Store Brand vs. Name Brand: How to Compare Fairly

A name-brand can of crushed tomatoes is 28 oz for $2.79. The store brand next to it is 24 oz for $1.99. The store brand is 80 cents cheaper on the shelf, but it is also smaller — so how much cheaper is it really?

The store brand is about 17% cheaper per ounce — a real saving, but a smaller one than the 29% the shelf prices suggest. If you used the shelf prices alone, you would overestimate the saving by almost double.

Name brands go on sale and carry coupons far more often than store brands, which can flip the result. Say an 18 oz box of name-brand cereal is on sale for $3.50, and the store brand is 14 oz for $2.99.

1. Name brand on sale: $3.50 ÷ 18 ≈ $0.194 per ounce.
2. Store brand: $2.99 ÷ 14 ≈ $0.214 per ounce.
3. The name brand is about 9% cheaper per ounce this week.

Add a $1.00 coupon on a regular-price name-brand box ($4.29) and you pay $3.29, or about $0.183 per ounce — cheaper again. The coupons and cashback guide shows how to work discounts in. Enter both products in the calculator below to check your own shelf.

Store brands are often packed in slightly different sizes from the brand they sit next to — 24 oz instead of 28 oz, 14 oz instead of 18 oz, 10 rolls instead of 12. Whatever the reason, the effect is the same: you can’t compare shelf prices. Price per unit is the only fair measure, and it takes a few seconds with the calculator.

Sometimes yes, sometimes no — and the label rarely tells you. Some store-brand products are made by well-known manufacturers, others aren’t, and stores don’t usually say which. Ingredients lists are the best clue you have: compare them side by side. If the first few ingredients and the nutrition panel match closely, the products are likely similar.

For everything else, your own test is the best guide. Quality matters most where it changes how much you use: a thinner paper towel or a weaker detergent can cost more per use even when it is cheaper per sheet or per ounce. See cost per use for how to work that out.

1. Buy the smallest size of each once.
2. Use them for the same job — the same recipe, the same kind of laundry load, the same week of breakfasts.
3. Note anything that changes how much you use: extra sheets, a second scoop, a double dose.
4. If you use more of the cheaper one, adjust its unit price before deciding. Using 1.5 times as much makes it 1.5 times as expensive per use.

• Allergies or dietary needs where you trust one product’s ingredients and labeling.
• Recipes or uses where one product clearly works better for you.
• Products where you use noticeably less of the better one, so its cost per use is lower.
• Small, rarely bought items where the saving is a few cents a year.

For toilet paper and paper towels, compare by sheet — and by ply and sheet size — with the toilet paper calculator or the paper towel calculator.

Store-brand savings can be largest on small, simple products such as spices. A name-brand spice jar is 2.12 oz for $4.99; the store brand is 2.5 oz for $2.49.

1. Name brand: $4.99 ÷ 2.12 ≈ $2.35 per ounce.
2. Store brand: $2.49 ÷ 2.5 ≈ $1.00 per ounce.
3. The store brand is about 58% cheaper per ounce — and the jar is bigger.

Note your winners. Once you have tried a store-brand product and liked it, write its price per unit in your price book so you only need to check whether the name brand is on a deep sale.