The Most Overpriced Grocery Items At Trader Joe's, According To Customers

If you're like most shoppers, an average trip to Trader Joe's starts with treating yourself to a bouquet of flowers for under $10 (because why not?), followed by wandering through the store to see what quirky new products they've put on the shelves while filling your basket with some tried-and-true favorites. There's no denying that shopping at Trader Joe's has the same allure as visiting a candy shop as a kid, and that the grocery chain is a blast for picking up unique snacks, organic items, and international-inspired fare. Going off of this definition, you'd expect things to get rather costly at the chain, but for the most part, TJ's keeps its prices competitively low. Thanks to a limited selection of almost exclusively private-brand products, plus smaller store (and parking lot) sizes, the chain slashes a lot of overhead and middleman upcharges.

However, while it's far from one of the most overpriced grocery stores, Trader Joe's isn't exactly the cheapest for bigger families or stocking up on basics. In fact, you'll often need to visit another grocery store to really complete your shopping list, especially considering TJ's glaring lack of coupons or discounts. More importantly, after consulting online shopper discussions and comparing some costs, we've discovered that certain products at Trader Joe's are simply overpriced. Whether it's an exorbitant amount for a low-quality product, or your money going farther for something similar at other grocery chains, we've compiled a list of items that aren't worth the price at Trader Joe's. All prices we quote are reflective of August 2025.

Although it's become cherished by just about everyone, Trader Joe's was started for — and has always slanted toward — folks who were college educated yet broke. The grocery chain was actually founded by an average guy named Joe, who caught onto the rising interest for international and organic foods. You'll find plenty of these organic products as you're navigating your way through the produce section, but several customers across Reddit complain that the fresh fruits and vegetables are generally overpriced and tend to spoil quickly. Some repeat offenders in the subreddit include apples and oranges, which shoppers claim taste better and cost less at local grocers. "I love the cotton candy grapes but DAYUM they are expensive," one Redditor exclaimed. Another user expressed their bewilderment over the price of organic berries between Trader Joe's and Aldi. "It's like $7.99 versus $3.99 for the same thing," they wrote.

It's not just Redditors, either. In August 2024, a Business Insider report found that individual cucumbers and avocados at Walmart went for 64 and 84 cents, respectively, compared to $1 and $2 at TJ's. Of course, with fresh produce, you have to consider seasonal and regional fluctuations. It doesn't help, however, that Trader Joe's prices are set by unit, rather than by weight. In addition, the supermarket chain's prices are similar across the nation (aside from freshly-prepared items which can vary), meaning you can probably snag better deals for in-season produce at farmer's markets or local shops.

While Trader Joe's has certainly won us over with its eclectic selection of budget-friendly treats, not everything at the grocery chain is necessarily a steal. When one Redditor inquired which products fellow shoppers considered overpriced, commenters flooded the thread with their thoughts, revealing that it's not all fun and games at TJ's. One user, for example, believed that the deli meats weren't great value, admitting, "Can get the same quality for much cheaper at my local grocery store." Upon checking out and comparing some prices, it appears that this Redditor might be onto something.

For starters, a package of organic hickory-smoked turkey breast at Trader Joe's looks rather small, and at the time of this article's publication, costs $6 for 6 ounces. You could consider it worth the price if buying organic is important to you, but you'll also have to accept paying a premium price for less product. It's also not exactly a cost-effective way of stocking up on lunch meats for your weekday meals and snacks, especially if you're buying for a larger family.

Concerning deli meats, other supermarkets typically offer more variety, larger packages, and better deals than Trader Joe's. Walmart has a 16-ounce package of Land O' Frost hickory-smoked turkey breast — free of artificial flavors or added hormones — for $6.24. Similarily, Aldi's Lunch Mate equivalent costs $4.29, rendering Trader Joe's option almost four times as expensive.

We'll start off by admitting that Trader Joe's offers an impressive selection of unique and imported cheeses, often at far more approachable prices than artisanal shops. Nevertheless, although TJ's might be your go-to store for products you can't find elsewhere, it doesn't always provide the best deals for staples. A CNET deep dive in June 2025 compared prices for a long grocery list of everyday items at Trader Joe's and Stop & Shop. A bag of shredded cheddar cheese cost almost $5 for 8 ounces at Trader Joe's, but the run-of-the-mill regional grocery chain offered a similar product for just $2. What's more, some customers on Trader Joe's subreddit claim you can find both basic cheeses and funkier choices like chevre for better prices at Aldi or Lidl.

Another issue that may pigeonhole prices at Trader Joe's is the lack of a deli counter, meaning the meats and cheeses you see on the shelves are all you can get. Consequently, this doesn't leave much room for scoring deals by buying your favorite cheeses in bulk, or portioning out just a bit of a fancier fromage. While you can find an 8-ounce block of sharp cheddar cheese at Lidl for $2.24, you'd be hard-pressed to find a similar block of standard cheese at Trader Joe's. The closest equivalent might be the New Zealand sharp cheddar, but that bumps the price up to about $3.50 for 8 ounces.

If you like buying yogurts to whip up snacks at home or use as substitutes for sour cream, Trader Joe's prices can appear rather far-fetched. For one, the grocery chain only offers a limited selection of tubs of Greek yogurt, and the options for traditional yogurts are even narrower. This means if you want to try different, exciting flavors — say guava passion fruit or raspberries and cream — you're restricted to smaller containers and cups, which run higher in price per ounce. The 32-ounce tubs of whole milk Greek yogurt – including plain, vanilla bean, or honey — cost around $5.50.

While deciding what time to visit Trader Joe's to avoid crowds is a bit like rocket science, a simpler calculation is realizing your money can go farther at other chains. At Aldi, for example, you can buy Friendly Farms or Specially Selected Greek yogurts for around $4 for 32 ounces. Maybe we're only talking about a difference of a little over a dollar, but it can add up for the products you're buying on a weekly basis.

Walmart offers more options and even better deals. Great Value has plenty of tubs of traditional yogurts in varying flavors for $2.76. You can also find Greek yogurts from Bettergoods – the supermarket's classier private brand — for $4 per 32 ounces, including flavors like strawberries and cream and pineapple upside down cake.

Milk falls into the lineup as another overpriced dairy product at Trader Joe's, with the organic options doing the most damage on your grocery store receipt. A ½-gallon of whole or reduced-fat organic milk can cost up to $6.50, potentially making for a hefty expense if you're the type of household that goes through copious amounts for coffee, cereal, or drinking straight from the carton. Although TJ's dairy-free beverages come in smaller containers and are typically stuck with a higher price tag per ounce, they're actually cheaper than the chain's organic dairy milk. You can currently buy 32 ounces (or ¼-gallon) of unsweetened almond milk for $2, or the same amount of soy milk for $2.30.

Of course, organic or dairy-free products may be worth the upcharge for some customers, but we aren't bound to Trader Joe's for finding these options. For one, a ½-gallon carton of vitamin D organic milk from Walmart's Great Value brand costs around $5.20, making it the cheaper choice compared to TJ's. As for dairy alternatives, Walmart offers better deals for stocking up. You can find a ¾-gallon jug of unsweetened Almond Breeze for just $4.90. In addition, Bettergoods has a ½-gallon of soymilk for about $2.90.

No matter the season, nothing beats a big bowl of ice cream after dinner. If you're the type who prefers to dress up the frozen dessert with sweet sauces, fruit, or crushed candy bars at home, you may want to think twice before buying your ice cream base at Trader Joe's. In late spring of 2025, a shopper from CNET reported that a quart of French vanilla ice cream from the everyday grocery store Stop & Shop cost $2.66; an equivalent at TJ's was $4.79.

Although customers across the Internet generally rave about Trader Joe's traditional and quirky ice cream choices, it takes a brave individual to break through the wall of adoring fans to share a controversial opinion. One such contrarian on Trader Joe's Rants & Raves called out the pistachio "gelato-style" frozen dessert. The product's name itself should give you some pause, but the individual criticized the disappointing lack of real pistachios, describing it instead as a "chemical box." At the time of the rant's publication, a 28-ounce tub of the dessert cost $5.

Although more expensive, you can find higher-quality gelato from Walmart's Bettergoods brand, with primary ingredients like milk, sugar, and egg yolks. Additionally, Aldi offers gelato options in the same size as Trader Joe's for just $3.65.

If you dig deep enough in your freezer, you'll probably find a bag (or three) of frozen berries that make for easy additions in smoothies, overnight oats, or baked goods. Frozen berries are especially enticing because they'll last ages compared to their fresh counterparts, and you can snag them for cheaper prices. Just like berries in the fresh produce section, however, customers claim that the frozen blends at Trader Joe's aren't doing your wallet any favors. "Costco is so much of a better deal," one Redditor wrote. "The frozen fruit at Trader Joe's comes in teeny tiny bags for high prices."

Investigating this shopper's allegations, we noticed that Trader Joe's website doesn't list all of the chain's frozen fruit options. Nevertheless, a 16-ounce smoothie blend of frozen strawberries, blueberries, bananas, and dragon fruit goes for $4. While it may feel like a stretch to call anything that is $4 overpriced, compare this cost to similar products elsewhere. At Costco — one of the best grocery chains for budget shoppers – the frozen three-berry blend of raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries comes in a 4-pound bag (four times the amount at TJ's) for a little over $12 (just three times the price). Similarly, a frozen tropical fruit mix at Aldi gives you 48 ounces of mangoes, papaya, and pineapple for just under $9.

Even when prices look the same between Trader Joe's products and their counterparts at other chains, one thing may always stand in the way of the greatest savings: discounts. TJ's famously offers no coupons or specials, in fact, the chain's website even clarifies that "'sale' is a four-letter word to us." As many customers point out on Trader Joe's subreddit, this means that — by taking advantage of limited-time sales — they can typically score better deals on fresh meat at other supermarkets. Additionally, some shoppers even doubt the quality of TJ's fresh meat. "I feel like all of the meat at mine is soo overpriced and they don't have a ton of options," one Redditor complained. Another wrote, "I would never go there for meat...ever."

While we usually expect to pay a little more for beef or fish, the chicken at TJ's in particular can teeter into the uncomfortably expensive territory. (Especially considering chicken is an easy and versatile option to have on hand at all times.) One pound of free-range organic chicken breasts costs $8, and although the chain expresses its commitment to supplying high-quality meats, it also keeps its poultry providers largely secret. Conversely, Aldi is slightly more forthright where it sources its chicken, and can often offer more competitive prices by partnering with the closest regional providers. For comparison, a pound of organic free-range chicken at Aldi only costs $6.

We'd be remiss not to mention that Trader Joe's has a novel selection of frozen foods, from international specialties like okonomiyaki to comfort meals like broccoli and cheddar quiche. No matter where you shop, though, stocking up on frozen meals isn't exactly cost-effective, and is typically more of a quick and convenient solution rather than a solid week's worth of groceries. Nevertheless, buying frozen meals at Trader Joe's can feel especially expensive due to options that focus less on family-sized or budget-friendly, and more on choices that –– albeit creative — are small or individual-sized.

While there are some tricks to make Trader Joe's frozen orange chicken taste as good as takeout, not all customers are impressed with the quality of the chain's frozen meals, making that price sticker feel even more exorbitant. One Redditor called out the papas rellenos – currently $5 for four mashed potatoes stuffed with ground beef — citing an underwhelming lack of meat compared to the package's photo. "If I wanted to make a baked potato and sprinkle beef flakes on top, I could do that for less than $5," they posted.

On a separate thread, another shopper commented that TJ's frozen burritos were disappointing, writing, "They're around $4 for a pack of two, extremely tiny, and not very good flavor and texture." The Redditor continued that you can find better deals on frozen burritos from brands like Red's at Costco, or by simply visiting your nearest gas station.

While we often encounter ahi (or yellowfin) tuna as the thick, red steaks of the fish in the freezer aisle –– great for homemade poke bowls or tuna tartare –– Trader Joe's offers a smoked, sesame-crusted option that could work in other recipes like sushi or nigiri. Given that grocery-store smoked fish is usually limited to salmon, this product's ingenuity is right up Trader Joe's aisle, but it ultimately may cost more than it's worth. For just 4 ounces — similar to the weight of a small potato — the smoked tuna will set you back $7, and has yet to convince many customers. Shoppers on Reddit shared mixed reviews, specifically mentioning excessive saltiness. "This is one of the only items I've ever used the refund policy on," one Redditor commented. "It was just imo not good (the texture, salt, and smoke was just a fail)."

For starters, to avoid an overpriced letdown, buying frozen ahi tuna would be more budget-friendly and allows you more control over the seasonings by dressing it up at home. 12 ounces of wild-caught ahi tuna at Aldi, for example, costs just $5. If you're set on smoked fish — for a lox bagel perhaps — you can save a buck and score better flavor with products like Latitude 45's responsibly farm-raised smoked Atlantic salmon. The package contains 8 ounces for $10 at Walmart, and has over a four-star rating from over 400 reviews.

What's more innocent than tossing a package of cookies into the cart to top off your shopping trip with something sweet? The only thing that might turn this indulgence rather sour is the total price on the receipt. Generally, Trader Joe's has a limited selection of cookies compared to other grocery stores, and the package sizes tend to be smaller. The ever-popular Joe-Joe's — or Oreo dupes — cost about $3 for 13 ounces. For comparison, Walmart's double-filled Twist & Shouts cost only $3.50 for a more sizable 20 ounces.

To be fair, you'd be totally within reason to argue that Joe-Joe's cult following and rave reviews make them a better option than Great Value's alternative. Especially considering you can find special versions or flavors, like strawberry lemonade Joe-Joe's — one of Trader Joe's best snacks. Regardless, certain seasonal cookies are downright expensive. One customer uploaded a photo to Reddit of a festive box containing Joe's-Joe's decorated with pastel frostings and Easter egg sprinkles. The only issue? The limited-time treat cost $4 for four cookies, which were nothing more than regular Joe-Joe's dressed up with a little razzle dazzle. Better described by one Redditor as, "Joe-Joe's Amazing Technicolor Overpriced Cookies."

For some additional cookie-related comparisons, an 18-ounce tub of crunchy chocolate chip cookies at Trader Joe's goes for $6. Benton's equivalent at Aldi comes in a smaller size — 13 ounces — but is ultimately a better deal at just $2.50.

Creating a list of overpriced items at Trader Joe's was no walk in the park — the grocery chain is kind of renowned for its eccentric selection of approachable and budget-friendly prices. Additionally, the concept of what is or isn't overpriced can be sticky, depending largely on an individual's taste and financial situation. Nevertheless, we started our search by visiting shopper forums like Reddit and Trader Joe's Rants & Raves, paying attention to specific items or general areas at the store that customers considered overpriced. Since prices are always in flux, we focused solely on the most recent trends at the time of this article's publication.

With a preliminary list in mind, we matched prices to similar products at other low-cost grocery chains — including Walmart, Aldi, Lidl, and Costco — to see what consumers could actually find for a better price elsewhere. We primarily compared Trader Joe's private-brand items to other store-brand equivalents. Whenever possible, we used current product and price information available on Trader Joe's website.