Target vs Safeway: Who is Cheaper?
Safeway a large grocery store chain that operates in 17 states in the US. Target is primarily a home goods mega box store that has expanded into the grocery sector.
To determine if a week’s worth of groceries is cheaper at Target or Safeway, we will perform a side-by-side price comparison of our meal plan. Scroll to the end to see the final verdict!
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Is Target cheaper than Safeway?
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
- Mini Muffins with Extra Banana
- Cottage Cheese with Canned Peaches
- Eggies in a Basket with strawberries
- Rice Krispie Cereal with milk and Bananas
Lunches
- Bacon Turkey Sandwiches with Tortilla Chips
- Caesar Pasta Salad with leftover Parmesan Chicken
- Ham and Egg Salad sandwiches with Carrot Sticks
- Dinner Leftovers
Dinners
- Potato Soup with Bacon, Cheddar Cheese, and Broccoli
- Smothered Chicken and Rice with Side Salad
- Ham, Cheese & Spinach Pasta with Garlic Bread
- Garlic Butter Shrimp over Rice with Sauteed Carrots
- Chicken Fajita Bake with Corn & Black Beans
- Caesar Chicken with Potato Wedges and Green Beans
Snacks
- Carrot and Caesar Dressing
- Hard Boiled Eggs or Deviled Eggs
- Chips and Salsa
- Turkey and Cheese Rollups
Sweet Treat
- Rice Krispie Treats
For this price comparison, I am using prices available in Napa, 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 #9.”
Produce Section
This is all the fresh vegetables and fruits we need for the week.
| Item | Target Price | Safeway Price |
| Banana x 5 | $0.25 each= $1.25 | $0.36 each= $1.80 |
| Strawberries | 1lb package= $3.19 | 1lb package= $4.99 |
| Tomato (x1) | 16oz pack of Romas= $1.19 | On the vine= $1.32 |
| Lettuce | 1 head Iceberg= $1.79 | 1 head romaine= $2.99 |
| Lemon (x1) | $0.65 each | $1.00 each |
| Potatoes | 5lb bag of Russets= $3.49 | 5lb bag of Russets= $3.99 |
| Fresh Garlic | 3ct bag= $1.89 | $0.59 each |
| Carrots | 1lb baby carrots= $0.99 | 1lb bag= $1.29 |
| Bell Pepper x1 | 2ct green= $1.99 | $1.25 each green |
| Total: (9 items) | $16.43 | $19.22 |
In the produce section, Target came out cheaper with a total of $16.43. THis was $2.79 cheaper than Safeway’s total of $19.22.
It is worth noting that most of the produce items at Target are already prepackaged into bags, so instead of buying just one tomato, we had to buy a whole bag. Same thing with the garlic and the bell peppers.
Even though Target came cheaper, they were also a much better deal because we ended up with more tomatoes, garlic, and bell peppers. I was expecting the prices to be bigger at Target, so this was a nice surprise!
Deli/Meats
This is all the meats that we will need from the deli and meat counter.
| Item | Target Price | Safeway Price |
| Bacon | Market Pantry 16oz= $4.69 | Jimmy Dean 12oz pack= $5.49 |
| Turkey Lunchmeat | Good & Gather 9oz pack= $3.69 | Signature Select 16oz pack= $3.99 *on sale* |
| Chicken Breasts (need 6) | Good & Gather $3.29 a lb (5lbs) = $16.45 | Open Nature $5.99 a lb (3lbs)= $18.27 |
| Ham Steaks | Good & Gather 8oz= $3.49 | Hormel 8oz= $3.79 |
| Shrimp | Good & Gather 1lb bag of frozen Large Shrimp= $8.49 | 1lb Raw Frozen 51-60ct shrimp= $6.99 *on sale* |
| Total: (5 items) | $36.81 | $38.53 |
In the meat section, Target came out cheaper with a total of $36.81. THis was $1.72 cheaper than Safeway’s total of $38.53.
It is worth noting that at Target we ended up with 2 more pounds of chicken and 4oz more of bacon. Safeway had lunchmeat on sale, but that was the only good meat deal that they had.
Dry Goods
This is all the dry goods and shelf stable items that we need for our meal plan.
| Item | Target Price | Safeway Price |
| Muffin Mix | Betty Crocker lemon Poppyseed 14.5oz mix= $2.69 | Jiffy 7.5oz blueberry mix= $0.99 *on sale* |
| Canned peaches | Market Pantry 14.5oz can= $1.39 | Signature Select 14.5oz can= $2.49 |
| Sandwich bread | Market pantry 20oz white= $1.19 | Oven Joy 22oz wheat= $1.69 |
| Rice Krispie Cereal | Market Pantry Toasted Rice 12oz box= $2.69 | Signature Select Crispy Rice 12oz box= $3.99 |
| Marshmallows | Good & Gather 10oz bag= $0.99 | Signature Select 10oz bag= $2.29 |
| Caesar Dressing | Kraft 16oz bottle= $2.69 | Signature Select 16oz bottle= $3.09 |
| French Bread Loaf | Favorite Day 8oz loaf= $2.69 | Signature Select 16oz loaf= $1.99 |
| Mayonnaise | Market Pantry 22oz bottle= $3.59 | Signature Select 15oz jar= $3.49 |
| Canned green beans | Good & Gather 14.5oz can= $0.65 | Signature Select 14.5oz can= $1.25 *on sale* |
| White Rice | Good & Gather 1lb bag= $0.99 | Signature Select 2lb bag= $2.49 |
| Cream of Chicken Soup | Campbell’s 10.5oz can= $1.29 | Signature Select 10.5oz can= $1.99 |
| Canned Corn | Del Monte 15.25oz can= $1.49 | Signature Select 15.25oz can= $1.25 *on sale* |
| Canned Black Beans | Good & Gather 15.5oz can= $0.85 | Bush’s 15oz can= $1.25 *on sale* |
| Salsa | Herdez Casera 16oz jar= $2.59 | Signature Select 16oz jar= $2.79 |
| Taco Seasoning | Mccormick Low sodium 1oz pack= $0.49 | Mccormick Low sodium 1oz pack= $1.00 *on sale* |
| Tortilla Chips | Calidad 11oz bag= $2.29 | Calidad 12oz bag= $2.00 *on sale* |
| Pasta | Good & Gather 16oz box of Farfalle= $0.95 | Signature Select 16oz box of Rotini= $1.59 |
| Total: (17 items) | $29.51 | $35.63 |
In the dry goods section, Target came out cheaper with a total of $29.51. This was $6.12 cheaper than Safeway’s total of $35.63.
Frozen Foods
These are the frozen items needed for this week’s meal plan.
| Item | Target Price | Safeway Price |
| Frozen Broccoli | Bird’s Eye 10.8oz bag= $1.29 | Signature Select 12oz bag= $2.50 *on sale* |
| Frozen Spinach | Good & Gather 10oz bag= $1.39 | Signature Select 10oz= $2.49 |
| Total: (2 items) | $2.68 | $4.99 |
In the frozen section, Target came out cheaper with a total of $2.68. This was $2.31 cheaper than Safeway’s total of $4.99.
Dairy Section
These are all the dairy items needed like milk and cheeses.
| Item | Target Price | Safeway Price |
| Cottage Cheese | Good & Gather 16oz tub= $1.99 | Daisy 16oz tub= $2.79 *on sale* |
| Eggs | Good & Gather 12ct white= $3.49 | Lucerne Farms 12ct white= $4.29 |
| Milk | Good & Gather gallon= $3.69 | Value Corner gallon= $4.79 |
| Butter | Good & Gather 1lb = $3.99 | Value Corner 1lb= $4.99 |
| Parmesan cheese | Good & Gather 6oz bag= $1.99 | Lucerne 5oz tub= $2.99 |
| Cheddar Cheese (16oz) | Good & Gather 16oz bag= $3.79 | Sargento 8oz bag x2= $6.00 *on sale* |
| Cream Cheese | Good & Gather 8oz block= $1.99 | Lucerne 8oz block= $2.99 |
| Total: (7 items) | $20.93 | $28.84 |
In the dairy section, Target came out cheaper with a total of $20.93. This was $7.91 cheaper than Safeway’s total of $28.84.
Is Safeway more expensive than Target?
Target easily came in cheaper in every section. Now let’s look at the overall totals!
| Section | Target Price | Safeway Price |
| Produce | $16.43 | $19.22 |
| Deli/Meats | $36.81 | $38.53 |
| Dry Goods | $29.51 | $35.63 |
| Frozen Foods | $2.68 | $4.99 |
| Dairy | $20.93 | $28.84 |
| Overall Total: (40 items) | $106.36 | $127.21 |
Overall, Target was much cheaper than Safeway with a total of $106.36. This was $20.85 (about 16%) cheaper than Safeway’s total of $127.21.
I have to admit I was very stunned by Target’s pricing compared to Safeway. In the past I may have grabbed one or two items from the grocery section, but never would have thought about doing my whole week’s food shopping at Target.
My mind has been officially changed, and the next time my choices are Target or Safeway, I am heading to Target. Not only was the pricing cheaper on most items but we actually got a better value as well.
We were able to get much more produce, bacon, and chicken for less at Target compared to Safeway’s options.
Safeway does have weekly ads, and you can use them to help you meal plan for maximum savings. For more savings at Safeway, check out their FreshPass. They are currently offering a 30-day free trial!
For more grocery store price comparisons, check out “Walmart vs Price Chopper: Who is Cheaper?” and “Albertsons vs Fry’s: Who is Cheaper?“
