The best ‘value for money’ supermarket in Australia revealed: Find out where to save big

With the cost of living crisis showing no signs of easing up anytime soon, Aussie shoppers are continuously hunting for bargains to make their weekly grocery trips more affordable.

As shoppers strive to stretch every dollar at the checkout, they have found a lifeline with the release of consumer group CHOICE’s first quarterly, government-funded report on supermarket prices across Australia, which reveals the country’s cheapest supermarket.

As part of the research, CHOICE sent mystery shoppers to 81 regional and metropolitan supermarkets across the country, including Aldi, Woolworths, and Coles, to record prices for 14 common grocery items such as apples, carrots, bread, tea bags, beef mince, and butter among other essentials.

After comparing prices, CHOICE found that the cost of a full shopping basket at Aldi was 25 per cent cheaper than that of Coles and Woolworths.

CHOICE CEO, Ashley de Silva said “Aldi was the clear leader on value for money in our first supermarket basket survey for 2024, with our basket of 14 products costing just $51.51 – coming in at about 25% cheaper than Coles or Woolworths.”

“Grocery prices at Coles and Woolworths are very closely matched, with only 75 cents separating the prices of our basket of 14 items without specials. Coles was the most expensive at $69.33, while the basket at Woolworths came in at $68.58,” de Silva added.

Interestingly the research also discovered that where you live can also contribute to how much you could spend at the checkout.

“When we looked at the average cost of our supermarket baskets in each state we found that if you live in Tasmania or the Northern Territory, you’re paying significantly more each week for your groceries,” de Silva explained.

“However, this is mainly due to the fact that these areas have more limited options for shopping than the rest of the country, with no Aldi in Tassie or the NT.

“Outside of the Northern Territory and Tasmania, Western Australians are paying the most on average for their groceries – around a dollar more for this basket of items than people in other parts of the country pay.”

While it appears that where you shop can have a considerable impact on what you spend at the supermarket, opting for generic brands of popular supermarket items has proven to be another popular method of saving money at your grocery store of choice. 

Research from Compare the Market highlighted the growing trend, finding that nearly three-quarters of Australians have chosen the generic option over the more popular name brands during their weekly shop in the past 12 months at the time of the study.

Joan Kane, a pensioner, was among those who had joined the growing number of Aussies looking for savings at the supermarket by making the most of the cheaper alternatives.

“It’s just too expensive now to buy what you used to buy. You buy the cheapest brands and do what you can,” Kane told 9News

“I buy the home brand milk, it’s cheaper. Those few dollars are better in my pocket.

“I feel sorry for the farmers but I’ve got to look after my pennies.”

Compare the Market’s study found that the generic version of items such as pasta, cheese, teabags and bread came in at half the price of the popular name brands.

“A lot of people are feeling the pinch and are looking for more ways to claw back cash,” Compare the Market spokesperson Phillip Portman explained to 9News.

“If you are willing to make that switch, there are savings there.”