Anyone who's lucky enough to live near an Aldi or Lidl grocery store knows how affordable, high-quality, and different shopping at it's possible to be. In recent years, Aldi has absolutely taken over the grocery scene with new items that feature many international twists. Thanks to both of the store's German origins, European products are also not in short supply meaning, at least, in the case of Lidl, that the bakery section is free.
Aldi is also known to offer incredible cheap items that don't sacrifice quality for price with some items that can not be found anywhere else, such as holiday specials and imported goods. Most of the chain store's non-food items are intriguing as well, having many shoppers thankful they didn't need to leave and visit another store to find a practical household item that they were looking for. Overall, both Aldi and Lidl are beloved stores now that they're within the U.S…. however when you are looking at comparing the 2, which will inevitably come out on top?
Cart Quarters And Money-Saving
When you are looking at shopping at Aldi, one of the leading gripes from shoppers is always that to get a cart, you need a quarter. The shopping carts don't have a price to rent (unless you just don't bring them back) but you do need to insert one fourth to be able to unlock them in the cart stand. This is a tactic used by the shop to keep costs low given that they don't have to pay an employee to come back them that is actually very practical, but inconvenient for those who don't carry change in it. At Lidl, the cart quarters have left and the carts are free to use, without first requiring the deposit of the quarter.
In relation to saving cash, both Aldi and Lidl offer money-back guarantees for items that a shopper doesn't love. While they're called different things at both stores, it is the same premise, so this is a point for of these.
Baked Goods Are Exceptional At One
Let us start off by stating that both Aldi and Lidl offer baked goods that are delicious themselves. Aldi offers pastries that are unique and creative, and altogether diverse from what one might find in the bakery. With that said ,, the chain does not have a bakery around the premise since many stores are only 14,000 square feet, give or take.
In comparison, Lidl stores tend to be larger (roughly 20,000 sq ft) and do have a bakery on the premise. Therefore, while Aldi has great baked goods, Lidl has the capacity to produce pastries which are delicious and therefore are baked fresh at that moment. And when the feel of the bakery case doesn't get you, then the scent wafting out of Lidl's bakery definitely will. It is a point for Lidl here.
Fresh Produce Assortments And Brand Names
In relation to fresh produce, Lidl also takes the cake – or, rather, the fruit – here. While Aldi does offer a solid choice of basic produce, most stores are not large enough to carry the assortment that Lidl does. Whereas Aldi has everything one may need for dinners and meal prep, Lidl goes far above, offering more produce along with a bigger variety of it.
Name brand goods are not a problem to everyone but when it comes to the most favored products, such as soda and snacks, some people prefer them. If so, Lidl is the winner once more, often featuring the most popular name-brand items. Additionally, Lidl, much like Aldi, offers its own products which are certainly right up there with the quality of Trader Joe's and other like grocery store brands. Aldi could even go ahead and take win with this one simply because of the fact that all the store has, most of the time, is its very own make of products, which are equally top quality and delicious.
Prepared Foods And The Winner
Both stores are pretty equal when it comes to the prepared food and freezer sections. Everything from take-and-bake pizza to frozen prepared meals is the same for both except for Lidl just having more of them.
Otherwise, the seasonal offerings are very similar. Comparing these sections of the stores is very much just like comparing every other two U.S. supermarkets, without much of a difference. When it comes right down to the winner, however, it would have to be Lidl – while it's not everywhere in the U.S. (yet) like Aldi stores are, its size allows it to have more options.
