ShopRite vs Big Y: Who is Cheaper for Groceries?
When you compare prices, you can find the best deals out there and make sure you’re getting the most bang for your buck. Plus, it keeps the stores on their toes, because they have to compete with each other to offer the best prices, which is a win-win for us as consumers.
So today we will do a side-by-side price comparison of ShopRite and Big Y grocery stores to find out who is cheaper for groceries! We will also determine if it is better to shop one store of if we can save big by shopping at both stores.
Is ShopRite cheaper than Big Y?
For this test, I have prepared a meal plan for one week that consists of breakfasts, lunches, snacks, and dinners for a family of 4 (2 adults and 2 young kids). I am using the “25 Cheap food that fills you up when you are broke!” as my guide to pick not only healthy foods but also ones that should be fairly cheap.
Here is the meal plan for this grocery trip:
Breakfasts
- Peanut Butter Toast with Bananas x2
- Overnight Oats with Apples and Raisins x3
- Scrambled Eggs with Cheese on top and Toast x2
Lunches
- Tuna Salad Sandwiches x 2
- Veggie & Pepperoni Pasta Salad with Zesty Italian Dressing
- Salad Wraps with tomato, cucumber, and cheese
- Leftovers
Snacks
- Carrots
- Apples
- Popcorn
Dinners
- Baked Whole Chicken with rice and sautéed carrots
- Leftover Chicken in a Pasta with Alfredo Sauce, Broccoli, and side salad
- Ground Turkey Tacos with Corn and Refried Beans
- Leftover Taco Meat in a Mexican Baked Potato Bar with Side Salads
- Pork Loin with Mashed Potatoes and Corn
- Hawaiin Pizza with Leftover Pork, Pepperoni, and Pineapple (using a little Alfredo Sauce as the Base)
Sweet Treat
- Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
For this meal plan, I am going to shop at both stores and look for the best deals on price. We will be using prices in Shelton, Connecticut for this store comparison.
Most items will be the generic store brand, and I will be aiming to get my groceries needed for the cheapest price available.
Even though my pantry is very well stocked, for this experiment I will shop as if I only have the bare basics at home like seasonings, salt, sugar, and cooking oil. For a full breakdown of this meal plan, and how I would make it work, check out “Healthy Meal Plan for Family of 4.”
Produce
These are the fresh vegetables and fruits needed in the produce section for my meal plan this week.
| Items | ShopRite Price | Big Y Price |
| 8 Bananas | $0.17 each=$1.36 | $0.89 a lb =$3.02 |
| Apples | 3lb bag of Fuji apples= $3.87 *on sale* | 4lb bag of Cortland Apples= $4.89 |
| Lettuce | 1 head of Green Leaf= $1.68 | 1 Head of Romaine Lettuce= $1.79 |
| Potatoes | 5lb bag of Russets= $2.99 *on sale* | 5lb bag of Russets= $6.09 |
| Tomatoes x3 | Beefsteak $0.50 each= $1.50 *on sale* | On the Vine $1.18 each= $3.54 |
| Cucumber | $0.66 each *on sale* | $1.19 each |
| Carrots | 1lb bag of carrots= $0.99 | 2lb bag of carrots= $2.49 |
| Totals: 7 Items | $13.05 | $23.01 |
In the produce section, ShopRite came out cheaper with a total of $13.05. This was $9.96 cheaper than Big Y’s total of $23.01.
Deli/Meats
Here are the items I will need from the deli and meat section of the stores.
| Items | ShopRite Price | Big Y Price |
| Pepperoni | Bowl & Basket 8oz pack= $3.49 | Carando 6oz pack= $4.29 |
| Whole Chicken | Perdue $1.49 a lb (5.4lbs)= $8.05 *on sale* | Springer Mountain $2.79 a lb (3.83lbs)= $10.69 |
| Ground Turkey | Jennie-O 1lb fresh= $4.49 *on sale* | Perdue 1lb fresh= $5.89 |
| Pork Loin | Hatfield 22oz pack= $5.99 *on sale* | Big Y $3.69 a lb (1.5lbs)= $5.54 |
| Totals: 4 Items | $22.02 | $26.41 |
In the meat section,
Dry Goods
This is the center area of most grocery stores, and I call this area dry goods. It is all items that are considered shelf stable and are typically stored in a cabinet or on a pantry shelf.
| Items | ShopRite Price | Big Y Price |
| Sandwich Bread | Bowl & Basket 20oz white bread= $1.29 | Big Y 16oz bread= $2.19 |
| Peanut Butter | Bowl & Basket 16.3oz jar= $2.29 | Skippy 16.3oz jar= $3.59 |
| Quick Oats | Bowl & Basket 18oz container= $2.79 | Food Club 18oz container= $5.09 |
| Raisins | Bowl & Basket 6oz mini boxes= $2.29 | Food Club 6oz mini boxes= $2.49 |
| Canned Tuna Fish (2 cans) | Chicken of the Sea 5oz can $1.00 each= $2.00 *on sale* | Food Club 5oz can $1.19 each= $2.38 |
| Pasta | Bowl & Basket 16oz box = $1.29 | Ronzoni 16oz box= $1.99 |
| Zesty Italian Dressing | Bowl & Basket 16oz bottle= $2.19 | Wish Bone 8oz bottle= $3.19 |
| Flour Tortillas | Chi-Chi’s 10ct= $1.67 *on sale* | Big Y 10ct= $1.99 |
| Microwave Popcorn | Jolly Time 3ct box= $1.99 *on sale* | Full Circle 3ct box= $4.19 |
| White Rice | Bowl & Basket 32oz bag= $1.99 | Food Club 1lb bag= $1.79 |
| Alfredo Sauce | Prego 14.5oz jar= $1.99 *on sale* | Ragu 16oz jar= $3.29 |
| Canned Corn | Bowl & Basket 15.25oz can= $0.75 *on sale* | Food Club 15.25oz can= $1.59 |
| Refried Beans | Ortega 16oz can= $1.67 *on sale* | Goya 16oz can= $2.29 |
| Salsa | Ortega 16oz jar= $2.50 *on sale* | Full Circle 16oz jar= $3.69 |
| Canned Pineapple | Libby’s 20oz can= $1.99 | Food Club 20oz can= $2.49 |
| All Purpose Flour | Bowl & Basket 2lb bag= $1.99 | Pillsbury 2lb bag= $3.59 |
| Dry Active Yeast | Red Star 3ct= $2.19 | Fleishmann’s 3ct= $2.89 |
| Brown Sugar | Domino 1lb box= $2.49 | Domino 1lb box= $2.29 |
| Totals: 18 items | $35.36 | $51.01 |
In the dry goods section, ShopRite came out cheaper with a total of $35.36. This was $15.65 cheaper than Big Y’s total of $51.01.
Frozen Foods
This is the area in the store that typically has frozen meats, vegetables, fruits, and ice cream. We will mainly stick to the frozen veggie section.
| Items | ShopRite Price | Big Y Price |
| Frozen Mixed Vegetables | Bowl & Basket 12oz bag= $1.39 | Food Club 10oz bag= $2.19 |
| Frozen Broccoli | Bowl & Basket 12oz bag= $1.39 | Bird’s Eye 0.8oz bag= $2.49 |
| Totals: 2 items | $2.78 | $4.68 |
In the frozen foods section, ShopRite came out cheaper with a total of $2.78. This was $1.90 cheaper than Big Y’s total of $4.68.
Dairy
This is the final section of the store and will cover all dairy needs like cheeses and milk.
| Item: | ShopRite Price | Big Y Price |
| Eggs | Bowl & Basket 12ct large white eggs= $2.29 | Big Y 12ct large brown eggs= $2.09 |
| Milk (gallon) | Bowl & Basket gallon= $4.29 | Big Y gallon= $5.29 |
| Cheddar cheese 16oz | Bowl & Basket 8oz block x $2.00 each= $4.00 *on sale* | Food Club 16oz shredded= $6.59 |
| Mozzarella cheese 8oz | Bowl & Basket 8oz shredded= $2.29 *on sale* | Food Club 8oz shredded= $4.09 |
| Sour Cream | Bowl & Basket 8oz container= $1.59 | Hood 8oz container= $2.19 |
| Totals: 5 items | $14.46 | $20.25 |
In the dairy section, ShopRite came out cheaper with a total of $14.46. This was $5.79 cheaper than Big Y’s total of $20.25.
Is Big Y more expensive than ShopRite?
ShopRite came out cheaper in every section of the grocery store, but let’s look at the overall totals.
| Section | ShopRite Price | Big Y Price |
| Produce | $13.05 | $23.01 |
| Deli/Meats | $22.02 | $26.41 |
| Dry Goods | $35.36 | $51.01 |
| Frozen Foods | $2.78 | $4.68 |
| Dairy | $14.46 | $20.25 |
| Overall Total | $87.67 | $125.36 |
Overall, ShopRite came out much cheaper than Big Y with a total of $87.67. This was $37.69 (about 30%) cheaper than Big Y’s total of $125.36.
I love it when our total comes out under $100, and if we shopped just at ShopRite, we would have $12.33 left in our grocery budget to stock up on deals or move that over to our savings!
If we had the time to go to both stores and only buy what was cheaper at each store, then our total would have been $86.62. That is only an additional savings of $1.05 (about 1%) so I don’t feel like it would be worth our time to go to both stores.
For more grocery store price comparisons, check out ShopRite vs Stop & Shop and ShopRite vs Price Chopper.
