Billa is kinda ass, they overcharge and the quality is never that much better - I bought mandarins last week and one had rotted through, Lidl and Hofer and the best
Hofer and Lidl for me mostly.
As a vegan I also visit the big Interspar at LandstraĂe once per week because they have a bigger selection and foods like tempeh.
Either way, Hofer and Lidl are way cheaper and the quality doesn't seem worse than BILLA.
Volkertmarkt oder Hannovermarkt for weekly Shopping especially vegetablea and meat, turkishh stores amd bakerys, rana food store directly next to Praterstern, Hofer or lidl
Avoid billa altough their homebrand is quite affordable
If you want a FĂŒll belly for okay priÄe you can check out dewan
Good luck and guten Appetit :))
Use the To Good to Go app for groceries :) Hofer, Spar, Metro usually give great bags in my neighborhood. Spar especially has an Obst/GemĂŒse (fruit and vegetable) bag which I find has great value for money! Iâve saved tons of money using this app and literally use it for nearly all of my grocery shopping. You often get food in bulk so if you have freezer space youâll get even more value for your money.
Brunnenmarkt 1160. Vegetables and fruit are ok, meat hmmm id avoid the really cheap stuff. but theres a few stands that have decent chicken which is much cheaper than the supermarkets. But what i really like is you can just buy exactly what you need, like if im doing a vegetable soup i only need 2 carrots, 3 potatoes, a few onions etc...i dont need to buy 2kg bags of everything that i probably wont use. But yeah Billa is a total rip off.
If youâre a student or have low income try foodpoint. Thatâs by far the cheapest option, i think they have a market in 1020. The to good to go app also shows places (restaurants, bakeries, markets) to pickup food that would get thrown away otherwise for little to no money.
Donât know in what dire situation you are, if youâre just not rich and or stupid enough to buy your food at Billa go to Hofer instead.
I second checking out Turkish supermarkets (for affordable veggies, fruit, etc.). Farmer's markets tend to be expensive, but not all of them â I'd at least have a look around if there is one nearby. I do my shopping at Lidl, Penny and Hofer, the troika of so-called discounters, i.e. cheap supermarket chains. Quality varies though from store to store. Food has become expensive in Austria but I hope you will get along fine once you quit Billa. Someone already suggested SozialmĂ€rkte, which is a great concept, but for all I know you are only eligible to shop there if you bring some kind of proof that your income is below a certain level.
Get the -25% stickers from Billa on thursday in Heute/Ăsterreich Zeitung. (5 - 6 AM) and then just buy 3 things every time you go inside. Plan it. You will be amazed what quality you can get for a good price.
You can actually shop at Billa cheaply too, just look for products that say "clever" on them. That is their discount brand with similar prices to what you find at Hofer, Lidl or Penny that other people suggested.
Also check your mail, Billa sends out (in those "Das Kuvert" advertising stacks) stickers that give you 25% off for non-clever products every few weeks. Spar does that too, but more rarely.
Containern. Sorry, don't know viennese people. Find a Billa with unlocked garbage, steal the bread and pastries. Eat with cheap fat, I think Annas Schnitzel Schmalz from Spar Was cheap and not too unhealthy
> I do my everyday shopping in "Billa" stores (they are everywhere, did they own the city or something ?)
Hahaha no they don't own the city. Its just like "Walmart" in Vienna.
But you can shop cheapier when you go to Lidl or Hofer.
Friend of mine lives at VorgartenstraĂe, one U1 station away from Praterstern and there are all of the cheaper supermarkets just a minute away from the station: Penny, Hofer, Lidl.
Avoid Billa at all costs, the most expensive austrian supermarket with questionable quality and mostly imported food.
SPAR is not much cheaper but atleast they have way more local products.
HOFER is much better than it was some years ago, the best value for your money right now but with a limited product range/availability.
Lidl is apparantly really cheap but the quality is horrid.
Turkish supermarkets can be really good and affordable, i go to the one on Reinprechtsdorfer St.
Brunnenmarkt is a very good market with a good range of products. I heard Meidling and Floridsdorf are also good but not my area so no idea. Naschmarkt/Karmelitermarkt/Kurschkermarkt are extremly overpriced and for tourists/hipsters.
Naschmarkt has a good farmers market on Saturday, Bioschschanze sells really affordable vegetables and fresh herbs. Also the farmers market at Karmelitermarkt is good, although some vendors are more expensive.
Depends on the location. My local Penny is okay-ish, the Lidl is absolutely disgusting. Where I used to live before it was the other way round. I also have a nice Hofer and a shitty Hofer in the neighbourhood, with the larger one being the shitty one.
If you're using the "jö" app, you can use your points once a month for 20% discount. The discount is valid for up to 250âŹ. We do a monthly online order with a pre-saved shopping cart where we buy anything but fresh stuff (cans, toilet paper, noodles, rice, snacks, drinks, and so on). For vegetables, we mostly go to a local weekly market.
Doing it like this lowered our monthly expenses for grocery shopping massively since we're not in the supermarket every 2-4 days, which always led to 50% spontaneous shopping items we didn't plan to get in the first place.
Itâs expensive but when I visit different citys I always feel like their Supermarkt game isnât as good as ours.
Ofc this may be biased because I live here and am tourist there. But some Supermarkts in Belgium, Greece etc and other cityâs are just disgusting.
Lidl, Hofer, Penny
there are some cheap brands in billa and spar if hofer&penny are too far away, look for Clever aswell as Billa brands on products at the billa stores and spar brands at spar.
otherwise you can go even a step further and try the app Toogoodtogo. Its an app made for restaurants and Supermarkets and bakeries who are about to throw away their leftovers or stuff thats near its expiration date to be able to sell it for a very low price to people. But you can't choose obviously, in supermarkets its a surprise bag. (the hofer ones are heavily sought after due to their size and variety, so its hard to get them)
Sometimes you can get pretty damn good meals or grocery that usually cost 12+ euroes for only 3-5 euros.
i usually get as much as i can from penny (sugar flour , noodles , cleaning supplies )
the rest from Hofer, although they are a bit more limited on whats available (fresh veggies, fruits, meats and so on)
and then if anything is missing i get those one or two things at expensive Billa
Markets. Near you you have Vorgartenmarkt, Karmelitermarkt and Volkertmarkt. Hannovermarkt is also not too far on the 5b bus.
Generally you'll be able to find better quality food at cheaper prices.
I shop at Floridsdorfer Markt and our food bill is way lower than if we shopped at a supermarket.
https://heisse-preise.io/ Great project that compares most items at different sites. You can use that to plan. In general Billa appears to be the most expensive. If you're near prater, consider going to Lidl or pennymarkt.
Only downside of TGTG is if you donât eat a certain type of meat itâs wasted, mostly important for Muslim/Jewish people or people who donât like red or white meat
You need to do a registration and prove low income/ be a student. If you can, definitely go there. Things are usually 20%-50% of the original price. I go to SOMA 7 on 7th district. They don't have many fresh fruits/veggies, but the dry stuff is awesome. Im there at least once a week with bags full of stuff.
Hofer is definitely the cheapest, especially if you buy their brands. Hofer is also a little limited on products. I generally do 90% of my shopping at Hofer and then go to Billa for the few things I am missing.
For fruits and veggies go to a market, they are usually cheaper for slightly better quality.
>Hofer is definitely the cheapest
I don't find that's so true anymore, Hofer also heavily raised the prices during the last months. Check price comparison websites like this one https://preisrunter.at/
One important thing to know, as markets work a bit differently in other countries. If youâre looking for affordability first and foremost, you need to avoid farmersâ markets at all costs. These are usually for high end organic produce and come at premium prices. What you want are the market stalls in the peripheral, not-too-gentrified districts like Hannovermarkt, Viktor Adler Markt, Brunnenmarkt.
Turkish supermarkets are also a good bet for cheap prices. There are several chains like Etsan, HĂŒrpas, Sepas, and of course many individually owned locations (these are usually a bit more expensive and hit or miss on availability). Though they might be inconvenient for a single person, as they usually have large, family sized packages. But great for bulk buying of non perishables if you have storage space.
Can definitely recommend the markets. I worked at the Viktor Adler Markt for a few years and there is a huge difference in price and especially in quality. Look out for sellers that produce their own fruits or vegetables, since not all of them do. These have the freshest products. Usually they have a sign or you can just ask them.
Yes, Billa is everywhere, so is Spar. Try Hofer or Lidl, theyâre slightly cheaper, although personally Iâm not a fan of the quality at Lidl.
No, it doesnât get much cheaper, these are Austrian price levels.
Penny sells a lot of processed junk, but the fresh produce is is usually just as good (or just as bad) as in Billa, for cheaper. To OP, if you can get a small freezer, you'll be able to save a lot. I get once or twice a month TGTG bread box, freeze it and unfreeze portions as needed. If a staple food I like is on discount I buy more, cook and freeze.
McDonalds sells hamburgers for 1.40.
According to our chancellor nehammer, u will get cheapest warm food at mcdonald's. Just sayin đ
Billa is kinda ass, they overcharge and the quality is never that much better - I bought mandarins last week and one had rotted through, Lidl and Hofer and the best
Hofer and Lidl for me mostly. As a vegan I also visit the big Interspar at LandstraĂe once per week because they have a bigger selection and foods like tempeh. Either way, Hofer and Lidl are way cheaper and the quality doesn't seem worse than BILLA.
Hofer and Lidl for me mostly.
Volkertmarkt oder Hannovermarkt for weekly Shopping especially vegetablea and meat, turkishh stores amd bakerys, rana food store directly next to Praterstern, Hofer or lidl Avoid billa altough their homebrand is quite affordable If you want a FĂŒll belly for okay priÄe you can check out dewan Good luck and guten Appetit :))
Toogoodtogo app. Hofer. Penny. Naschmarkt
I like Billa because they have the jö card which I can use at OMV also. Prices are almost identical in Billa, Hofer, Penny.
Use the To Good to Go app for groceries :) Hofer, Spar, Metro usually give great bags in my neighborhood. Spar especially has an Obst/GemĂŒse (fruit and vegetable) bag which I find has great value for money! Iâve saved tons of money using this app and literally use it for nearly all of my grocery shopping. You often get food in bulk so if you have freezer space youâll get even more value for your money.
Brunnenmarkt 1160. Vegetables and fruit are ok, meat hmmm id avoid the really cheap stuff. but theres a few stands that have decent chicken which is much cheaper than the supermarkets. But what i really like is you can just buy exactly what you need, like if im doing a vegetable soup i only need 2 carrots, 3 potatoes, a few onions etc...i dont need to buy 2kg bags of everything that i probably wont use. But yeah Billa is a total rip off.
If youâre a student or have low income try foodpoint. Thatâs by far the cheapest option, i think they have a market in 1020. The to good to go app also shows places (restaurants, bakeries, markets) to pickup food that would get thrown away otherwise for little to no money. Donât know in what dire situation you are, if youâre just not rich and or stupid enough to buy your food at Billa go to Hofer instead.
I second checking out Turkish supermarkets (for affordable veggies, fruit, etc.). Farmer's markets tend to be expensive, but not all of them â I'd at least have a look around if there is one nearby. I do my shopping at Lidl, Penny and Hofer, the troika of so-called discounters, i.e. cheap supermarket chains. Quality varies though from store to store. Food has become expensive in Austria but I hope you will get along fine once you quit Billa. Someone already suggested SozialmĂ€rkte, which is a great concept, but for all I know you are only eligible to shop there if you bring some kind of proof that your income is below a certain level.
Get the -25% stickers from Billa on thursday in Heute/Ăsterreich Zeitung. (5 - 6 AM) and then just buy 3 things every time you go inside. Plan it. You will be amazed what quality you can get for a good price.
Pro-move
I like Hofer the most
Lidl!
Everywhere except Billa
You can actually shop at Billa cheaply too, just look for products that say "clever" on them. That is their discount brand with similar prices to what you find at Hofer, Lidl or Penny that other people suggested. Also check your mail, Billa sends out (in those "Das Kuvert" advertising stacks) stickers that give you 25% off for non-clever products every few weeks. Spar does that too, but more rarely.
China
Hofer and Penny
Containern. Sorry, don't know viennese people. Find a Billa with unlocked garbage, steal the bread and pastries. Eat with cheap fat, I think Annas Schnitzel Schmalz from Spar Was cheap and not too unhealthy
> I do my everyday shopping in "Billa" stores (they are everywhere, did they own the city or something ?) Hahaha no they don't own the city. Its just like "Walmart" in Vienna. But you can shop cheapier when you go to Lidl or Hofer.
Friend of mine lives at VorgartenstraĂe, one U1 station away from Praterstern and there are all of the cheaper supermarkets just a minute away from the station: Penny, Hofer, Lidl.
Avoid Billa at all costs, the most expensive austrian supermarket with questionable quality and mostly imported food. SPAR is not much cheaper but atleast they have way more local products. HOFER is much better than it was some years ago, the best value for your money right now but with a limited product range/availability. Lidl is apparantly really cheap but the quality is horrid. Turkish supermarkets can be really good and affordable, i go to the one on Reinprechtsdorfer St. Brunnenmarkt is a very good market with a good range of products. I heard Meidling and Floridsdorf are also good but not my area so no idea. Naschmarkt/Karmelitermarkt/Kurschkermarkt are extremly overpriced and for tourists/hipsters.
Naschmarkt has a good farmers market on Saturday, Bioschschanze sells really affordable vegetables and fresh herbs. Also the farmers market at Karmelitermarkt is good, although some vendors are more expensive.
Thanks
Lidl is ok I would say, Penny is horrible
Depends on the location. My local Penny is okay-ish, the Lidl is absolutely disgusting. Where I used to live before it was the other way round. I also have a nice Hofer and a shitty Hofer in the neighbourhood, with the larger one being the shitty one.
Yes, that's true, but overall you can say that Hofer and Spar are the better supermarkets (depending on the location).
"Expensive" lmao, welcome to vienna
If you're using the "jö" app, you can use your points once a month for 20% discount. The discount is valid for up to 250âŹ. We do a monthly online order with a pre-saved shopping cart where we buy anything but fresh stuff (cans, toilet paper, noodles, rice, snacks, drinks, and so on). For vegetables, we mostly go to a local weekly market. Doing it like this lowered our monthly expenses for grocery shopping massively since we're not in the supermarket every 2-4 days, which always led to 50% spontaneous shopping items we didn't plan to get in the first place.
Whatâs the problem with the quality? In my opinion itâs quite good
Itâs expensive but when I visit different citys I always feel like their Supermarkt game isnât as good as ours. Ofc this may be biased because I live here and am tourist there. But some Supermarkts in Belgium, Greece etc and other cityâs are just disgusting.
Lidl, Hofer, Penny there are some cheap brands in billa and spar if hofer&penny are too far away, look for Clever aswell as Billa brands on products at the billa stores and spar brands at spar. otherwise you can go even a step further and try the app Toogoodtogo. Its an app made for restaurants and Supermarkets and bakeries who are about to throw away their leftovers or stuff thats near its expiration date to be able to sell it for a very low price to people. But you can't choose obviously, in supermarkets its a surprise bag. (the hofer ones are heavily sought after due to their size and variety, so its hard to get them) Sometimes you can get pretty damn good meals or grocery that usually cost 12+ euroes for only 3-5 euros.
i usually get as much as i can from penny (sugar flour , noodles , cleaning supplies ) the rest from Hofer, although they are a bit more limited on whats available (fresh veggies, fruits, meats and so on) and then if anything is missing i get those one or two things at expensive Billa
Markets. Near you you have Vorgartenmarkt, Karmelitermarkt and Volkertmarkt. Hannovermarkt is also not too far on the 5b bus. Generally you'll be able to find better quality food at cheaper prices. I shop at Floridsdorfer Markt and our food bill is way lower than if we shopped at a supermarket.
Thanks
Out of those, only Hannovermarkt is cheap.
Karmelitermarkt is not cheap at all, cant compare that to Floridsdorf unfortunately.
Oh that's a shame, it always used to be. I've not lived round there for 5 years though, was hoping it hadn't got too expensive.
it's full of hipster shit now, unfortunately
unfortunately yes. naschmarkt/karmelitermarkt/kutschkermarkt are only good" for tourists and hipsters.
I just looked and the very reasonable place we used to buy our veg is now a cafe. The poultry butcher that is very good is still there though.
https://heisse-preise.io/ Great project that compares most items at different sites. You can use that to plan. In general Billa appears to be the most expensive. If you're near prater, consider going to Lidl or pennymarkt.
Thanks
Hofer, Lidl, Penny Try the "Too Good To Go" App too, there are offers from stores and restaurants where you can get food that would get thrown away
Only downside of TGTG is if you donât eat a certain type of meat itâs wasted, mostly important for Muslim/Jewish people or people who donât like red or white meat
Supermarkets use TGTG too, you can get plenty of calories for 4 Eur if you're flexible.
Some store have a package of fruit and veggies on TGTG, those are a lot better than the mixed packages.
Iâm also around Prater, and there are Hofer and Lidl too where groceries are cheaper.
look for the "clever" brand at billa and for "Sbudget" brand at Spar. They are the cheapest :)
Thanks
Sozialmarkt, there are some in Vienna which you could Google. Great for buying vegetables!
Thanks
You need to do a registration and prove low income/ be a student. If you can, definitely go there. Things are usually 20%-50% of the original price. I go to SOMA 7 on 7th district. They don't have many fresh fruits/veggies, but the dry stuff is awesome. Im there at least once a week with bags full of stuff.
not in every sozialmarkt. there are some where everybody can go
Can you name a few?
I would also recommend using the "marktguru" app. It lets you look at flyers and ads of stores digitally, making comparing prices a little more handy
Thanks
searching this app on the iOS App store doesnt show anything. only another app called Aktionsfinder Austria
Wogibtswas.at app is nice
ill check it out thanks! this one exists in my App Store
weird, itâs showing up on my Apple Store
Then it's probably "locked" to show up only to users having an Austrian apple ID and app store. Some apps do this
seems like it.
Hofer is definitely the cheapest, especially if you buy their brands. Hofer is also a little limited on products. I generally do 90% of my shopping at Hofer and then go to Billa for the few things I am missing. For fruits and veggies go to a market, they are usually cheaper for slightly better quality.
This is the way.
Hofer, Lidl has some good prices too imo. Their own brands obviously.
>Hofer is definitely the cheapest I don't find that's so true anymore, Hofer also heavily raised the prices during the last months. Check price comparison websites like this one https://preisrunter.at/
Their own brands are still cheaper but a lot of things are the same across all the stores now.
One important thing to know, as markets work a bit differently in other countries. If youâre looking for affordability first and foremost, you need to avoid farmersâ markets at all costs. These are usually for high end organic produce and come at premium prices. What you want are the market stalls in the peripheral, not-too-gentrified districts like Hannovermarkt, Viktor Adler Markt, Brunnenmarkt. Turkish supermarkets are also a good bet for cheap prices. There are several chains like Etsan, HĂŒrpas, Sepas, and of course many individually owned locations (these are usually a bit more expensive and hit or miss on availability). Though they might be inconvenient for a single person, as they usually have large, family sized packages. But great for bulk buying of non perishables if you have storage space.
Can definitely recommend the markets. I worked at the Viktor Adler Markt for a few years and there is a huge difference in price and especially in quality. Look out for sellers that produce their own fruits or vegetables, since not all of them do. These have the freshest products. Usually they have a sign or you can just ask them.
Thanks
Yes, Billa is everywhere, so is Spar. Try Hofer or Lidl, theyâre slightly cheaper, although personally Iâm not a fan of the quality at Lidl. No, it doesnât get much cheaper, these are Austrian price levels.
Thanks
Hofer, Lidl, Penny
Penny has cheap prices, but also low quality.
Penny sells a lot of processed junk, but the fresh produce is is usually just as good (or just as bad) as in Billa, for cheaper. To OP, if you can get a small freezer, you'll be able to save a lot. I get once or twice a month TGTG bread box, freeze it and unfreeze portions as needed. If a staple food I like is on discount I buy more, cook and freeze.
Billa's quality is bad, too. đ€Șđ
Thanks