Stater Brothers vs Target: Who is Cheaper for Groceries?
When it comes to grocery shopping, comparing prices at different stores can help you make informed decisions and save money. By taking the time to compare prices, you can identify the best deals and get the most value for your budget.
Today we will do a side-by-side comparison of Stater Bros and Target to determine who is cheaper for groceries. We will also see if it is better for our budget to go to just one store, or if going to both stores will save us more money. Let’s deep dive in!
Is Stater Brothers 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
- Egg & Bacon Breakfast Burritos with Orange Slices
- Muffins, Yogurt, & Diced Pears
- Banana Smoothies and Scrambled Eggs
- Banana Raisin Pancakes with Pancake Syrup and Diced Pears
Lunches
- Sloppy Joe & Cheese Taquitos with sour cream
- BLT wraps
- Leftovers from Dinners
Dinners
- Sloppy Joes with Carrot Salad and Homemade Potato Wedges
- Tuna Casserole with Green Peas
- Ground Beef Burrito Bowls with Rice, served with (lettuce, tomato, black beans, sour cream, & cheddar cheese)
- Smoke Sausage Foil Packs with carrots, potatoes, & onion
- Mississippi Chicken in the Crockpot served over white rice with Brussell Sprouts
- One Pot Chicken Parmesan Pasta with Garlic Bread & Green Beans
Snacks
- Orange Slices
- Popcorn
- Yogurt
- Diced Pears
Sweet Treat
- Easy Maple Cookies (uses pancake syrup)
For this price comparison, I am using prices available in Hesperia, 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 Week #12.”
Produce Section
This is all the fresh vegetables and fruits we need for the week.
| Item | Stater Bros Price | Target Price |
| Bananas x8 | $0.69 a lb (3.2lbs)= $2.20 | $0.25 each= $2.00 |
| Oranges | 4lb bag of oranges= $4.99 | 4lb bag of Navel Oranges= $4.99 |
| Lettuce | 1 head Iceberg= $1.99 | 1 head Iceberg= $1.99 |
| Tomato x2 | On the Vine= $2.99 | Beefsteak= $2.99 |
| Onion x2 | Yellow Onions $0.99 a lb = $0.99 | Yellow Onion $0.85 each= $1.70 |
| Potatoes | 5lb bag of red potatoes= $3.99 | 5lb bag of Russet potatoes= $3.99 |
| Carrots | 1 lb bag= $0.99 | 1lb bag of baby carrots= $1.29 |
| Total: (7 items) | $18.14 | $18.95 |
In the produce section, Stater Bros came out cheaper with a total of $18.14. This was $0.81 cheaper than Target’s total of $18.95.
Deli/Meats
This is all the meats that we will need from the deli and meat counter.
| Item | Stater Bros Price | Target Price |
| Bacon | Stater Bros 16oz pack= $3.99 *on sale* | Market Pantry 16oz pack= $4.39 |
| Ground Beef | Stater Bros 80/20 1lb fresh= $5.49 | Good & Gather 73/27 1lb fresh= $4.99 |
| Smoked Sausage (kielbasa, etc) | Stater Bros 11oz pack= $3.49 *on sale* | Good & Gather 12oz pack= $3.99 |
| Chicken Breasts (need 4-5) | Stater Bros Fresh Chicken Breasts $2.99 a lb (4lbs)= $11.96 | Good & Gather 4lb bag of Frozen Chicken Breasts= $12.69 |
| Total: (4 items) | $24.93 | $26.06 |
In the meat section, Stater Bros came out cheaper with a total of $24.93. This was $1.13 cheaper than Target’s total of $26.06.
Dry Goods
This is all the dry goods and shelf stable items that we need for our meal plan.
| Item | Stater Bros Price | Target Price |
| Flour Tortillas | Mission 12ct= $2.29 | Tortillas Mexico 12ct= $1.89 |
| Muffin Mix | Jiffy blueberry 7oz box= $1.29 | Krusteaz Blueberry 17.1oz box= $3.19 |
| Pancake Syrup | Stater Bros 24oz bottle= $2.69 | Market Pantry 24oz bottle= $2.59 |
| Ketchup | Stater Bros 24oz bottle= $1.49 | Market Pantry 20oz bottle= $1.29 |
| Brown Sugar | C & H 1lb box= $2.29 | Good & Gather 2lb bag= $1.99 |
| Worcestershire Sauce | Food Club 10oz bottle= $1.99 | Market Pantry 10oz bottle= $2.99 |
| Hamburger Buns (8ct) | Stater Bros 8ct= $1.69 | Market Pantry 8ct= $1.49 |
| Raisins | Stater Bros 6oz mini boxes= $1.99 | Good & Gather 6oz mini boxes= $2.29 |
| Diced Pears (canned) | Stater Bros 15oz can= $1.79 | Market Pantry 15oz can= $1.39 |
| Mayonnaise | Stater Bros 20oz jar= $2.99 | Best Foods 5.5oz bottle= $2.69 |
| Egg Noodles | Stater Bros 12oz bag= $1.99 | Good & Gather 12oz bag= $1.79 |
| Tuna (canned) | Stater Bros 5oz can= $0.99 | Good & Gather 5oz can= $0.99 |
| Breadcrumbs | Stater Bros 15oz container= $1.99 | Market Pantry 15oz container= $1.19 |
| Taco Seasoning Pack | Food Club 1.25oz pack= $0.59 | Old El Paso 1oz pack= $0.95 |
| White Rice | Stater Bros 1lb bag= $0.99 | Good & Gather 1lb bag= $0.99 |
| Black Beans (canned) | Stater Bros 15oz can= $1.19 | Good & Gather 15.5oz can= $0.85 |
| Au Jus Seasoning Pack | Food Club 1oz pack= $0.99 | McCormick 1oz pack= $1.69 |
| Ranch Seasoning Pack | Stater Bros 0.5oz pack= $0.99 | Hidden Valley 1oz pack= $1.99 |
| Pepperoncini | Vlasic 12oz jar= $2.49 | Market Pantry 12oz jar= $2.49 |
| Tomato Sauce | Stater Bros 15oz can= $0.99 | Good & Gather 15oz can= $0.89 |
| Italian Seasoning | Spice Classics 0.87oz jar= $1.29 | Good & Gather 0.75oz jar= $1.19 |
| Green Beans | Stater Bros 14.5oz can= $0.99 | Good & Gather 14.5oz can= $0.65 |
| Microwave Popcorn | Stater Bros 3ct box= $1.99 | Market Pantry 6ct box= $3.49 |
| All Purpose Flour | Stater Bros 5lb bag= $2.49 | Market Pantry 5lb bag= $2.39 |
| Sugar | Stater Bros 4lb bag= $3.29 | Crystal 4lb bag= $2.69 |
| Baking Soda | Stater Bros 16oz box= $0.99 | Good & Gather 16oz box= $0.99 |
| Vanilla Extract | That’s Smart imitation 8oz bottle= $1.79 | Molina imitation 8.1oz bottle= $1.69 |
| Total: (26 items) | $46.53 | $48.71 |
In the dry goods section, Stater Bros came out cheaper with a total of $46.53. This was $2.18 cheaper than Target’s total of $48.71.
Frozen Foods
These are the frozen items needed for this week’s meal plan.
| Item | Stater Bros Price | Target Price |
| Frozen Peas | Stater Bros 16oz bag= $1.69 | Good & Gather 12oz bag= $0.95 |
| Frozen Brussell Sprouts | Bird Eye 10.8oz bag= $3.49 | Good & Gather 12oz bag= $1.69 |
| Total: (2 items) | $5.18 | $2.64 |
In the frozen section, Target came out cheaper with a total of $2.64. This was $2.54 cheaper than Stater Bros’ total of $5.18.
Dairy Section
These are all the dairy items needed like milk and cheeses.
| Item | Stater Bros Price | Target Price |
| Vanilla Yogurt | Stater Bros 32oz container= $2.79 | Good & Gather 32oz container= $3.69 |
| 1/2 gallon of Milk | Stater Bros half gallon= $1.99 | Good & Gather half gallon= $2.19 |
| Eggs | Stater Bros 12ct large white eggs= $2.99 | Good & Gather 12ct large white eggs= $2.59 |
| Cheddar Cheese (16oz) | Stater Bros 16oz block= $4.99 | Good & Gather 16oz shredded= $4.39 |
| Sour Cream | Stater Bros 8oz container= $1.49 | God & Gather 8oz container= $1.59 |
| Butter | Stater Bros 16oz sticks= $4.49 | Good & Gather 16oz sticks= $4.39 |
| Mozzarella Cheese (8oz) | Stater Bros 8oz shredded= $2.50 *on sale* | Good & Gather 8oz shredded= $2.29 |
| Total: (7 items) | $21.24 | $21.13 |
In the dairy section, Target came out cheaper with a total of $21.13. This was $0.11 cheaper than Stater Bros’ total of $21.24.
Is Target more expensive than Stater Bros?
There was a lot of back and forth for who was cheaper, so let’s look at the overall totals.
| Section | Stater Bros Price | Target Price |
| Produce | $18.14 | $18.95 |
| Deli/Meats | $24.03 | $26.06 |
| Dry Goods | $46.56 | $48.71 |
| Frozen Foods | $5.18 | $2.64 |
| Dairy | $21.24 | $21.13 |
| Overall Total: (46 items) | $115.15 | $117.49 |
Overall, Stater Bros came out cheaper than Target with a total of $115.15. This was $2.34 (about 2%) cheaper than Target’s total of $117.49.
Now this does not seem like a huge difference in price at all, so if we are only able to go to one store, I would pick the one that is most convenient to go shopping based on location, quality, etc.
If I had the time to go to both stores or do a curbside pickup, then I could potentially save some more money. By only buying the cheapest item at each store, our total would have been $106.89.
That is an additional savings of 7% which was $8.26. We could use that extra $8 to stock up on pantry items or meats that are on sale!
For more grocery store price comparisons, check out “Stater Bros vs Walmart” and “Target vs Winn Dixie.”
