Is Food Lion cheaper than Publix?
This week's advertised prices at both stores, across the 8 cities where both operate. Updated September 18, 2026.
This week
Food Lion is cheaper on 6 of 9 staples
Food Lion wins 6 · Publix wins 3
Over the last 4 weeks
Food Lion cheaper on 5 of 7 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 Breast | $3.49/lbusually $1.99cheaper by 56% | $7.99/lbusually $7.99 | Food Lion 56% |
| Chicken Drumsticks | $3.99/lbusually — | $1.99/lbusually —cheaper by 50% | Publix 50% |
| Apples | $2.49/lbusually $2.49cheaper by 50% | $4.99/lbusually $1.99 | Food Lion 50% |
| Beef Steak | $10.99/lbusually $10.99cheaper by 29% | $15.49/lbusually $15.49 | Food Lion 29% |
| Salmon | $8.99/lbusually $8.99cheaper by 22% | $11.49/lbusually $11.74 | Food Lion 22% |
| Ground Beef | $7.29/lbusually $6.54cheaper by 19% | $8.99/lbusually $8.99 | Food Lion 19% |
| Tomatoes | $2.79/lbusually $2.99 | $2.49/lbusually $2.49cheaper by 11% | Publix 11% |
| Grapes | $2.99/lbusually $2.99cheaper by 8% | $3.24/lbusually $3.24 | Food Lion 8% |
| Chicken Thighs | $2.49/lbusually — | $2.39/lbusually —cheaper by 4% | Publix 4% |
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, Food Lion is cheaper on 6 of the 9 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 September 18, 2026.
All USA store comparisons · Grocery prices vs. the official average