Dollar Tree vs. Walmart - Who has the best prices?

Tuesday, September 16, 2014

A Dollar Tree store and inside a Walmart — AP

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Both the Dollar Tree and Walmart are known for their low prices, but which one has the best deals?

When you hit the Dollar Tree, it's easy to stock up on a variety of items, but how much of a deal are you actually getting when you make the extra trip?

Walmart is known for their rollbacks and their everyday low prices. Now with their new Savings Catcher program, their goal is beat their competitors every time.

"I go through all the ads and I find the best deals. I have done the big stores and the dollar stores and I found every time Walmart has the best price," said Paul Ivanovsky with IHeartTheMart.com.

We hit the Dollar Tree and Walmart to price compare the same 10 items. Every product we picked up was a national brand. In most cases, all items were the exact same size. If not, we compared the price per ounce. In eight out of 10 products, we were able to match the same brands.

Most of the items we purchased at Walmart beat the Dollar Tree, but just by pennies. For example, Speed Stick deodorant was $0.98, Spic and Span cleaner was $0.97, and a Colgate toothbrush was $0.94.

The medicine size of the Pediacare at the Dollar Tree for $1 was 4 oz. At Walmart, the price for 1 oz. was $4.27. There was also another difference. The Dollar Tree Pediacare was for children ages 2-11, while Walmart's Pediacare was for infants. The product is exactly the same, but the doses are smaller.

The two items that were not an exact brand match were bottled water and batteries. The bottled water was cheaper by pennies at the Dollar Tree. However, the Panasonic batteries from the Dollar Tree beat Walmart's Rayovac batteries by $1.97.

Our shopping list (click/tap here to view a photo gallery):

SPIC AND SPANWalmart: $0.97Dollar Tree: $1
TOOTHBRUSHWalmart: $0.94Dollar Tree: $1
SPEED STICK DEODORANTWalmart: $0.98Dollar Tree: $1
COMPOSITION NOTEBOOKWalmart: $0.50Dollar Tree: $1
BOTTLED WATER Walmart: $2.46/12, $0.21/bottleDollar Tree: $1/6, $0.17/bottle
PLASTIC HANGERSWalmart: $1.17/10, $0.12/hangerDollar Tree: $1/6, $0.17/hanger
KLEENEXWalmart: $2.26/8, $0.28/packDollar Tree: $1/3, $0.33/pack
PEDIACAREWalmart: $4.27/1 oz., $4.27/oz.Dollar Tree: $1/4 oz., $0.25/oz.
PALMOLIVEWalmart: $0.84/12.6 oz., $0.06/oz.Dollar Tree: $1/14 oz., $0.07/oz.
BATTERIESWalmart: $2.97 (Rayovac 4 pack)Dollar Tree: $1 (Panasonic 4 pack)