If you are a frequent grocery shopper then chances are you’ve heard of both Publix and Sprouts. Both have various locations around the United States that serve hundreds of thousands, even millions, of customers annually. If you are trying to decide as to which one of these two stores is better, then you’ve come to the right place.
I have compared these two grocery stores based on the three major decision making factors that most customers consider before shopping at a grocery store. These three factors are:
- Price
- Quality
- Variety
Which is Better: Publix or Sprouts? Publix is anywhere from 13% to 50% cheaper compared to Sprouts for all store brand items. Additionally, Publix has slightly better quality products, according to the FDA, and has more product variety for customers to choose from.
Is Publix Cheaper Than Sprouts?
It’s no secret that most shoppers consider price before deciding what grocery store they want to shop at. Most of the time, customers like to get the most savings or the best bang for their buck when they shop. So how do we know which one is cheaper between Publix and Sprouts?
I compared the most commonly purchased store brand items from each store to see which one is the cheaper option.
| Category | Publix Brand | Sprouts Brand |
| Beverages | – | – |
| Baking Goods | ✓ | |
| Canned Goods | ✓ | |
| Dairy | ✓ | |
| Dry Goods | ✓ | |
| Frozen Foods | ✓ | |
| Personal Care | ✓ | |
| Cleaners | – | – |
Publix is cheaper than Sprouts across all common shopping categories. More specifically, Publix is anywhere from 13% to 50% cheaper than Sprouts for all store brand items.
Across all major shopping categories, Publix was the cheaper option. This is not as surprising as most of the products from Sprouts are either organic, natural, non-GMO, etc. which means that the price point is going to be higher than average.
To paint a better picture of the price comparison, above is a chart with the average prices of the store brand items from each category. As you can see, Sprouts has higher prices than Publix, especially in the dairy category.
So if you are a customer that enjoys savings, and more affordable products, then Publix is the better place for you to shop. That enjoys savings, and more affordable products, then Publix is the better place for you to shop.
Product Quality: Publix vs Sprouts
Similar to price, product quality is also a very important consideration when deciding what grocery store to shop at. Many shoppers care deeply about the quality of the products they are buying.
To see which grocery store has better quality products, I took a look at the FDA’s product recall database and compared how many product recalls each store has had in recent years. The store with the higher count of recalls is likely to have lower quality products.
| Category | Publix Recalls | Sprouts Recalls |
| Animal & Veterinary | 1 | 0 |
| Biologics | 0 | 0 |
| Cosmetics | 0 | 0 |
| Dietary Supplements | 0 | 1 |
| Drugs | 0 | 0 |
| Food and Beverages | 14 | 16 |
| Medical Devices | 0 | 0 |
| Radiation Emitting Products | 0 | 0 |
| Tobacco | 0 | 0 |
While each store has had a similar amount of recalls in recent years, Publix has slightly fewer. More specifically, Publix has had 15 product recalls whereas Sprouts has had 17 product recalls. What this suggests is that Publix has higher quality products, and therefore less product recalls.
For reference, the general range of product recalls for most grocery stores is anywhere from 10 recalls to 25 recalls, so both of these stores are generally within the average of the industry.
So, if you are a shopper that enjoys shopping for quality products, then you are better off shopping at Publix.
Product Variety: Publix vs Sprouts
Although it may not be as important of a factor as price or quality, product variety is also something that many shoppers consider before they go to a store. Priority is essentially the amount of options that a customer has to shop at a typical store. The more price variety a store has the more options the customer has to choose from.
It should be noted that Publix is considered a supermarket whereas Sprouts is considered a farmer’s market. The main difference between the two is that a supermarket has consumables, produce, and common household items and a farmers market only typically has produce.
| Total Publix Products | Total Sprouts Products |
| 30,000 Products | 2,400 Products |
And surprisingly, Publix has significantly more products available in Sprouts. More specifically, Publix has 12.5 times the amount of items as Sprouts. So, if you are a shopper that enjoys having many options to pick from then Publix is your clear choice.
For reference, the average grocery store sells around 31,000 products. So Publix is pretty much around the industry average while Sprouts is significantly lower than the industry average.
What Does Each Store Sell?
Well bowl stores sell mainly consumables, produce, and other basic household items there is a slight difference in the type of items that they sell.
Publix mainly sells traditional items at their stores. They don’t really specialize in any particular type of food or produce. You won’t have any issue finding big brand names when shopping there.
Sprouts on the other hand has more of a focus on organic, natural, non-GMO, and gluten-free products. Their product is tailored to a more health-conscious audience.
Which One Should You Shop At: Publix vs Sprouts?
When to shop at Publix: There is almost no instance in which you should shop at Sprouts over Publix. Publix offers cheaper prices, higher quality, and more product variety meaning that they provide significantly more value to most customers than Sprouts.
When to shop at Sprouts: While Sprouts may not have ideal prices, quality, or variety, they do have something to offer to some customers. They have significantly healthier options to pick from. Their specialty is health-conscious food. So if you don’t mind paying a bit more and having limited options for your healthier foods, then you should shop at Sprouts.
Final Thoughts: Publix vs Sprouts
At the end of these comparisons, I always like to make a note that both of these stores are great choices for customers to shop at. Each of them have their advantages, but that’s not to say that one of the others is a terrible store to shop at.
There is a reason why each of the stores have such a following today, and that is because they offer great products, great service, and overall give their customers the best value. So in reality, no matter which one you decide to shop at you’re in good hands.