Walmart, Aldi or Trader Joe’s? A Fresh Comparison of 5 Key Grocery Staples

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If you’ve been watching your grocery budget, you know the price of food items can vary between stores and quickly add up. Today, we’re comparing Walmart vs. Trader Joe’s vs. Aldi for staples like milk, eggs, butter, bread and bacon to see where you get the most value.

Here are the cost differences of five grocery essentials at these retailers.

1. Whole Milk

Walmart offers the cheapest price for a half-gallon of milk, followed by Aldi, which charges $0.16 more. However, Trader Joe’s organic milk costs three times as much.

• Walmart: Great Value Milk Whole Vitamin D, $1.33 for half gallon (WINNER)
• Trader Joe’s: Organic Milk A2/A2, $5.99 for half gallon
• Aldi: Friendly Farms, $1.49 for a half gallon

2. Butter

Butter didn’t have as wide a gap as whole milk between retailers, with Aldi at the cheapest and Walmart as the most expensive. Meanwhile, Trader Joe’s fell near-directly in the middle.

• Walmart: Great-Value-Sweet-Cream-Salted-Butter, $3.67 for 16 ounces
• Trader Joe’s: Butter Quarters, Unsalted, $3.49 for 16 ounces
• Aldi: Countryside Creamery Salted Butter Sticks, $3.29 for 16 ounces (WINNER)

3. Eggs

Walmart offers the lowest price on a carton of 12 eggs at less than $2.00. Aldi’s are $0.22 higher, and Trader Joe’s nearly triples that price — and they’re not even organic.

• Walmart: Great Value Large White Eggs, $1.97 for one dozen (WINNER)
• Trader Joe’s: Pasture Raised Large Brown Eggs, $5.99 for one dozen
• Aldi: Goldhen Grade A Large White Eggs, $2.19 for one dozen

4. White Bread

Both Walmart and Aldi are close in price for sliced white bread, with a $0.13 difference. Trader Joe’s offers two more ounces per loaf, but is that worth paying more?

• Walmart: Great Value White Sandwich Bread, $1.42 for 20 ounces (WINNER)
• Trader Joe’s: White Sliced Bread, $1.99 for 22 ounces
• Aldi: L’oven Fresh White Bread, $1.55 for 20 ounces

5. Bacon

Although Walmart is the cheapest if you’re looking for 12 ounces of bacon, Aldi would be the winner when it comes to overall cost — you’d pay around $0.27 per ounce as opposed to $0.35. Trader Joe’s charges over $2.00 more than either option.

• Walmart: Great Value Naturally Hickory Smoked Sliced Bacon, $4.24 for 12 ounces
• Trader Joe’s: Uncured Apple Smoked Bacon, $6.49 for 12 ounces
• Aldi: Appleton Farms Sliced Bacon, $4.39 for 16 ounces (WINNER)

Disclaimer: Prices and availability accurate as of Jan. 17, 2026 and subject to change.

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