The short answer
CHOICE's latest published national grocery basket comparison, updated in March 2026, found ALDI cheapest for 17 products priced in December 2025. Woolworths and Coles were close to each other, but both cost more for that basket.
That is a useful benchmark, not a verdict on every weekly shop. CHOICE compared a fixed set of similar products across 104 supermarkets. Your result can change with the brands you buy, pack sizes, specials, stock and whether a second stop is worth the bother.
For a straight answer: ALDI was cheapest in the latest basket survey. For your own trolley, compare the products you actually buy before picking a winner.
How Australian supermarket pricing actually works
Coles and Woolworths run weekly promotions, while ALDI carries a smaller range built heavily around private-label products. A basket result therefore depends on what is included and whether specials are counted.
The lowest shelf price can also be a smaller pack or a different product. Check pack size and ordinary per-product unit price before calling it better value. When you compare different products or packs, comparative unit-price insight is a Premium feature in Discount Trolley.
Specials can move individual products below the basket winner for a week. A headline can tell you how one tested basket performed. It cannot price your exact list today.
What the latest survey says, and where it stops
CHOICE priced its 17-item basket at 104 supermarkets in 27 Australian locations in December 2025. ALDI came out cheapest with and without the specials available during that fieldwork. Woolworths and Coles were much closer to each other than either was to ALDI for that basket.
The comparison was designed to use similar products, but the brand mix was not identical. ALDI's basket included more private-label items because directly comparable name-brand products were not available for every line.
CHOICE describes its basket as a general picture rather than the whole story. Ranges, specials and prices move, and the things in your trolley may look nothing like the tested basket.
- Use the survey as a broad benchmark, not a promise about your suburb.
- Compare pack size and product quality before treating two prices as equivalent.
- Count the time and travel involved before splitting a shop across stores.
The better question: which items, not which store
If your regular list looks a lot like CHOICE's basket, the ALDI result is a useful clue. If you buy particular brands, dietary products, different pack sizes or whatever is on special, your result may be different.
Compare the items that matter most, then decide whether the lower whole-list option justifies another stop. A lower unit price can be useful, but it is not the same as spending less at the checkout.
That gives you a decision based on your trolley rather than somebody else's fixed basket.
How to compare with Discount Trolley
Free lets you search current available prices, open basic product pages, use one shopping list and check ordinary unit-price information for a single product where the data is available.
Premium adds live cross-store comparison, comparative unit-price insight, price history, barcode and QR scanning, and Smart Swap. Those tools make it quicker to check stores and weigh up useful alternatives.
Coverage varies, and the app cannot see every in-store markdown or loyalty-only offer. Use it as a practical price check, then confirm the shelf details before buying.
- Free: search current available prices and check basic product information
- Free: build one shopping list and save up to three stores
- Premium: compare available store prices live and check price history
- Premium: use Smart Swap and barcode or QR scanning
A weekly strategy that does not waste your afternoon
Check your regular expensive buys before you shop, especially products that jump around in price. You do not need to compare every tomato to make the exercise useful.
If today's price looks high, decide whether to wait, choose another product or change stores. Premium price history adds context when you want to check how the current available price compares with earlier ones.
Do not drive across town to save a few cents. Compare the likely shop, count the extra time and fuel, then make the call that suits your week.
Questions shoppers still ask
Is ALDI always the cheapest supermarket in Australia?
No. ALDI was cheapest in CHOICE's latest published basket comparison, which used 17 products priced in December 2025. Your own cheapest option depends on the products, brands, pack sizes, specials and stores available to you.
Are Woolworths half-price specials actually good deals?
Sometimes. Check the current price, pack size and ordinary unit price first. Premium price history can add context by showing how the current available price compares with earlier prices.
How can I compare grocery prices without visiting every store?
Discount Trolley is free to download and use. Free includes current price search, basic product pages, one shopping list and ordinary single-product unit pricing. Premium adds live cross-store comparison, comparative unit-price insight, price history, Smart Swap, and barcode and QR scanning.
Does Discount Trolley cover all products at all three stores?
No. Discount Trolley tracks available public pricing across supported retailers, but coverage varies. It cannot see every product, in-store markdown or loyalty-only offer.
Check your own trolley before picking a winner.
Discount Trolley is free to download and use. Free includes current price search, basic product pages and one shopping list. Premium adds live comparison, price history and Smart Swap.
- Free: search current prices and check ordinary per-product unit prices
- Free: use one shopping list, up to 50 favourites and up to 3 price alerts
- Premium: compare stores live and check price history
- Premium: use Smart Swap and barcode or QR scanning