What Can R500 Buy at Shoprite, Checkers, Pick n Pay and Woolworths?

We compared a basket of basic groceries in Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town to see where shoppers could get the most for R500, and whether loyalty cards really made a difference.

Published by SA Business Lens Team | 14 October 2026

Five hundred rand does not stretch as far as it used to.

A basic trip to the supermarket can quickly swallow the entire amount, especially when the basket includes maize meal, rice, flour, cooking oil, sugar, milk, eggs and bread.

We compared prices at Shoprite, Checkers, Pick n Pay and Woolworths using representative online shopping locations in Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town.

The aim was not to compare premium brands. We selected the cheapest reasonably comparable product available at each retailer, while keeping pack sizes as close as possible.

How the supermarkets compared

The table below summarises the basket results in each city. The rankings are based on the full basket after qualifying loyalty discounts were applied.

What was in the basket?

• 5kg maize meal
• 2kg rice
• 2.5kg cake wheat flour
• 2 litres of cooking oil
• 2kg to 2.5kg sugar
• 2 litres of milk
• 18 eggs
• One loaf of brown bread
• One 400g tin of baked beans
• One chocolate slab

Delivery fees, reusable bags and tips were excluded.

The first problem: prices are not the same everywhere

Supermarket prices can differ according to location, store format, stock availability and regional promotions.

A special advertised in Johannesburg may not be available in Durban or Cape Town. Online prices can also change after a shopper enters a delivery address.

This means there is no single national answer to the question of which retailer is always cheapest. However, a clear pattern emerged from the price check.

Johannesburg

Shoprite offered the strongest overall value in the Johannesburg comparison, particularly when Xtra Savings prices were applied.

Checkers followed closely. Its ordinary prices were generally higher than Shoprite’s, but selected Xtra Savings discounts narrowed the difference.

Pick n Pay remained competitive on cooking oil and sugar when a Smart Shopper card was used. Current online listings showed No Name sunflower oil at R74.99 with Smart Shopper, compared with R89.99 at the ordinary price. No Name brown sugar was listed at R44.99 with Smart Shopper, compared with R62.99 without the discount.

Woolworths was competitive on several pantry products, but its free-range eggs pushed up the total basket price. Woolworths listed 18 large free-range eggs at R91.99 during our check.

Durban

Durban produced the lowest Shoprite basket of the three cities.

Regional offers on staple foods helped Shoprite maintain an advantage, while Checkers remained a close alternative for shoppers using Xtra Savings.

Pick n Pay’s Smart Shopper savings made a meaningful difference, particularly on products such as oil and sugar. Without the loyalty prices, the basket became noticeably less competitive.

Woolworths offered competitive prices on selected pantry essentials. Its online range included 5kg Iwisa maize meal at R69.99, 2kg parboiled rice at R41.99 and baked beans at R16.99 per tin.

Cape Town

Cape Town was slightly more expensive for several products in our comparison.

Shoprite remained the best-value option for the complete basket, while Checkers was again a close second when Xtra Savings offers were included.

Pick n Pay performed better with a Smart Shopper card than without one. This demonstrated how difficult it has become to compare supermarket prices using shelf prices alone.

Woolworths was not automatically the most expensive on every item. Some Woolworths pantry prices were surprisingly close to the other retailers, and certain specials could beat competing prices. The total basket was still lifted by the cost of free-range eggs.

Where loyalty prices made the biggest difference

Do loyalty cards actually make a difference?

Yes, but only when the products you need are included in the promotion.

Shoprite and Checkers use Xtra Savings, Pick n Pay uses Smart Shopper and Woolworths uses MyDifference.

The danger is that loyalty pricing can encourage shoppers to buy a different quantity or brand simply because it is marked as a deal. A two-for-one promotion does not save money if a household only needs one item.

Which retailer gave shoppers the most for R500?

Shoprite produced the strongest overall result across the three cities in this comparison.

Checkers was close behind and could become the cheaper option when an especially strong regional promotion applied.

Pick n Pay was considerably more competitive when Smart Shopper prices were used. Shopping without the card meant leaving several worthwhile discounts behind.

Woolworths performed better on basic pantry products than many shoppers may expect, but the complete basket was affected by the retailer’s more expensive egg offering.

The real lesson

There is no supermarket that is cheapest on every product.

A household can often save more by splitting a shopping list between two retailers than by remaining loyal to one store. The problem is that extra travelling can consume the saving through fuel, taxi fares and time.

For shoppers who prefer using one store, Shoprite provided the strongest overall value in this comparison.

For those willing to shop around, the best approach is to compare the expensive products first. Cooking oil, eggs, maize meal and rice generally make a bigger difference to the final bill than saving a few rand on bread or chocolate.

Important price note

This comparison is a snapshot taken on 14 October 2026 using online prices and current promotional material for representative locations in Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town.

Prices, stock and promotions may differ between branches and can change without notice. Multi-buy offers were only counted when the basket included the required quantity. Delivery charges were excluded.

What does R500 buy at your local supermarket? Tell us which retailer gives you the best value.

Sources: Pick n Pay online shop, Woolworths Food, Shoprite regional catalogues and Checkers regional catalogues.

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