The Most Affordable Places To Shop To Stock Up On Everyday Household Items

If you've done any grocery shopping in the past several years, you've probably felt the pressure of rising costs. At checkout, you intently watch the cash register as the amount rises steeply, then look to the conveyor belt in horror as you realize you're not even halfway done.

You are not alone. Even in 2025, you are paying 23% more per item than you did before 2020. Inflation has cooled slightly in the past two years, but the annual inflation rate remains at 3% (the FEDs target is 2% rise per year). Finding the best prices has never been more crucial, as every little bit of relief helps. Clipping coupons and following sales is a great way to reduce household spending, but it's also incredibly time-consuming, so if you're a busy person (and who isn't?) then you want to find a place with reliably good everyday prices on daily items. 

We're here to help. We compared big-box retailers Walmart and Target, bulk retailer Costco, drug store CVS, grocery store chains Safeway, Dollar General, and Kroger (Kroger owns a long list of chains across the country, including King Soopers, Ralphs, Dillons, Pick'n Save, and many more), and online retailer Amazon. Three random items were chosen to represent the gamut of household products: toilet paper, batteries, and laundry detergent. And here's what we found: Costco offers the best overall deals on household items, although you have to pay more upfront to get the savings. Walmart and Dollar General consistently offer the best prices for non-bulk items, while CVS and Safeway consistently offer the worst.  

Buying toilet paper is unavoidable (unless you have a costly heated bidet, that is), and often it's an area where you don't want to compromise on quality. In a direct comparison of Cottonelle Ultra Comfort Mega Rolls (6-count), big-box retailers Walmart and Target had better toilet paper prices than grocery or drug stores (prices are based on the online, non-sale price of items at the time of writing). Walmart's price was $6.98, and Target's was only one cent more, at $6.99. Next was Dollar General (4-count for $5), Kroger ($8.29), Safeway ($9.49), and CVS (4-count for $7.49). However, Costco offered a 36-count for $29.99, the best deal overall. You may not want to purchase everything for your home or fridge from Costco (who has the space?), but toilet paper is one thing you can buy in bulk as it won't expire before you get to it. Just make sure you have a budget-friendly toilet paper storage solution to pack it all away.

When it comes to own-brand toilet paper however, Dollar General's TrueLiving brand was the cheapest, at 15 cents per 100 sheets. Kroger brand was 18 cents, while both Costco's Kirkland brand and Walmart brand toilet paper were 21 cents. Amazon Basics toilet paper was 23 cents, and Target's Up & Up was around 38 cents per 100 sheets. 

For Duracell AA batteries, not surprisingly, Costco again offered a nice deal at 40 batteries for $20.99.Walmart had the best price for a 24-count ($20.78 compared to Target and Kroger at $20.99, Safeway at $25.99, and CVS at $31.99). Dollar General did not offer a 24-count, but eked out a win over Walmart at the 16-count ($15.95 compared to Walmart's $15.97). For the best overall deals in batteries, however, look for generic. Amazon Basics AA batteries were the cheapest at $14.80 for a 48-pack, actually beating Costco's Kirkland brand at $15.99 for the same amount. For an 8-pack of own-brand batteries, Walmart had the best deal ($3.68) and CVS the worst ($8.79). 

The same was true of laundry detergent, comparing an 88 fl. oz jug of All Free and Clear. Walmart was best at $11.97, followed closely by Dollar General ($12), Target (12.59), Kroger ($12.99), CVS ($20.49), and Safeway ($13.99 for members, $20.99 for non-members). But Costco again pulled out the overall savings with $21.99 for 237 fluid ounces. 

Buying in bulk from stores like Costco and Sam's club will almost always offer the best overall savings for household items, although you have to pay an upfront fee to be a member, which should be factored into your overall annual budgeting to ensure you get the best results.