What is the cheapest supermarket in Australia?

The honest answer: it depends on the week and what is in your trolley. Below is how the major supermarkets compare, and the simple habits that shave the most off your grocery bill.

How the major supermarkets compare

Supermarket	Best for	Why
Aldi	Everyday staples & pantry basics	Consistently lowest base prices, but limited brand range and no online tracking.
Woolworths	Weekly half-price specials	Huge specials rotation each week — great if you time your shop around the catalogue.
Coles	Down Down & member offers	Strong on locked-in low prices plus Flybuys member-only deals.
Chemist Warehouse	Health, vitamins & personal care	Hard to beat on supplements and toiletries when items hit catalogue pricing.

4 ways to actually pay less

Shop the specials, not the store

No single supermarket is cheapest on everything. The real savings come from buying each item where it is on special this week — which changes constantly.

Stock up on half-price non-perishables

Toilet paper, pasta, tinned goods and cleaning products go half-price on a rough 4–6 week cycle. Buy enough to last until the next dip.

Compare by unit price

The shelf ticket shows price per 100g or per litre. A bigger pack is not always cheaper — always check the unit price.

Let a tracker do the watching

Instead of flipping through three catalogues each week, track the products you actually buy and get alerted the moment any of them drops in price.

The bottom line

Aldi usually wins on base prices, but Woolworths and Coles regularly beat it with half-price specials — and Chemist Warehouse is unbeatable on health and personal care when the catalogue lands. The smartest shoppers do not pick one store; they buy each item where it is cheapest that week.

Let HalfPriceHunter track the specials for you

Add the products you buy across Woolworths, Coles and Chemist Warehouse and get alerted the moment any of them goes on special.

Start tracking free