Which Store Brand Grocery Items Offer the Most Savings? Here’s the Truth

We all know that store brands can save you money. But which items will save you the most?

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One of the best ways to save money on your grocery store bills is to embrace so-called “store brands” or “private label brands,” the generic products that stores offer as alternatives to name brand products. Many of these products are made by the same companies that create the name brand stuff, but they tend to be cheaper since they don’t have to spend a ton of money on advertising or buying space in stores. And a 2025 study found that 72 percent of customers couldn’t tell the difference between store brands and national brands when shown pictures of them.

But that begs the question: How much cheaper are they, really? Well, the private loan company Netcredit recently released a survey of 171 common grocery products at Walmart, Kroger, and Target, comparing them against their name-brand competitors to see how much the savings were. Here’s what they found

Private Label Drinks Will Save You the Most

Yep, the survey found that store brands in the beverage aisle had the most savings over national brands.

The biggest individual winner? Sports hydration drinks (aka Gatorade or Powerade dupes) were 74.3 percent cheaper than the name brands. Other beverage savings included 12-packs of cola (52.1%), apple juice (48.0%) and powdered drink mixes (41.6%).

Head to the Cereal Aisle for More Savings

The survey found you can also save some serious money by buying generic cereals rather than name brands, with “Fruit Loops”-style cereal saving you 69.3 percent, along with corn flakes (64.2%), frosted shredded wheat cereal (61.1%), and “honey, oat, almond cereal” (48.7%).

Don’t Forget the Snacks

Over in the snack aisle, the top savings were tortilla chips (62.7%), bagged popcorn (47.5%), and potato chips (47.1%). (You’ll find a couple of generic brands in our list of the best potato chips we’ve tasted.)

Stick to the Name Brands with Frozen Foods

In the frozen section, the top saver was ice cream sandwiches (56.7%), but the rest of the items weren’t quite as impressive with vanilla ice cream running only 38.2 percent, popsicles at 35.2%, and pizza rolls at 35.1%.

Now, don’t get me wrong, getting comparable items for a third off is still a bargain, it’s just not as impressive as getting a sports drink for almost 75 percent off the price. It almost makes me want to exercise. Almost.