Is ALDI Cheaper Than Walmart? It Was in 4 Metros, but Iowans Should Check Their Own Stores

ALDI opened its first U.S. store in Iowa, so the chain is nothing new to many Iowans.

A recent price check found the grocery chain cheaper than Walmart in several metro areas across the United States.

Here’s what the check found, and how you can test the same staples at the ALDI and Walmart closest to you.

How the Basket Check Worked

ALDI’s lead comes from a FOX Business comparison.

It looked at store-brand staples at selected stores in four places: Addison, Texas; Chicago; Burbank, California; and Washington, D.C.

Eight items were priced at four retailers in each metro.

The items were a gallon of whole milk, a dozen large white eggs and a pound of butter.

The list also had wheat bread, canned black beans, canned diced tomatoes, all-purpose flour and granulated sugar.

Similar store-brand products were used when available.

You can run the same list through any two stores near you.

Here are the metros, starting with the biggest gap you’d see between ALDI and Walmart.

1. Washington, D.C.

ALDI’s biggest lead over Walmart came in Washington, D.C.

FOX Business’s basket totaled $15.61 at ALDI and $17.40 at Walmart.

That’s a $1.79 gap, about 10% of Walmart’s total. So for every $10 at Walmart, ALDI’s cost about $9.

Walmart still finished second.

Safeway came in at $22.82 for the same basket.

Pick Safeway over ALDI at those totals, and you’d have spent $7.21 more on the same staples.

2. Addison, Texas

ALDI was the only one of the four retailers under $15 in Addison, Texas.

Its basket cost $14.90.

Walmart’s cost $16.54.

That’s a $1.64 gap, or about 10% of Walmart’s total. Again, that’s about $9 for every $10 at Walmart.

Albertsons, the priciest of the four retailers, totaled $21.12.

Say you priced these items in Addison. You’d pay $6.22 less at ALDI than at Albertsons.

Against Walmart, you’d keep $1.64.

3. Burbank, California

ALDI’s Burbank, California, basket totaled $16.59. That was the highest ALDI total of the four metros.

Walmart’s $17.90 was the highest Walmart total of the four, too.

The gap between them was $1.31, or about 7% of Walmart’s total. That’s about $9.30 for every $10 at Walmart.

Vons, the priciest of the four retailers, would have charged you $26.83 for the same basket.

That’s $10.24 above ALDI, so you’d have paid about $10 more for the same staples.

4. Chicago, Illinois

ALDI’s Chicago basket totaled $15.60.

Walmart’s totaled $15.86.

That 26-cent gap was the narrowest in the comparison, under 2% of Walmart’s total.

That’s about $9.80 for every $10 at Walmart.

Jewel-Osco, the priciest of the four retailers, totaled $27.52. That was the highest total in the test.

That’s $11.92 above ALDI for the same staples.

Chicago’s totals describe Chicago, and FOX Business didn’t price any store in Iowa.

To see your totals, you’ll want to run the staples through the stores near you.

A Different Basket, a Different Order

ALDI’s win holds for the eight staples FOX Business picked. But a different basket changed the order.

A study from Restaurant Furniture Plus was reported by FOX 32 Chicago on July 20, 2026.

It priced 15 items at four chains: Kroger, Walmart, ALDI and Albertsons.

In that comparison, Kroger came in first at $30.00 and Walmart second at $30.95.

ALDI placed third at $33.15.

That is $2.20 behind Walmart.

Albertsons finished last at $35.58.

The two reports ran a day apart.

But FOX Business priced each metro’s local banners, such as Jewel-Osco in Chicago.

They also used different item lists, so you can’t add their totals together.

That’s why a basket built from what you buy tells you more than either list.

Running the Test at Home

You can rerun FOX Business's ALDI-versus-Walmart test.

All you need is a pencil and each store's online listings, wherever both stores post them.

Write down the staples.

Then choose the store-brand version of each at ALDI and at Walmart.

Match the sizes used for milk, eggs and butter. Those were a gallon, a dozen and a pound.

Pick the same package size at both stores for the other five.

ALDI says its fall price reductions run from Sept. 23 until at least Nov. 3 at stores nationwide.

Write the date next to each total you record. ALDI's prices can change once that window ends.

Then do the math.

Your totals will describe your two stores, not the stores in those metros.

So don't expect them to match the table above.

ALDI's Iowa Start

If you shop ALDI in Iowa, you're shopping where the chain first entered the U.S. That is according to a 2023 Supermarket News report.