Kroger and Aldi are among two of the most well-known grocery store chains in the country. Each sells thousands of products per year. But if you’re deciding between the two, which one is better? To help you answer this question, I compare these two stories based on the three major decision-making factors.
These three major decision making factors are:
- Price
- Quality
- Variety
By the end of this article, you should have a much better understanding as to which grocery store is right for you, Kroger or Aldi.
Which is Better: Kroger or Aldi? In terms of price, Kroger is anywhere from 1% to 22% cheaper for Beverages, Dairy, Dry Goods, Personal Care, and Cleaner. However, Aldi is anywhere from 6% to 40% cheaper for Bread, Canned Goods, and Frozen Goods. Aldi also has higher product quality, according to the FDA. However, Kroger has significantly more product variety compared to Aldi.
Is Kroger Cheaper Than Aldi?
The first aspect to grocery shopping that most people consider his price. Shoppers want to make sure the grocery store they are going to is not only cheap, but it’s going to give them the most savings. So, to figure out which store has the cheapest prices, I collected the average price for the most commonly purchased store brand items.
Below is a table that shows the average price for each common shopping category.
| Category | Kroger Brand | Aldi Brand |
| Beverages | $0.79 | $0.89 |
| Baking Goods | $1.59 | $0.95 |
| Canned Goods | $0.69 | $0.65 |
| Dairy | $2.57 | $2.59 |
| Dry Goods | $1.00 | $1.09 |
| Frozen Foods | $1.00 | $0.89 |
| Personal Care | $0.89 | $1.09 |
| Cleaners | $3.19 | $3.65 |
Both of these stores have cheaper prices in different categories. For example, Kroger has cheaper items in the beverages, dairy, personal care, dry goods, and cleaner categories. Whereas Aldi has cheaper products in the bakery, canned goods, and frozen goods category.
To illustrate the price disparities between the two stores, I created a bar chart below:
As you can see, the chart is a bit volatile. So, depending on what you are shopping for, you should prioritize each store’s cheapest items there.
Product Quality: Kroger vs Aldi
Product quality is yet another major decision making factor. Shoppers wanna make sure that the items they are purchasing are safe. So, to figure out which store has higher quality products, I took a look at the FDA‘s product recall database.
This database allows anyone to review how many product recalls a certain store has had in recent years.
| Category | Kroger Recalls | Aldi Recalls |
| Animal & Veterinary | 2 | 0 |
| Biologics | 0 | 0 |
| Cosmetics | 1 | 0 |
| Dietary Supplements | 0 | 0 |
| Drugs | 2 | 0 |
| Food and Beverages | 46 | 31 |
| Medical Devices | 0 | 0 |
| Radiation Emitting Products | 0 | 0 |
| Tobacco | 0 | 0 |
In total, Kroger has had 51 product recalls whereas Aldi has had 31. While both of these stores have quite a high amount of recalls, compared to other grocery stores, Aldi has significantly less than Kroger.
So, it is safe to assume that Aldi has higher quality products than Kroger. In other words, because Kroger has more product recalls, they likely have lower quality products.
If you are someone who prioritizes product quality, then Aldi is likely the best option for you.
Product Variety: Kroger vs Aldi
Product variety is yet another decision-making factor. Customers want to know that the store they are shopping at has enough options for them to pick from. So, which store has more items for sale, Kroger or Aldi?
| Total Kroger Products | Total Aldi Products |
| 70,000 products | 1,400 |
Kroger has 70,000 products for sale whereas Aldi has 1400 products for sale. This means that Kroger has about 50 times the amount of products at their store compared to Aldi.
So, if you are someone who prioritizes product variety, then Kroger is a significantly better option for you.