School Lunchbox: Save $17 at Aldi vs IGA

Five days a week, 10 school weeks a term. The lunchbox grind is relentless, and it adds up faster than most families realise. We priced 11 everyday lunchbox items, bread, ham, cheese, fruit, snacks, Vegemite, juice poppers, across Coles, Woolworths, Aldi and IGA to see exactly where your money goes furthest.

What the basket costs at each store

Here's the full picture for this 11-item school lunchbox shop:

• Aldi: $43.26
• Woolworths: $46.98
• Coles: $55.80
• IGA: $60.17
• Cherry-pick best price per item: $41.25

Aldi wins by a clear margin. Woolies comes second, a reasonable $3.72 behind. Then there's a notable jump: Coles is $12.54 more than Aldi, and IGA is $16.91 more. For a basket you're refilling every single week during the school term, that IGA-to-Aldi gap works out to roughly $220 over a 13-week term. That's not nothing.

According to CHOICE's March 2026 lunchbox basket survey, Aldi "still has a big lead" when comparing lunchbox essentials across the four major supermarkets, and our basket bears that out.

Where the biggest savings are

Most of the price action in this basket sits with Aldi's own-brand products. A few items stand out:

White bread (700 g, x2): Aldi's loaves come in at $2.39 each. That's the cheapest in the basket for bread, and bread is one of those items you genuinely can't skip.

Yoghurt pouches (6 pack): This one's almost comical. Aldi prices these at $0.69. Compared to what you'd pay at Coles or Woolies, the saving here alone is worth the trip for many families. Kids don't care about the brand; they just want the squeezy pouch.

Muesli bars (6 pack, x2): Aldi prices these at $2.09 per pack. For a product that disappears into schoolbags at an alarming rate, that price keeps the weekly tally honest.

Tuna in springwater (95 g, x4): At $3.29 for a four-pack, Aldi's tuna is the pick of the group. It's a solid protein option that keeps without refrigeration, handy if you're prepping lunchboxes the night before.

Mandarins (1 kg): $0.39 at Aldi. For a kilogram of fruit. That figure's worth sitting with for a second.

Where prices are broadly the same

Not every item is a Aldi slam-dunk. Vegemite is the clearest exception. The 220 g jar is cheapest at Coles for $5.20. That's partly because Vegemite is a branded product, Bega owns it, and Aldi doesn't stock it. Woolies and Coles are priced similarly here, and it's the one item in the basket where your loyalty to the iconic yellow lid doesn't cost you extra by shopping at Coles.

Sultanas (6 pack) and apples (1 kg) are also worth watching, Aldi wins on both, but the gap between Aldi and Woolies on fresh produce can shift week to week depending on what's in season and what's on promotion. Stone fruit is coming into season now, which tends to ease prices across all stores. Apples at $3.69 per kilo at Aldi are solid, but Woolies and Coles often run 1 kg bags on special.

Is the cherry-pick worth the extra trip?

The cherry-pick total is $41.25, compared to $43.26 at Aldi. That's a $2.01 saving.

Honest answer: probably not worth two separate shops for most families. The time cost, the petrol, the mental load of managing two trolleys and two receipts, $2.01 doesn't clear that bar. The cherry-pick makes most sense if you're already shopping at Coles for something else and can grab Vegemite there without a special trip.

That said, if you already alternate between Aldi and Woolies or Coles regularly, the pattern is worth noting: buy almost everything at Aldi, grab Vegemite at Coles when you're there.

Canstar Blue's July 2025 survey found Australian households are spending an average of $178 per week on groceries, and four-person households saw bills rise 11% over the year. Families running lunchbox budgets alongside the main weekly shop are feeling the squeeze from both directions.

Who should shop where

Aldi is the clear call for most families. If you're packing lunchboxes for one or more kids each weekday, this basket at $43.26 versus $55.80 at Coles is a real difference. Aldi's own-brand snacks, dairy and bread hold up well, and the kids are generally none the wiser.

Woolies at $46.98 is the runner-up and a reasonable choice if you prefer shopping online with delivery, want the Everyday Rewards points, or need the wider range for fussy eaters. The $3.72 premium over Aldi is modest enough that most families won't feel it.

Coles at $55.80 is harder to justify for this specific basket. Some items might be on special any given week, but the base price is $12.54 above Aldi. If you shop at Coles for everything else, grab the Vegemite there, but the rest of this basket is better elsewhere.

IGA at $60.17 is the convenience tax in action. If your nearest IGA is genuinely more convenient, think small town, quick top-up shop, then that premium might make sense occasionally. But as a weekly lunchbox destination? The numbers don't stack up.

The gap between the cheapest single store (Aldi at $43.26) and the most expensive (IGA at $60.17) is close enough to a school week's worth of petrol money that it's worth building the Aldi shop into your routine, if it's accessible to you.