23 Items That Are Cheaper at Whole Foods

When Amazon acquired notoriously expensive Whole Foods in 2017, it lowered prices to compete with traditional grocery stores like Kroger. Now prices have gone up on hundreds of items at Whole Foods, The Wall Street Journal reports. But if you're a devotee of the specialty grocer, all is not lost. We popped in for a price check at Whole Foods and a nearby Kroger, and although Kroger was cheaper overall, we found nearly two dozen items that actually cost less at Whole Foods.

(Prices and selection may vary by location.)

One of the better deals we found is on organic baby spinach. A 16-ounce plastic tub from Whole Foods' 365 Everyday Value brand is $4.99, while Kroger's Simple Truth brand is $5.99 for the same amount. That's a savings of 20 percent.

It's the same story with organic baby spring mix, so if you're a salad lover who eschews conventional produce, Whole Foods might be your store. You'll pay $4.99 for 16 ounces at Whole Foods versus $5.99 at Kroger.

Here's a surprising deal: Whole Foods' store-brand paper towels are cheaper than Kroger's. Kroger Home brand paper towels are $5.99 for six rolls totaling 224.4 square feet. Whole Foods' 365 Everyday Value paper towels are $6.99 for eight rolls totaling 366.7 square feet. Do the math and you're paying 0.019 cents a square foot at Whole Foods compared with 0.027 cents at Kroger — a 30 percent savings.

For blueberry lovers, Whole Foods' price is sweeter than Kroger's: $6.99 for 16 ounces of organic berries, or 44 cents an ounce. Kroger charges $8.99 for 18 ounces, or 50 cents an ounce. If you're a Prime member, the Whole Foods deal is much sweeter: You can get a pint of organic blueberries for $4, which is half the price per ounce at Kroger.

Don't forget to look for deals on frozen fruit, too. Sixteen ounces of frozen whole strawberries from Kroger's Private Selection brand are $3.69, while the same amount from Whole Foods' 365 Everyday Value brand is just $1.99.

Prefer raspberries? We saw 12-ounce store-brand packages in Whole Foods' freezer section for $2.99. At Kroger, the same size store-brand package was $3.99.

Whole Foods has a robust selection of olive oil, including some high-end varieties, at decent prices. A 34-ounce bottle of basic store-brand extra virgin olive oil is $6.99 there, but a dollar more at Kroger for the same amount.

It's hard to beat Whole Foods' extensive selection of nuts, and some of the prices are pretty solid too. We spied 10 ounces of organic walnut halves and pieces for $7.99 at Whole Foods. You'd pay $8.99 for the same amount from Kroger's Simple Truth organic brand.

Bakers, take note: Whole Foods squeaks out a win on salted and unsalted organic butter. The 365 Everyday Value brand is $5.29 a pound, while Kroger's Simple Truth organic butter is $5.99 a pound.

You can snag a 16-ounce container of store-brand organic peanut butter at Kroger for $3.79, slightly less than the $3.99 price at Whole Foods. But Whole Foods lets you stock up with a 28-ounce container for $5.99, an option you don't have at Kroger. That drops the price to 21 cents an ounce versus 24 cents at Kroger.

Bored with peanut butter? You can snag 16 ounces of Whole Foods 365 Everyday Value creamy almond butter for $6.99. At Kroger, the Simple Truth brand costs $6.29, but for only 12 ounces. That makes the per-ounce price at Kroger 52 cents, while at Whole Foods, it's 44 cents.

Try spreading some of that almond butter on organic apple slices, and pick up the apples at Whole Foods for a bit less. If you're partial to popular Red Delicious apples, they're $1.79 a pound at Whole Foods but $1.99 a pound at Kroger.

Whether you're going to mash 'em, bake 'em, or fry 'em, it's hard to deny the versatility of the humble potato. At Whole Foods, you can get a 5-pound bag of organic russet potatoes for $3.99, or 80 cents a pound. At Kroger, they're $2.99 for a 3-pound bag, or $1 a pound.

Annie's, a national brand focused on natural and organic products, makes more than popular kid favorites such as crackers and fruit snacks. We noted at least two varieties of cereal, Frosted Oat Flakes and Cocoa Bunnies, priced at $4.49 for a 10-ounce box at Whole Foods. At Kroger, the same size boxes were $4.79.

If you're trying to eat gluten-free, Whole Foods is worth checking out for its impressive selection. In the Whole Foods freezer section, we saw 12-ounce loaves of Udi's Gluten-Free Bread for just $5.29, while Kroger was asking $6.49.

Whole Foods stocks some extravagantly pricey cheeses, but crumbled feta isn't one of them. A 6-ounce container from the 365 Everyday Value brand is $2.99, or 50 cents an ounce. A 4-ounce container of Kroger Private Selection crumbled feta is $2.69, or 67 cents an ounce.

You can get a hefty 11-ounce log of creamy store-brand goat cheese for $6.79 at Whole Foods — that's 62 cents an ounce. At Kroger, a 10.5-ounce log of Vermont Creamery goat cheese sells for $9.99, or 95 cents an ounce.

Bags of store-brand organic popped popcorn are regularly priced $2.49 at Kroger and Whole Foods. Look closer, though, and you'll see that Whole Foods' bags hold 6 ounces, and Kroger's hold 4 ounces. That's 42 and 62 cents an ounce, respectively. Put the savings of more than 30 percent toward creative toppings.

We spied a 10-ounce bag of organic cashews at Whole Foods for $7.99, or about 80 cents an ounce. At Kroger, a 10-ounce bag of organic roasted cashews was $8.99, or 90 cents an ounce.

If you start your day with filling, protein-packed Greek yogurt, you'll find a slightly better deal at Whole Foods. There, the 365 Everyday brand is $5.49 for a 32-ounce tub, while Kroger charges $5.79 for the same size container of its Simple Truth brand.

In the mood for fish? At Whole Foods, you can get two 6-ounce store-brand Sockeye fillets for $10.99; Kroger charges $14.99 for the same amount of its store brand.

Although Kroger undercuts Whole Foods by a hair on many frozen organic veggies, edamame isn't one of them. You'll pay $2.99 for 16 ounces at Whole Foods, or 19 cents an ounce. At Kroger, the Simple Truth brand is $2.29 for 10 ounces, or 23 cents an ounce.

Whole Foods also squeaks out a win on frozen organic corn, but just barely. It's $1.99 for 16 ounces there, or 12 cents an ounce. At Kroger, it's $1.29 for 10 ounces, or 13 cents an ounce.