May 2022 – Israel supermarket prices. Latest price hikes and price freezes.
How much does it cost to live in Israel?
Hebrew: השוואת מחירי מוצרים בישראל
Numbeo.com is a crowdsourced global database. Their 2022 figures have Israel’s cost of living ranked as the seventh highest in the world with Tel Aviv now reportedly the most expensive city in the world overtaking Paris, Singapore, Zurich, Hong Kong, New York, Geneva, Copenhagen, Los Angeles and Osaka.
Recent price adjustments in Israel, have seen a property price hike, electricity and arnona (municipal rates and taxes) going. Gasoline is now at a record high. After Pesach we saw the price of food especially staples and fruit and vegetables.
From city to city, the cost of living in Israel varies considerably. You will find large differences in prices in Israel’s supermarkets and even in hyper- or neighborhood-stores within the same chain. Online shopping is becoming more and more popular. Local websites like Zap help you compare the prices of electrical items, insurance and clothing items in Israel.
To help you build your monthly Aliyah and relocation budget, every year for the past 11 years Anglo-List has been comparing prices of groceries and household items.
Mega and Shufersal are the most expensive supermarket chains in Israel (their fresh meat is good though). Some swear that Rami Levy is the cheapest while others insist it’s Yayinot Bitan – some say its Victory. I have been shopping at Osher Ad lately and I find their prices really good. Their fresh meat is expensive as they cater to a religious clientele with specific kashrut standards.
All the fresh meat products listed in our comparison are kosher under the local Rabbinate. You will pay more for Mehadrin and Badatz and of course you will pay less for meat bought at a non-kosher outlet.
Some of the cheaper supermarkets don’t have an online- or delivery-service so if in-store shopping is something you cannot do, you will have to pay more for the online experience.
All supermarket prices are quoted in New Israeli Shekels. Expect to pay more in a makolet – the small neighborhood grocery store.
The Shufersal online shopping experience is very user friendly and so for purposes of this comparison, we are quoting Shufersal prices only. Some of the prices listed here are currently on special-offer. This is an independent comparison and Shufersal has NOT played any part in it or sponsored it in any way whatsoever.
Here are Shufersal prices as at 24th May, 2022
Saving money in Israel
You can definitely save money if you are prepared to shop around.
Choose your supermarket with care and think carefully about every shekel you spend. A one shekel price difference here or 5 shekels there all adds up. If you can save one shekel on every grocery item you purchase that could translate into 100-200 NIS/month or 1200 -2400 NIS/year. What can you do with that extra cash in your bank account? Silly question!!
Buying one month’s worth of groceries at a time is a money-saving tactic. Discipline yourself to cook with the ingredients you have rather than give in to your daily whims.
Pay less with a loyalty card
Loyalty cards are very popular in Israel. They allow you to accumulate points or get immediate discounts. Some loyalty cards are combined with credit cards. Some are free but not all. If combined with a credit card, the loyalty card is usually free for the first year after which you can expect to pay around 15 shekels/month for the card. Check the small print before you sign up.
Discounts on bulk packaging are popular in Israel; buy one, get the second at half the price, buy two get one free, four for 10 shekels or 3 for one hundred. Be price-wise, often these are marketing tactics designed to get you to part with more money than you were planning to spend.
More price checks
Other ways to save
- Israel Cost of Living: Housing, Utilities, Clothing, Services
- Alon Gal – Israel’s favorite financial coach shares his 10 Top Money Management Tips
- Tips for Shopping at the Shuk – Fresh Produce Market
Making Aliyah soon? Do the currency conversion.
May 2022 – 1 shekel equals…
| US Dollar | Canadian Dollar | Australian Dollar | ZAR | British Pound | Euro |
| 0.30 | 0.38 | 0.42 | 4.68 | 0.24 | 0.28 |
Do you know the history of the supermarket in Israel?
Did you know that the Shufersal supermarket chain was founded in 1958? It was originally called Shufra-Sal and then Shufersal. Amongst Israel’s Anglo community, it is known as the Supersol.
Rami Levy, now a supermarket giant, started his retail career working in a small grocery store (Heb: makolet) in Jeruslem’s Mahane Yehuda market.
