I compared brand-name cereals to Walmart's cheaper generic versions. I'll never buy some pricier options again.

2 hours ago 9

Ten boxes of brand-name and generic cereals connected a room counter.

I tried 5 brand-name cereals against cheaper Walmart alternatives. Ted Berg

I did a sensation trial of 5 brand-name cereals and their cheaper generic alternatives from Walmart.
I preferred the brand-name versions of Honey Nut Cheerios and Honey Bunches of Oats.
However, I really liked the Walmart versions of Cinnamon Toast Crunch and Frosted Flakes better.

A container of name-brand cereal whitethorn not look similar an particularly luxurious purchase, but erstwhile you're trying to bargain capable for a bare household of four, the outgo tin adhd up.

Luckily, Walmart offers generic alternatives to practically each fashionable cereal marque nether its Great Value label.

These "dupes" thin to beryllium cheaper, and I wanted to spot if I could save wealth connected groceries successful the aboriginal portion keeping my 7-year-old and 4-year-old conscionable arsenic satisfied.

So, we did unsighted sensation tests to effort 5 celebrated cereals alongside their respective generic alternatives.

Here's however they stacked up, and which were worthy the savings.

Prices whitethorn alteration by location.

Great Value Honey Nut O's were mode cheaper than Honey Nut Cheerios.

Boxes of Walmart Great Value Honey Nut O's and General Mills Honey Nut Cheerios, with bowls of each cereal successful milk.

To start, we compared General Mills Honey Nut Cheerios to Great Value Honey Nut O's.

The 10.5-ounce container of Honey Nut Cheerios outgo $3.68, oregon $0.35 an ounce. Walmart's mentation was importantly cheaper astatine $1.87 for a 12-ounce box, oregon $0.16 an ounce.

Out of the box, it was reasonably casual to archer the quality betwixt the two. The generic O's were a spot larger and had a lighter colour than the Honey Nut Cheerios. The brand-name mentation besides appeared to person a shiny, sugary sheen that the generic lacked.

Most of america preferred the brand-name Honey Nut Cheerios.

A vessel of Honey Nut Cheerios with milk.

Of the 5 cereal pairs we tasted, these 2 options seemed the slightest similar. The generic mentation was a spot crunchier and a interaction little mushy aft a fewer minutes successful milk. However, it had a starchy texture that verged connected chalkiness.

Overall, the General Mills cereal had much chromatic spirit and a heartier, oaty sensation than the generic.

My 4-year-old couldn't archer the marque from the generic by sensation for astir of the cereals we tested. With this one, however, she had nary occupation distinguishing the two. She really preferred the generic to the Honey Nut Cheerios, perchance due to the fact that she doesn't truly similar the sensation of honey.

My 7-year-old besides had nary occupation telling the difference, but helium and I some preferred the original.

Honey Bunches of Oats seemed to person a amended premix of ingredients than the generic alternative.

Boxes of Walmart Great Value Crunchy Honey Oats and Post Honey Bunches of Oats, with bowls of each cereal successful milk.

This was really my archetypal clip trying some the Post Honey Bunches of Oats and its generic alternative.

I picked up an 18-ounce container of the brand-name mentation for $4.93, oregon $0.27 an ounce. The Great Value alternate outgo $2.67 for an 18-ounce box, which broke down to $0.15 an ounce.

At archetypal glance, I could archer the Honey Bunches of Oats had a amended premix of cornflakes and granola. The granola successful the Walmart alternate was harder to find and clumped together.

I deliberation brand-name Honey Bunches of Oats are worthy paying other for.

A vessel of Honey Bunches of Oats with milk.

Here, too, each 3 of america could consistently archer the quality betwixt the marque sanction and generic cereals.

The Honey Bunches of Oats were distinctly sweeter than the Walmart alternative, which I thought tasted bland and mostly reminiscent of Corn Flakes.

In this case, we each preferred the brand-name Honey Bunches of Oats and were amazed by however overmuch we enjoyed them. The flakes were bully and sweet, and the granola added immoderate airy crunch.

Of the 5 cereals we tried, this 1 built the strongest lawsuit for paying much for the sanction brand.

We could easy separate betwixt Cinnamon Toast Crunch and the Walmart version.

Boxes of Walmart Great Value Cinnamon Crunch and General Mills Cinnamon Toast Crunch, with bowls of each cereal successful milk.

Next, we tried General Mills' Cinnamon Toast Crunch against Great Value Cinnamon Crunch.

The General Mills mentation outgo $2.97 for a 12-ounce box, which is astir $0.25 an ounce. The Great Value enactment was $2.98 for a larger 20.5-ounce box, oregon astir $0.15 an ounce.

This brace was the easiest to separate visually among the 5 cereals we compared. The brand-name offering was noticeably smaller and darker, with "swirls" of cinnamon sweetener connected each piece.

I preferred Walmart's cinnamon cereal.

A vessel of Great Value Cinnamon Crunch cereal with milk.

These options besides tasted distinctly antithetic to maine and my 7-year-old, though my 4-year-old thought they tasted the same.

The 7-year-old preferred the Cinnamon Toast Crunch, which was a spot sweeter, crunchier, and denser. It held up a small amended successful beverage and didn't get soggy arsenic quickly.

In this case, I liked the generic amended due to the fact that it felt airier and little sweet.

The Great Value Rice Crisps were overmuch cheaper than Kellogg's Rice Krispies.

Boxes of Kellogg's Rice Krispies and Walmart Great Value Rice Crisps, with bowls of each cereal successful milk.

Next up was Kellogg's Rice Krispies versus Great Value Rice Crisps.

The Kellogg's mentation outgo maine $4.98 for an 18-ounce box, making each ounce $0.28. I purchased a 12-ounce container of the Walmart mentation for $1.98, oregon $0.17 an ounce.

I noticed the generic cereal consisted of larger crisps that appeared much yellowish than their brand-name counterparts.

Kellogg's Rice Krispies were a spot sweeter than the generic alternative.

A vessel of Kellogg's Rice Krispies with milk.

I thought these 2 cereals tasted precise similar. To me, though, the marque sanction was a interaction sweeter, and the generic had a flimsy aftertaste of cardboard.

However, neither of my kids could archer the quality and I astir apt couldn't either without trying them side-by-side.

I preferred the Great Value mentation for rice-cereal treats.

Two Rice Krispy treats connected achromatic plates, with Kellogg's and Great Value cereal boxes successful the background.

I'm not usually a immense instrumentality of Rice Krispies successful a vessel of milk, but I emotion them successful dainty form. So, aft tasting some cereals, we turned them into bars utilizing marshmallows and butter.

The marshmallow spirit was beardown capable to negate immoderate quality betwixt the 2 cereals. The sticky treats tasted astir precisely the same.

If I'm buying astatine Walmart the adjacent clip I privation to marque a batch, I volition decidedly spell with the generic enactment to prevention money.

The Great Value Frosted Flakes were importantly cheaper than the Kellogg's version.

Boxes of Kellogg's Frosted Flakes and Walmart Frosted Flakes, with bowls of each cereal successful milk.

Though Walmart's generic reply to Kellogg's Frosted Flakes goes by the aforesaid name, it represented 1 of the biggest discounts of the radical connected a per-ounce basis.

The 12-ounce container of Kellogg's Frosted Flakes outgo $3.98, oregon $0.33 an ounce. The 13.5-ounce Great Value mentation outgo $1.93, oregon $0.14 an ounce.

They looked precise similar, though the generic 1 again appeared somewhat much yellowish successful color.

We couldn't archer the quality betwixt the Great Value and brand-name Frosted Flakes.

A vessel of Great Value Frosted Flakes with milk.

These 2 cereals tasted astir precisely the aforesaid to us: sugary, crunchy astatine first, and mushy aft a mates of minutes successful milk.

Of the 5 generic cereals we tried, the Great Value Frosted Flakes were the lone ones that we couldn't separate from the archetypal by taste.

I thought the marque sanction mightiness person had a somewhat much assertive sweetness to it, but I wasn't capable to prime it retired reliably successful our unsighted sensation test.

In this case, I deliberation buying the cheaper Walmart mentation is simply a no-brainer.