Is Aldi Really Cheaper? We Compared 459 Products

Short answer: yes, and it's not even close

We matched 459 identical products that are sold at Aldi and at least one of Coles or Woolworths. Same product, same size, compared side by side.

Aldi was the cheapest on 346 of them. That's 75%.

Coles won on 39 products (8%). Woolworths won on 40 (9%). The remaining 34 were the same price everywhere.

This isn't cherry-picked. It's every product where we could find the same item across stores.

The categories where Aldi dominates

Dairy is where Aldi really pulls ahead. Out of 76 matched dairy products, Aldi was cheapest on 62 of them (82%). Milk, cheese, yoghurt, butter, eggs. If you're buying dairy, you're almost always better off at Aldi.

Bakery is even more lopsided. 16 out of 17 matched products were cheapest at Aldi. Bread, wraps, rolls.

Pantry staples are Aldi's bread and butter (literally). 104 out of 146 pantry items were cheapest there. Rice, pasta, tinned tomatoes, cooking oil, sauces.

Meat goes to Aldi too. 42 out of 50 matched products. Chicken, beef mince, sausages.

Produce is Aldi's as well. 72 out of 97 fruit and veg items.

Where Coles and Woolworths fight back

Snacks and confectionery is the one category where it's genuinely competitive. Out of 21 matched products, Aldi won 8, Coles won 8, Woolworths won 4. When Coles or Woolies run half-price specials on Cadbury, Pringles, or Tim Tams, they beat Aldi's everyday price.

Drinks are mostly Aldi's (25 out of 31), but the big-brand soft drinks and juices occasionally go cheaper at Coles on special.

But Aldi has less range

There's a big caveat. Aldi stocks about 2,500 products. Coles has 22,000+. Woolworths has 21,000+.

If you want a specific brand, a niche product, or anything outside the basics, Aldi probably doesn't carry it. There's no Vegemite at Aldi. No Bega cheese. No specific shampoo brands.

Aldi's strategy is fewer products, all priced aggressively. It works if you're flexible about brands.

How much do you actually save?

When Aldi is cheaper, the average saving is $0.85 per product. Doesn't sound like much, but if you're buying 30 items a week at Aldi instead of Coles, that's roughly $25 saved per week, or $1,300 a year.

The smart play

Do your basics at Aldi: milk, bread, eggs, cheese, meat, rice, pasta, fruit, veg. Then top up brand-name items and anything on half-price special at Coles or Woolworths.

Compare any product across all three stores on Grocery Spy to check before you shop.