Why do vegetable prices go up and down?

Vegetable prices fluctuate based on seasonal supply and demand, weather events, transport costs, and retailer stock levels. When crops are out of season or hit by frost or flooding, prices spike. When there's a harvest glut, prices drop. Tracking 12-month price trends helps you distinguish temporary spikes from seasonal patterns, so you can decide whether to buy from the supermarket or grow your own.

Which supermarket has the cheapest vegetables in Australia?

Prices vary by vegetable and week. Aldi typically offers the lowest produce prices across the range, though stock is limited compared to Woolworths and Coles. IGA tends to be priciest. The smartest strategy is checking the per-retailer breakdown for vegetables you buy regularly,sometimes one supermarket has a specific item significantly cheaper, even if their overall pricing is higher.

Is growing your own vegetables cheaper than supermarket prices?

Yes, for high-value produce. Cherry tomatoes, asparagus, fresh herbs, and heirloom varieties cost $10–15/kg at the supermarket but only $1–3 to grow. Track 12-month vegetable price trends to identify which crops are consistently expensive in your region,those are your best candidates for home growing. Budget staples like carrots rarely justify the effort, but premium produce typically pays off within a season.

When are vegetables cheapest in Australia?

Each vegetable has a peak harvest season when supply is high and prices drop. Tracking 12-month price trends reveals these seasonal dips for your region. For example, tomatoes are cheapest December–February, leafy greens in cooler months, and root vegetables in winter and spring. By understanding these patterns for the vegetables you buy most, you can plan your shopping to hit peak cheap seasons and identify gaps you might fill with home growing.

Veg price tracker

Live Australian veg prices

Daily price comparison for 76 vegetables, compiled from publicly listed prices at Woolworths, Coles, Aldi and IGA. Each row has a 12-month trend line. Click any vegetable for the full chart and per-zone growing guide.

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Click any vegetable name for the 12-month price chart, per-retailer breakdown, and per-zone growing guide.

A, means we don’t currently track that vegetable at that store. IGA has the fewest stores in our sample, so it shows the most gaps. Averages use whatever stores we have for each vegetable.

About this data. Prices shown are indicative averages compiled from publicly listed prices on the named retailers’ websites and may not reflect current in-store pricing in your area. Garden Buddy AU is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Woolworths, Coles, Aldi or IGA. “Woolworths”, “Coles”, “Aldi” and “IGA” are trademarks of their respective owners, used here only for the limited purpose of factual price comparison. Data is provided for personal, non-commercial reference only. If you represent one of these brands and would like data amended or removed, see our data takedown page.

How to read this page

The trend column shows whether each vegetable is rising, falling, or stable in price over the past month. ▲ red means the price has jumped and you might want to grow your own; ▼ green means a glut at the supermarket and it’s probably cheaper to buy.

The sparkline (the small line next to each price) shows the last 12 months of monthly averages. A downward slope means prices are dropping; a sharp rise means a seasonal spike. Hover the sparkline on desktop for month-by-month numbers.

The per-retailer columns tell you which shop has the best current price. Sometimes Aldi is $5 cheaper. Sometimes Woolworths has something Coles doesn’t carry.

Want this information automated? The free email signup gets you a weekly digest of the biggest price movers. Join Starter ($29/yr) for watchlist alerts on the specific vegetables you grow.

How accurate is it?

Honestly: about as accurate as the publicly listed prices on the retailers’ own websites. Sometimes a product is mis-categorised (a 100g basil pack gets read as “basil” with a per-kg price that looks crazy because the unit is wrong). We filter the worst outliers. If you spot something that looks wrong, email support@gardenbuddy.au, we will fix the mapping.

The averages are honest. The data is fresh, updated daily at noon AEST. The methodology is open, read the about page for how we built it.