Is Food Lion cheaper than Publix?
This week's advertised prices at both stores, across the 8 cities where both operate. Updated November 5, 2026.
This week
Publix is cheaper on 6 of 10 staples
Food Lion wins 4 · Publix wins 6
Over the last 4 weeks
Food Lion cheaper on 3 of 5 items
This is the steadier answer — a single week swings with whatever's on special.
Neither store is cheaper on everything. The item-by-item split is below.
Comparing stores is one thing — but is this week's sale at your store actually a good price?
Lowtein checks every advertised price against the official BLS average for your region, city by city.
Check prices in your city ▸Item by item
Big number is this week's advertised price. Underneath is what that store usually charges over the last 4 weeks.
| Item | Food Lion | Publix | Cheaper this week |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken Drumsticks | $4.99/lbusually — | $1.99/lbusually $1.99cheaper by 60% | Publix 60% |
| Ground Beef | $6.79/lbusually $5.89cheaper by 32% | $9.99/lbusually $8.74 | Food Lion 32% |
| Chicken Thighs | $3.49/lbusually — | $2.39/lbusually $2.39cheaper by 32% | Publix 32% |
| Shrimp | $8.49/lbusually $7.74cheaper by 29% | $11.99/lbusually $11.49 | Food Lion 29% |
| Apples | $1.79/lbusually —cheaper by 28% | $2.49/lbusually $2.24 | Food Lion 28% |
| Peppers | $2.99/lbusually —cheaper by 25% | $3.99/lbusually $3.99 | Food Lion 25% |
| Salmon | $8.99/lbusually $8.99 | $7.49/lbusually $7.99cheaper by 17% | Publix 17% |
| Tomatoes | $2.34/lbusually — | $1.99/lbusually $1.99cheaper by 15% | Publix 15% |
| Beef Steak | $10.99/lbusually $11.49 | $9.99/lbusually $13.49cheaper by 9% | Publix 9% |
| Grapes | $3.49/lbusually $3.24 | $3.24/lbusually $3.24cheaper by 7% | Publix 7% |
How we worked this out
We read the public weekly flyers for both stores in every city where both operate, convert each price to a common unit, and take the median typical price per item at each chain. An item only appears here when we have at least 3 observations at each store — thin items are left out rather than estimated.
The usually line under each price is the same calculation run across our last 4 saved weeks, with every week counted equally so the current one can't outweigh the rest. It's there because a single week swings with whatever each store happened to put on special — the trailing number is the better answer to “which shop is generally cheaper”. A dash means we don't hold enough weeks for that item to say.
These are advertised prices, not shelf averages, and they change every week. A store winning on our basket doesn't mean it's cheaper on your whole shop.
Cities in this comparison (8)
Augusta · Charleston · Charlotte · Columbia · Nashville · Raleigh · Richmond · Virginia Beach
Common questions
- Is Food Lion cheaper than Publix?
- On this week's advertised prices, Publix is cheaper on 6 of the 10 staples we can compare across 8 cities where both stores operate. It varies by item — neither store is cheaper on everything.
- How does Lowtein compare Food Lion and Publix?
- We read both stores' public weekly flyers in every city where both operate (8 cities this week), convert every price to a common unit, and take the median typical price per item at each chain. An item only appears if we have at least 3 observations at each store, so thin items are left out rather than guessed at.
- How often is this updated?
- Every week, when the new flyers post. This page reflects prices as of November 5, 2026.
All USA store comparisons · Grocery prices vs. the official average