Cheap Groceries Australia: 7 Items, 4 Stores Compared

CHOICE has been running its government-funded supermarket basket survey for two years now, and the headline finding keeps repeating: Aldi is usually cheapest across a full basket, but the big two sit close together. Our Weekly Seven puts that finding to a live test with seven everyday items, chicken, carrots, apples, bananas, strawberries, Weet-Bix and full cream milk, priced this week across Coles, Woolworths, Aldi and IGA.

What Does This Basket Cost at Each Store?

Here's where the four stores landed on the full basket:

• Woolworths: $41.72
• Coles: $41.88
• IGA: $39.42 (one item not available in-store)
• Aldi: $46.78

Read that again, because it'll surprise you. Aldi came in dearest on this particular seven-item basket. That's not a knock on Aldi, their annual basket totals are consistently lower than Coles and Woolies, but it shows that a seven-item pulse check can tell a different story depending on which items you choose.

IGA's $39.42 looks like a win on paper, but one item wasn't available. If you had to substitute it elsewhere, that saving evaporates quickly.

Cherry-picking the cheapest store for each individual item brings the total to $33.60, a saving of $8.12 against the best single-store total (Woolworths). Whether that extra legwork is worth it depends on your situation, and we'll get to that.

Where the Biggest Price Gaps Are

Bananas are the standout. Aldi has them at $0.81 per kg. Coles and Woolies typically charge double that or more for the same loose bananas. If your household gets through a couple of kilos a week, this one item alone can shift your bill meaningfully.

Weet-Bix is another. Aldi stocks their own equivalent at $3.99 for 1.2 kg, a genuinely good price on a breakfast staple that families burn through fast. Coles and Woolies stock the Sanitarium branded version, which carries a brand premium.

Chicken breast swings the other way. Woolworths is cheapest here at $4.20 per kg, which is a solid price for a protein that does a lot of heavy lifting in weeknight dinners and lunchbox rolls. Aldi's chicken breast varies by availability and format, so it's not always like-for-like.

Strawberries (250 g) are cheapest at Aldi at $3.79. That price holds up well for a fruit that can spike badly out of season. It's worth checking Coles and Woolies for specials if you're buying in volume, but as a base price Aldi wins.

Where the Price Difference Is Basically Nothing

Carrots are close across the board. Coles is cheapest at $1.70 per kg, but there isn't enough in it to justify a separate trip. Same for full cream milk at 2 L, Aldi's $3.39 is the lowest, but the spread between stores is small enough that it doesn't move the needle on its own.

Apples at 1 kg land at $3.69 at Aldi, the cheapest in the basket. The difference from Coles and Woolies sits under a dollar for this quantity, so again, fine to buy wherever you're already shopping.

Is the Cherry-Pick Worth the Extra Trip?

Honest answer: probably not for most people.

The $8.12 saving over the cheapest single store sounds useful. But that saving is spread across four different stores. For it to work you'd need Woolworths for chicken, Coles for carrots, and Aldi for basically everything else, bananas, apples, strawberries, Weet-Bix and milk. IGA doesn't even stock the full basket.

Factor in fuel, time, and the mental overhead of managing two trolleys and two shops, and the maths starts looking shakier. If you're already doing a big Aldi run for other items, grabbing the produce and Weet-Bix there makes sense. If you're choosing between Coles and Woolies for a single shop, the $0.16 difference on this basket isn't worth a second thought.

The one genuinely useful cherry-pick here is bananas from Aldi if you happen to pass one. The per-kilo saving is real and the item travels fine.

Who Should Shop Where

Families with kids will get the most mileage from an Aldi visit. Bananas, Weet-Bix and strawberries are all cheapest there, and those three items do a lot of lunchbox and snack work. The chicken is better value at Woolies, but if you're doing one shop, Aldi's produce pricing helps the overall bill.

Retirees or smaller households buying in smaller quantities will feel the per-unit price more. Woolies at $41.72 is the most predictable full-basket option with the widest availability, and at $0.16 cheaper than Coles, it's the call if you want one store without the Aldi availability gamble.

Budget-focused shoppers doing a bigger weekly run should anchor at Aldi for produce and pantry items, then use Coles or Woolies for branded lines that Aldi doesn't carry or that are on special. That hybrid approach is where the real savings stack up over a month.

IGA shoppers in areas where it's the main option will pay a slight premium on a complete basket, and availability gaps make it harder to plan. That said, IGA frequently runs local specials that don't show up in national price checks, so it's worth scanning their catalogue before you go.

CHOICE's September 2026 survey found prices rose across all four supermarkets compared to June, a reminder that these numbers shift, and checking a comparison tool like Cuugo before you shop takes seconds and can catch a price movement you'd otherwise miss.