How to Get the Best Deal on Cheap Otter Pops

When you go through as many popsicles as my family does during warmer months, the need for cheap Otter Pops becomes apparent. Even though Otter Pops come in packs of 80, they still go fast around my house.

Sure, I could make my own popsicles, but sometimes you just want those classic Otter Pop flavors: blue raspberry, strawberry, lime, grape, punch, and apple (otherwise known as blue, pink, light green, purple, red, and dark green).

If you’re wondering how to keep Otter Pops in the freezer all season long without blowing your summer vacation budget, we‘ve got you. I tracked retail prices to find the best time to buy and calculated the ideal stock-up price so you don’t have to. You’ll be enjoying cheap Otter Pops in no time.

Looking for other deals to get you ready for the summer? Check out our summer savings guide for the lowdown on all the seasonal deals. And, as always, for more smart shopping tips and savings hacks, download the KCL app or text HACKS to 57299.

 

1. Calculate price per pop to compare prices across different package sizes.

While most stores sell Otter Pops in 80-count boxes, you can find a 100-count box on Amazon for just under $18. You can even find a 200-pack of Otter Pops at select locations for $9.98. But the important thing isn’t how much you pay per box, it’s how much you pay per individual Otter Pop.

Just divide the total price of the box by the number of pops inside. So for example, Walmart sells an 80-count container for $5.88; divide that price by 80 to get the price per pop. So overall, you’re paying $0.07 per Otter Pop, which is right in line with what you want to be spending.

 

2. Cheap Otter Pops cost $0.07 or less — don’t spend more than that.

Prices for name-brand Otter Pops are pretty stable across retailers. Generally, no matter where you’re shopping, you can expect to pay $0.07 per pop. Most places sell an 80-pack for $5.99, with the exception of Walmart. Their list price is $5.88, $0.11 cheaper. While that doesn’t affect the price per pop much, why pay more if you don’t need to?

Related: Summer Groceries at Walmart Are Cheaper Than Last Year! Shop Before July 15

 

3. Expect to pay $0.06 per freezer pop for comparable and store brands.

The bad news is not every store sells name-brand Otter Pops. Many carry a generic or comparable brand such as Pop-Ice or Fla-Vor-Ice. The good news is that these comparable brands can cost less depending on where you shop. I compared the prices of these pops in the chart above, but the main takeaway is that Favorite Day Freeze Pops ($6.29, Target) and Pop-Ice at Dollar General ($1.25) are the cheapest around at just $0.06 per pop.

And, believe it or not, Pop-Ice and Fla-Vor-Ice are made by the same company as Otter Pops.

 

4. Dollar General has the least expensive Pop-Ice price per pop.

We established earlier that Pop-Ice is one of the cheaper options when it comes to comparable brands. However, this is only true if you shop Pop-Ice at Dollar General. At Dollar General, 20 pops for $1.25 — or $0.06 each. Meanwhile, Walmart sells 80-count boxes of Pop-Ice for the same price as Otter Pops, $0.07 per pop. Amazon retails them for $9.98 per 80-count box, or $0.12 per pop. So shopping on Amazon for Pop-Ice is actually a worse deal than shopping for Otter Pops.

Oddly enough, buying in bulk does not reduce the price per pop for this brand in particular. Luckily, that’s not true of every brand.

 

 

5. Pay no more than $0.04 per pop for bulk containers of any ice pop brand.

I mentioned earlier that Sam’s Club sells a 200-pack of Otter Pops at select locations for $9.98.

They also sell Fla-Vor-Ice for the same price — 200 pops for $9.98. This brings the price per pop all the way down to just $0.04. That makes it cheaper than even the generic brand options. If you can find any brand of ice pop that retails for $0.04 per pop, stock up.

While the Otter Pops site says they’re sold at Costco, we haven’t seen evidence of this in 2023. I checked online and at a few different locations and couldn’t find any. People on Twitter are pleading with Costco to restock them. But if by some miracle your local store has them in stock, the same stock-up price still applies.

 

6. When it comes to Otter Pops and similar products, a “best by” date is not an expiration date.

If you find some cheap Otter Pops (or other ice pops), buy as many as you can reasonably afford and fit inside your freezer since they don’t spoil so long as they’re frozen. They can go bad if they’re left in direct sunlight or if the plastic gets damaged, but otherwise, they should last forever.

So what’s with the date on the package? That refers to how long the pops will be in peak quality — generally for about eight months, give or take. From there, the pops may decrease in overall quality. But it’s still safe to eat after the best-by date, although it might not be as delicious as you’re used to.

 

7. Use Amazon Subscribe & Save to get the best overall price for cheap Otter Pops (and save freezer space).

When you use Amazon Subscribe & Save on Otter Pops, you’ll get 5% off the regular price, bringing the overall price for an 80-count box to $5.69 (reg. $5.99). That’s good enough to bring the pops down to the stock-up price of $0.07 per pop, but it’s also $0.19 cheaper than the Walmart price. You’ll tell Amazon how often you want a new box delivered, and you can cancel anytime.

 

8. Keep an eye out for 4th of July sales on Otter Pops at grocery stores.

In the past, we’ve seen Otter Pop sales around the 4th of July. Specifically, Albertsons-affiliated stores ran a 50% off sale leading up to the holiday. You could buy a 100-pack of Otter Pops for just $2.99 each when you purchased at least five promotional items. Long story short, by pouncing on that seasonal sale, you could secure a price of $0.02 per pop. That’s wayyy below the stock-up price.

While there’s no guarantee that your preferred grocer will run a similar sale, we recommend keeping an eye out for promotions near major summer holidays. This includes the 4th of July and Labor Day. And, of course, well be sure to post if there are any can’t-miss deals.

 

9. The natural 100% juice Otter Pops are significantly more expensive than the original Otter Pops.

Walmart currently sells an 80-pack of 100% fruit juice Otter Pops for $15.04. That’s about three times as expensive as the original variety. However, it’s important to note that the all-natural pops come in a different-sized tube than the original ones. All natural pops are sold in larger 2-oz tubes, compared to the OG’s 1.5-oz tubes. In this case, comparing price per pop might not be the most accurate. So for this case let’s look at price per ounce.

Let’s run the numbers on Original Otter Pops first. First, multiply the number of tubes by the number of ounces in each tube to get the total ounces per package. So 80 times 1.5 is 120. Divide the price per package by the number of total ounces for the price per ounce. $5.88 divided by 120 is $0.04. Remember that number.

Now, let’s run that same calculation on 100% juice Otter Pops. an 80-pack of 2 oz tubes has 160 ounces overall. Divide $15.05 by 160 gives you a price per ounce of $0.09. That’s more than double the cost of the original Otter Pops.

So unless you’re dead-set on getting something a little healthier than the high fructose corn syrup Otter Pops, you’ll be spending lots more.