Canadian prices
A cheap grocery list for Canada
When money is short, a list with prices on it beats a general tip. Budget Floor is a free page with one job: you pick a dollar amount, and it shows a small Canadian grocery list that adds up to that amount. The same page can switch to US prices. This guide stays with the Canadian list.
The amounts are $5, $10, $15, $20, $25, and $30. From $10 upward, each list keeps the food from the step below and adds a few items. The $5 list is separate. It is rice and dried lentils, not a smaller copy of the $10 basket.
The $5 list
Two lines. The rice is the No Name bag named in the tool. The note on that button says, "CRITICAL: Under $5 in 2026 is emergency territory. Seek aid." Rice and lentils can be a meal. They are not a target to aim at if another option exists.
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| 900g Rice (No Name) | $2.75 |
| 450g Dried Lentils | $2.25 |
| Total | $5.00 |
If this shop is more than you have, use a directory. 211.ca connects you to local help, and Food Banks Canada covers the country. In Quebec, 211 Québec and the Banques alimentaires du Québec do that job.
The $10 list
This is the foundation shop. The instruction on the button is: "Oats for breakfast. Rice + 1 Egg for dinner. Beans for protein stability."
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| 900g Rice | $2.75 |
| 1kg Oats | $3.25 |
| 6 Large Eggs | $2.50 |
| Can of Beans | $1.50 |
| Total | $10.00 |
There are 6 eggs, and the dinner line uses one egg, so that is six dinners of rice and egg before the carton is empty. The beans are a single can. The tool does not say how many bowls come out of the 1 kg of oats or the 900 g of rice. That depends on the scoop, and it is not written down here.
What gets added after $10
In the tool, the higher buttons do not repeat every food. The $15 list shows a line called "Tier $10 Base" at $10.00, then the new items. That base is the four foods above, not another product. The same pattern continues: "Tier $15 Base" means the whole $15 shop, and so on.
$15
Peanut butter and white bread. The $15 note calls peanut butter the caloric floor: the jar that makes a thin plate more filling, not a treat you wait for. These two lines sum to $5.00. The full shop, including the $10 foods, is $15.00.
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| Peanut Butter (500g) | $3.75 |
| White Bread | $1.25 |
| Total | $5.00 |
$20
Frozen spinach, 2 kg of carrots, and 500 ml of oil. The instruction is to sauté the greens into the grain. These three lines also sum to $5.00. The full shop is $20.00.
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| Frozen Spinach | $2.25 |
| 2kg Carrots | $1.75 |
| Veg Oil (500ml) | $1.00 |
| Total | $5.00 |
$25
Pasta, pasta sauce, and flour. The instruction is to rotate pasta in so the meals are not all rice. Flour is on the list. Butter, sugar, and milk are not, so this guide does not turn the flour into a baking recipe. The three new lines sum to $5.00. The full shop is $25.00.
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| 900g Pasta | $1.75 |
| Pasta Sauce | $1.75 |
| Flour (1kg) | $1.50 |
| Total | $5.00 |
$30
A bag of onions, salt and pepper, and hot sauce. The note at this step says onions and spice put some dignity back into the meal. The three new lines sum to $5.00. The full shop is $30.00.
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| Bag of Onions | $2.50 |
| Salt/Pepper | $1.50 |
| Hot Sauce | $1.00 |
| Total | $5.00 |
The full $30 basket
If you tap $30, you are looking at everything from the $10 list forward. Lentils are not in it. They live only on the $5 list. The rice here is the 900 g line, at the same $2.75 as the No Name rice.
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| 900g Rice | $2.75 |
| 1kg Oats | $3.25 |
| 6 Large Eggs | $2.50 |
| Can of Beans | $1.50 |
| Peanut Butter (500g) | $3.75 |
| White Bread | $1.25 |
| Frozen Spinach | $2.25 |
| 2kg Carrots | $1.75 |
| Veg Oil (500ml) | $1.00 |
| 900g Pasta | $1.75 |
| Pasta Sauce | $1.75 |
| Flour (1kg) | $1.50 |
| Bag of Onions | $2.50 |
| Salt/Pepper | $1.50 |
| Hot Sauce | $1.00 |
| Total | $30.00 |
These figures are the Canadian prices stored in Budget Floor. They are not this week's flyer. Read the tag on the shelf before you count on a line.
Which list to open
- You are shopping for yourself and want the breakfast and dinner named: start with the $10 list, then read Grocery budget for one person.
- You want seven mornings and seven evenings written out: Budget meal plan for a week, built on the $15 shop.
- More than one person is eating: Grocery budget for a family. A $10 basket is written as one plate.
- You are comparing caps such as under $5 or under $10: Cheap meals under $10.