Stop & Shop vs ShopRite: Who is Cheaper for Groceries?
When shopping for routine purchases like groceries, we tend to stick with the same items and the same stores over and over again. This can keep us from saving the most money possible on our grocery budget. When we compare prices, we can really save big!
Today we will do a side-by-side comparison of Stop & Shop and ShopRite to see who is cheaper for groceries. We will also determine if it is better to go to one store or if we can save more money by going to both stores!
Is Stop and Shop cheaper than ShopRite?
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
- Spinach Egg Bites with Cottage Cheese & Bananas
- Cottage Cheese with Pineapple & Blueberries
- Egg & Cheese Biscuits with Apple Slices
- Mini Monkey Bread with Blueberries
- Scrambled Eggs, Pepperoni, and Apple Slices
Lunches
- Chicken Salad with Celery & Saltines
- Black Bean Hummus Quesadillas & Carrots with Ranch
- Leftover Dinners
Dinners
- Herb Chicken Leg Quarters with Sweet Potatoes & California Blend veggies
- Chicken and Rice Soup with Spinach Salad (tomatoes, cucumbers, cheese, & ranch dressing)
- Ground Beef and Black Bean Enchiladas with Cilantro Lime Rice & Canned Corn
- Ground Beef Chili with Red Kidney Beans (served with tortillas, sour cream, & cheese) and California Blend veggies
- BBQ pulled chicken sandwiches with coleslaw and baked beans
- Mini Pepperoni Pizzas with Spinach Salad
Snacks
- Apple Slices
- Celery & Carrots with Ranch Dressing
- Saltine Crackers
- Bananas & Blueberries
- Tortilla Chips
Sweet Treat
- Pineapple Upside Down Cake
For this price comparison, I am using prices available in Pennington, New Jersey. 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 #11 (Really Cheap, Easy, and Toddler Friendly) .”
Produce Section
This is all the fresh vegetables and fruits we need for the week.
| Item | Stop & Shop Price | ShopRite Price |
| Bananas x5 | 1 bunch= $1.52 | $0.15 each= $0.75 |
| Blueberries | 1 pint= $3.99 *on sale* | 1 pint=$3.99 |
| Apples | 3lb bag of Empire Apples= $4.99 | 3lb bag of Gala Apples= $3.99 |
| Carrots | 1lb bag of baby carrots= $1.25 *on sale* | 1 lb bag= $0.99 |
| Celery | 1lb bag of celery sticks= $3.99 | 1 bunch= $1.99 |
| Spinach | 8oz bag= $2.79 | 5oz bag= $2.50 *on sale* |
| Sweet Potatoes (need 4) | 5lb bag =$3.50 *on sale* | 5lb bag =$2.99 *on sale* |
| Tomato | Tomato on the Vine= $0.67 | Beef Steak= $1.50 |
| Cabbage (small) | 1 head= $1.58 *on sale* | 8oz bag= $2.49 |
| Cucumber | $0.99 each | $0.66 each *on sale* |
| Lime | $0.75 each | $0.50 each |
| Cilantro | 1 bunch= $1.29 | 1 bunch= $1.99 |
| Total: (12 items) | $27.31 | $24.34 |
In the produce section, ShopRite came out cheaper with a total of $24.34. This was $2.97 cheaper than Stop & Shop’s total of $27.31.
Deli/Meats
This is all the meats that we will need from the deli and meat counter.
| Item | Stop & Shop Price | ShopRite Price |
| Chicken Leg Quarters (need 5lbs) | Perdue 10lb bag= $7.99 | $0.99 a lb (5lbs)= $4.95 |
| Ground Beef (need 1 pound) | 80/20 1lb fresh= $5.39 | 80/20 1lb fresh= $5.63 |
| Pepperoni Slices | Stop & Shop 6oz bag= $2.79 | Hormel 6oz bag= $3.99 *on sale* |
| Total: (3 items) | $16.17 | $14.57 |
In the meat section, ShopRite came out cheaper with a total of $14.57. This is $1.60 cheaper than Stop & Shop’s total of $16.17.
It is worth noting that even though Stop & Shop was more expensive, we actually got twice the amount of chicken leg quarters.
Dry Goods
This is all the dry goods and shelf stable items that we need for our meal plan.
| Item | Stop & Shop Price | ShopRite Price |
| Canned Pineapple | Stop & Shop 20oz can= $1.50 *on sale* | Libby’s 20oz can= $1.99 |
| Brown Sugar | Stop & Shop 2lb bag= $2.19 | Domino 1lb box= $2.19 |
| Yellow Cake Mix | Pillsbury 15.2oz box= $1.25 *on sale* | Duncan Hines 15.25oz box= $1.59 |
| Tortillas | Stop & Shop 8ct= $1.99 | Bowl & Basket 10ct= $1.69 |
| Black Beans (can) | Stop & Shop 15.5oz can= $0.88 *on sale* | Bowl & Basket 15oz can= $0.67 *on sale* |
| Ranch Dressing | Stop & Shop 16oz bottle= $2.00 *on sale* | Bowl & Basket 16oz bottle= $1.69 |
| Hamburger Buns | Stop & Shop 8ct= $2.00 | Bowl & Basket 8ct= $1.29 |
| Baked Beans | Stop & Shop 16oz can= $1.09 | Steve & Ed’s 16oz can= $1.29 *on sale* |
| Tomato Sauce | Stop & Shop 16oz can= $1.19 | Tuttorosso 28oz can= $1.13 *on sale* |
| Diced Tomatoes (can) | Stop & Shop 14.5oz can= $1.29 | Bowl & Basket 14.5oz can= $0.99 |
| Chili Powder | Badia 2.5oz jar= $2.49 | Bowl & Basket 2.5oz jar= $0.99 *on sale* |
| Corn (can) | Stop & Shop 15.2oz can= $0.88 *on sale* | Bowl & Basket 15.25oz can= $0.60 *on sale* |
| White Rice | Stop & Shop 1lb bag= $1.19 | Carolina Rice 1lb box= $1.69 |
| Taco Seasoning | Stop & Shop 1.25oz pack= $0.89 | McCormick 1oz pack= $1.19 |
| Kidney Beans (can) | Stop & Shop 15.5oz can= $0.88 *on sale* | ShopRite 15oz can= $0.67 *on sale* |
| Tortilla Chips | Nature’s Promise 9oz bag= $2.50 *on sale* | Ole 2oz bag= $1.99 |
| Cornbread Mix | Jiffy 8.5oz box= $0.66 *on sale* | Betty Crocker 6.5oz bag= $0.79 |
| Garlic Herb Seasoning Blend | McCormick 2.75oz jar= $3.29 | Bowl & Basket 2.2oz jar= $1.99 |
| Barbeque Sauce | Kraft 17.5oz bottle= $1.69 *on sale* | Bowl & Basket 18oz bottle= $1.99 |
| Total: (18 items) | $29.85 | $26.42 |
In the dry goods section, ShopRite came out cheaper with a total of $26.42. This was $3.43 cheaper than Stop & Shop’s total of $29.85.
Frozen Foods
These are the frozen items needed for this week’s meal plan.
| Item | Stop & Shop Price | ShopRite Price |
| California Blend Veggies | Stop & Shop 12oz bag= $2.09 | Bowl & Basket 12oz bag= $1.99 |
| Garlic Bread | Stop & Shop 8ct= $2.69 | Furlani 10oz bag= $1.99 *on sale* |
| Total: (2 items) | $4.78 | $3.98 |
In the frozen section, ShopRite came out cheaper with a total of $3.98. This was $0.80 cheaper than Stop & Shop’s total of $4.78.
Dairy Section
These are all the dairy items needed like milk and cheeses.
| Item | Stop & Shop Price | ShopRite Price |
| Eggs | Stop & Shop 12ct white large eggs= $4.49 | Bowl & basket 12ct white large eggs= $3.99 |
| Cottage Cheese | Stop & Shop 16oz container= $2.39 | Daisy 16oz container= $2.99 *on sale* |
| Milk (1/2 gallon) | Stop & Shop half gallon= $3.09 | Bowl & Basket half gallon= $2.99 |
| Biscuits (can) | Stop & Shop 10ct= $0.99 | Pillsbury 8ct= $2.50 *on sale* |
| Butter | Land O Lakes 1lb= $3.00 *on sale* | Bowl & Basket 1lb= $3.99 *ons ale* |
| Cheddar Cheese | Stop & Shop shredded 8oz bag ($2.00 each x2)= $4.00 *on sale* | Bowl & Basket 16oz shredded= $4.49 |
| Mozzarella Cheese | Stop & Shop shredded 8oz bag ($2.00 each x2)= $4.00 *on sale* | Bowl & Basket 16oz shredded= $4.49 |
| Total: (7 items) | $21.96 | $25.44 |
In the dairy section, Stop & Shop came out cheaper with a total of $21.96. This was $3.48 less than ShopRite’s total of $25.44.
Is ShopRite more expensive than Stop & Shop?
ShopRite came in consistently cheaper in most sections, but let’s look at the overall totals.
| Section | Stop & Shop Price | ShopRite Price |
| Produce | $27.31 | $24.34 |
| Deli/Meats | $16.17 | $14.57 |
| Dry Goods | $29.85 | $26.42 |
| Frozen Foods | $4.78 | $3.98 |
| Dairy | $21.96 | $25.44 |
| Overall Total: (42 items) | $100.07 | $94.75 |
Overall, ShopRite was cheaper than Stop & Shop with a total of $94.75. This was $5.32 (about 5%) cheaper than Stop & Shop’s total of $100.07.
While I am happy that both stores came out close to $100 for this grocery haul, but I think we can do better!
If we had shopped only the cheapest items at each store, our total would have been $84.53. That is another $10.22 (about 11%) in savings.
This gives us more room to stock up on sale items and get ahead for weeks to come! If you don’t have the time to go to both stores, consider ordering a curbside pickup.
For more grocery store price comparisons, check out “Price Chopper vs Stop & Shop” and “Lidl vs ShopRite.”
