The Real Difference Between Aldi And Lidl

While there are tons of fans of the discount grocery chain Aldi, there has been some buzz recently surrounding their younger, less-established competitor Lidl that made us curious to learn more about the chain and see how the company and their U.S. stores stack up against our favorite aspects of the Aldi experience.

First, let's start with the similarities. Both Lidl and Aldi are German discount grocery stores known for their high-quality private label items. According to Cooking Light, the prices are pretty similar between the two chains, with Lidl having slightly cheaper prices on a few kitchen staples, but being closer to equal on most other items. Aldi Reviewer states that the two companies both have similar policies when it comes to shopping bags, asking customers to bring their own bags or purchase bags from the store, and to bag their own groceries. Both Aldi and Lidl also have money-back guarantees on their private label products.

Today gives us a rundown of the major differences between the two German discount grocery chains that might make you reconsider which one you prefer to shop at. They state that Lidl stores are usually between 14,000 and 21,000 square feet, making them decently larger than Aldi stores which are usually around 10,000 square feet. This extra space allows them to stock more than twice the amount of products at any given location than Aldi is able to carry. While both chains are beloved for their private label items, Lidl considers themselves an international grocery store and offers many products popular in other countries like cured meats from Spain and German chocolate. Lidl sells more name brand items too, which Aldi is notoriously averse to carrying.

If these differences are causing you to consider switching your allegiance from Aldi to Lidl, we may have some bad news for you. Today reports that there were only around 100 Lidl stores in the United States as of June 2020. With Aldi having almost 2,000 locations nationwide, it's likely that shopping at Aldi is going to be much more convenient than competitor Lidl.