Is Aldi's 'Big Bag' Bigger Than Ikea's Iconic Tote? And Is It Worth The Hype?

With an increasing number of states banning plastic grocery bags and/or charging for bags in general, it's only practical to have a reliable bag of your own that you can bring on your shopping trips. Many stores sell pretty decent shopping totes right near checkout, but for something truly massive to hold all those groceries — say, comparable to Ikea's famously huge shopping tote — look no further than the Aldi bag that's gone viral. This bag is positively huge, to the point that it's actually a little bigger than Ikea's oversized tote. For that alone, it might be worth the hype, even if its popularity may have gone overboard at times.

Aldi's aptly named Big Bag is an impressive 36 inches in length, 22 inches in height, and 16 inches in depth. Ikea's bag, also known as the FRAKTA bag, is no slouch, but it does fall short in comparison at "just" 21 ¾ inches in length, 13 ¾ inches in height, and 14 ½ inches in depth. In other words, you can stuff more into the Aldi one. But is it as strong? That may be up for debate. Customers on Reddit have been spotted insisting that the Aldi Big Bag is more durable than the FRAKTA, which is listed on the Ikea website as having a maximum load of 55 pounds. Aldi's Big Bag does not have its weight limit publicly posted, but some reports have said it also carries up to 55 pounds.

Obviously, size is a huge reason consumers love the Aldi Big Bag. After all, this thing is reported to be three times the size of the average shopping tote and is designed to be as big as one of the store's shopping carts, meaning you can theoretically fit an entire shopping trip in it (though some customers have reported it gets too heavy to lift very quickly). But others have taken to social media to show off a variety of other uses for the Aldi Big Bag, from climbing inside it as a humorous and unexpected people-container to using it as a last-minute laundry basket. 

That said, it could also just be the initial exclusivity of the bag that's helped fuel its hype — which appears to be a lot more intense than the buzz surrounding its Ikea counterpart (which is available year round and has been for years). Aldi's Big Bags were initially an extremely limited run in 2025 that consisted of just 1,000 bags being given away as a special promotion for free. Ultimately, they proved to be so popular that they were gone in less than 20 minutes. 

There's also just the fact that Aldi itself has a cult-like following. The German grocery store chain's popularity has grown in the U.S. thanks to low prices and quality store-brand items, (which some say makes Aldi better than Trader Joe's). If anything, the hype over the Big Bag is just a symbol of that, practical or not.

Because of its initially limited run, the only places to find Aldi's Big Bag after it ran out in 2025 was on eBay, Poshmark, and comparable buy-sell sites. Given all the hype, it may not be surprising to learn that these special bags are sold for far more than they are arguably worth. The bags can be listed for as high as $50 on eBay. Numerous others have been sold for between $20 and $45. For comparison, you could get entire packs of reusable shopping bags on Amazon for less.

If you want an Aldi Big Bag specifically though, there's no reason to pay exorbitant amounts of money to online sellers these days; as of its October 2026 resurgence, new ones retail for just $4.99. That's still pricier than Ikea's FRAKTA bag, which goes for an even more wallet-friendly (and, let's be honest, amazing) 99 cents. But for those looking to get in on the hype — hype that is totally subjective and very much brand-specific — five bucks could be considered well worth it.