Food Lion vs Dollar General

Food Lion vs Dollar General at a glance

• It's not a clean sweep: Dollar General is cheaper in 5 of 7 aisles, led by pantry (4% less).
• On the healthiest products (ingredient score A or AB), Dollar General is 2% cheaper.
• For items over $10, Dollar General is the cheaper store (6% less on average).
• The same 15-product basket costs $45.14 at Food Lion and $51.90 at Dollar General.

How far apart Food Lion and Dollar General prices are

• Within 10%: 811 items
• 10% to 25% apart: 649 items
• More than 25% apart: 233 items
• Typical gap: 10.3% per item, where the prices differ

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  Biggest saving at Food LionDr Pepper Cherry Soda Cans$5.49 vs $9.00 at Dollar General — save $3.51

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  Biggest saving at Dollar GeneralRC Cola Soda Cans$6.95 vs $8.99 at Food Lion — save $2.04

The same basket at Food Lion and Dollar General

The 15 products carried by the most stores we track — no more than two from any aisle — priced at Food Lion and Dollar General.

Food Lion is $6.76 cheaper on this basket.

Food Lion vs Dollar General prices by aisle

Average price of the matched products in each aisle, biggest difference first.

Food Lion vs Dollar General on cheap and pricier items

The same products grouped by what they cost — a store can win on everyday basics and lose on bigger-ticket items, or the other way round.

Healthier groceries: Food Lion vs Dollar General

Matched products grouped by their Labeled ingredient score, from A (cleanest ingredients) to C.

Ingredient score	Food Lion	Dollar General	CheaperGap
Score A118 items	$3.35	$3.23	Dollar General · 4%
Score AB229 items	$3.40	$3.34	Dollar General · 2%
Score B613 items	$3.48	$3.48	Same
Score C780 items	$3.98	$4.11	Food Lion · 3%

Scores come from the Labeled app, which grades each product's ingredients against research from the FDA, EFSA, WHO and others.