To Publix, Kroger & Walmart: Find out which SC grocery store has the cheapest prices in Bluffton
With so many grocery stores to pick from, it can often be difficult to determine which spot has the best bang for your buck.
As prices and items in stock fluctuate almost daily, you never know what numbers you’ll see on the shelves.
Last month, we compared top grocery competitors like Food Lion, Kroger and Publix in their prices to determine which location was the cheapest for shoppers in the Bluffton area.
We’ve checked out these same grocery stores again for this month, but added Walmart into the mix.
To find out which store was the most cost-effective, we visited store locations for all four chains here in Bluffton, gathering prices for a list of 10 grocery staples.
Where did we shop?
We visited Bluffton store locations for Food Lion, Kroger, Publix and Walmart.
We did not include stores with membership requirements, such as Sam’s Club. We also left out stores that specialize in organic items from our list.
These are the specific stores visited in order:
Publix: 101 Buckwalter Place Boulevard
Kroger: 27 Discovery Drive
Food Lion: 1008 Fording Island Road
Walmart: 4 Bluffton Road
What was on the shopping list?
When shopping, we looked for lower-cost and/or store-brand items. If those items were not available, we went for what was in stock or most comparable.
We did avoid more expensive organic options to ensure we compared like to like, as best as possible.
Our list included the following items:
Eggs
Milk
Bread
Boneless chicken breasts
Ground beef
Yellow Onions
Avocados
Tomatoes
Orange juice
Ground coffee
When did we shop?
Grocery prices are subject to change, even daily for some items. For this story, we visited each location on April 3 between 12 and 2 p.m.
Publix: 101 Buckwalter Place Boulevard
Eggs (12 count, Publix brand): $4.89
Milk (1 Gallon of Whole milk, Publix brand): $3.39
Bread (White bread loaf, Publix brand): $1.99
Boneless chicken breasts (Publix brand): $14.03
Ground beef (Publix Market brand tray): $8.04
Onions (3lb bag of yellow onions, Publix brand): $5.79
Avocados (3 count, $1.59 each): $4.77
Tomatoes (5 red tomatoes on the vine, $1.21 each): $6.03
Orange juice (Half gallon, Publix brand): $4.99
Ground coffee (Publix brand breakfast blend): $6.99
Total: $60.91
Kroger: 27 Discovery Drive
Eggs (12 count, Kroger brand): $4.99
Milk (1 gallon of whole milk, Kroger brand): $2.99
Bread (White bread loaf, Kroger brand): $1.99
Boneless chicken breasts (Kroger brand): $5.69
Ground beef (Kroger brand tray): $6.99
Onions (3lb bag of yellow onions, Kroger brand): $2.99
Avocados (3 count, $1.41 each): $4.23
Tomatoes (5 red tomatoes on the vine): $4.33
Orange juice (Half gallon, Kroger brand): $4.99
Ground coffee (Kroger brand breakfast blend): $9.99
Total: $49.18
Food Lion: 1008 Fording Island Road
Eggs (12 count, Food Lion brand): $4.99
Milk (1 gallon of whole milk, Food Lion brand): $3.89
Bread (White bread loaf, Food Lion brand): $2.39
Boneless chicken breasts (Family pack, Food Lion brand): $2.79
Ground beef (Food Lion brand tray): $4.99
Onions (3lb bag of yellow onions, Food Lion brand): $3.49
Avocados (3 count, $1.19 each): $3.57
Tomatoes (5 red tomatoes on the vine): $1.99
Orange juice (52 oz., Food Lion brand): $3.99
Ground coffee (Food Lion brand breakfast blend): $7.49
Total: $39.58
Walmart: 4 Bluffton Road
Eggs (12 count, Great Value brand): $4.97
Milk (1 gallon of whole milk, Great Value brand): $2.78
Bread (White bread loaf, Great Value brand): $1.42
Boneless chicken breasts (Value tray, Perdue brand): $5.45
Ground beef (Great Value brand tray): $6.33
Onions (3lb bag of yellow onions, Great Value brand): $3.14
Avocados (3 count, $0.70 each): $2.10
Tomatoes (5 red tomatoes on the vine): $3.88
Orange juice (52 oz., Great Value brand): $4.34
Ground coffee (Great Value brand breakfast blend): $5.22
Total: $39.63
Were sales a factor?
As we were shopping for our list, no. We worked with regular prices and did not include sales and markdowns.
However, other shoppers will likely be able to find lower prices than those listed here.
How did prices compare?
Cheapest: Food Lion & Walmart
Middle: Kroger
Highest: Publix
So, what’s the takeaway here?
With a few exceptions, price-conscious shoppers in April in the Lowcountry will likely find Food Lion and Walmart to be consistently the cheapest if shopping purely for store-brand staples, followed by Kroger and Publix as the priciest, with the most expensive item being chicken breasts.
Looking back to March’s comparison, Food Lion was also the cheapest location.
No matter if you’re seeking quality, easy shopping or just looking to stay on budget, price comparisons can be useful when considering where to shop for your staples.
This story was originally published April 4, 2025 at 5:30 AM.
