Roughly 94% of American homes have a jar of peanut butter sitting in their pantry. But I can bet you that more than half of these homes are spending way too much on peanut butter. With orange juice prices soaring and egg prices at an all-time high, I’m on the lookout for ways to cut costs without sacrificing my go-to essentials. And that includes saving on peanut butter cost as much as possible.
I’ll share some of my favorite ways to save on peanut butter cost below. I’ll dive into the best places to buy peanut butter, compare generics to name brands, and find out whether or not buying in bulk will save money. I made sure to factor in inflation, the cost per ounce, and coupons. Because after all, a delicious snack shouldn’t come at a price that drives you nuts!
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1. In 2023, the average cost of peanut butter ranges from $2 to $12 a jar.
Peanut butter tends to come in 16-ounce jars, but certain brands will offer larger or smaller jars or tubes. No matter if you’re looking at name or generic brands, peanut butter cost will typically start at around $2 for a 16-oz jar. Wholesale clubs will often package their peanut butter in packs of two 48-oz jars, and these cost around $10 per pack. But if you want to go organic, you can expect to pay up to $12 for a 16-oz jar. Wowza.
2. Calculate cost per ounce to find the lowest peanut butter cost.
To find the best price on peanut butter, you want to calculate the cost per ounce to even the playing field. Yes, I’m making you do a little math. But don’t worry, it’s really easy to calculate. Let’s take the Jif Squeeze Creamy Peanut Butter at Target for example. The container holds 13 ounces and is priced at $3.69 without coupons. All you have to do is divide the price by the number of ounces. So I’d do $3.69 / 13 to get a cost of $0.28 per ounce.
3. Aim to pay $0.10 per ounce when shopping for peanut butter.
Ten cents per ounce is the everyday price for store-brand peanut butter at Walmart. So Great Value brand might be your easiest option to save money.
But if you want to buy a name brand, you’ll have to wait for a sale and use coupons to get the price per ounce down to $0.10. We’ll show you how to do that.
The final option? Wholesale club prices come close to our $0.10 mark so maybe a membership is worthwhile.
4. Skippy and Jif are the two leading peanut butter brands in the United States. But, they’re not necessarily the most expensive!
Jif is the number one peanut butter brand in the U.S. and controls over 30% of the peanut butter market. Skippy comes to in second and owns over 10% of the market share. Jif tends to be just slightly more expensive than Skippy at most stores.
I looked at Jif and Skippy peanut butter costs at multiple stores near me. Two things blew my mind: First, both brands have the same price per ounce at Sam’s Club. Second, you can get both brands at the unit cost of $0.11 per ounce at Sam’s Club. (And you don’t even need a membership to shop at Sam’s Club in-store. But if you want to shop online and avoid markup fees, you can sign up for a basic Sam’s Club membership here).
You can also find Skippy peanut butter for $0.11 per ounce at Costco. (Sign up here for a Costco membership). But as for Jif, Costco stopped selling the brand after a huge peanut butter recall in May 2022. They haven’t restocked Jif since.
Let’s take Skippy Creamy Peanut Butter and compare Sam’s Club and Costco’s prices to more local retailers. Walmart has the next best price at $0.15 per ounce. CVS had the highest price per ounce at $0.28. That’s a 154% increase from Sam’s Club and Costco’s pricing.
RELATED: Sam’s Club vs. Costco: Here’s How These Wholesalers Stack Up
5. You’ll barely save on peanut butter cost by shopping for generic peanut butter brands.
As you’ve seen above, Sam’s Club’s 96-oz Skippy Creamy Peanut Butter cost came down to $0.11 per ounce. Looking at the chart below, you’ll find that Sam’s Club generic 80-oz Member’s Mark Natural Creamy Peanut Butter costs $0.10 per ounce.
If you ask me, I’d much rather get the name brand since you’re only saving one penny per ounce.
6. When you see a great peanut butter sale, stock up, (after you calculate cost per ounce of course).
As with lots of other grocery essentials, there’s a high demand for peanut butter. In turn, this translates to inflated peanut butter prices. In fact, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, there’s been a nearly 70% average price increase for a 1-pound jar of peanut butter in the past nine years. (It started at $2.48 in 2004 and is up to $4.20 now in 2023).
So, you won’t always find peanut butter on sale. But when you do, you can run into some crazy savings. For example, you might run into a ten-for-$10 deal at Kroger’s. Kroger’s peanut butter comes in 16-oz jars. When you do the math, you’d only have to pay $0.06 per ounce for ten jars of peanut butter! Or, you might find a two-for-$3 deal. In that case, you’d pay $0.09 per ounce, which is still amazing savings.
Luckily, peanut butter has a shelf life of six to nine months if it’s unopened, or two to three months if it’s opened, so it’s unlikely to go to waste when you stock up. But if you’re going for all-natural peanut butter, that’s the stuff that needs to be refrigerated, since the oils can go bad pretty quickly. And even when you keep them refrigerated, they’ll only last for about three months max. So in this case, processed everyday peanut butter is definitely the better deal.
Related: Shopping Hacks Every Kroger Shopper Needs to Know
7. Buying in bulk saves you money, even when you’re shopping for organic peanut butter.
Buying in bulk is a great way to ensure you’re getting the lowest price per ounce of your peanut butter. I’ve seen that with Sam’s Club and Costco’s cost per ounce at $0.11 for leading peanut butter brands.
And if you prefer organic peanut butter, you already know that you’re going to have to shell out more cash. Costco has a generic Kirkland option that costs $11.49 for 56 ounces. At $0.21 per ounce, it’s still $0.02 per ounce cheaper than Justin’s at Walmart.
8. You can find peanut butter coupons at KCL to save between $0.50 and $1.50.
Stalk our peanut butter coupons page for the latest mobile and printable coupons, along with rebate offers. There you can find savings from $0.50 to $1.50 depending on the product. Sometimes, you can find coupons for 20% off, but expect to only find these for more expensive squeezable Jif pouches.
Brands that often offer coupons include Jif, Skippy, and Peanut Butter & Co. There are also often deals on up-and-coming brands like Good Good, Noka, and Tru-Nut if you’re looking to try something new.
9. Conclusion: Shop at these stores to get the best price on peanut butter.
Where is the best price overall to buy name-brand peanut butter?
Sam’s Club or Costco will have the best price on big names like Jif or Skippy, at just $0.11 per ounce. Below, you can find where to get other popular peanut butter brands at the cheapest price per ounce.
What’s the best place to buy and brand peanut butter every day (without sales, coupons, or memberships)?
Walmart’s the best place to buy store-brand peanut butter if you don’t want to use coupons or can’t wait for a sale. You’ll have to opt for their generic Great Value option, which only costs you $0.10 per ounce.
What’s the best place to find screaming deals on peanut butter?
Kroger will have the best deals on peanut butter if you wait for a sale. If you’re able to get their 16-oz jars for $1.50 or even $1 (which I’ve seen happen a few times), you’d end up paying anywhere from $0.06 to $0.09 per ounce.
Can I save by shopping at the dollar store?
You can find Nature’s House Creamy Peanut Butter at the Dollar Tree. It sells for $1.25 for a 10-oz jar, or $0.12 per ounce. Not a bad deal!
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