Food
Review by Amena Ahmed
- I took identical shopping lists to Trader Joe's and Walmart to compare the chains.
- Basic items like avocados, cucumbers, and lunch meat were much cheaper at Walmart.
- I shop at Trader Joe's more often, but seeing how much more expensive it is may change that.
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When I go grocery shopping, my go-to store is Trader Joe's. The chain's known for offering healthy and easy meals for a decent price; and as a busy adult, that's exactly what I need.
But I wanted to see if I was actually getting the most bang for my buck. So, I took the same grocery list to Trader Joe's and Walmart to compare their selections and prices.
Walmart is famous for its cheap prices, and I've been tempted to buy groceries there ever since it launched its premium store brand, Bettergoods, in April. Some of the brand's new, fun items seem comparable to the high-end-feeling products I love at Trader Joe's.
Here's what my shopping trips were like.
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I started in the produce aisle at Walmart.
I buy cucumbers and avocados on every shopping trip, so I started there.
The avocados were only $0.84, and the cucumbers were $0.64.
I was surprised by how low these prices were for such fresh-looking produce.
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Trader Joe’s offered the same items —but for way higher prices.
To my surprise, avocados at Trader Joe's cost $2, while cucumbers cost $1.
I wasn't expecting such a large price difference for basic produce.
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Bagged salads are quick and easy, so I took a look at Walmart’s selection.
Walmart had a variety of bagged-salad options, from classic Caesar to Asian-inspired.
These multiserving kits cost roughly $4 on average, which isn't bad for a couple fast meals.
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Trader Joe’s offered comparable kits for similar prices.
Similar salad kits were only $4 at Trader Joe's, which had more interesting flavor options.
My favorite from the chain is the miso crunch, which I'm more than willing to pay the extra penny for.
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Next on my list was fresh salmon.
I love salmon, but it can be expensive depending on the cut, brand, and size. I typically dig around until I can find the cheapest piece in the store.
The cheapest filet I could find at Walmart was $10.40 for about 1 pound. That's a pretty amazing deal — I've paid upward of $18 at other stores.
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The salmon at Trader Joe's was priced based on weight.
I liked that Walmart had a set price for its 1-pound salmon filets, but it was great that I could choose smaller (and cheaper) individual pieces at Trader Joe's.
After digging around, the cheapest filet I found was $8.60 for a little under 1 pound.
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Walmart had huge packages of deli meat.
I was overwhelmed by the amount of packaged turkey at Walmart, so it took me a bit to find the best deal.
I landed on a 16-ounce box of oven-roasted turkey from Oscar Mayer that cost $7.
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The packs at Trader Joe’s offered half the amount for almost the same price.
I looked for a pack of oven-roasted turkey as big as the one I found at Walmart, but the best I could find at Trader Joe's was an 8-ounce pack for $6.
Though the turkey was cheaper, I got twice the amount at Walmart.
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I looked for sliced cheese to go with the meat.
It was nice that Walmart offered smaller and larger packs of sliced cheese.
The 12-pack of sharp-cheddar slices I went with was only $2.
Again, a similar pack was twice the price at Trader Joe’s.
A 12-pack of sliced cheddar at Trader Joe's was $4.80, which I found way too expensive.
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I was impressed by the yogurt prices at Walmart.
Walmart's Bettergoods has impressed me so far. The private label's 32-ounce tubs of Greek yogurt were just $4.
There were even some fun flavors, including strawberries and cream.
The breakfast staple wasn’t as cheap at Trader Joe’s.
Similar 32-ounce tubs of Greek yogurt were $6 at Trader Joe's, only coming in basic flavors like vanilla and honey.
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Walmart offered basic frozen pizzas for an OK price.
Though there were a bunch of name-brand frozen pizzas at Walmart, including Tombstone and Jack's, I wanted to check out its Great Value brand, which the chain established in 1993.
The Walmart brand offered a selection of frozen pies that cost between $5 and $7.70.
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Trader Joe’s offered a little more variety.
I liked that Trader Joe's sold so many different kinds of pizza. But I also noticed that a lot of them were personal-size — or at least smaller than the ones at Walmart.
The cheapest option that appealed to me was the $5 vegetable pizza, which was pretty much in line with the competitor.
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Next on my list were ice pops.
Walmart offered a basic 20-pack of triflavor ice pops for about $2.50.
I loved how big the box was, especially for the low price.
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There weren’t any boxes that big at Trader Joe’s.
I didn't see any variety packs at Trader Joe's, but there were six-packs of ice pops with seasonal flavors, like root-beer float and tangerine cream.
The flavors were fun, but $3.30 seemed like a lot for just six ice pops.
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Tomato-basil pasta sauce was pretty pricey at Walmart.
Walmart's Great Value brand had a 24-ounce jar of organic tomato-basil pasta sauce for $2.40.
I expected to find a better deal, considering it's a very common and generic sauce.
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The sauce was one of the cheaper items at Trader Joe's.
I found the same kind of sauce for only $2 at Trader Joe's.
The sauce wasn't organic, but the ingredients were almost identical.
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I'd been overlooking Walmart's groceries, but I'm definitely going there more often now.
When I brought the same shopping list to both chains, I was really expecting Trader Joe's to be cheaper. But after adding up the totals, I spent $38.60 at Walmart and $42.30 at Trader Joe's.
The price difference may not be huge, but the items at Walmart were also more of a bargain — especially the bigger packs of turkey and ice pops.
In the future, I think I'll only shop at Trader Joe's for a few quick items, like pasta sauce. Otherwise, I'm getting the bulk of my groceries at Walmart.
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