8 Grocery Chains Ranked From Cheapest to Most Expensive in the Latest Price Study
Your grocery cart may look the same every week, but the store you push it through can make a surprisingly big difference at checkout. A 2026 Consumer Reports analysis comparing 35 grocery retailers found price gaps stretching from more than 21% below Walmart to nearly 40% above it, depending on the chain.
That matters as grocery prices keep climbing. USDA data shows food-at-home prices were 2.2% higher in August 2026 than a year earlier, even though they were flat compared with July, so finding a cheaper store can still be one of the simplest ways to trim a weekly food bill.
Consumer Reports commissioned Strategic Resource Group to compare baskets of roughly 40 commonly purchased products across six U.S. metro areas, using Walmart as the baseline. “If you’re starting with a lower priced store to begin with, you stand a better chance of having a smaller bill,” Consumer Reports writer Tobie Stanger told WTOP.
Here are eight familiar chains from that larger study, ranked from cheapest to most expensive.
Costco Wholesale — 21.4% Cheaper Than Walmart
Costco came out cheapest in the national comparison, with average prices 21.4% below Walmart for the comparable products researchers checked. Because Costco sells many products in larger packages, researchers compared prices on a per-unit basis rather than simply comparing package totals.
One important catch: Costco requires a membership for most shoppers, and that annual fee is separate from the product-price comparison. Still, on the items studied, its bulk-shopping model delivered the lowest average prices of all 35 retailers.
Related: 8 Costco and Walmart Shopping Mistakes That Quietly Drain Your Wallet
BJ’s Wholesale Club — 21% Cheaper Than Walmart
BJ’s was barely behind Costco, averaging 21% below Walmart nationally. That puts just four-tenths of a percentage point between the two warehouse clubs in the Consumer Reports results.
Like Costco, BJ’s works best when buying larger quantities makes sense for your household. The study’s bigger trend is hard to miss: warehouse clubs occupied the top two spots for price, comfortably ahead of conventional supermarkets.
Lidl — 8.5% Cheaper Than Walmart
You do not need warehouse-size packages to beat Walmart’s prices. Lidl averaged 8.5% below Walmart, making it the cheapest conventional supermarket chain in the comparison.
That result fits Lidl’s discount-store approach, where a more limited assortment and strong emphasis on private-label products help keep prices competitive. In Virginia Beach specifically, researchers found Lidl prices were nearly 9% below Walmart, showing that its national result held up well in at least one of the individual markets studied.
Aldi — 8.3% Cheaper Than Walmart
Aldi and Lidl were almost neck and neck. Aldi’s comparable prices averaged 8.3% below Walmart, only two-tenths of a percentage point behind Lidl nationally.
Regional results could be even stronger. Consumer Reports found Aldi about 16% cheaper than Walmart in Virginia Beach, a reminder that local competition can change savings considerably.
Walmart — The Baseline
Walmart sits right in the middle of this eight-store lineup because researchers used it as the 0% baseline. Six of the 35 retailers in the full Consumer Reports comparison actually averaged lower prices than Walmart nationally, challenging its longtime reputation as the automatic cheapest choice.
Still, Walmart remained cheaper than most stores studied. Think of it as the measuring stick: every percentage in the report tells shoppers how much cheaper or more expensive another chain was compared with Walmart.
Related: Cool Blue Is Everywhere This Summer, and These Walmart Picks Make It Easy to Try at Home
Target — 5.9% More Expensive Than Walmart
Target averaged 5.9% above Walmart on comparable products. That is not an enormous gap compared with some stores further down the study, but it can add up across a full cart and many shopping trips.
The study also excluded discounts that required a membership or store app, though it counted ordinary sale prices available to everyone. That means shoppers using retailer-specific promotions may see a different real-world total.
Kroger — 14.8% More Expensive Than Walmart
Kroger landed considerably higher, with average prices 14.8% above Walmart in the national comparison.
That does not mean every Kroger cart will cost exactly 14.8% more. Prices vary by city, promotions, and product mix, which is precisely why Consumer Reports gathered data across multiple metro areas rather than relying on one location.
Whole Foods Market — 39.7% More Expensive Than Walmart
At the expensive end of the full 35-chain ranking sat Whole Foods. Its comparable prices averaged a hefty 39.7% above Walmart, giving it the largest national price gap in the Consumer Reports analysis.
The difference was even wider in one market: in Virginia Beach, the study found Whole Foods prices were about 58% above Walmart. Researchers could not compare every identical item at specialty stores such as Whole Foods, so baskets differed somewhat according to what each retailer actually stocked.
When grocery prices are still running above last year’s levels, checking where your usual staples cost less could pay off more than simply assuming your regular store has the best deal.
