Groceries & food
Supermarkets
Where to buy food in Perth without burning your pay — from Aldi to Spudshed, and when each one is actually worth it.
Updated
Food is the first price shock for anyone who arrives. Before I understood how supermarkets work here, I spent far more than I needed to — buying everything in one place, the way I did back in Brazil.
The rule that works for me now is simple: produce at Spudshed, everything else at Aldi, and Coles or Woolworths only for something specific or a genuinely good special. That split alone cut my grocery bill almost in half.
What nobody tells you
House brand doesn’t mean bad. At Aldi almost everything is house brand and the quality holds up. Insisting on familiar brands here means paying extra for a habit you brought from another country.
Meat is expensive, chicken is cheap. The maths works differently from Brazil: chicken breast is the budget cut, and a decent piece of red meat costs a full day of work if you don’t check the price.
Read the unit price. Australian shelf labels always show price per kilo or per litre in small print next to the headline price. That’s the number that actually compares two different packages.
Bags cost money everywhere. Single-use plastic bags are banned. Either you bring your own or you buy reusable ones every time, which adds up fast.
There is discounted food at the end of the day. Coles and Woolworths mark down items near their use-by date with yellow stickers, usually late afternoon. Apps like Too Good To Go do the same with restaurants and bakeries.
The short list
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Aldi
Cheap What I useThe cheapest option for a big shop. Smaller range and almost everything is house brand, but the quality is surprisingly good. Bring your own bags, pack your groceries yourself after the checkout, and keep a $1 or $2 coin for the trolley.
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Coles
StandardOne of the two giants. Nicer stores, wider range, familiar brands — and higher prices than Aldi on nearly everything. Worth it for the weekly specials and the Flybuys program.
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Woolworths
StandardThe other giant, very similar to Coles. Usually wins on fresh produce and meat; its rewards program is Everyday Rewards. Prices are nearly identical to Coles — check who has the better specials that week.
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Spudshed
Cheap What I useWestern Australia only, and the local secret. Fruit and veg far cheaper than the big two, with several stores open 24 hours. The shop is ugly and chaotic; the price makes up for it. Produce here, everything else elsewhere.
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IGA
PriceyNeighbourhood supermarkets, usually small and more expensive. Good for what you forgot at 9pm, not for the weekly shop.
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Costco
CheapWarehouse shopping with a paid membership. Only pays off if you split the shop with your housemates or have a car and space to store things. Its petrol station is often one of the cheapest in Perth.
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Asian grocers
CheapIn Northbridge and across the suburbs there are Asian and Indian grocers where rice, noodles, sauces and spices cost a fraction of supermarket prices. Also where you find the things that taste like home.
Prices, plans and rules change fast — and I am one person with one experience. Treat this as a starting point, not as official advice.
