Men's Grooming Prices: Coles Is $20 Dearer Than Cherry-Picking

What Does This Grooming Basket Cost at Each Store?

Men's personal care is one of the most predictable monthly shopping categories you'll have. The same razor cartridges, the same deodorant, the same shampoo. Buy them at the wrong store and you're quietly leaving $20 on the table every month.

This basket covers 12 items: razor cartridges, shaving cream, aftershave balm, deodorant, body wash, shampoo, hair styling product, multivitamin, toothbrush, toothpaste, paracetamol and tissues. Here's what each store charges to fill it:

• Coles: $74.72 (all 12 items available)
• Woolworths: $68.75 (11 items available)
• IGA: $60.10 (10 items available)
• Aldi: $29.59 (6 items available)
• Cherry-pick cheapest across all stores: $54.61

The first thing to notice: Coles is the only store that stocks every single item. That matters if you want one trip. But it's also the most expensive complete shop, at nearly $75.

Woolies comes in $5.97 cheaper at $68.75 and covers 11 of the 12 items, which for most blokes is close enough. IGA stocks 10 items for $60.10. Aldi only carries 6 of the 12, but where it does stock something, the price is often hard to beat.

Where the Biggest Savings Are on Men's Grooming

Aldi on deodorant and tissues. Aldi's own-brand deodorant at $2.99 for 150 ml is the cheapest in this comparison. Branded deodorants at Coles and Woolies routinely sit at $4 to $6 without a special. On tissues, Aldi's 224-pack comes in at $1.79, a quiet little win for a product most people grab without looking at the price.

Coles on paracetamol. The cheapest paracetamol in this basket is $0.75 for a 100-pack at Coles. That's a genuine bargain and worth picking up every time you're there. The equivalent at a pharmacy can be four or five times that price.

IGA on aftershave balm and shampoo. This is the surprise. IGA stocks the cheapest aftershave balm in this comparison at $11.00 per 100 ml. It also wins on shampoo at $1.85 for 350 ml. IGA doesn't win many rounds in basket comparisons, but it's worth knowing about these two if you pass one regularly.

Woolies cleans up on the core shaving items. Razor cartridges (4-pack) at $6.00, shaving cream at $2.50 for 250 g, body wash at $2.60 for 400 ml, and toothpaste at $1.50 for 180 g, all cheapest at Woolies. If you only ever shop at one of the big two, Woolies is clearly the better call for most of this basket.

Where Men's Grooming Prices Are Pretty Much the Same

The items where the price gap is small enough that it shouldn't drive a separate trip:

Toothbrushes come in at $2.00 for a 2-pack at Coles. Woolies and IGA will have their own versions close to this. It's not an item worth restructuring your shopping around.

Hair styling product is $5.00 at Coles for 100 g. This is one where brand loyalty tends to override price shopping anyway, if you've found a wax or pomade that actually works, you'll buy it wherever it's stocked.

Multivitamins at $5.62 for a 60-pack from Coles represent the cheapest in the comparison. Generic multivitamins vary a lot in formulation across stores, so if you're happy with the Coles own-brand, that's a solid price. But if you've found a specific supplement you like elsewhere, the per-capsule difference is cents.

Is the Men's Grooming Cherry-Pick Worth the Extra Trips?

The maths look good: $54.61 versus $74.72 at Coles is a $20.11 saving. Over 12 months that's $241 back in your pocket on the same products. That's real money.

But to get there you'd be hitting four different stores, Coles, Woolies, Aldi and IGA. For men's grooming specifically, these aren't weekly perishables. Most of these items last four to six weeks, so you're not doing four separate stops every week. You're doing them once a month or less.

A more realistic approach: combine the Aldi stop with a regular Woolies shop. Woolies covers the four biggest items (razors, shaving cream, body wash, toothpaste) for reasonable prices, and if there's an Aldi nearby you pick up deodorant and tissues there for well under $5. That gets you 6 of the 12 cheapest prices without going out of your way.

The IGA wins on aftershave balm ($11.00) and shampoo ($1.85) are real, but an IGA trip just for two grooming items probably doesn't stack up unless you're already walking past one.

Coles wins four items, hair product, multivitamin, toothbrush and paracetamol. If you're already doing a Coles run for groceries, those four are absolutely worth picking up there rather than switching to Woolies for them.

Who Should Shop Where

Coles-only shoppers: You're paying the most for a complete basket at $74.72, but you get everything in one go. At least load up on the four items Coles wins, paracetamol at $0.75 a box especially, since that price is hard to find anywhere.

Woolies-first shoppers: $68.75 for 11 items is a solid deal. Make a note of the one missing item and either grab it at Coles on another run or improvise. For most of this basket, Woolies is the right default.

Aldi regulars: Only 6 of the 12 items are available, so you can't rely on it as your sole stop. But the deodorant at $2.99 and tissues at $1.79 are so cheap that it's worth keeping a mental note and buying multiples when you're there.

IGA shoppers: The $60.10 total for 10 items is impressive, and the aftershave balm and shampoo prices genuinely lead the market. IGA isn't the obvious pick for grooming, but if one is on your route, it's worth a look.

Budget-first approach: Split the shop between Woolies and Aldi. You'll cover most items at the best or near-best prices without needing a third or fourth stop. Add a Coles sweep every couple of months for paracetamol and toothbrushes in bulk.

The $20 saving from full cherry-picking is real, but the two-store Woolies-plus-Aldi approach captures most of it with half the effort.