46.
Walmart and Meijer were neck and neck in every section of the store! In order to maximize on savings, I would use the weekly sales flyer from Meijer to make my weekly meal plan.
Truly the savings potential between these two stores is minimal, so I would go with the one that had a better produce and meat selection. Some stores can be drastically different at different locations, so I would check my local stores.
For more grocery store comparisons, check out “Stop & Shop vs Walmart: Who has cheaper groceries?” and “Wegmans vs Stop & Shop: Who is cheaper?“
