How to find the cheapest online grocery store for your monthly shop

The monthly grocery shop is one of the biggest fixed costs in most households, so many of us open a few grocery apps and compare before ordering. Anyone who has tried knows it's not that simple: one store has cheaper rice but pricier oil, another has free delivery but a high minimum order, and a third doesn't carry half your list.

Here is a step-by-step way to find the store, or the mix of stores, that actually costs you least once everything is added up.

Why "the cheapest store" has no fixed answer

Prices and offers change all the time. What's on sale here this week may be cheaper elsewhere next week.
The cheapest source differs per item. One store usually wins on staples, another on dairy or cleaning supplies.
It depends on your address. Which stores deliver to you, what they charge, how fast they are and what they have in stock all vary by neighborhood.
Every household's list is different. The best store for your neighbor's basket may not be the best for yours.

So the real question isn't "which store is cheaper?" but "where does this month's list, delivery included, cost me least?"

1. Write the full monthly list

Without a list you end up comparing different things each time. Put slow-spoiling items (rice, legumes, oil, tomato paste, tea, canned goods, cleaning supplies) on the monthly list, leave fresh food to your weekly list, and write a quantity next to every item.

2. Compare price per kilo or liter, not per pack

Stores sell the same product in different sizes, so shelf prices mislead. Divide the price by the weight or volume. Bigger packs usually win on unit price, but only if you use them before they expire and have room to store them.

3. Add the delivery fee

This is where most comparisons go wrong. A hypothetical example: if your basket is 20,000 toman cheaper at store A but delivery there costs 30,000 toman more, store B is really 10,000 toman cheaper. Fees can depend on distance, delivery slot or order value; some stores deliver free above a threshold; and splitting an order means paying delivery twice.

4. Don't forget the minimum order

Most online stores have one. It matters when you split: three items may be cheaper at one store but not add up to its minimum. Either move them elsewhere or add something you genuinely need. Buying filler just to hit a minimum cancels out the saving.

5. Decide on substitutes in advance

The cheapest match isn't always exactly what you wrote: a different brand, a bigger pack, frozen instead of fresh. Decide where brand matters to you (baby formula, often tea or rice) and where it doesn't (salt, sugar, dish soap), so a low price doesn't trick you into the wrong product.

6. One store or several?

Splitting pays when the difference survives the second delivery fee, each part reaches its store's minimum, and the saving is worth two deliveries. For a big monthly shop it often is; for a handful of items it usually isn't.

7. Check the final total before paying

Prices can change between comparing and checking out. Look at each store's final total with delivery and make sure nothing went out of stock.

Where Sabad helps

Doing all of this by hand for a long list takes patience. Sabad's price comparison does the math:

It compares every item on your list across the online stores Sabad covers that deliver to your address and builds a shopping plan: what to buy where. You can see every option for each item, ranked, and change Sabad's pick.
Delivery fees are included in the total wherever the store publishes them.
If a store's share doesn't reach its minimum order, Sabad shows how much is missing.
Substitutes are labeled (frozen or canned instead of fresh, a different brand), uncertain matches are flagged, and you can set preferred brands.
Four goals for the plan: cheapest total, biggest discounts, fewest stores, fastest delivery.
Where a store allows it, Sabad prepares that store's cart and you finish the order in the store itself; for some stores it compares prices only and you buy from the product page.

To be clear: Sabad is independent and has no official affiliation with the stores. Prices are read from the stores and can change, so step 7 still matters.

For more habits that save money, read 5 ways to cut your grocery bill.

Try it: Sabad is free and you don't need an account to start. Get the app, add this month's list and see where it costs least across the stores Sabad compares before you order.