We Compared Prices for a Dozen Items at Walmart Versus Whole Foods — And Did Not Expect These Results

There are so many great unanswered questions in the world: What is the meaning of life? Where is my car registration anyways? And, most importantly, could Whole Foods possibly be cheaper than Walmart? Well, one of these questions is about to be answered, and it’s definitely not about the location of my car registration (but I’m working on it). No, it’s time to settle just how cheap Whole Foods has become over the years and whether it might dethrone Walmart as one of the all-time great affordable grocers.

Often nicknamed “Whole Paycheck,” Whole Foods has made some solid strides toward lowering prices across shelves (while maintaining some of the highest-quality standards of any U.S. grocery retailer, including banning 300 ingredients worldwide). I decided to put this to the test by comparing how both Walmart and Whole Foods’ prices looked side by side to settle which grocery store is cheaper, especially when it comes to their store brand (aka private-label) products.

In my prediction, Walmart was bound to sweep Whole Foods price-wise, which it nearly did! That is, until Whole Foods’ milk entered the ring. It’s only a 7-cent difference, but those are still seven pretty pennies.

WINNER! Whole Foods 365 Whole Milk, $4.49 for 1 gallon
Walmart Great Value Whole Milk, $4.56 for 1 gallon

Bacon is truly an all-day-long food: glazed in brown sugar, piled high on a BLT, or as the base of a pasta sauce. But it can often be pretty pricey. Thankfully, Walmart’s bacon is a solid $1 or $2 cheaper than many other grocers, including Whole Foods.

WINNER! Walmart Great Value Hickory Smoked Bacon, $5.12 for 12 ounces
Whole Foods 365 Uncured Center Cut Smokehouse Bacon, $6.69 for 12 ounces

As Peak Baking Season approaches, a 4-pound bag of sugar will likely keep you well-stocked until at least New Year’s Day. At a price over 30% less than Whole Foods’ bag, the Walmart sugar might just taste a bit sweeter.

WINNER! Walmart Great Value Granulated Sugar, $3.24 for 4 pounds
Whole Foods 365 Granulated Cane Sugar, $4.99 for 4 pounds 

Both cans are Marine Stewardship Council (MSC)-certified (a win-win!), but price-wise it’s still, oof, another W for Walmart in the tuna department. Its can is a whole $1.57 cheaper than the ones at Whole Foods (so you can make more one-pot tuna noodle casseroles for less). 

WINNER! Walmart Great Value Chunk Light Tuna, $.92 for 5 ounces
Whole Foods 365 Canned Albacore Wild Tuna, $2.49 for 5 ounces

A jar of marinara can go in so many different directions: homemade pizza, the absolute best shakshuka, or some boiled pasta (choose your favorite shape)? Why not all three, which you can totally do with Walmart’s jars that are the slightest bit smaller and nearly half the price of Whole Foods.

WINNER! Walmart Great Value Marinara Pasta Sauce, $1.76 for 23 ounces ($.07 per ounce)
Whole Foods 365 Organic Marinara Sauce, $2.99 for 25 ounces ($.11 per ounce)

Organic items have gradually become a bit less expensive at Whole Foods over the years, but the canned organic beans are still not nearly as cheap as Walmart’s version. In fact, the organic black beans at Whole Foods is nearly double the price at Walmart. Tough loss!

WINNER! Walmart Great Value Organic Black Beans, $0.88 for 15 ounces 
Whole Foods 365 Organic Black Beans, $1.59 for 15 ounces

Similar to the black beans, the conventional avocados at Whole Foods are nearly triple the price of Walmart’s. So if you’re in the mood to make a copycat Chipotle burrito bowl at home, you might want to skip Whole Foods’ avocados and head to Walmart.

WINNER! Walmart Hass Avocados, $0.68 per avocado
Whole Foods Medium Hass Avocados: $1.99 per avocado 

This is no exaggeration, I have no less than five boxes of waffles in my freezer as I type this. Waffles are life, and I run through ’em, so it’s good to know that Walmart’s box will take me the distance (with 10 waffles) and at a lower price than Whole Foods’ (with only six waffles).

WINNER! Walmart Great Value Buttermilk Waffles, $2.26 for 12.3 ounces ($.18 per ounce)
Whole Foods 365 Organic Homestyle Waffles, $3.29 for 7.4 ounces ($.44 per ounce)

Key to easy beef and broccoli noodles or when you “just can’t,” frozen broccoli florets are a budget-friendly veg I love to keep on hand. It was a close race with both Whole Foods and Walmart, but even with Walmart’s smaller-size bag (12 ounces) it’s cheaper per ounce than Whole Foods’ 16-ounce bag.

WINNER! Walmart Great Value Broccoli Florets, $1.49 for 12 ounces ($.12 per ounce)
Whole Foods 365 Frozen Broccoli Florets, $2.49 for 16 ounces ($.15 per ounce)

A few Whole Foods items on this list only came in organic varieties, which means they must pass inspections and meet certain requirements. It also often means a higher price. That was absolutely the case for the smaller, organic Whole Foods frozen berries: the smaller (10-ounce) bag was nearly the same price as the larger, conventional Walmart frozen berries.

WINNER! Walmart Great Value Frozen Berry Medley, $3.52 for 16 ounces ($.22 per ounce)
Whole Foods 365 Organic Berry Blend, $3.69 for 10 ounces ($.36 per ounce)

I’ve always got an emergency bag of chicken nuggets in my freezer, ready for anything, so I was delighted to find that Walmart not only gives you way more chicken nuggets (bang) for way less (your buck) than Whole Foods’ gluten-free nugs (the only kind sold under its 365 store brand; the name-brand breaded nuggets are slightly cheaper, but still over $1 more than Walmart’s).

WINNER! Walmart Great Value Chicken Nuggets, $5.97 for 32 ounces ($0.19 per ounce)
Whole Foods 365 Gluten-Free Chicken Nuggets, $8.99 for 22 ounces ($.44 per ounce)

What’s a more beautiful sight in your freezer than a tub of ice cream? A budget-friendly tub of vanilla ice cream, of course! Which in this case is, no surprise, from Walmart. 

Note: At the time I visited Whole Foods, the vanilla ice cream was out of stock. But! The price is identical to the same-size container of chocolate.

WINNER! Walmart Great Value Homestyle Vanilla Ice Cream, $3.12 for 1.5 quart
Whole Foods 365 Chocolate Ice Cream, $5.29 for 1.5 quart (the same price of the vanilla ice cream quart)

What are some of your best budget-friendly buys at either retailer? Tell us about it in the comments below.