Smart Shopping: 7 Budget Dubai Supermarkets That Don’t Cut Quality
Many of the cheapest supermarkets in Dubai are also some of the best, offering huge discounts and promos on quality food, personal, and home items at affordable prices.
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In a city known for its extravagant lifestyle and opulent shopping experiences, budget-friendly options for grocery shopping seem elusive and like something out of a dream. But you might be happily surprised to find out that the most budget-friendly, cheapest supermarkets in Dubai are also where quality meets affordability.
Dubai boasts a range of supermarkets that cater to the needs of budget-conscious shoppers and families who need to make their dirhams go far, without cutting corners or sacrificing on quality. These hidden gems offer an array of fantastic food and non-food items with inexpensive price tags and regular promos, making grocery shopping in Dubai a more accessible, economical, and wholesome experience for residents and visitors alike.
Seeking to be savvy on savings and get acquainted with the best deals and cheapest groceries in Dubai? Get ready to take notes—from local shops to larger chains, we'll take you on a virtual tour of the grocery stores where competitive prices meet an extensive selection of groceries, fresh produce, household items, and more, so you can be ready to save money on your next grocery shop.
Whether you're a resident seeking to stretch your dirham and feed your family well or a visitor looking to explore the local shopping scene on a budget, this guide will help discover the best budget-friendly supermarkets Dubai has to offer.
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Source: VIVA Supermarket
There is no doubt in any Dubai resident’s mind that VIVA Supermarket is iconic when it comes to budget-friendly grocery shopping—it’s the United Arab Emirate’s (UAE) first discount grocery store (it opened in 2018) and it remains competitive as one of the cheapest supermarkets in Dubai today.
VIVA aims to offer high-quality food and home products at discounted prices across their 70+ UAE branches, living up to their promise of “FRESHER. CHEAPER. BETTER.”
Source: VIVA Supermarket
You don’t have to worry about quality with VIVA products, most of which (more than 80%) originate from Europe. VIVA delivers a high standard of goods from different countries, offering customers unparalleled selection at family-friendly, budget-considerate prices (often up to 50% less than a comparable brand). We like the sound of that!
Source: VIVA Supermarket
Entertainment and lifestyle experts at Time Out Dubai agree that VIVA is one of the cheapest and best supermarkets in Dubai, and they’ve shared a pro tip, too.
“As you’d expect from the UAE’s first discount supermarket chain, the deals keep on coming at VIVA, but for our money, the place really shines when it comes to store cupboard essentials,” they said. They’re talking pantry staples like sauces, seasonings, and beans, pasta, grains, and more.
MALY co-founder Husni Seifi agrees. ”They [VIVA Supermarkets] have some good quality stuff for the daily use items,” he said, adding that “the price is low because they buy directly from manufacturers in Europe, in bulk, and they probably work with low margins.”
Stock your kitchen cupboards with VIVA’s exclusive brands, and keep an eye out for its many promos and offers by signing up to their weekly newsletter.
Every two weeks, VIVA treats its customers to a SPECIAL BUYS sale, when prices on certain household items (non-food products) are slashed to “rock bottom prices” (their words, not ours!) for a limited period of time. You don’t want to miss some of Dubai’s lowest prices, so take advantage of these sales!
When you’re low on supplies, waiting two weeks for a sale feels like an eternity. Luckily, it’s pretty much always a sale at VIVA Supermarkets—they have exciting weekly offers (we’re talking big discounts!) on both food and non-food items.
Source: VIVA Supermarket
You can (and should, so you can plan ahead!) peruse their weekly offers catalog on their website—there are nearly 30 pages of awesome, money-saving offers, from food to home and personal products for the whole family.
Source: VIVA Supermarket
Stay tuned to their events page and their Instagram for the latest events hosted by VIVA Supermarkets, from branch openings to competitions, just like their recent Ramadan Cooking Contest, which gifted three winners with AED 500 in cash vouchers!
Source: @myvivastore/Instagram
You can search for any one of VIVA Supermarket’s 70+ locations on VIVA’s store finder page.
Too busy to shop in-store? Yes, you can order all your favorite, low-cost items from any VIVA Supermarket branch online with the help of UAE food delivery company Talabat. You get fresh products, delivered straight to your home quickly and without any stress.
This one is simple and straightforward: as much as you can, buy only items on promo. If your favorite brand of toilet paper never seems to go on sale, you might want to try another brand that does. You never know, you might like it, and you’ll be saving those dirhams!
Source: Union Coop
One of the best supermarkets for quality and affordability in Dubai, Union Coop has established 26 hypermarkets and six shopping centers all over the UAE since 1982. At Union Coop’s outlets, you can buy anything. Well, pretty much anything from food and electronics to hardware and household appliances.
Source: Union Coop
Known throughout the UAE as a trusted brand (more than 25 years of proud service!), Union Coop offers competitive prices on essential items, both in store and online. Take care of your and your family’s needs with Union Coop’s wide selection of basic food, home, and pet products at affordable prices.
At discount supermarket Union Coop, sales never go out of season. Discounts are offered weekly, and these Big Brands Savings include everything from fresh produce to non-food household items. Their almost-50-page catalog is full of sales that all grocery fanatics and strict money savers would die for!
Source: Union Coop
Source: Union Coop
Another incredibly tantalizing money-saving promo at Union Coop is their anti-inflation Crashed and Locked Prices sale on essential food and non-food products—we’re talking savings of more than 50%, in many cases!
Source: Union Coop
That’s right—Union Coop’s prices are incredible, making it one of the cheapest supermarkets in Dubai that many residents on a budget swear by.
You can search for any one of Union Coop’s 25+ locations on their branches page.
Don’t worry, you can shop for Union Coop’s fresh products online anytime. You can also check out their online partners as well, which include Noon.com, ElGrocer.com, and Instashop.ae, among many others!
In fact, they often have special discounts that are only available online, and they are huge—40% on fruits and vegetables, anyone? That’s right! Stock up on your healthy produce, so that you and your family have delicious, nutritious snacks on the ready.
Source: Union Coop
Plan your grocery shopping trips around sale schedules. Most people go to the grocery store and then look for what’s on sale at the time, but serious money-savers know better—familiarizing yourself with your favorite stores’ sales schedules and planning your shopping sessions around those dates is the way to go. It might sound like a lot of extra work, but once you’ve got the hang of it, we promise that those savings will definitely be worth it!
Source: H&S VLOGS
Another oldie but goodie, Al Maya Supermarket has been keeping UAE residents’ fed and supplied since 1982 and is one of the cheapest supermarkets in Dubai. Serving customers with freshness, a wide range of products, affordable food prices, handy services, and ideal locations (more than 50 all over the UAE and Oman!), Al Maya has kept its budget-conscious customer base loyal and happy.
Source: Al Maya Supermarkets
Besides having fresh offerings at low, friendly prices, another reason for Al Maya’s popularity as a Dubai supermarket is that they have free home delivery, running 24 hours a day, an incredibly unique offering in the bustling city of Dubai.
At Al Maya Supermarkets, products are sourced directly from the countries of origin, ensuring food is fresh and of the highest quality, with unique items only available at Al Maya branches.
Woolworths Supermarkets, a popular Australian grocery store chain, is launching around ninety products—such as sauces, condiments, biscuits, sweets, canned fruit, and juices—into the UAE, exclusively through Al Maya Supermarkets, so customers can shop for their favorite Aussie products.
Source: Al Maya Supermarkets
In honor of its 41st anniversary this year, Al Maya Supermarkets have an ongoing promo—shop and win daily and weekly prizes via scratch-and-win coupons, which customers can get with every purchase of AED 50.
Daily prizes include electronics and household appliances, and the weekly prizes range from staycations to holiday vouchers!
Source: Al Maya
That’s not all; they’ve got Weekly Wednesday Saver Deals for you to check out—take a peek at their extensive catalog of grocery and home products (at friendly and family-approachable prices) and start planning your next Dubai grocery shopping session.
Source: Al Maya
Shopping for your family does not have to mean breaking the bank, and luckily, Dubai food stores like Al Maya have incredible deals, sales, and promos that will help feed you and yours at money-saving prices.
Source: Al Maya
Search for any of Al Maya’s 50+ outlets on their store locator.
Do your groceries online (24/7!) in the comfort of your home and get them delivered from Al Maya Supermarket, courtesy of delivery service Talabat.
This is probably quite obvious by now, but one of the best ways to save money in Dubai is to hop around when you shop, aka follow the sales and go to different grocery stores that offer the best value for money for certain items.
“Don’t buy from one store,” reiterated Husni, sharing one of his tips on budget grocery shopping in Dubai. This takes a little bit more time and effort than going to just one grocery store, but think of how much you can save (and put toward something more important for you or your family).
Source: DubaiOFW
A favorite among money-savers Dubai, Baqer Mohebi Supermarket is the place to go for the cheapest chocolates in Dubai. Locals and expats alike also swear by Baqer Mohebi Supermarket’s wide selection of grocery items (they carry more than 40 high-quality multinational brands), super slashed prices, and did we mention mounds of chocolate for cheap?
Source: DubaiOFW
It’s hard to make a list of the cheapest supermarkets in Dubai without making special mention of the 1931-established Baqer Mohebi Supermarket, a leading distributor of consumer goods in the UAE and a crowd pleaser when it comes to shrewd shopping.
Baqer Mohebi Supermarket is a particular favorite among sweet-toothed, budget-conscious Filipinos, Dubai’s third largest diaspora who make up 21.3% of the city’s population. The popular Dubai lifestyle blog DubaiOFW (OFW stands for Overseas Filipino Worker) lists Baqer Mohebi as one of the best supermarkets in Dubai where you can get the most bang for your buck (and they sell pork, too).
One of the best things about Baqer Mohebi Supermarket is their special section, where certain grocery items (such as those approaching best-by dates) go on sale for only 1 dirham!
Customers share that depending on the day and the stock, you can get food and personal items, like chips, cookies, sauces, toothbrushes, chocolates, and even hats for that low, low price.
Source: DubaiOFW
Discount supermarket Baqer Mohebi Supermarket has four locations across Dubai.
Baqer Mohebi Supermarket does not offer online shopping or home delivery, but you don’t want to miss going in person for those 1 dirham steal-deals!
MALY co-founder Husni suggests a different mindset to shopping for groceries—instead of buying as much as you can or purchasing because something is on sale, simply buy only what you need (and don’t store too much food at home). While there’s nothing wrong with having a food stash to take you through a few rainy days, you don’t want to overstore food, which could easily go off and be wasted.
Source: West Zone Fresh Supermarket
If you want to shop in comfort, enjoy a spacious, nicely-designed store, and save money, consider one of the best supermarkets in Dubai, West Zone Fresh Supermarket. Known for its fresh produce, great international selection, and well-designed stores that make shopping a pleasure, West Zone Fresh Supermarket also makes it on our list of cheap groceries in Dubai.
West Zone Fresh’s approach is customer-centered all the way through, and it’s because of their customers that they have chosen to provide a range of goods from around the world—expect to see products from the UK, the US, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, China, India, Brazil, Romania, and Poland.
DubaiOFW names West Zone Fresh Supermarket as one of the best and cheapest supermarkets in Dubai favored by immigrants looking for some familiar products from home. Something of note is that this supermarket chain also sells pork.
Source: West Zone Fresh Supermarket
Each week, West Zone Fresh offers different money-saving promotions on meat and vegetable products, so don’t forget to drop by your nearest branch to see what’s on sale!
The supermarket also sells its own-label product ranges called Yash and West Zone. Specially created to give you a trusted source of quality food at affordable, budget-friendly prices, West Zone Fresh and Yash products are the way to go if you’re looking for pantry staples like rice, grains, beans, and canned goods.
Source: West Zone Fresh Supermarket
With 25+ store locations across Dubai, West Zone Fresh Supermarket is ready to serve you and your family’s needs!
Enjoy West Zone Fresh free phone-to-home delivery service—order your groceries with ease, sit back and relax, and wait for your items to be hand-delivered within 15 minutes to two hours. The service is available in select West Zone Fresh Supermarkets around Dubai.
Don’t get caught up with being brand conscious—it’s about the product, not the name. By choosing a supermarket’s own-label brand over a more expensive or well-known brand, you can save precious dirhams on price differences and support local. Making this a practice is a great way to shave your budget down and live frugally—but also well—in Dubai.
Source: Nesto Hypermarket
Another quality yet cheap grocery in Dubai and other parts of the UAE, Nesto Hypermarket is a fantastic choice for buyers on a budget. It has a great product range at affordable prices, and with branches conveniently located around the city, it’s one of the best options for grocery and household shopping in Dubai.
Nesto has regular promotions and impressive discount deals on both in-store and online shopping orders, like their 3-day Mega Sale promo (Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays), featuring basic groceries, food, and household items.
Source: Nesto Hypermarket
Source: Nesto Hypermarket
Food and groceries are not the only things on sale at Nesto Hypermarket; their extensive catalog of products also contains electronics, laptops, and mobile phones. Don’t miss the incredible deals in one of the cheapest supermarkets in Dubai.
Source: Nesto Hypermarket
Source: Nesto Hypermarket
The bargains don’t stop there. Nesto has other promos specifically geared toward home products and kitchen appliances, too. See their full catalog of products.
Source: Nesto Hypermarket
Nesto Hypermarket has great locations all over Dubai and other cities in the UAE.
Shop online and get your groceries delivered with Nesto Supermarket, and don’t forget to keep an eye out for those promos and deals!
“Buy at the last week of the month where stores run promotions and discounts,” advises Husni, on when it’s best to do one’s grocery shopping in Dubai. Stores tend to go on sale before the month ends, putting sooner-to-expire (but still good!) items at discounted prices. It’s a good tip!
Source: Emirates Cooperative
More than a cheap supermarket in Dubai, Emirates Co-Operative Society, nicknamed the “Co-Op,” is an institution known and appreciated by Dubai residents for its friendly staff just as much as for its fresh fruit and vegetable selection and easy-on-the-budget prices.
Source: Emirates Cooperative
In terms of pantry staples and basic household items, the Co-Op delivers, keeping prices low and freshness high. That combination makes the Co-Op a great place to shop for the family’s groceries.
Dubai residents love shopping at the Co-Op because there’s a deal to be had everyday—special household and food products are selected as deals of the day—and every weekend, there are exciting, money-saving promos on offer.
Source: Emirates Co-Operative Society
Source: Emirates Co-Operative Society
Emirates Co-Operative Society has branches conveniently situated all over Dubai, ready to serve customers with its affordable prices and friendly staff.
Good news—Emirates Co-Operative Society delivers groceries straight to your door! You can get in touch with them to arrange orders and deliveries through their contact information listed above.
Don’t ignore free grocery coupons (use them!) and don’t utilize your loyalty rewards right away—let those points add up and work for you when your wallet is a little light and you need the extra cash!
Before we end, we have something more—a few honorable mentions to add to this list of supermarkets in Dubai that may also be worth checking out:
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