Walmart Just Lost Its Title As Most Affordable Grocery Store To This Chain. Can You Guess Which One Beat It?

Over the last few years, it seems everyone is searching for the most affordable groceries. Overall grocery prices have increased by major margins since 2020, with the largest jump being 9.1% year over year in June 2022, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. While certain items like eggs have seen a drop over the last year, wallets are still stretched at the checkout counter. If you want to save the most money possible, purchase a Costco membership — it's the store with the cheapest groceries, according to a recent study by Consumer Reports.

In the study, Walmart's prices were the baseline, and other grocery stores, including Aldi, Publix, and Whole Foods, were studied in comparison. The findings showed that Costco's overall grocery prices were a whopping 21.4% cheaper on a national average than Walmart's, meaning you can save a pretty penny if you regularly shop at the Wholesaler. BJ's Wholesale Club came in as the second-best option at 21% cheaper than Walmart. Lidl, Aldi, WinCo, and H-E-B all came in as less expensive than Walmart. Whole Foods was the most expensive, at 39.7% higher than Walmart, while Publix was 20.3% higher.

The biggest downside to shopping at Costco, cost-wise, is that you need to pay a membership fee. The money the store makes from memberships benefits the customer in a few ways, including keeping grocery costs lower for members. And when factoring in that fee, does it still make it worth it to shop there over Walmart? The short answer is yes, though it ultimately depends on how often you grocery shop and how much you spend.

Costco's Gold Star membership, the "Everyday Value" membership, is $65 per year. The average family of four spends around $1,000 on groceries monthly, according to Nerdwallet. With a savings of 21.4%, $1,000 in Walmart groceries would only cost you $786 at Costco, meaning that over the course of a year, you'd save more than $2,500 buying groceries at Costco over Walmart at far less than the cost of an annual membership. While prices vary by location, and you'd have to do your own price comparison based on where you live, it could be worth exploring a Costco membership if you're looking to get the most for your money.