Kroger and Publix are two of the fiercest competitors in the grocery store industry. Each serves millions of customers annually and provides great savings as well. But if you’re deciding between the two, which one is better?
I compared these two stores based on three major decision making factors that most customers consider before they choose where they’re going to shop. These 3 factors are:
- Price
- Quality
- Variety
After reading this article, you should have a much better idea as to which store is better for you based on your shopping needs.
Which is Better: Publix or Kroger? Kroger is cheaper than Publix by a range of 10% to 50% for the most common store brand products. Kroger also has more than 2 times the amount of products to pick from. However Kroger has lower quality products than public according to the FDA.
Is Publix Cheaper Than Kroger?
Most customers would consider price as the biggest factor when deciding on what store they want to shop at. Generally speaking, most shoppers will pick the store that offers the most affordable price or the best bang for your buck.
So to see what store is cheaper, I compared prices on store brand items and then group those items into common shopping categories to see which store offers the best average prices in the most common shopping groups.
| Category | Kroger Brand | Publix Brand |
| Beverages | ✓ | |
| Baking Goods | ✓ | |
| Canned Goods | ✓ | |
| Dairy | ✓ | |
| Dry Goods | ✓ | |
| Frozen Foods | ✓ | |
| Personal Care | ✓ | |
| Cleaners | ✓ | |
Kroger is cheaper than Publix for most store brand items by a range of 10% to 50%.
Kroger offers the best price for a majority of shopping categories. More specifically Kroger has better prices in seven out of the eight most common shopping categories. This means that if you shop at Kroger you’re likely to get the best deal in comparison to shopping at Publix.
The only category where Publix is cheaper than Kroger is in the dry goods category. So unless the products you shop for hours in that category, Kroger is a much better option.
To paint a better picture as to which store is more expensive, I threw together this bar chart which shows the average prices in each shopping category. As you can see a majority of the comparisons have Publix as the more expensive option.
Especially in categories like baked goods, dairy, frozen goods, and cleaner, Publix is much more expensive than Kroger.
Product Quality: Publix vs Kroger
The quality of products are just as important as the price. Most consumers want to purchase quality goods as it gives them peace of mind that they are buying safe goods.
So, between Publix and Kroger, which one has better quality products? To figure this out, I looked at the FDA’s product recall database. This database records any and all product recalls from a store in recent years.
so, the store that has more product recalls is much more likely to have lower quality products. Conversely, the store with fewer product recalls is more likely to have higher quality products.
| Category | Publix Recalls | Kroger Recalls |
| Animal & Veterinary | 1 | 2 |
| Biologics | 0 | 0 |
| Cosmetics | 0 | 1 |
| Dietary Supplements | 0 | 0 |
| Drugs | 0 | 2 |
| Food and Beverages | 14 | 46 |
| Medical Devices | 0 | 0 |
| Radiation Emitting Products | 0 | 0 |
| Tobacco | 0 | 0 |
Kroger has significantly more product recalls than Publix. More specifically Kroger has 51 total product recalls and Publix only has 15.
They suggest that Kroger‘s products are lower quality as they’ve had significantly more product recalls. For reference, the average range for product recalls in the grocery store industry is anywhere from 10 to 22 recalls.
So if you are a customer that prioritizes product quality, then Publix is a better option for you.
Product Variety: Publix vs Kroger
The amount of options that a customer has to choose from also factors in on deciding where to shop. The more proud variety that a store has, the more options each customer has to pick from. Someone comparing these two stores, which one has more protein variety?
| Total Publix Products | Total Kroger Products |
| 30,000 | 70,000 |
Kroger has more than two times the amount of products for customers to shop from. Specifically, Kroger has 70,000 items on average whereas Publix has 30,000 items on average.
While you’re likely to find everything you need at both stores, there’s going to be much more product depth at Kroger.
For reference, the average grocery store carries around 31,000 products. So Publix is just below the average while Kroger almost doubles the average.
What Does Each Store Sell?
Each store sells similar types of products. You won’t have any trouble finding big brand names as well as store brand products. Both stores have a fair assortment of organic options as well.
Which One Should You Shop At: Publix vs Kroger?
When to shop at Publix: despite having higher prices and lower product variety, Publix does have higher quality products. So if you don’t mind paying a few extra dollars for higher quality, then you should shop at Publix.
When to shop at Kroger: Kroger offers more variety and cheaper prices than Publix. So if you like having many options to choose from as well as getting a lot of savings opportunities, then Kroger is right for you.
Final Thoughts: Publix vs Kroger
Well both of the stores have their advantages and disadvantages, each of them provide quality goods. Just because Kroger has cheaper prices, doesn’t mean Publix isn’t affordable.
Similarly, just because Publix has less product recalls, does it mean that Kroger doesn’t have good quality items. They just so happen to be better than one another in certain categories