Grocery Price Comparison Australia 2026: Cheapest Supermarket

Aldi is the cheapest supermarket in Australia for a like-for-like shop. In CHOICE's June 2026 survey of 104 supermarkets in 27 locations, the same 17 groceries cost $68.89 at Aldi, about 7% less than Woolworths and 10% less than Coles. IGA was the dearest. Specials didn't change the order.

Source: CHOICE, “Which supermarket has the cheapest groceries in our survey?” (updated 24 September 2026). Prices without specials.

Food and non-alcoholic beverage prices rose 3.0% in the 12 months to August 2026, according to the ABS Consumer Price Index. The same groceries also cost different amounts at different stores and in different weeks, so comparing prices is the most reliable habit for keeping your grocery spend in check.

The Australian Grocery Landscape in 2026

Australia's supermarket sector is dominated by two giants, challenged by a disruptor, and sprinkled with niche alternatives. Understanding each chain's pricing philosophy is the foundation of any serious comparison strategy.

Woolworths commands roughly 37% of the market. Its “Prices Dropped” programme permanently lowers prices on hundreds of everyday items, while the Everyday Rewards programme offers points-based savings. Woolworths tends to be strongest on branded products and fresh produce variety, though its regular shelf prices are rarely the cheapest.

Coles holds about 28% of the market and runs aggressive weekly specials, often going half-price on popular lines. Its Flybuys loyalty programme integrates with fuel discounts. Coles has invested heavily in its own-brand range, which now covers over 5,000 products. For shoppers who time their purchases around specials, Coles frequently comes out ahead.

Aldi holds around 10% of the market but punches well above its weight on price. Its model is simple: a smaller range (roughly 1,500 products versus 20,000+ at the majors), almost entirely own-brand, with lower overheads passed on as lower prices. CHOICE's June 2026 basket survey put Aldi about 7% below Woolworths and 10% below Coles on the same items. The trade-off is range. If you need a specific brand or a niche product, Aldi probably won't stock it.

IGA operates as a network of independently owned stores. Prices are generally higher than the big three, but IGA stores serve communities that Woolworths and Coles often don't reach, particularly in regional and rural areas. Many IGA stores run competitive local specials and stock local producers that the chains ignore entirely.

Costco offers bulk buying at warehouse prices, with a $65 annual membership fee. For larger households that can store bulk quantities, Costco delivers genuine savings on pantry staples, cleaning products, and proteins. However, the membership fee means you need to spend enough to offset the cost, and with only 15 Australian locations, access is limited.

Pre-Shopping: Compare Before You Buy

The most effective time to compare grocery prices is before you set foot in a store. Several Australian-built tools make this practical rather than tedious.

Price Comparison Apps

WiseList is the standout for pre-shop price comparison. It compares prices at Coles, Woolworths, and Aldi for free. Its “Split by Store” feature, part of the paid WiseList+ plan, works out how to divide a list between stores. If you're willing to visit two supermarkets on your shopping trip, it can tell you which items to buy where. The company reports more than 400,000 sign-ups (wiselist.app, checked 11 October 2026).

Frugl combined price comparison with dietary and allergen filters, and covered IGA as well. When we checked on 23 October 2026, its App Store and Google Play listings were not found and its website returned an error. Our Frugl alternatives page covers what to use instead.

Digital Catalogues

The Coles and Woolworths apps both publish weekly specials every Wednesday. Flipping through these before writing your list takes five minutes and can save you $20 to $40 per shop. Apps like Shopfully aggregate catalogues from multiple retailers in one place, and Alydo lists this week's Coles, Woolworths and Aldi catalogue specials for Melbourne, biggest % off first. The key is to only buy specials you would have purchased anyway. A 50% discount on something you don't need saves you nothing, and not every advertised discount is a genuine saving either.

Post-Shopping: Track What You Actually Spend

Pre-shopping comparison is valuable, but it only tells half the story. The other half is understanding what you actually spent, not what you planned to spend. The gap between the two is where most grocery budgets quietly blow out.

Most Australian households have no idea how their spending breaks down across categories like dairy, meat, snacks, and cleaning products. They know the total on the receipt, but not whether they're spending $180 a month on soft drinks or $60 a week on items they end up throwing away.

This is the problem we built Alydo to solve. You scan your supermarket receipts with your phone camera, and the app uses AI to extract every line item, categorise your purchases, and track price changes over time. After a few weeks, you get a clear picture of where your money actually goes. Many users discover that 15 to 20% of their spend falls into categories they'd happily cut if they'd realised the cumulative cost. You can try it free with no credit card required.

The broader principle here is simple: you can't optimise what you don't measure. Comparing prices before you buy is the first step. Tracking what you actually bought is the step that creates lasting change.

Store-by-Store Breakdown: Where Each Chain Wins

No single supermarket is cheapest across the board. Each chain has categories where it consistently offers better value.

Woolworths Wins On

• Fresh produce variety: The widest range of fruits and vegetables, including organic and specialty items. Quality is generally consistent across stores.
• Branded products on special: When Woolworths runs half-price specials on branded items, prices often match or beat Aldi equivalents.
• Convenience: With over 1,000 stores nationally and strong Click & Collect and delivery infrastructure, Woolworths is hard to beat on accessibility.

Coles Wins On

• Own-brand range: Coles' private label products span from budget (“Coles”) to premium (“Coles Finest”) and are competitively priced against Aldi equivalents in many categories.
• Weekly specials depth: Coles typically runs more aggressive percentage discounts than Woolworths, particularly on pantry staples and household items.
• Fuel savings: The Flybuys and Shell Coles Express partnership means regular grocery spending translates to fuel discounts, which suits car-dependent households.

Aldi Wins On

• Everyday staples: Milk, bread, eggs, pasta, rice, tinned goods, and cleaning products are almost always cheapest at Aldi. CHOICE's June 2026 basket was about 7 to 10% cheaper than at the big two.
• No-nonsense pricing: No loyalty cards, no points, no games. The price on the shelf is the price you pay, and it's typically the lowest available.
• Special Buys: Aldi's Wednesday and Saturday Special Buys offer non-grocery items (appliances, tools, clothing) at remarkably low prices, though stock is limited.

IGA Wins On

• Regional access: In areas with no Coles, Woolworths, or Aldi, IGA is often the only option, and many stores price competitively for their local market.
• Local and artisan products: Independent ownership means IGA stores frequently stock local bakeries, butchers, and producers that chains overlook.

Costco Wins On

• Bulk proteins and dairy: Large packs of chicken, mince, cheese, and butter are significantly cheaper per kilogram than any supermarket.
• Cleaning and household: Laundry detergent, dishwasher tablets, and toilet paper in bulk offer 30 to 50% savings over supermarket equivalents.

5 Practical Price Comparison Strategies

Knowing which store is cheapest on average isn't enough. These five strategies turn price awareness into actual savings.

1. Switch to Own-Brand for Commodities

For products where the brand genuinely doesn't matter (flour, sugar, salt, tinned tomatoes, cleaning products), own-brand versions are typically 30 to 50% cheaper. Both Coles and Woolworths source many of their own-brand products from the same manufacturers that produce the branded equivalents. The difference is packaging and marketing, not quality. Aldi's entire model is built on this principle.

2. Learn the Specials Cycle

Coles and Woolworths rotate their specials on roughly predictable cycles. Most branded products go on half-price every 4 to 8 weeks. If you identify the products you buy regularly and stock up when they're on special (rather than buying at full price when you run out), you can effectively pay the special price year-round. This is sometimes called “stockpile shopping” and it works best for non-perishables and products with long shelf lives.

3. Spot the Loss Leaders

Supermarkets deliberately price certain popular items below cost to attract you into the store, hoping you'll fill your trolley with full-price items once you're there. Common loss leaders include $1 bread loaves, discounted rotisserie chickens, and heavily reduced milk. The strategy for shoppers: buy the loss leaders, but stick to your list for everything else. If you can resist impulse purchases, loss leaders are genuinely good deals.

4. Use Unit Pricing Religiously

Since 2009, Australian supermarkets have been legally required to display unit pricing (price per 100g, per litre, per unit) on shelf labels. This is the single most reliable way to compare products, especially when pack sizes differ. A 400g box of cereal for $5.00 ($1.25/100g) is cheaper than a 500g box for $7.00 ($1.40/100g), even though the second box looks like better value at a glance. Train yourself to read the small print on shelf labels. It takes seconds and eliminates the most common pricing tricks.

5. Buy Seasonal Produce

Fresh fruit and vegetable prices fluctuate dramatically with the seasons. Berries in winter can cost three to four times their summer price. Stone fruit in spring is often twice its January price. Shopping seasonally for produce not only saves money but typically means better flavour and nutrition, since the produce hasn't been stored for months or shipped from overseas. The Sydney Markets and Melbourne Market websites publish seasonal availability guides that are worth bookmarking.

How to Compare Unit Prices Across Supermarkets

Compare the unit price, not the shelf price: what a product costs per 100g, per litre or per item. Australian supermarkets have to show it, so most of the work is reading the right number and making sure both stores are using the same unit.

What Stores Have to Show

The Unit Pricing Code is a mandatory code under the Competition and Consumer Act. Grocery retailers with more than 1,000 square metres of grocery floor space, and online grocers that sell the full range of groceries the code lists, must show unit prices in store, online and in their advertising. A unit price has to stand out, be easy to read, sit close to the selling price, and be in dollars and cents to the nearest cent. Smaller shops don't have to show one, though some choose to.

The unit depends on the product and how it is sold. Drinks are priced per litre. Meat, fruit and vegetables are priced per kilogram, or per item when they are sold by the item.

Sources: ACCC, “Unit Pricing Code” and ACCC, “Unit prices for groceries” (both checked 23 October 2026).

Compare the Same Unit at Each Store

• Check the unit on both labels. If one shows a price per kg and the other per 100g, divide the per kg price by 10 before comparing. A price per litre divided by 10 is the price per 100mL.
• Online, compare the listings side by side. The code covers online grocers too, so the Coles and Woolworths websites show a unit price beside each product's price.
• Multipacks. When two or more of the same item are sold for one price, the unit price must be shown. A multipack is often cheaper per litre than a single can, but not always, so check rather than assume.
• Specials. A special changes the unit price too. A small pack on special can come out cheaper per 100g than a bigger pack at full price, and the unit price is the only quick way to tell.
• Some prices have no unit price. Markdowns near the use-by date, bundles of different items for one price, and one price across a range of different products (“all these sauces $3”) don't need one. Work it out yourself instead.

Working Out a Unit Price Yourself

Any phone calculator will do it. Divide the price by the pack size, then multiply by the unit you want. A 500g pack at $1.80 is $1.80 ÷ 500 × 100 = $0.36 per 100g. A ten-pack of 375mL cans holds 3.75 litres, so at $9.50 it is $9.50 ÷ 3.75 = $2.53 per litre, against $5.33 per litre for one can at $2.00.

Example prices for illustration, not real prices from any store.

The Hidden Cost Most People Miss

Every price comparison strategy in the world is undermined by food waste. According to the Australian Government's National Food Waste Strategy, Australian households throw away approximately $2,500 worth of food per year on average. That's roughly 20% of the groceries purchased.

Buying in bulk only saves money if you actually consume what you buy. Stocking up on half-price specials only works if those items don't expire before you use them. The cheapest grocery item is one you didn't buy because you already had it at home.

This is where tracking intersects with comparison. When you know what you're buying (and how much of it you're wasting), you make fundamentally different decisions at the shelf. You buy less of the things that end up in the bin and more of the things that actually get eaten. Over a year, reducing food waste by even a third can save an Australian household $800 or more, which is a bigger saving than most people achieve through price comparison alone.

Bringing It All Together

Grocery price comparison in Australia isn't about finding one magic store that's cheapest on everything. It's about building a system: compare before you buy, track after you buy, learn the strengths of each chain, and eliminate waste. The tools exist to make this practical rather than tedious.

Use WiseList to compare prices before you shop. Read unit pricing labels in-store. Buy own-brand where quality is equivalent. Stock up on specials for products you use regularly. And track your actual spending so you know whether your strategies are working.

The families saving the most on groceries in Australia aren't the ones chasing every deal. They're the ones who understand their own habits and make deliberate choices about where, when, and what to buy.

Want to see where your grocery money actually goes? Try Alydo free. Two-minute setup, no credit card required.