Trick or treat? The way Halloween candy is priced, it’s easy to be fooled. In this article, I’ll break down the best way to find the cheapest Halloween candy — by price per piece.
I compared Halloween candy prices across retailers including Costco, Sam’s Club, Walmart, Target, and Aldi, all so I could break it down for you and ultimately help you find the best Halloween candy sale. (Hint: Cost per pound/ounce has nothing to do with it.) Before you spend way too much trying to keep your treat bowl full this spooky season, check out our list of best candy prices for Halloween.
For more smart shopping tips and savings hacks, text HACKS to 57299. Or, download the Krazy Coupon Lady app. Also, check out our favorite Halloween deals happening now: like Barbie Halloween costumes, Amazon candy, and more.
1. The most popular Halloween candies in the U.S. are Reese’s, Skittles, and M&Ms.
According to candystore.com, the most popular Halloween candies in the U.S. are Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups and M&Ms. Each state has their own favorites, too.
2. To find the cheapest candy for trick-or-treaters, compare cost per piece (not cost per ounce).
When you’re shopping for candy, you’re going to most likely run into two numbers: the price, and cost per ounce. But those numbers don’t really tell you if you’re getting a good deal.
When it comes to Halloween candy, you’re looking for cost per PIECE. Because that’s what you’re handing out to trick-or-treaters — pieces. Not ounces or pounds. Pieces.
(The bulk bin shown in the photo above ends up being $0.24 per piece, which you’ll see, isn’t great.)
3. A $5 bag of Reeses will cost you about $0.22 per piece.
You can expect to pay between $0.17 and $0.60 per piece when buying packs of fun-size Reese’s, Skittles, or M&Ms. Buying bags of one type of candy will cost you, on average, around $0.32 per piece. Here are the best deals we found:
- Skittles: Skittles Bulk Candy Box, $0.22 per piece at Amazon
- Reese’s: Snack Size Reese’s Jumbo, $0.23 per piece at Walmart
4. Variety packs are cheaper — about $0.18 per piece on average.
One of the best ways to lower your cost per piece is to buy a variety pack instead of a package full of just one type of candy. There are lots of Mars/Hershey’s variety packs available, where you’ll find Reese’s, M&Ms, and/or Skittles together with some less-popular candies.
- M&Ms: Variety packs that include M&Ms cost an average of $0.18 per piece.
- Skittles: Variety packs that include Skittles cost an average of $0.13 per piece.
- Reese’s: Variety packs that include Reese’s cost an average of $0.18 per piece.
5. But you should aim to pay $0.12 or less per piece.
It’s totally possible to get variety packs with the most popular candies for $0.12 or less per piece. Here’s what we found when we looked around at various stores:
Aldi: As low as $0.08 per piece
If you have an Aldi nearby, they should be your first stop for Halloween candy, because they have the most options for getting Reese’s, M&Ms, and/or Skittles for $0.08 per piece or less.
Costco: As low as $0.15 per piece
Costco only has two mega bags of candy for sale in stores, but only one of them has a cost per piece of under $0.12. If you buy them both, though, you’ll get to that average of $0.12.
Kroger: As low as $0.13 per piece
The only way you’ll hit $0.12 or less per piece at Kroger is if you take advantage of their sale price and coupon stacks. Otherwise, you can expect to pay up to $0.16 per piece. No thanks!
Sam’s Club: As low as $0.80 per piece for full-sized candy bars
Don’t get thrown off by the higher price per piece — at Sam’s Club, we’re looking at full-sized candy bars. Check out this timely deal happening now.
Target: As low as $0.09 per piece
Target has sales on candy, yes, but their non-discounted prices were some of the best we saw anywhere. Keep in mind, that if you use Target RedCard, you can push prices even lower with that 5% discount.
Walgreens: As low as $0.06 per piece
Walmart: As low as $0.08 per piece
Walmart has larger-count bags for their variety packs, and their “Everyday Low Price” offers several different mixed candy bags with Reese’s, Skittles, and/or M&Ms for below the target price per piece.
WinCo: As low as $0.12 per piece
Although WinCo wins in a lot of areas — particularly the less-popular bulk candies — they only have one product that has one of the popular candies (Reese’s) for $0.12 per piece.
6. Dum Dums, Tootsie Rolls & Lemonheads are the cheapest Halloween candy, hands down.
We looked around and found the cheapest overall candy, by cost per piece. They’re not gonna be chocolate, and they’re not gonna be in anybody’s Top 10 favorite candy lists. But trick-or-treaters will still take ’em, and you’ll have spent WAY less on Halloween candy this year.
- $0.04 per piece: Tootsie Roll Midgees at Staples
- $0.03 per piece: Lemonheads at WinCo
- $0.05 per piece: Dum-Dums Halloween Lollipops at Target
RELATED: This Is the Best Time to Buy Candy on Amazon — We Have Proof!
7. Bulk candy is cheaper in most cases.
It’s probably not earth-shattering to hear that bulk pricing means a lower unit cost. Although there are times when buying in bulk isn’t a good deal, that’s not now. Buying bigger bags of mixed candies will help bring down your cost per piece.
Here are just a couple of examples:
- Snack Size Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups cost $3.96 for 14 pieces at Walmart, while a “Jumbo” pack of the same products (26 pieces) costs $5.94. It’s a difference of $0.28 and $0.23 per piece.
- A bag of LifeSavers, Skittles and Starburst at Walmart costs $9.94 for 80 pieces, and $26.88 for 300 pieces. It’s a difference of $0.12 and $0.09 per piece.
8. Use candy coupons to make Halloween candy even cheaper.
We’re constantly on the lookout for candy coupons. These can either chip away at your out-of-pocket cost at the register, or they’ll pay you back in the form of a rebate after purchase.
Candy rebates, often found on apps like Ibotta, can give you money back after you buy, making sweet deals even sweeter. For example, we’ve seen a $0.75 rebate on a bag of fun-size Butterfingers at Walgreens, making each bag just $1.05 (and each piece of candy between $0.05 and 0.07).
We often see store coupons like Target Circle take 20% off fun size 100 Grand, Crunch, and Butterfinger candy bars.
9. When is Halloween candy the cheapest?
Halloween candy sales happen consistently in the 5 weeks before Halloween. The best Halloween candy prices often come in early October. You can check out this week’s best candy deals.
10. Find clearance Halloween Candy as soon as the day after Halloween.
The day after Halloween (Nov. 1), is when I see the cheapest Halloween candy. Halloween clearance deals at Target and Walmart begin before Halloween but candy doesn’t go on sale until the day after. Most stores go straight to 50% off on Nov. 1 and 70% off within 3-4 days.
11. Stock up on full-size candy bars when they hit $0.60 each or less.
Supermarket prices on full-size candy bars are around $1 – $1.79. But every year, Krazy Coupon Lady posts full-size candy bars for even less.
Our benchmark or stock-up price for 2023 is $0.60 or less per bar. If you see a price less than the $0.60 range, it’s time to go all in.
RELATED: 25 Frightfully Fun Ways to Use Leftover Halloween Candy
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