How does Publix pricing compare to competitors Kroger & Walmart? We shopped the basics
Publix, Florida’s favorite grocery store, is set to open its first Lexington location bright and early Wednesday morning.
Among fans, Publix is known for its “pub subs” and Key lime pie, extra mile customer service and weekly buy-one-get-one deals on items throughout the store. But for price-conscious shoppers, how does it compare to large competitors like Walmart and Kroger? We were curious about that, too.
To find out, we visited store locations for all three chains here in Lexington, gathering prices for a list of 10 grocery staples. Our list covers the basics, from milk and eggs to produce and ground coffee.
How did we check Publix pricing?
Here’s a little information on how we conducted our price check.
Where did we shop? We visited Lexington store locations for Walmart, Kroger and Publix. For Walmart and Kroger, we visited the stores’ Nicholasville Road and Euclid Avenue locations, respectively.
We also visited the new Publix at its 1952 Stockton Way location ahead of its opening. Publix opened its doors for media walk-thrus and demonstrations. While there, we took the opportunity to scope out prices where available. For prices that weren’t yet available as employees were setting up the store, we’ve substituted online price estimates.
We left stores with membership requirements, such as Costco Wholesale, or those that specialize in organic items off our list.
When did we visit? We visited Walmart and Kroger Feb. 28. Our visit to Publix was March 3. Grocery prices are subject to change, even on a daily basis for some items.
What was on our list? We shopped with an eye for lower-cost store-brand items and avoided more expensive organic options and other frills. We wanted to make sure to compare like to like. Our list included the following items:
Eggs
Milk
Bread
Boneless chicken breasts
Ground beef
Onions
Avocados
Tomatoes
Orange juice
Ground coffee
Were sales a factor? No. It’s likely shoppers will be able to find lower prices than those listed here, but to be fair, we’re working with regular prices and did not include sales and markdowns.
How did Publix prices compare to Kroger and Walmart?
You can get a general overview of where prices stand and how they compare between stores by interacting with the data visualization below.
In-store prices for boneless chicken breasts and ground beef were not available during our visit to Publix. As a substitute, we’ve used online price estimates for ground beef and chicken breasts as a guide. The prices are based on the store’s Louisville location at 2500 Terra Crossing Blvd. and should be somewhat comparable to what you’d find in Lexington. Price data for these two Publix items was retrieved March 3.
So what’s the takeaway here? With a few exceptions, price-conscious shoppers will likely find Walmart to be consistently the cheapest if shopping purely for store-brand staples, followed by Kroger.
The Publix pitch to shoppers is unrivaled quality while still offering weekly sales.
“We offer the freshest product,” Mark Norman, the meat department manager at Lexington’s Publix location told the Herald-Leader Monday.
Norman added that Publix food safety standards go above and beyond what’s required by regulations. Meat deliveries occur five times a week and fresh seafood is delivered to the store six times weekly.
Elsewhere in the store, Publix carries a wide selection of produce, in many cases locally sourced. Other store perks include a bakery that offers fresh-baked bread and free cookies for children, a floral department with fresh flowers delivered daily and a next-door liquor store with extensive bourbon and wine offerings.
If you like our look at grocery store prices, check out this recent analysis of egg prices. We breakdown which Lexington grocery stores have the best prices on eggs.
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This story was originally published March 4, 2025 at 5:30 AM.