Sprouts vs Target: Who is Cheaper?
Sprouts and Target are very common grocery stores in the US. Sprouts and Target both offer a huge amount of organic produce and grocery items.
Let’s put these two stores head to head in a price comparison to find out if Sprouts or Target is cheaper for groceries! Scroll the to the end to see the final verdict!
Is Sprouts cheaper than Target?
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
- Chocolate Banana Overnight Oats
- Easy Sausage Muffins (1cup of Biscuit Mix, 1 lb of sausage, 4 eggs, 1 cup of cheese)
- Scrambled Eggs with Biscuits and applesauce
Lunches
- Pepperoni Pizza Quesadillas
- Salad with Hard Boiled Eggs x2
- Leftover Chicken & Salad Wraps
- Dinner Leftovers
Dinners
- Eggroll in a Bowl (1 lb ground turkey, 1/2 bag of coleslaw mix, soy sauce)
- Kielbasa Sausage, Potato, Squash Sheet Pan Bake
- Baked Chicken Thighs, Soy Sauce Rice, and California Blend Vegetables
- Chicken Parmesan Pasta (chicken breasts, pasta, tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, breadcrumbs) with side salad
- BBQ Chicken Wraps with Coleslaw (1/2 bag of coleslaw mix)
- Cheesy Shepherd’s Pie (ground turkey, mash potatoes, tomato sauce, frozen peas and cheese) with Biscuits
Snacks
- Bananas
- Celery with Ranch or Peanut Butter
- Homemade Granola Bars (peanut butter, quick oats, and chocolate chips)
- Applesauce
Sweet Treat
- Peach Cobbler (using biscuit mix and canned peaches)
For this price comparison, I am using prices available in Pheonix, Arizona. 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 #4.”
Produce Section
This is all the fresh vegetables and fruits we need for the week.
| Item | Sprouts Price | Target Price |
| 6 bananas | $0.59 a lb = $1.50 | $0.19each= $1.14 |
| Celery | 1 stalk= $0.98 *on sale* | 1 stalk= $2.29 |
| Coleslaw Mix | Sprouts 16oz bag= $1.50 *on sale* | Good & Gather 8oz bag= $1.79 |
| Potatoes | Russet 5lb bag= $3.79 | Russet 5lb bag= $3.29 |
| Yellow Squash | $1.49 a lb = $0.77 | $1.59 a lb =$0.82 |
| Cucumber | $0.50 each | $0.65 each |
| Roma Tomato x4 | $0.88 a lb = $0.88 | 1lb bag= $1.19 |
| Total: (7 items) | $9.92 | $11.17 |
Sprouts is starting off as cheapest with $9.92. This was $1.25 cheaper than Target at $11.17.
Deli/Meats
This is all the meats that we will need from the deli and meat counter.
| Item | Sprouts Price | Target Price |
| 1lb sausage | Swaggerty’s 1lb roll= $4.99 | Good & Gather mild 1lb= $4.69 |
| Pepperoni | Boar’s Head 6oz = $4.49 | Market Pantry 6oz = $2.79 |
| 2lb ground turkey | The Butcher Shop $6.99 each x2= $13.98 | Jennie-O 1lb roll $3.29 each x2= $6.58 |
| Kielbasa Style Sausage | Boar’s Head Chicken Sausage 12oz = $6.49 | Eckrich 14oz Kielbasa= $3.69 |
| Chicken Thighs | Sprouts $3.99 a lb (2lb)= $7.98 | Foster Farms 2.49 a lb = $4.98 |
| Chicken Breasts | Sprouts $4.99 a lb (2lb)=$9.98 | Good & Gather $3.49 a lb = $6.98 |
| Total: (6 items) | $47.91 | $29.71 |
Target blew Sprouts away with a total of $29.71. This was $18.20 cheaper than Sprouts at $47.91.
Dry Goods
This is all the dry goods and shelf stable items that we need for our meal plan.
| Item | Sprouts Price | Target Price |
| Quick Oats | bulk bin $1.69 a lb = $1.69 | Good & Gather 18oz container= $1.89 |
| Chocolate Chips | Sprouts 10oz bag semi-sweet chips = $3.49 | Good & Gather 12oz bag semi sweet chips= $1.99 |
| Biscuit Mix | Annie’s Pancake & Waffle Mix 26oz box= $5.99 | Bisquick 40oz box = $4.29 |
| Flour Tortillas | Mission Street tacos 12ct = $2.49 * on sale* | Tortillas Mexico 12ct = $1.89 |
| Tomato Sauce | Sprouts Tomato Sauce 15oz can= $1.49 | Good & Gather 15oz can = $0.65 |
| Ranch Dressing | Sprouts 12oz bottle = $3.49 | Market Pantry 16oz bottle = $1.99 |
| Peanut Butter | Sprouts 16oz jar= $2.69 | Good & Gather 16oz jar = $1.69 |
| Soy sauce | Kikkoman 10oz bottle = $3.49 | Market Pantry 15oz bottle = $1.69 |
| White Rice | Bulk Bin $1.59 a lb = $1.59 | Good & Gather 16oz bag= $0.75 |
| Pasta | Sprouts Penne 16oz = $1.79 | Good & Gather Penne 16oz = $0.95 |
| Breadcrumbs | Kikkoman Panko 8oz = $2.49 | Market Pantry 16oz container= $1.19 |
| BBQ sauce | Rib Rack 11oz bottle = $5.49 | KC Masterpiece 18oz bottle = $1.89 |
| salad dressing for coleslaw | Brianna’s Salad Dressing 12oz= $3.49 *on sale* | Market Pantry Balsamic Vinaigrette 16oz =$1.99 |
| Canned peaches | Sprouts 15oz can = $1.99 | Market Pantry 14.5oz can = $0.99 |
| Applesauce | Sprouts 24oz jar= $2.69 | Good & Gather 46oz jar= $2.89 |
| Total: (15 items) | $44.35 | $26.73 |
Target easily came in cheaper again at $26.73. This was $17.62 cheaper than Sprouts at $44.35.
Frozen Foods
These are the frozen items needed for this week’s meal plan.
| Item | Sprouts Price | Target Price |
| California Blend Vegetables | Sprouts 12oz bag= $3.49 | Good & Gather 12oz bag= $0.99 |
| Frozen Peas | Sprouts 16oz bag= $2.49 | Good & Gather 12oz bag= $0.89 |
| Total: (2 items) | $5.98 | $1.88 |
Target came in cheaper again at $1.88. This was $4.10 cheaper than Sprouts at $5.98.
Dairy Section
These are all the dairy items needed like milk and cheeses.
| Item | Sprouts Price | Target Price |
| Eggs | Sprouts 12ct brown eggs= $3.29 | Good & Gather 12ct brown eggs= $2.59 |
| Shredded Cheddar Cheese | Market Corner 8oz bag= $3.99 | Good & Gather 8oz bag= $2.29 |
| Shredded Mozzarella Cheese | Follow your heart 7oz bag = $4.49 | Good & Gather 8oz bag= $2.29 |
| 2% milk | Shamrock gallon = $4.29 | Good & Gather gallon= $2.49 |
| Total: (4 items) | $16.06 | $9.66 |
Target came out cheaper with a total of $9.66. This was $6.40 cheaper than Sprouts at $16.06.
Is Target or Sprouts cheaper?
I thought we were going to have a close race at the beginning, but Target consistently came in cheaper for everything except produce.
| Section | Sprouts Price | Target Price |
| Produce | $9.92 | $11.17 |
| Deli/Meats | $47.91 | $29.17 |
| Dry Goods | $44.35 | $26.73 |
| Frozen Foods | $5.98 | $1.88 |
| Dairy | $16.06 | $9.66 |
| Overall Total: (34 items) | $124.22 | $78.61 |
Target was easily cheaper than Sprouts with a total of $78.61. This was $45.61 cheaper than Sprouts total of $124.22. By shopping at Target, you could potentially lower your grocery budget by about 37%.
It is worth noting that produce was slightly cheaper at Sprouts, so even if you just buy produce at Sprouts and get everything else at Target you will save a lot.
On the other hand, if you have a Target Red Card, you can save an additional 5% off your total, so that will get your grocery budget even lower!
For more cheap meal plans, check out “Healthy Grocery List for Family of 4 on a Budget #1” and “Healthy Grocery List for Family of 4 on a Budget #2.”
