Food Lover’s Market Tops the List as The Cheapest Grocery Store In South Africa for May 2025

In May 2025, Food Lover’s Market officially wore the crown for the Cheapest Grocery Store In South Africa. A BusinessTech comparison looked at nine essential grocery items, and Food Lover’s Market came out swinging with the most affordable basket of all six major retailers, including Shoprite, Checkers, Pick n Pay, Woolworths, and Spar.

This basket wasn’t filled with just any random tins and tubs. We’re talking about the bread and butter (literally) of every middle-income home. The staples. The day-to-day fuel. Think a 700g loaf of Albany white bread, 2-litre sunflower oil, 2.5kg of Iwisa maize meal, Selati white sugar, milk, Tastic rice, Snowflake cake flour, Dettol herbal soap, and a 9-pack of two-ply toilet paper.

Here’s how the numbers played out:

The average price of this basket across all the stores in May 2025 came to R420.66. That’s just under a rand more than the same basket cost in May 2024. But Pick n Pay? That was the priciest of the bunch, clocking in at R442.91. Woolworths wasn’t far behind at R440.91. Spar followed at R421.91, which is a sharp R19.00 more than the previous year.

Shoprite made a move in the other direction, with prices going down. Their basket came to R414.91, a rare drop of R6.50 from 2024. But none of these were a match for the real MVP: Food Lover’s Market, coming in at just R384.38.

That’s not just lower. That’s leagues lower.

We’re talking:

• R58.53 less than Pick n Pay
• R34.53 less than Checkers
• R30.53 less than Shoprite

Even Checkers, which held onto the third-cheapest title at R418.91, couldn’t close the gap.

But let’s be real for a sec, not every store has the exact same brands. Woolworths might not stock Albany bread, for instance, so similar items were used where necessary. And because Spar is franchised, the prices can vary more than someone’s opinion of pineapple on pizza.

Still, the conclusion is clear:
If you're in Gauteng and trying to keep your grocery bill lean, Food Lover’s Market is your best bet in 2025.

And finally, here is the big reveal:

Because every rand you save is a rand that doesn’t end up on your credit card or overdraft.

Cutting costs on groceries is one of the quickest ways to free up extra cash, especially when you're already trying to keep up with your financial commitments.

If your groceries are giving you budget nightmares and the bills keep piling up, Sandton Debt Counselling can help you sort through the mess.

They work with people drowning in debt every day — helping them reduce repayments, stop the calls from creditors, and finally breathe again.

Pairing smart grocery shopping with debt relief? That’s a gamechanger.

So if your grocery bill is going up faster than your salary, there’s a better way to handle it.

Start with a smarter grocery shop at Food Lover’s Market.

And if the debt side of things is weighing heavy, get in touch with Sandton Debt Counselling.

It’s time to stop surviving and start taking control.