Cheapest Supermarket in Australia 2026: Coles vs Woolworths vs Aldi
We compared 12,000+ products so you don't have to
Every week, Australian households spend $150-$250 on groceries. Most people pick one supermarket and stick with it. But are they picking the right one?
We matched products across Coles (22,477 products), Woolworths (21,829 products), and Aldi (2,513 products) using real price data. Here's what we found.
Aldi is the cheapest. By a lot.
For the 182 products we could match across all three stores, Aldi was cheapest 76% of the time. Coles and Woolworths each won about 12%.
If you bought all 182 products at each store:
That's $130 more at Woolworths than Aldi for the same products. Scale that to a full weekly shop and you're looking at real money.
But Coles and Woolworths are basically the same price
When you compare just Coles and Woolworths across 11,882 matched products, it's a dead heat. Coles is cheaper on 24%, Woolworths on 23%, and 53% are the exact same price.
They watch each other's pricing like hawks. If Coles drops the price on something, Woolworths usually follows within a week.
It depends on the aisle
Dairy: Aldi wins 31 out of 33 three-way comparisons. Milk, cheese, yoghurt, butter. Not even close.
Meat: Aldi wins 22 out of 25. Chicken, mince, sausages, steak.
Produce: Aldi wins 25 out of 37. Fruit and veg are cheaper at Aldi most weeks, though this fluctuates seasonally.
Pantry: Aldi wins 42 out of 61. Rice, pasta, canned goods, oils, sauces.
Snacks: This is where Coles and Woolworths compete. Out of 5 three-way matches, Coles won 3. When branded chips and chocolate go half-price at Coles or Woolies, they beat Aldi's everyday price.
The catch with Aldi
Aldi stocks about 2,500 products. Coles and Woolworths stock over 22,000 each. That's almost 10x the range.
You can't do your entire shop at Aldi. They don't carry most brands, they have limited variety in each category, and they don't have a deli or bakery section in most stores.
Aldi is cheapest for what they sell. But they don't sell everything.
The specials change everything
Right now, Coles has 5,836 products on special and Woolworths has 4,906. These rotate every Wednesday.
A half-price special at Coles or Woolworths often beats Aldi's everyday price on the same product. This is where paying attention saves you real money.
What actually saves you the most
Here's the strategy that works based on the data:
1. Do your basics at Aldi. Milk, bread, eggs, cheese, meat, fruit, veg, pasta, rice. You'll save on almost everything.
2. Check Coles and Woolworths specials each Wednesday. Stock up on non-perishables when they're half-price. Toilet paper, laundry detergent, shampoo, snacks.
3. Buy discounted gift cards before you shop at Coles or Woolworths. 5% off is easy to get through Officeworks or cashback programs. On $100 of top-up shopping, that's $5 saved for doing nothing.
4. Use Grocery Spy to check prices before you go. Search for any product to see all three stores side by side.
The families saving the most aren't loyal to one store. They shop at all three based on what's cheapest that week.