Here’s How To Know You’re Getting the Best Deal at Aldi

We love Aldi for so many reasons, the main one being that competitors simply can’t beat Aldi’s prices. Aldi sells quality products under its private label that are comparable to—and sometimes even rival— name-brand products for so much cheaper. 

Aldi knows that it has the best prices in town. In fact, savings is one of the store's core missions, and it has a very strict strategy for keeping prices low for customers. Despite having low prices at every store, not all Aldi locations are priced equally. So, you’ll find price differences at Aldis state-by-state and sometimes even neighborhood-by-neighborhood. 

Which begs the question: how do you know you’re getting the best deal at Aldi?

How Does Aldi Price Its Products?

To understand where the best deals come from, first, you need to know how Aldi determines prices. We know that Aldi is committed to giving its customers the best prices, but it actually has very specific methods for doing this that you might have never noticed before. Every aspect of an Aldi store is an intentional decision that helps save the company money, which in turn saves you money. 

It starts with the store’s design. All Aldi stores are smaller than your average grocery store and have fewer aisles. This simplifies shopping by providing customers with only what they need—plus of course the famed Aldi Finds aisle, a delightful alley of distraction. 

Aldi also sells its products straight out of the boxes they're shipped in, which means the store doesn’t need to hire employees to meticulously unbox products and restock shelves. Instead, employees simply open boxes and put them on the shelf. 

The stores also don’t play any music, which is a tactic many stores employ to keep customers on site longer in hopes they'll buy more items—Aldi isn't trying to trick you like that. Another reason it opts out of music is because it would cost the company in licensing fees, which would drive prices higher. 

Finally, the most obvious way Aldi keeps costs down is by having customers bag their own groceries and “rent” a cart for $0.25. This saves Aldi from hiring extra staffers to bag groceries and chase carts in the parking lot all day.

With all these cost-cutting measures, Aldi is able to price its products at up to 50% less than traditional grocery stores.

Here’s How To Know You’re Getting the Best Deal at Aldi

While you will almost always get a better deal at Aldi than at another grocery store in your area, you might not be getting the best Aldi deal possible. That’s because Aldi products are priced at what’s competitive to the stores around it. 

“ALDI considers many factors when setting product prices, including production and operating costs, market conditions, local regulations, consumer demand and the competitive landscape. This may cause our prices to fluctuate from city to city, but rest assured we strive to offer the lowest prices in town,” Aldi says on its site.

This means if your Aldi store is in an area with more expensive grocery stores, it will still have lower prices than those stores, but they might not feel too “cheap.” On the other hand, if your Aldi is in an area with discount stores or other grocery stores that have everyday price missions, it will have prices that feel like a steal. 

So, the best way to determine if you’re getting the cheapest deal at your Aldi is to take a look at the stores around it. If you’d consider those stores to be more high-brow, you might have a more expensive Aldi. Unfortunately, Aldi doesn’t price match to its other Aldi stores—or stores around it—so you’ll have to do this research before you head to Aldi.

If you’re lucky enough to have a few Aldi stores around you, we’d suggest choosing the Aldi that’s closest to stores like Walmart, Trader Joe’s, H-E-B, and even club stores. 

Of course, that’s not an option for everyone—and sometimes convenience just outweighs the price difference. So, the good news and bottom line is you’ll still get a better deal at Aldi than anywhere else, which is why, no matter which location we shop, it’s one of our favorite grocery stores.