Publix vs. Walmart: Which is cheaper?

Over the last couple of weeks, I've heard a radio commercial for the Walmart Challenge: "See for yourself. Bring your last receipt in to Walmart, buy the same items and compare prices. How much could you save?"

Well, I'll be happy to take that challenge!

I'll compare the shopping trip I did at Publix on June 14th.  On that trip, I bought 8 boxes of Mrs. Paul's Parchment Bake tilapia, 2 Dole Frozen Shakers, 2 bottles of Hunt's Ketchup, 2 packages of Hebrew National hot dogs, 2 bottles of Dial body wash, 12 Voskos yogurts, 2 Polly-O mozzarella cheese packages, and one bagel.  For this trip, I spent $12.45.  See all the details here.

For the comparable shopping trip at Walmart, I'll use the same manufacturer's coupons that I used on my Publix trip; however, I won't be able to use cents-off or dollars-off Publix store coupons or competitor store coupons, since Walmart does not honor these coupons. (See the Walmart coupon policy for more information.)

I'll also use ad matching to get lower prices on items at Walmart when a specific price was mentioned in the Publix ad; however, price matching cannot be used on buy one, get one free items if a specific price is not mentioned.  I assume the "Save up to..." statement in the Publix ad is not a specific price..  (See the Walmart ad matching policy for more information.)

I also had to make two minor substitutions: Walmart did not carry Voskos brand yogurt, so I substituted Oikos brand.  I still took off the Voskos manufacturer's coupon, though.  And my Walmart did not carry fresh bagels in the bakery, so I substituted a doughnut.

So here is that Publix trip done at Walmart:



8 Mrs. Paul's tilapia @ $2.98 = $23.84
- 4 B1G1 Mrs. Paul's or Van De Kamp's Parchment Bake printable
= $11.92

2 Polly-O mozzarella cheese @ $3.00 = $6.00 (price matched - original price $4.28)
- 2 $1 off 1 lb of cheese coupon (Florida only - use zip 33301)
= $4.00 for two, or $2.00 each

2 Dole Fruit Smoothie Frozen Shakers @ $1.50 = $3.00
-  $1.25/2 Dole Fruit Smoothie Frozen Shakers printable
= $1.75 for two, or 88¢ each

2 Hunt's ketchup @ $1.00 = $2.00

2 Hebrew National franks @ $3.00 = $6.00

12 Oikos yogurt @ $1.00 = $12.00
- 4 $1/3 Voskos Greek Yogurt, exp. 6/30/12 (RP 02/19/12 R)
= $8.00 for twelve, or 66¢ each

2 Dial body wash @ $2.97 = $5.94
-  $1.00/2 Dial Body Washes coupon
= $4.94 for two, or $2.47 each

1 doughnut @ 58¢

Tax: 36¢

Total spent:  $39.55

So clearly, Walmart lost the Walmart Challenge.  (Click here for an appropriate sound effect.)

To summarize:

Item	Publix	Walmart
8 tilapia	$0.00	$11.92
2 mozzarella cheese	$4.00	$4.00
2 smoothies	$0.74	$1.75
2 ketchup	$0.85	$2.00
2 franks	$4.00	$6.00
12 yogurt	$4.00	$8.00
2 body wash	$2.97	$4.94
1 bagel/donut	$0.65	$0.58
Dollars-off coupon	-$5.00
Tax	$0.24	$0.36
Total	$12.45	$39.55

Walmart does have the same or lower regular prices for all of the items listed.  So if you're not going to shop sales or use coupons, you would be better off going to Walmart.  (However, you would be even better off shopping at ALDI, if that store is in your area, as ALDI prices generally beat Walmart's.)

However, shopping sales at your local grocery store and using coupons gives you a great return for the amount of time spent, as you can see from just this one shopping trip.

For more frugal tips, please go to my Linkup Parties page and check out the bloggers listed under Frugal Tips Linkups. There are lots of great ideas on each blog and I'm sure you'll find lots of wonderful tips!

(This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my disclosure policy for more information.)