Aldi Vs Trader Joe's: Which Is The Better Store For Produce?

Did you know that Aldi and Trader Joe's are both owned by the same family? In fact, the owners of the two chains were both brothers, one of whom purchased Trader Joe's after they founded Aldi together. But just because they're from the same (literal) family doesn't mean their shopping experiences are the same. There are a lot of differences between the two brands — and one of the biggest things you're likely to notice is differences in each brand's produce section.

If you're wondering where you should shop at for the best deals on quality produce, read on. We scoured reviews all across the internet to figure out which chain has better quality produce (and better deals, too). We've broken down each produce component to show you exactly where you should make your next produce purchase — whether you're all about saving money or value the quality of all-organic produce. To help back up our claims, we also used personal experience from shopping at both stores. Just keep in mind that this experience is primarily regional — so we made sure to use plenty of nationwide online reviews to check our shopping experiences.

The quality of your produce will also vary from store to store. If you're still a little hesitant about going all-in on one chain's produce options, browse around at your local Aldi and Trader Joe's before you make your final decision.

Now, if you were hoping for a straight answer on whether Aldi or Trader Joe's is officially cheaper, you're going to be disappointed. Trader Joe's tends to have more consistent (although not necessarily the exact same) prices nationwide, so while you might find a bit of variance here and there, you're likely to be paying the same amount on many produce items no matter where you live.

But the same isn't true for Aldi, which is known to always vary its prices geographically. If you live in the Midwest, for example, your local Aldi is going to be a lot cheaper than those you'd find on the West Coast. On the other hand, those living in high cost of living areas might find that Trader Joe's offers better deals on its produce than other local stores do, thanks to the brand's more consistent pricing.

There are a few general assumptions that can be made to make your next shopping trip a little easier — for example, Aldi is generally perceived to be a little bit more of a budget store, especially when it comes to produce. This is partly because Aldi assesses the prices at other stores in the area so it can set its prices as low as possible. But for the absolute best results, you should check the prices at both Aldi and Trader Joe's in your area.

When it comes to fresh fruit at both Trader Joe's and Aldi, things can be hit or miss. You might find that produce quality varies from store to store. Generally, if you're looking for ripe fruits, Aldi is likely to have better options. Trader Joe's sometimes has problems with the quality of its fresh produce — for example, its avocados are known for being rock-hard, while I've certainly seen better quality berries. At Trader Joe's, you're likely to need to buy ahead before you plan to eat your fruit; if you want a good deal on a box of in-season fruits, Trader Joe's might just have it, but you won't always be able to eat it right away (I'm speaking from experience here when it comes to plums, peaches, nectarines, and other seasonal fruits).

Though you may have a few misses here and there at Aldi, depending on how your local store manages things, most people enjoy the fresh fruit. If anything, Aldi has the opposite problem to Trader Joe's: Its fruit is so ripe and ready to use that it doesn't often last very long after purchase. So, if you're stocking up on fruits you don't want to use yet, Trader Joe's might be the answer (after all, you can always ripen fruit yourself at home). But if you want ripe fruit, Aldi has what you need.

Now, Trader Joe's might take the crown when it comes to staple produce, at least when it comes to the stores I've visited. Think things that you want to last for a while: onions, garlic, shallots, and potatoes, to name a few. You're probably not picking up a head of garlic and thinking that you're going to use it all within a few days. Trader Joe's has high-quality staples that are cheap and last a good, long time — after all, you don't exactly need to worry about how ripe your onions are most of the time.

Aldi does have good quality produce, but there have been a few reports that some staple items (like potatoes) don't last as long as they should. At the end of the day, this can also be chalked up to store variance. But, even if you're a huge fan of your local Aldi, you might want to keep an eye on how long your staple items tend to last after purchasing. No one wants to deal with potatoes that have sprouted in their pantry, after all.

Trader Joe's has long been known for the cheap, cheap price of its bananas (about 20 cents each), so you might be surprised to hear that it isn't the winning grocery chain on this list. Though you will run into some regional variance in pricing, Aldi tends to have deals on its bananas that will bring them even lower than 20 cents, typically around 15 cents per banana. This is a totally unbeatable deal.

Now, the extra four (or so) cents may not be that big of a difference for you. If that's true, then rest assured that Trader Joe's has a wide assortment of bananas to choose from, and most people have no trouble finding ones that are exactly the level of ripeness they're looking for (all the way from super green to slightly brown-spotted).

Not everyone can agree on the quality of Aldi bananas, however, despite the price. Some say that they're perfectly ripe (especially when using within a few days of purchasing), while others say that they never ripen or that they just don't taste quite right. To know for sure, you'd have to taste-test them yourself. But if you're buying bananas in bulk, you'll definitely save a little bit of money on produce when buying at Aldi's.

Let's say that you're buying fruit in bulk — like strawberries, blueberries, and grapes. Despite the regional variation, Aldi is generally known to have better value on bulk fruits. That's true whether you're buying by the pound (like with the bananas situation) or if you're buying cartons of berries. Trader Joe's is sometimes known to have relatively expensive berry cartons, whereas you'll find better deals on fresh berries at Aldi.

Many people also feel that Aldi has fresher and higher-quality fruits. It's true that you'll still have to scan for mold in your berry boxes just in case — but when it comes to ripeness and prices, Aldi often wins.

Trader Joe's can be a little bit lacking in organic produce, and when the stores do offer organic options, they tend to be much more expensive than their non-organic counterparts. Aldi tends to have more consistent staple organic produce items on hand (like bananas, tomatoes, apples, and more). You're likely to save more money on organic produce at Aldi than you would at Trader Joe's.

Now, keep in mind that this primarily applies to fresh produce. You're likely to see lots of organic options at Trader Joe's that are either bulk purchases or produce that has been dried or canned. The same goes for Aldi — when you shop produce that isn't fresh, your organic options expand. But when looking at fresh produce specifically, Aldi tends to win when it comes to price and quality of organic produce. Trader Joe's organic foods are known for being expensive (and not always worth the price), but Aldi tends to have solid budget options for those who are hoping to stick with organic-only produce.

Now, not all Aldi stores have this problem. But you might notice at your local Aldi that produce comes in bulk packages. Maybe your onions are in a net or you don't have the option to purchase a single orange. This can be a little frustrating if you only want one produce item — you'd need to do more prepping before you shop (or make sure you're ready to use up a lot of produce at once) before making a produce purchase at Aldi.

Trader Joe's tends to have a few more options when buying single produce, especially at the stores I've visited myself. This isn't always true for its organic produce — which often comes with multiple items in one package — but you'll almost always have the option to buy single produce items like apples, oranges, tomatoes, bananas, garlic, onions, and more.

Is the size of each store's produce section debatable? Absolutely. After all, you might be shopping at the world's smallest Trader Joe's — which just isn't a fair comparison. But generally speaking, Aldi stores can have enormous produce sections (even though the size of its stores may vary), while Trader Joe's has a specific store layout that tends to limit the sheer amount of produce each store can hold.

This means that Aldi is the winner when it comes to the amount of produce you'll find at each store. If you want to ensure you have lots and lots of fresh produce to choose from — whether you're hunting for the perfect banana or just trying to buy in-season fruits before they sell out — then Aldi is probably your best bet. But don't blame us if your local Aldi isn't quite up to par, as your store size can vary.

Aldi typically has fewer complaints about the quality of its produce. The majority of complaints you'll find either come from one-off issues (such as a specific store or a short time period where there was a problem with supply) or about how quickly Aldi produce goes bad (which, to be fair, Aldi produce is often sold at its ripest). But when we look into Trader Joe's reviews, the brand tends to face more major complaints with its produce quality — the flavor tastes off, the produce is spoiled, or the quality of the produce varies significantly from day to day.

In my experience with Trader Joe's personally, it's the store that I generally go to for everything except fresh fruit and veg. For me, it's typically not worth the risk. There are a few items that I'd consider to be more consistent across every Trader Joe's I visit, which includes produce like garlic, potatoes, onions, and sometimes tomatoes. But fresh fruit is usually not worth the price tag at the Trader Joe's stores I've run into. I'm not a Trader Joe's hater (in fact, I'm a huge fan), but I think I'd have to give Aldi the crowning title when it comes to produce quality.

Many of Trader Joe's produce items aren't pre-packaged — rather, much of its produce comes as single items. However, a lot of its vegetables and refrigerated produce items (think green beans, cucumbers, carrots, and more) come in plastic bags, plastic cartons, or wrapped in plastic. This isn't contained to strictly necessary items (like bagged salad mixes) but rather to many produce items that could be sold without packaging or individually.

However, Aldi isn't much better. The brand tends to have issues with its packaging as well. Though it's made some effort to decrease the amount of packing it uses when wrapping items to be purchased in bulk, you'll still find a lot of problematic plastic packaging on Aldi's produce shelves. Because Aldi offers so many of its items in bulk-only options, you're likely to find that the plastic consumption issue seems to be more prevalent (especially at large Aldi stores that exclusively offer bulk produce).

In the end, Aldi wins out over Trader Joe's for produce shopping. Though your local stores may vary, generally, Aldi tends to have lower prices on produce than Trader Joe's, especially when looking at organic produce. It often has a wider selection of produce to choose from, too.

Though Aldi still has faced some complaints regarding produce freshness in the past, its stores tend to offer riper produce that has more positive reviews than Trader Joe's. While Trader Joe's isn't a bad store to hit up for staple, long-lasting produce, it just doesn't match up to Aldi in terms of general ripeness and produce taste. So, when you're thinking about where you should next be going to pick up the cheapest, freshest produce – Aldi is the answer. Sorry, Trader Joe's fans.