Whether you buy chicken, pork, beef or fish, meat prices vary widely depending on where you shop.

We compared meat prices at four of Canada's largest and most popular supermarket chains — Loblaws, Metro, Sobeys and Walmart. Each offers a good variety of meat, but which one offers the best deals?

Food already takes a huge bite out of Canadians' paychecks. According to Canada's Food Price Report 2024, an average family of four is expected to spend $16,297.20 on food in 2024, an increase of up to $701.79 from 2023.

So the next time you need to shop for meat, here's how much you can expect to spend at Loblaws, Metro, Walmart and Sobeys. We used stores in Toronto for our analysis.

Chicken breast

Loblaws: PC Blue menu boneless skinless chicken breasts, three pieces, $13
Metro: Maple Leaf boneless skinless breasts, four pieces, $19.82 ($23.13/kg)
Sobeys: Compliments chicken breasts boneless skinless, three to six pieces, $19.46 (20.48/kg)
Walmart: Maple Leaf boneless skinless breasts, three pieces, $12

Whole chicken

Loblaws: President's Choice air-chilled whole chicken, $11/kg
Metro: Whole chicken without giblets, $9.90/kg
Sobeys: Compliments whole chicken grade A, $11/kg
Walmart: Maple Leaf whole chicken, $3.8/kg

Bacon

Loblaws: President's Choice, 500g, $8 ($16/kg)
Metro: Selection bacon, 375g, $5.49 ($14.64/kg)
Sobeys: Maple Leaf natural bacon, 375g, $7.99 ($21.3/kg)
Walmart: Mitchells Heritage thick sliced bacon, 375g, $7.97 ($21.25/kg)

Pork loin center cut chop

Loblaws: Pork loin center, chop boneless, three pieces, $7.65 ($17.62/kg)
Metro: 3/4 inch centre cut pork loin chops, three pieces, $7.43 ($15.41/kg)
Sobeys: Pork chops centre cut boneless, four pieces, $7.49 ($18.72/kg)
Walmart: Maple Leaf fresh boneless cut pork chop, four pieces, $9.74 ($13/kg)

Beef stew cubes

Loblaws: Stewing beef, club pack, $23.60/kg
Metro: Beef stew cubes value pack, $26.43/kg
Sobeys: Longo's Angus beef stewing beef value pack, $17.61/kg
Walmart: Your Fresh Market stewing beef cubes, Angus beef, $21/kg

Lean ground beef

Loblaws: Lean ground beef, $19/kg
Metro: Lean ground beef, $18.72/kg
Sobeys: Lean ground beef, $18.7/kg
Walmart: Your Fresh Market lean ground beef $16.6/kg

Tilapia fillet

Loblaws: Seaquest tilapia fillets, $20/kg
Metro: Fresh tilapia fillets, $24.23/kg
Sobeys: Tilapia fillets, $26.43/kg
Walmart: Your Fresh Market tilapia fillets ($24/kg)

Conclusion

Of course, quality has to be considered when buying meat. However, based on weight and portions, we found the best value here.

Metro offers better prices for whole chicken (on sale for $10 a pop at the time of publishing this article).

Sobeys offers the best price on beef stew cubes; Walmart won in the lean ground beef and pork chop departments.

Metro had the most affordable bacon (currently on sale for $3.44 a pack, down from the typical $5.49).

Walmart is the place to go for the least expensive chicken breasts, followed closely by Loblaws; the latter store is also marginally cheaper for tilapia fillets.

Prices change frequently and vary by region, so remember to check flyers and store websites before you make your next trip to stock up on meat.