Save-A-Lot vs Walmart: Who is Cheaper?
Save-A-Lot is a discounted grocery store chain that operates 900 stores in 32 states. Walmart is a big box retailer that offers groceries in all 50 states in the US.
Both Save A Lot and Walmart are known for low prices on food, so we will do a weeklong meal plan price comparison between both stores to determine who is cheaper for groceries. Scroll down to the end to see the final verdict!
Is Walmart cheaper than Save A Lot?
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
- Scrambled Eggs with Cheese & Toast
- Vanilla Yogurt with Strawberries and Leftover Pineapple
- French Toast with Syrup & Bananas
- Peanut Butter Toast with Bananas
Lunches
- Salad with Leftover Parmesan Chicken
- Pasta Salad with Hard Boiled Eggs and Tomato, Cucumber, and Parmesan Cheese
- Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup
- BLT Sandwiches with Side Salad
- Dinner Leftovers
Dinners
- Orange Chicken with Pineapple over Brown Rice
- Sloppy Joe on French Bread with Cheese and Canned Corn
- Kielbasa, Potatoes and Green Beans in the Crockpot
- Tex Mex Pizza with Taco meat, Refried Beans, Salsa, and Cheese
- Parmesan Crusted Chicken, Butter Pasta, and Broccoli
- Breakfast for Dinner: Scrambled Eggs with Cheese, Bacon, Fried Potatoes, and Sauteed Apples
Snacks
- Chips and Salsa
- Peanut Butter and Apples
- Yogurt Bites
Sweet Treat
- Homemade Orange Popsicles
For this price comparison, I am using prices available in Kansas City, Kansas. 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 #7“
Produce Section
This is all the fresh vegetables and fruits we need for the week.
| Item | Save A Lot Price | Walmart Price |
| Strawberries | 1 pound =$2.75 | 1 pound= $2.18 |
| 6 Bananas | $0.65 a lb= $1.68 | $0.26 a lb= $0.60 |
| Lettuce | 1 head iceberg= $1.45 | 1 head iceberg= $1.74 |
| Tomato x2 | On the Vine = $1.78 | 3 pack slicing= $1.50 |
| Cucumber | $0.89 each | $0.68 each |
| Potatoes | 5lb bag Idaho Potatoes= $4.39 | 5lb bag Russet Potatoes= $3.67 |
| Apples | $0.55 a lb Honeycrisp= $1.65 | 3lb bag of Granny Smith Apples= $4.12 |
| Total: (7 items) | $14.59 | $14.49 |
In the produce section, Walmart barely squeaked out cheaper with a total of $14.49. That was only $0.10 cheaper than Save A Lot’s total of $14.59.
Deli/Meats
This is all the meats that we will need from the deli and meat counter.
| Item | Save A Lot Price | Walmart Price |
| Bacon | Farmington 12oz pack = $4.09 | Great Value 12oz pack= $3.72 |
| 4-6 Chicken Breasts | State Street Frozen Breasts 48oz bag= $12.99 | $3.24 a lb/5.1 lbs= $16.56 |
| Kielbasa Sausage | Farmington 14oz= $3.85 | Smithfield 13oz= $3.28 |
| 1 lb ground turkey | Honeysuckle 1lb roll= $2.99 | Festive 1lb roll= $2.54 |
| Total: (4 items) | $23.92 | $26.10 |
In the meat section, Save A Lot came out cheaper with a total of $23.92. This was $.18 cheaper than Walmart’s total of $26.10.
It is worth noting that even though Save A Lot was cheaper, we did not get as much chicken as we did at Walmart.
Dry Goods
This is all the dry goods and shelf stable items that we need for our meal plan.
| Item | Save A Lot Price | Walmart Price |
| Sandwich Bread | Grissom’s white bread= $1.29 | Great Value 20oz white bread= $1.00 |
| Canned Pineapple | Libby’s 20oz can = $2.09 | Great Value 20oz can = $1.28 |
| Pancake Syrup | Morning Delight 24oz bottle = $2.55 | Great Value 24 oz bottle = $2.14 |
| French Bread Loaf | Grissom’s Garlic Bread Loaf 16oz= $2.19 | French Bread 14oz = $1.47 |
| Cinnamon | Marcum 1.5 oz jar= $1.29 | Great Value 2.5 oz jar= $1.18 |
| Peanut Butter | Nutsome 16oz jar= $2.19 | Great Value 18oz jar= $1.74 |
| Italian Dressing | Kurtz 16oz bottle= $2.19 | Great Value 16oz bottle= $1.97 |
| Pasta | Mantia’s Shells 16oz = $1.29 | Great Value Shells 16oz = $0.82 |
| Large can Tomato Soup | Kaskey’s 10.75 oz can x2= $1.98 | Great Value 26oz can = $1.64 |
| Canned Tomatoes | Pickwell Farms 14.5oz can = $0.89 | Great Value 14.5oz can = $0.88 |
| Orange Marmalade | Bramley’s Apricot Preserves 18oz jar = $2.55 | Great Value 18oz jar= $2.32 |
| BBQ Sauce | Kurtz 20oz bottle = $1.65 | Great Value 18oz jar= $1.34 |
| Soy Sauce | Jade Dragon 12oz bottle = $1.75 | Great Value 15oz bottle = $1.58 |
| Brown Rice | Simple Earth 8.8 oz = $1.89 | Great Value 2lb bag= $1.37 |
| Canned Green Beans | Pickwell 14.5oz can = $0.89 | Great Value 14.5oz can = $0.58 |
| Taco Seasoning | Senora Verde 1oz = $0.49 | Great Value 1oz = $0.48 |
| Refried Beans | Senora Verde 16oz can = $1.09 | Great Value 16oz can = $0.92 |
| Salsa | Senora Mild Salsa 15.5oz jar= $1.99 | Great Value Mild Salsa 24oz jar= $1.98 |
| Worcestershire Sauce | Kurtz 10oz bottle = $1.29 | Great Value 10oz bottle = $1.00 |
| Mustard | Kurtz 20oz bottle = $1.29 | Great Value 20oz bottle = $1.00 |
| Canned Corn | Pickwell 15.5 oz can = $0.99 | Great Value 14.5oz can = $0.58 |
| Mayonnaise | Kurtz 18oz jar= $3.09 | Great Value 30oz jar= $2.80 |
| All Purpose Flour | Ginger Evans 5lb bag of flour= $2.85 | Great Value 5lb bag of flour = $2.12 |
| Dry Active Yeast | Red Star 3-pack= $1.09 | Great Value 3-pack= $0.86 |
| Total: (24 items) | $40.85 | $33.05 |
In the dry goods section, Walmart came out cheaper with a total of $33.05. This was $7.80 cheaper than Save A Lot’s total of $40.85.
Frozen Foods
These are the frozen items needed for this week’s meal plan.
| Item | Save A Lot Price | Walmart Price |
| Frozen Broccoli | Pickwell 12oz bag= $1.45 | Great Value 12oz bag= $0.98 |
| Total: (1 items) | $1.45 | $0.98 |
In the frozen section, Walmart came out cheaper with a total of $0.98. This was $0.47 cheaper than Save A Lot’s total of $1.45.
Dairy Section
These are all the dairy items needed like milk and cheeses.
| Item | Save A Lot Price | Walmart Price |
| Eggs | Good Nature 12ct white= $2.55 | Great Value 12ct white= $1.86 |
| Shredded Cheddar Cheese | Borden 8oz bag= $2.19 | Great Value 8oz bag= $2.22 |
| Vanilla Yogurt | Coburn Farms 32oz tub= $2.75 | Great Value 32oz tub= $2.36 |
| American Cheese | Save Today 16ct = $1.99 | Great Value 24ct= $2.48 |
| Parmesan Cheese | Coburn Farms 5oz = $3.29 | Great Value 6oz bag= $2.22 |
| 2% milk | Coburn Farms gallon= $4.19 | Great Value gallon= $3.52 |
| Butter | Coburn Farms 1lb= $4.39 | Great Value 1lb= $3.98 |
| Total: (7 items) | $21.35 | $18.64 |
In the dairy section, Walmart came out cheaper with a total of $18.64. This was $2.71 cheaper than Save A Lot’s total of $21.35.
Is Walmart more expensive than Save A Lot?
Walmart came out cheaper in most sections, but let’s look at the overall totals.
| Section | Save A Lot Price | Walmart Price |
| Produce | $14.59 | $14.49 |
| Deli/Meats | $23.92 | $26.10 |
| Dry Goods | $40.85 | $33.05 |
| Frozen Foods | $1.45 | $0.98 |
| Dairy | $21.35 | $18.64 |
| Overall Total: (43 items) | $102.16 | $93.26 |
Overall Walmart came out cheaper than Save A Lot with a total of $93.26. This was $8.90 (about 8%) cheaper than Save A Lot’s total of $102.16.
Save A Lot did have some good prices and if you used their weekly sales flyer to fill in your meal plan you could save additional money on your grocery budget.
If you are buying pantry staples and items not on sale, then shopping at Walmart for their everyday low prices will be a better deal.
For more grocery store price comparisons, check out “Giant vs Safeway: Who is cheaper for groceries?” and “City Market vs Walmart: Who is cheaper?“
