Schnucks vs Aldi: Who is Cheaper for Groceries?
Price comparing groceries at multiple stores can be a huge cost cutting option! Most people don’t realize how much prices can vary for certain items at different stores.
Today we will be doing a side-by-side price comparison of Schnucks and Aldi 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 Schnucks cheaper than Aldi?
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
- 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 Champaign, Illinois. 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 “Week 2- Family Meal Plan on a Budget.”
Produce Section
This is all the fresh vegetables and fruits we need for the week.
| Item | Schnucks Price | Aldi Price |
| 6 Bananas | $0.23 each= $1.38 | $0.18 each= $1.08 |
| Apples | Gala Apples $0.99 a lb (3 lbs)= $2.97 | 3lb bag of Gala Apples= $3.29 |
| Spinach | 8oz bag= $2.29 | 8 oz bag= $1.65 |
| Carrots | 1lb bag of baby carrots= $1.29 | 1lb bag of baby carrots= $0.99 |
| Celery | 1 bunch= $1.99 | 1 bunch= $1.89 |
| Potatoes | 5lb bag of Russets= $4.49 | 5lb bag of red potatoes= $3.75 |
| Tomato | Local Tomatoes= $1.37 | Roma Tomatoes $0.99 a lb = $0.99 |
| Cucumber | 1 each= $0.89 | 1 each= $0.79 |
| Total: (8 items) | $16.67 | $14.43 |
In the produce section, Aldi was cheaper with a total of $14.43. This was $2.24 cheaper than Schnuck’s total of $16.67.
Deli/Meats
This is all the meats that we will need from the deli and meat counter.
| Item | Schnucks Price | Aldi Price |
| Bacon | Smithfield 12oz pack= $4.99 *on sale* | Appleton farms 16oz pack= $4.39 |
| Ground Beef (1lb) | 73/27 fresh $5.89 a lb (1.11lbs)= $6.54 | 85/15 1lb roll = $4.85 |
| Chicken Breasts (4-6 needed) | Schnucks 3lb bag of frozen breasts= $9.99 | Kirkwood 3lb bag of frozen breasts= $9.35 |
| Diced Ham | Smithfield 8oz pack= $4.09 | Smithfield 16oz ham steak= $3.49 |
| Pepperoni | Armour 5oz bag= $3.69 | Mama Cozzi’s 6oz pack= $2.75 |
| Total: (5 items) | $29.30 | $24.83 |
In the meat section, Aldi came out cheaper with a total of $24.83. This was $4.47 cheaper than Schnuck’s total of $29.30.
Dry Goods
This is all the dry goods and shelf stable items that we need for our meal plan.
| Item | Schnucks Price | Aldi Price |
| Flour Tortillas | Old El Paso 8ct= $1.50 *on sale* | Pueblo Lindo 10ct= $1.95 |
| Sandwich Bread | Schnucks 20oz bread= $1.49 | L’Oven 20oz bread= $1.45 |
| Peanut Butter | Schnucks 16oz jar= $2.79 | Peanut Delight 16oz jar= $1.99 |
| Quick Oats | Full Circle 18oz container= $5.39 | Millville 42oz container= $4.35 |
| Brown Sugar | C & H 1lb box= $1.99 | Baker’s Corner 32oz bag= $2.39 |
| Garbanzo beans (canned) | Schnucks 15.5oz can= $1.29 | Dakota’s Pride 15.5oz can= $0.89 |
| Mayonnaise | Duke’s 8oz container= $3.19 | Burman’s 30oz jar= $3.45 |
| Soy Sauce | Schnucks 10oz bottle= $2.09 | Burman’s 15oz bottle= $1.75 |
| Hoisin Sauce | Full Circle 12oz jar= $4.29 | *substitution* Burman’s General Tso’s sauce 14.5oz jar= $2.55 |
| Sesame Oil | Kikkoman 5oz bottle= $4.49 | Carlini 16.9oz bottle= $8.25 |
| Spaghetti Noodles | Schnucks 16oz bag= $1.69 | Reggano 16oz bag= $1.59 |
| All Purpose Flour | Schnucks 2.5lb bag= $3.19 | Bakers Corner 5lb bag= $2.45 |
| Cream of Chicken Soup | Schnucks 10.5oz can= $0.99 | Chefs Cupboard 10.5oz can = $0.75 |
| Chicken Bouillon Cubes | Schnucks 4oz jar= $1.94 | Chefs Cupboard 3.25oz jar= $1.99 |
| Dry Active Yeast (need 2) | Fleischmanns 3 pack= $2.39 | Bakers Corner 3 pack= $0.89 |
| White Rice | Schnucks 1lb bag= $1.29 | Earthly Grains 4lb bag= $2.45 |
| Black Beans (canned) | Schnucks 15oz can= $1.29 | Dakotas Pride 15oz can= $0.85 |
| Powdered Sugar | Schnucks 32oz bag= $2.99 | Bakers Corner 32oz bag= $2.39 |
| Total: (19 items) | $44.28 | $42.38 |
In the dry goods section, Aldi came out cheaper with a total of $42.38. This was $1.90 cheaper than Schnucks total of $44.28.
Frozen Foods
These are the frozen items needed for this week’s meal plan.
| Item | Schnucks Price | Aldi Price |
| Frozen Broccoli | Schnucks 12oz bag= $1.59 | Seasons Choice 12oz bag= $1.25 |
| Frozen Mixed Vegetables | Birds Eye 10oz bag= $1.25 *on sale* | Seasons Choice 12oz bag= $0.99 |
| Pie Crust | Schnucks 2 count= $3.59 | Bake House Creations 2 count= $2.75 |
| Total: (3 items) | $6.43 | $4.99 |
In the frozen section, Aldi came out cheaper with a total of $4.99. This was $1.44 cheaper than Schnucks total of $6.43.
Dairy Section
These are all the dairy items needed like milk and cheeses.
| Item | Schnucks Price | Aldi Price |
| Eggs | Schnucks 12ct white eggs= $1.39 | Goldhen 12ct white eggs= $1.35 |
| Shredded Cheddar Cheese | Schnucks 8oz bag= $2.59 | Happy Farms 11oz block= $2.75 |
| Shredded Mozzarella Cheese | Schnucks 8oz bag= $2.59 | Simply Nature 6oz bag= $2.59 |
| Milk | Schnucks gallon= $2.89 | Friendly Farms gallon= $2.65 |
| Total: (4 items) | $9.46 | $9.34 |
In the dairy section, Aldi came out cheaper with a total of $9.34. This was $0.12 cheaper than Schnucks total of $9.46.
Is Aldi more expensive than Schnucks?
Aldi came out cheaper in every section, but let’s look at overall totals.
| Section | Schnucks Price | Aldi Price |
| Produce | $16.67 | $14.43 |
| Deli/Meats | $29.30 | $24.83 |
| Dry Goods | $44.28 | $42.38 |
| Frozen Foods | $6.43 | $4.99 |
| Dairy | $9.46 | $9.34 |
| Overall Total: (38 items) | $106.14 | $95.97 |
Overall, Aldi came out cheaper than Schnucks with a total of $95.97. This was $10.17 (about 10%) cheaper than Schnuck’s total of $106.14.
The total at each store was not bad, but if I could only pick one store, I would definitely choose Aldi even though we had to make a substitution on 1 item.
If I was able to shop both stores or place curbside pick-up orders, and I only bought what was cheapest, our total would have been $89.41.
That is an additional savings of $6.56 (about 7%). This is not a huge difference, but if I had the time I would probably go with this option!
