Which supermarket is actually cheapest in Australia?
We price the same fifteen staples at Woolworths, Coles, Aldi and IGA every Friday. The answer is less obvious than the headlines suggest - and the lowest total on the page is not always the cheapest shop.
"Which supermarket is cheapest" is the most-asked question in Australian grocery, and almost every answer to it is worthless - because you can prove any supermarket is cheapest by choosing the right basket.
So we fixed the basket. Fifteen everyday staples, chosen once, priced at Woolworths, Coles, Aldi and IGA every Friday morning, published whether the result flatters anyone or not. The current week is always here.
What the data says
In the week ending 7 August 2026, the fifteen-item basket came to:
- Coles - $73.44 (down 11c on the week)
- Aldi - $77.63 (unchanged)
- Woolworths - $82.14 (down 50c)
- IGA - $96.52 (down $7.40)
Read that list too quickly and the answer is Coles. It isn't, and the reason is the single most important thing on this page.
The lowest total is not always the cheapest shop
Coles was missing one of the fifteen items that week. So was IGA. A basket of fourteen items is naturally cheaper than a basket of fifteen, and comparing the two as if they were the same shop is exactly the sleight of hand that makes most "cheapest supermarket" claims meaningless.
Aldi had all fifteen, at $77.63 - the cheapest complete basket.
That's why our index labels an incomplete total not directly comparable instead of quietly ranking it first. If you actually need all fifteen things, Coles' $73.44 is not a real number for you: you'd finish the shop somewhere else, and pay for the fifteenth item on top.
It is also why the gap between the chains is narrower than the marketing suggests. Between the two complete-basket contenders the difference is a few dollars on a $75 shop - real, but not the chasm implied by any given week's advertising.
The bigger number nobody advertises
Here is the figure that matters more than the ranking. Buying each item wherever it happened to be cheapest came to $62.51.
That is $15.12 below the cheapest single store - roughly 20% of the basket, and several times larger than the gap between the chains.
Which means the loyalty question everyone argues about is the small one. "Woolworths or Coles" is worth a few dollars. "One store or the right store per item" is worth fifteen.
We are not suggesting you drive to four supermarkets. Nobody is doing that for a fortnightly saving, and the petrol would eat it. The useful version is much smaller and it only has to be done once:
- Most households rebuy the same forty-odd items.
- A handful of them are consistently, structurally cheaper at one chain - not on special, just cheaper.
- Find those once. Buy them there when you're passing. Ignore the rest.
That captures a good share of the $15 without changing how you shop.
Why a single answer can't exist
Even with a fixed basket, "cheapest" is conditional:
- It depends on what you buy. A basket heavy on house-brand staples flatters Aldi. One with specific national brands, fresh ranges or dietary items often can't be filled there at all, and the question becomes Woolworths versus Coles.
- It moves week to week. IGA dropped $7.40 in one week in the table above. Any ranking from a single week is a snapshot, not a finding.
- It depends where you live. Pricing and availability vary by store and state, and IGA in particular is a group of independently owned stores rather than one chain with one price list.
- Loyalty pricing distorts it. Member-only prices that require a card or an app aren't always visible in published data.
Anyone who answers this question with one supermarket's name and no conditions is selling something.
The honest answer
On a fixed fifteen-item staples basket, Aldi is usually the cheapest complete shop, and the gap between Woolworths and Coles is small and changes week to week. IGA is consistently the dearest of the four on this basket, which is unsurprising for independently owned stores that don't buy at the same scale.
But no single store wins everything, and the money is in the difference between items, not the difference between chains. A fifth of the basket cost is sitting in that gap.
If you want the current week rather than the one above, the index is updated every Friday and includes the running trend. If you want to know about one specific product rather than a basket, search for it - that answer changes daily, and it's the one that actually determines your bill.
Frequently asked questions
Which supermarket is cheapest in Australia?
On a fixed basket of fifteen everyday staples, Aldi is usually the cheapest complete shop, with Woolworths and Coles close together and changing places week to week, and IGA consistently the dearest. But no chain is cheapest on everything, and buying each item wherever it is cheapest beat the cheapest single store by $15.12 in the week ending 7 August 2026.
Is Aldi really cheaper than Coles and Woolworths?
On staples, usually yes. The caveat is range - a basket that needs specific national brands, particular fresh items or dietary products often cannot be completed at Aldi, at which point the comparison becomes Woolworths versus Coles for the remainder.
How much can you save by shopping at more than one supermarket?
On our fifteen-item basket, buying each item at whichever store sells it cheapest came to $62.51 against $77.63 for the cheapest complete single-store shop - about 20%. Most of that is capturable without visiting four stores, by learning which handful of your regular items are structurally cheaper elsewhere.
Why does Cuugo say a lower total is "not directly comparable"?
Because that store was missing an item from the basket. Fourteen items cost less than fifteen, so ranking an incomplete basket first would be misleading. We label it rather than substituting a different product.
How often is the basket comparison updated?
Every Friday morning, Melbourne time. The basket itself is fixed and locked before pricing, so week-on-week figures are comparable with each other.