The supermarket with the most affordable Christmas groceries has been named
By Jo Abi|
Choice has named Australia's most affordable grocery retailer when it comes to festive favourites.
The consumer group named Aldi as having the most affordable basket of Christmas grocery items, the items totalling $72.41.?
Woolworths came in second place, with its Christmas basket working out to be $98.98.
Coles was next, with its basket coming to $100.04, followed by IGA at $109.25.?
These results didn't include specials that were running at the time. Prices were compared across 104 supermarkets in 27 locations across Australia over September 2025.?
With specials, Aldi still came out the cheapest at the same lower cost of $72.41. Woolworths' basket worked out to be approximately $5 cheaper at $93.17.
Coles' basket also remained the same with specials, coming in at $100.04, and IGA's basket fell from $109.25 to $105.38.
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However, these results have been disputed by the major retailers because Choice conducted their price comparison in September, before Coles and Woolworths' Christmas promotions began in earnest in November.
Also Choice compared Aldi products with some name brands at Woolworths and Coles instead of their more affordable home brands. Choice has been contacted for comment.?
Each basket assessed by the consumer group included the following base items: ?full cream milk, Sanitarium Weetbix, Royal Gala apples, carrots, Cavendish bananas, strawberries, chicken breast fillets in a bulk pack.
In addition to these base items were the following festive favourites: cherry tomatoes, bagged mixed salad, stuffed olives, rice crackers, savoury crackers, Twisties, pretzels, dried apples, mineral water, salted peanuts, hummus, camembert and frozen pies and sausage rolls.
"There was quite a significant gap between Aldi and the second-cheapest store, Woolworths, where the basket of items without specials cost $98.98," Choice Editorial Director Mark Serrels notes of the findings.
Serrels said this quarter they chose to "focus on a basket of some of the products you might buy if you're entertaining this Christmas".?
"As well as our base basket items, we've added in products such as crackers, olives, pretzels, hummus, and Camembert cheese."
We conducted our own price comparison at nine.com.au using as many Woolworths and Coles home brands as possible and today's specials, and Aldi was still the clear winner, followed by Woolworths at $91.15 and Coles at $93.00.?
In response to the criticisms Serrels told nine.com.au: "In order to comprehensively carry out and fact check our grocery basket survey, it's necessary to complete the survey a few months in advance. This quarter's results reflect those of previous surveys, with the Aldi basket being the cheapest overall."
He added that "wherever possible, we compare house brands with house brands, and national brands with national brands. This quarter, in order to compare the same products as often as we could, the baskets from Coles, Woolworths and IGA contain more name-brand products than the Aldi basket.
"Buying more home-brand products from these supermarkets would bring the cost down, but we also know that shoppers often choose national-brand products when entertaining."
Aldi has told nine.com.au via a spokesperson: "Ahead of the festive season, we're proud that Aldi's commitment to offering the lowest prices has been independently verified by Choice in their Christmas basket comparison.
"We work hard to keep costs down so Aussie families can enjoy more of what matters, without paying more at the checkout. Shoppers can be sure that whether it's the big weekly shop or a quick dash for entertaining essentials over the holiday break, Aldi will always deliver value that simply can't be beaten."
A Coles spokesperson has told nine.com.au: "At Coles, we're committed to providing great value and quality to our customers every day, and we know this matters even more as families prepare for Christmas.
"With thousands of specials available each week and our loyalty program Flybuys delivering instant savings at the checkout, we're committed to helping Australians make the most of their Christmas celebrations.
"The Choice survey was conducted in September, before our Christmas range and specials were in store for customers.
"Since 5 November, we have reduced prices on more than 447 products, including meat, pantry and entertaining staples, and launched 190 new Coles Own Brand Christmas products."
A Woolworths spokesperson told nine.com.au: "We are focused on delivering the best value for customers this Christmas.
"Our average prices have declined year-on-year for seven consecutive quarters, meaning lower prices for our customers.
"This includes our Lower Shelf Prices commitment which covers more than 800 products, delivering average savings of over 12 per cent for customers since August.
"We work hard to ensure our Woolworths own brand range is very competitive with the prices at discount retailers.
"Together with our Australian farmers, we are proud to bring great quality fruit and veg to our customers every day.
An IGA spokesperson has told nine.com.au: "IGA does not operate under a single, centralised chain-store model like Aldi, Coles or Woolworths. Each IGA is independently owned, meaning store size, range and pricing vary based on the local community that they are part of.
"While Choice acknowledges this, it continues to compare small IGA stores with large, full-range supermarkets, which are not like-for-like and does not reflect the many large IGA stores that go head to head with the chains. Our live basket comparison came out cheaper at $104.92, with all of the grocery items with the exception of the Patties Party Pack being matched with the big two.
"The few dollars difference was in the fresh offer, which could be attributed to the fact that many IGA stores source directly from local producers and suppliers.IGA owners across the country will continue to provide great value for local shoppers, a range of products, including private label to cater for all budgets, personalised service and support their local producers, suppliers, charities and communities, as only they know how."
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