Both Albertsons and Kroger are among some of the largest grocery store chains in the United States. Each claiming more than 2500 stores. But if you were deciding between the two, which one is better?
To help you figure this out, I compare these two stores based on three major decision making factors that most shoppers consider before picking a store.These 3 major decision making factors are:
- Price
- Quality
- Variety
By the end of this article, you should have a much better idea as to which store is right for you.
Which is Better: Albertsons or Kroger? Kroger is anywhere from 11% to 56% cheaper than Albertsons. Additionally, Kroger has more than 6 times the amount of items as Albertsons. However, Albertsons does have higher product quality, according to the FDA.
Is Albertsons Cheaper Than Kroger?
Price is arguably the most important factor for most shoppers when it comes to picking between two supermarkets. Generally speaking, most customers would like to shop at the store that offers the best deals or the best bang for your buck value.
So to see which one of these stores offers better prices, I compared a wide variety of common store brand shopping products. I then grouped these products into shopping categories and listed them in the table below.
| Category | Kroger Brand | Albertsons Brand |
| Beverages | ✓ | |
| Baking Goods | ✓ | |
| Canned Goods | ✓ | |
| Dairy | ✓ | |
| Dry Goods | ✓ | |
| Frozen Foods | ✓ | |
| Personal Care | ✓ | |
| Cleaners | ✓ | |
Kroger is anywhere from 11% to 56% cheaper than Albertsons for a majority of common shopping products. More specifically, Kroger is cheaper than Albertsons for 5 out of the 8 most common shopping categories.
To give you a better idea as to what the price discrepancies look like, I created a bar graph below that outlines the average prices in each shopping category. This makes it much easier to see how these prices differ from store to store.
From what you can see here, Kroger has cheaper prices than Albertson’s in a majority of common shopping categories. However it should be noted that for some of these categories the prices are quite close, it just so happens that Kroger offers the cheapest one.
On the other hand, there are a few categories like cleaner, personal care, and frozen goods where Albertsons is significantly more expensive than Kroger.
So, if you consider yourself a price conscious shopper then you should shop at Kroger as you’re more likely to save the most money buying products from their stores.
Product Quality: Albertsons vs Kroger
The quality of products is also a big factor in where people choose to shop. Most customers would like to shop at the store that’s going to offer them the higher quality items, as they know the products they are purchasing are safe.
To see which store offers higher quality products, I took a look at the FDA’s product recall database to see which store has had more product recalls in recent years. In other words, the store with a higher amount of recalls is likely to have lower quality products.
| Category | Albertsons Recalls | Kroger Recalls |
| Animal & Veterinary | 0 | 2 |
| Biologics | 0 | 0 |
| Cosmetics | 0 | 1 |
| Dietary Supplements | 0 | 0 |
| Drugs | 0 | 2 |
| Food and Beverages | 8 | 46 |
| Medical Devices | 0 | 0 |
| Radiation Emitting Products | 0 | 0 |
| Tobacco | 0 | 0 |
After looking at the information provided by the FDA, it is clear that Kroger has significantly more product recalls in recent years in comparison to Albertsons. More specifically, Kroger has 47 more product recalls than Albertsons.
What this suggests is that Kroger has lower quality products in comparison to the products at Albertsons. For reference, The average range of product recalls that most grocery stores have falls anywhere between 10 and 22 product recalls. So Kroger is way above industry average, which is not necessarily a good thing in this case.
So, if you consider yourself a customer who prefers buying high-quality products, then you are better off shopping at Albertsons instead of Kroger. So, if you consider yourself a customer who prefers buying high-quality products, then you are better off shopping at Albertsons instead of Kroger.
Product Variety: Albertsons vs Kroger
Product variety is essentially the total amount of items that a customer has to shop from. The more product variety the store has, the more options we have. So when comparing these two stores, which one has more items?
Each of these stores is considered a supermarket, so by nature, they should carry the same amount of items.
| Total Albertsons Products | Total Kroger Products |
| 12,000 | 70,000 |
Kroger offers more products to pick from when compared to the amount of products that Albertson’s has. More specifically, Kroger has more than six times the amount of products that Albertsons does.
What this means is that you are more likely going to find everything you need at Kroger. While you are likely to still find most of the products you were looking for at Albertsons, you don’t have nearly the same amount of product variety that you do at Kroger.
For reference, the average amount of items that a grocery store carries is approximately 31,000 products. While Kroger is almost double the industry average, Albertsons is less than half of the average.
What Does Each Store Sell?
Generally speaking, each store sells the same types of items. You won’t have any trouble finding big brand names and products. In addition to that, each of them has their own private label products.
They also each have a decent sized selection of organic, non-GMO, and gluten free items. So if you consider yourself a health-conscious shopper, you will have a handful of options to buy from.
Neither of the stores specialize in health-conscious options, but they still do offer some selection in their stores.
Which One Should You Shop At: Albertsons vs Kroger?
When to shop at Albertsons: Despite not having the cheapest prices or the most amount of product variety, Albertson’s does have high-quality products. By taking a look at the product recalls, it is clear that you are much less likely to purchase a recalled item at Albertsons.
So if you don’t mind paying a few extra dollars for the higher quality products, then you should shop at Albertsons.
When to shop at Kroger: Not only does Kroger offer consistently lower prices than Albertsons, but they also have a significant amount of items to pick from in comparison. Shopping at Kroger will allow you to save money and you are likely to find everything you need and more when shopping there.
If you are someone who enjoys savings and likes having many options to pick from, then Kroger is your best bet.
How Do These Supermarkets Compare To Other Big Names?
I’ve also done analysis on other big supermarkets. Take a look at how these stores have stacked up against other big name chains: