Cost of Groceries in Britain vs America – food prices in UK vs US

In this video (filmed in September/October of 2023) I take you grocery shopping with me at the Tesco supermarket in Gloucestershire, England and then compare prices of those food products with those at the Kroger grocery store in Dallas, Texas.
I get really nerdy and calculate the difference in cost of groceries by converting for the currency exchange, metric vs. imperial weights, etc. I hope you find this video helpful, interesting or at least entertaining. Please tell me YOUR experience with shopping for familiar food items when you are in another country!
Be sure to subscribe for upcoming Cost of Living videos and all kinds of other British fun and adventures! Cheers! XX Dara

Other food comparison videos to check out:

[afacelessname]

I lived and worked in the US for a dozen years and am now back in the UK. One thing that needs to be considered is that salaries are 2 to 3 times more in the US than the UK. When I lived in Dallas I had a lot more money left each month than I do now in the UK.

[jimcaufman]

I am a retired international airline pilot who had a hobby of comparing prices to the U.S. wherever I was laying over. I found the prices were cheaper overseas almost all the time and the food quality was much higher.

[jclinton]

My spouse, who is British, and I have recently moved to the USA after many years in the UK. We have been shocked and depressed by the rampant inflation in America. For so many years it seemed that Europe was expensive and the US cheap by comparison - but this has reversed. We have found car insurance, dining out, hotels, mobile phone and broadband services all to be significantly more costly than in the UK but the price of groceries was the most flabbergasting of all! We knew the food quality in the US would be inferior to Europe but we never dreamed we would be paying so much more to receive less. When we spoke to friends and relatives here they seemed surprised by our reaction to prices but your video shows us we were not wrong.

[twofargne]

I'm a retired expat who has been living in France for the past 6 years. I normally spend about $120/week on groceries that will last 6 or 7 days for me and my wife. We buy everything either at the butcher shop or at the open markets. We're just back from a 2 week trip to the US to see our kids. I was completed floored after our first shopping trip with our daughter. She spent nearly $200 dollars for about 4 days worth of groceries. So, where I'm spending around $500/month for 2 people, she is spending close to $1000/month.

[christy]

Hi, Dara. When I lived in England, the difference in food costs was one of the first things I noticed. I thought grocery shopping in England was much easier on my wallet. Also, I shopped at Sainsbury's much more often than I did Tesco. :-) And I sooo miss British cheese and all the sauces! Yum!

[healgrowlovecommunity]

This was fascinating and eye opening! The Tesco items that you mentioned were on sale were actually showing the lower price for people with a Tesco Club card - which is a loyalty card. If you shop at Tesco regularly it's really worth getting one. They are free.

[dj_paultuk]

Having just got back from 3 weeks in CA and buying our own food while out there, we were utterly shocked at how expensive it is in US now. Its massively more expensive for just regular food items. Happy to be back in the UK and let my bank balance recover!.

[lizbignell]

Well done, Dara, that was vey enlightening, and your professional experience was clear. Not nerdy at all.

[andiscott]

I go to the US A LOT for work and often spend weeks at a time in longer stay style accommodation. I have always been amazed at the cost of groceries in the US. Bread, as demonstrated in this video, has always shocked me in the US.

[WhiskeyChaser-qq]

What surprised me most about this video, was that I watched it until the end. It was far more interesting than I thought it would be. Good job.

[LoftusRD]

Thank you for taking the time and effort to make this video Dara.
As a Brit I was very surprised overall at the results especially with the steaks and you living in Texas. Thanks again for the video and take care.👍

[Joanna-ilur]

Food, excluding luxuries, carries no tax (VAT) in Britain.

[Funeeman]

My first visit to the US(New York) was in 1970, last visit (Florida) was in 2015. This didn't really surprise me, the British grocery business has become dynamic and highly competitive. Great video Dara.

[heatherj]

I don't shop Tesco often but rather M&S and I do shop Kroger in the US. I find the quality very different in the UK. Even "apples to apples" something like Kit Kats have different ingredients. It's difficult to find bread that has sugar in it in the UK vs the US. I was shocked by the frozen micro meals had so few ingredients in the UK. So while prices matter, the quality is a difficult comparison. Plus the packaging (while some will dislike the plastic), I find the fruit and veg very appealing in the UK with the presentation. Also remember the NHS in the UK, it's in their best interest to make the food healthier with less ingredients.

[amandamuzyka]

Yes, I'm a nerd. I have tons of other things to do and I am watching this. Thanks for all the work.

[jamiecaturani]

Wow this video absolutely nailed it. I’ve been living in Houston (from London) since 2016 with my Texan wife and I’ve been telling my family here how absurdly expensive groceries are. You should do a comparison of pharmacies because I think the asymmetry in prices is even greater. Looking to move to Bath possibly and although housing ain’t cheap, I’ll be glad to make a sandwich for under 5 dollars.

[theresabigwideworld]

Well done on all your work for this video! Not just comparing products but then doing currency conversion and weights and measurement conversions as well! Reading some of the comments it seems people are VERY passionate about grocery comparisons!😄

[philipmason]

From watching other price comparisons videos on YouTube recently the result doesn’t suprise me too much as food inflation is rising everywhere. You’re right about US bread being less “bready” than in Europe which is not surprising as it contains so much sugar. Last year a court deemed that Subway couldn’t call theirs bread as it contained so much sugar and should be classed as confectionery !

[lauraigoe]

I live in the UK and holiday in Florida each year and the groceries in the States are so much more expensive. We have noticed it over the years but more so in the last few years.

[fionastill]

Bearing in mind that the essential items in the uk are not taxed, but the expensive ones are already taxed with VAT so I hope that the usa items are including the tax.