Ralph’s vs Stater Bros: Who is Cheaper for Groceries?
When it comes to saving money on groceries, we often overlook the power of price comparing. Embrace the fun of comparing prices and watch those savings add up, making our wallets and taste buds happy at the same time!
Today we will be doing a side-by-side price comparison of Ralph’s and Stater Bros to determine which store is cheaper for groceries. We will also see if shopping one store is better or if shopping both stores can actually save us more on our weekly grocery haul!
Is Ralph’s cheaper than Stater Bros?
For this price comparison, I have made a meal plan for a family of 4 using 25 Cheap food to buy 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
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 using frozen mixed vegetables and 1 can of cream of chicken soup)
- Ham and Cheese Quiche with Homemade Rice a Roni
- 3 Meat Pizza using leftover Ham, leftover Bacon, and Pepperoni with a Spinach Side Salad
- 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
For this price comparison, I am using prices available in Fullerton, California. 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 Food Plan for a Family Week #2.”
Produce Section
This is all the fresh vegetables and fruits we need for the week.
| Item | Ralph’s Price | Stater Bros Price |
| 6 Bananas | $0.29 each= $1.74 | $0.69 a lb =$1.65 |
| Apples | 3lb bag of Fugi apples= $4.99 | 3lb bag of Gala apples= $4.49 |
| Spinach | Kroger 10oz bag= $2.79 | Stater Bros 10oz bag= $2.49 |
| Carrots | 1lb bag= $0.99 | 1lb bag= $1.49 |
| Celery | 1 bunch= $2.49 | 1 bunch= $1.99 |
| Potatoes | 5lb bag of Russets= $3.99 | 5lb bag of Russets= $3.99 |
| Tomato | Red Tomato=$1.50 each | Large Tomato= $1.49 |
| Cucumber | $0.79 each | $0.69 each |
| Total: (8 items) | $19.28 | $18.28 |
In the produce section, Stater Bros came out cheaper with a total of $18.28. This was $1.00 less than Ralph’s total of $19.28.
Deli/Meats
This is all the meats that we will need from the deli and meat counter.
| Item | Ralph’s Price | Stater Bros Price |
| Bacon | Kroger 16oz pack= $5.49 | Stater Bros 16oz pack= $4.99 |
| Ground Beef (1lb) | Kroger 73/27 1lb roll= $4.99 | Stater Bros 80/20 1lb fresh= $5.99 |
| Chicken Breasts (4-6 needed) | Heritage Farms 3lb bag of frozen breasts= $9.99 | Stater Bros $3.99 a lb (3lbs)= $11.97 |
| Diced Ham | Smithfield 8oz pack= $2.99 *on sale* | Farmer John 12oz pack= $4.49 *on sale* |
| Pepperoni | Kroger 6oz pack= $2.50 *on sale* | Stater Bros 6oz pack= $2.99 |
| Total: (5 items) | $25.96 | $30.43 |
In the meat section, Ralph’s came out cheaper with a total of $25.96. This was $4.47 less than Stater Bros’ total of $30.43.
Dry Goods
This is all the dry goods and shelf stable items that we need for our meal plan.
| Item | Ralph’s Price | Stater Bros Price |
| Flour Tortillas | Kroger 10ct= $2.19 | Mission 12ct= $2.29 |
| Sandwich Bread | Kroger 20oz bread= $1.79 *on sale* | That’s Smart 16oz bread= $1.39 |
| Peanut Butter | Kroger 16oz jar= $2.29 | Stater Bros 16.3oz jar= $2.29 |
| Quick Oats | Mom’s Best 16oz container= $2.49 | Mom’s Best 16oz container= $2.49 |
| Brown Sugar | Kroger 2lb bag= $2.49 | Stater Bros 2lb bag= $2.49 |
| Garbanzo beans (canned) | Kroger 15.5oz can= $0.99 | Stater Bros 15oz can= $0.99 |
| Mayonnaise | Smart Way 30oz jar= $3.29 | Stater Bros 15oz jar= $2.99 |
| Soy Sauce | Kroger 10oz bottle= $1.99 | Kikkoman 5oz bottle= $2.19 |
| Hoisin Sauce | Lee Kum Kee 8.5oz bottle= $3.09 | Full Circle 12oz bottle= $4.49 |
| Sesame Oil | Dynasty 5oz bottle= $3.83 | Dynasty 5oz bottle= $3.99 |
| Spaghetti Noodles | Kroger 16oz box= $1.39 | La Moderna 7.05oz x2= $0.98 |
| All Purpose Flour | Kroger 2lb bag= $1.99 | Stater Bros 2lb bag= $1.99 |
| Cream of Chicken Soup | Kroger 10.5oz can= $1.25 | Stater Bros 10.5oz can= $1.25 |
| Chicken Bouillon Cubes | Knorr 3.1oz box= $1.19 | Knorr 3.1oz box= $1.19 |
| Dry Active Yeast (need 2) | Fleishmann’s 3 pack= $5.99 | Fleishmann’s 3 pack= $1.99 |
| White Rice | Kroger 2lb bag= $1.89 | Stater Bros 1lb bag= $0.99 |
| Black Beans (canned) | Kroger 15.25oz can= $0.99 | Stater Bros 15oz can= $1.19 |
| Powdered Sugar | Kroger 2lb bag= $2.49 | C&H 1lb bag= $2.29 |
| Total: (19 items) | $41.62 | $37.47 |
In the dry goods section, Stater Bros came out cheaper with a total of $37.47. This was $4.15 less than Ralph’s total of $41.62.
Frozen Foods
These are the frozen items needed for this week’s meal plan.
| Item | Ralph’s Price | Stater Bros Price |
| Frozen Broccoli | Kroger 12oz bag= $1.25 | Stater Bros 16oz bag= $1.99 |
| Frozen Mixed Vegetables | Kroger 12oz bag= $1.25 | Stater Bros 12oz bag= $1.79 |
| Pie Crust | Kroger 2 pack= $3.49 | Pillsbury 2 pack= $4.99 |
| Total: (3 items) | $5.99 | $8.77 |
In the frozen section, Ralphs came out cheaper with a total of $5.99. This was $2.78 less than Stater Bros’ total of $8.77.
Dairy Section
These are all the dairy items needed like milk and cheeses.
| Item | Ralph’s Price | Stater Bros Price |
| Eggs | Kroger 12ct large white eggs= $2.99 | Stater Bros 12ct large white eggs= $2.99 |
| Shredded Cheddar Cheese | Kraft 8oz bag= $3.00 *on sale* | Stater Bros 8oz bag= $2.99 |
| Shredded Mozzarella Cheese | Kraft 8oz bag= $3.00 *on sale* | Stater Bros 8oz bag= $2.99 |
| Milk | Ralphs gallon= $3.49 *on sale* | Stater Bros gallon= $3.19 |
| Total: (4 items) | $12.48 | $12.16 |
In the dairy section, Stater Bros came out cheaper with a total of $12.16. This was $0.32 less than Ralph’s total of $12.48.
Is Stater Bros more expensive than Ralphs?
There was a lot of back and forth for who was cheaper, so let’s look at the overall totals.
| Section | Ralph’s Price | Stater Bros Price |
| Produce | $19.28 | $18.28 |
| Deli/Meats | $25.96 | $30.43 |
| Dry Goods | $41.62 | $37.47 |
| Frozen Foods | $5.99 | $8.77 |
| Dairy | $12.48 | $12.16 |
| Overall Total: (38 items) | $105.33 | $107.11 |
Overall, Ralph’s came out cheaper than Stater Bros with a total of $105.33. This was $1.78 (about 1.6%) less than Stater Bros total of $107.11.
Since both stores were so close in total, if I could only go to one, I would choose whoever had the best deals in their weekly ad.
If I had the time to go to both store or place pickup orders, and I only bought what was cheapest at each store, my total would have been $96.80.
That is an additional savings of $8.53 (about 8%) which would easily put us under our $100 grocery goal for the week.
Now granted I like to have more wiggle room, but by shopping both stores it does give us $3.20 to be used to stock up or to put towards a savings challenge.
