Smart & Final vs Ralphs: Who has Cheaper Groceries?
Smart & Final and Ralph’s are two common grocery stores found in California. They seem to both offer good prices on produce and meats, so let’s see which one comes out cheaper.
We have made a solid meal plan for a week and made a grocery list. We will shop both Smart & Final and Ralph’s and see which grocery store comes out cheaper. Scroll to the end to see the final verdict!
Is Smart and Final cheaper than Ralphs?
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 (easy recipe here)
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 (easy dumpling recipe here) using frozen mixed vegetables and 1 can of cream of chicken soup)
- Ham and Cheese Quiche with Homemade Rice a Roni (rice a roni recipe here)
- 3 Meat Pizza using leftover Ham, leftover Bacon, and Pepperoni with a Spinach Side Salad (easy pizza dough recipe here)
- 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 (see recipe here)
For this price comparison, I am using prices available in Los Angeles, 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 Grocery List for Family of 4 on a Budget #2.”
Produce Section
This is all the fresh vegetables and fruits we need for the week.
| Item | Smart & Final Price | Ralphs Price |
| 6 Bananas | $0.79 a lb= $2.10 | $0.65 a lb = $1.62 |
| Apples | Fuji 3lb bag= $3.09 | Fuji 3lb bag = $4.99 |
| Spinach | Dole 8oz bag = $2.59 | Kroger 10oz bag = $2.79 * on sale* |
| Whole Carrots | Grimmway Farms 1lb bag= $0.89 | $0.99 a lb = $0.99 |
| Celery | 1 stalk = $1.59 | 1 stalk= $1.99 |
| Potatoes | Idaho 5lb bag = $3.59 *on sale* | 10lb bag= $2.29 * on sale* |
| Tomato | $3.09 a lb = $1.08 | $1.99 a lb = $1.00 |
| Cucumber | $0.79 each | $0.99 each |
| Total: (8 items) | $15.72 | $16.66 |
This was a very close section with Smart & Final coming in cheaper at $15.72. This was $0.94 cheaper than Ralphs at $16.66.
Deli/Meats
This is all the meats that we will need from the deli and meat counter.
| Item | Smart & Final Price | Ralphs Price |
| Bacon | First Street 12oz = $5.19 | Kroger 12oz pack = $4.99 |
| Ground Beef (1lb) | First Street 80/20 1lb = $6.79 | Kroger 80/20 1lb = $5.99 |
| Chicken Breasts (4-6 needed) | $3.59 a lb (3.86lb) = $13.86 * on sale* | $3.99 a lb (3.15lb) = $12.57 * on sale* |
| Diced Ham | Farmer John 6oz = $3.69 | Smithfield 8oz = $3.99 |
| Pepperoni | First Street 12oz = $4.69 | Hormel 6oz = $3.49 * on sale* |
| Total: (5 items) | $34.22 | $31.03 |
This time Ralphs came in cheaper with $31.03. This was $3.19 cheaper than Smart and Final with $34.22.
Dry Goods
This is all the dry goods and shelf stable items that we need for our meal plan.
| Item | Smart & Final Price | Ralphs Price |
| Flour Tortillas | First Street 10ct= $1.59 | La Banderita 10ct = $1.00 * on sale* |
| Loaf bread | First Street 24 oz white = $2.49 | Kroger 20oz white = $1.79 * on sale* |
| Peanut Butter | First Steet 18oz jar= $2.39 | Kroger 16 oz jar = $2.49 |
| Quick Oats | First Street 16oz container= $2.89 | Kroger 18oz container = $2.49 |
| Brown Sugar | C&H 16oz box = $2.09 | C&H 16oz box = $2.49 |
| Garbanzo beans (canned) | First Street 15oz can = $1.09 | Kroger 15.5oz can = $0.89 |
| Mayonnaise | First Street 30oz jar = $3.09 | Kroger 15oz jar = $2.99 |
| Soy Sauce | First Street 10oz bottle = $1.79 | Kroger 10oz bottle= $1.99 |
| Hoisin Sauce | Lee Kum Kee 20oz bottle = $4.79 | Kroger 15.3oz bottle = $3.99 |
| Sesame Oil | Not Available- substituted Teriyaki Sauce /Kikkoman 10oz bottle = $3.09 | Dynasty 5oz bottle = $3.29 |
| Spaghetti Noodles | Anthony’s 16oz = $1.69 | Kroger 16oz = $1.25 *on sale* |
| All Purpose Flour | First Street 5lb bag = $2.59 | Kroger 2lb bag= $1.99 |
| Cream of Chicken Soup | Campbells 10.5oz can= $1.79 | Kroger 10.5 oz can= $1.50 |
| Chicken Bouillon Cubes | Knorr 7.9oz jar = $2.39 | Knorr 3.1oz box = $0.99 |
| Dry Active Yeast (need 2) | Red Star 3ct = $2.09 | Red Star 4oz = $4.90 |
| White Rice | First Street 1lb = $0.89 | Kroger 2lb bag = $1.59 |
| Black Beans (canned) | First Street 15oz = $1.09 | Kroger 15.25oz can = $0.89 |
| Powdered Sugar | First Street 2lb bag= $2.49 | Kroger 2lb bag = $2.79 |
| Total: (19 items) | $40.32 | $39.31 |
Ralph’s came in cheaper with a total of $39.31. This was $1.01 cheaper than Smart & final with a total of $40.32.
Frozen Foods
These are the frozen items needed for this week’s meal plan.
| Item | Smart & Final Price | Ralphs Price |
| Frozen Broccoli | First Street 12oz = $1.69 | Kroger 12oz = $1.50 |
| Frozen Mixed Vegetables | First Street 12oz = $1.69 | Kroger 12oz = $1.25 |
| Pie Crust | First Street 2ct = $4.19 | Kroger 2ct = $3.99 |
| Total: (3 items) | $7.57 | $6.74 |
Ralph’s came out cheaper again with $6.74. This was $0.83 cheaper than Smart & Final at $7.57.
Dairy Section
These are all the dairy items needed like milk and cheeses.
| Item | Smart & Final Price | Ralphs Price |
| Eggs | First Street white 12ct $3.59 *on sale* | Kroger white 12ct = $3.49 * on sale* |
| Shredded Cheddar Cheese | First Street 8oz bag= $3.09 | Kroger 8oz bag = $3.69 |
| Shredded Mozzarella Cheese | First Street 8oz bag= $3.09 | Kroger 8oz bag = $3.69 |
| Milk | First Street 2% gallon = $4.19 | Ralph’s 2% gallon = $3.99 *on sale* |
| Total: (4 items) | $13.96 | $14.86 |
Smart & Final came out cheaper with $13.96. This was $0.90 cheaper than Ralph’s at $14.86.
Is Ralphs or Smart and Final Cheaper?
There was a lot of back and forth, so I know this has to be a close race. Let’s look at the overall totals.
| Section | Smart & Final Price | Ralphs Price |
| Produce | $15.72 | $16.66 |
| Deli/Meats | $34.22 | $31.03 |
| Dry Goods | $40.32 | $39.31 |
| Frozen Foods | $7.57 | $6.74 |
| Dairy | $13.96 | $14.86 |
| Overall Total: (38 items) | $111.79 | $108.60 |
Ralph’s came out cheaper than Smart & Final. Ralph’s total was $108.60 which was $3.19 cheaper than Smart & Final’s total of $111.79. This means you may expect about a 3% savings on your grocery budget by shopping at Ralph’s.
Since both stores came out very close, I would focus my attention on each store’s sales flyer. By making a solid meal plan based on what you already have at home and what is on sale you could easily get a weekly grocery budget under $100.
For more grocery store comparisons, check out “Publix vs Walmart: Which is cheaper for Groceries?” and “Target vs Publix: Who is Cheaper for Groceries?“
