Dutch supermarkets explained: Albert Heijn, Jumbo, Aldi, Lidl, the Bonuskaart and how to save

• Albert Heijn (AH): the market leader with the most shops, the widest range, lots of ready meals and its own brand lines. Most expensive on the regular shelf, but the weekly Bonus can be steep. AH to go at Eindhoven Centraal station is open long hours and pricier still. AH XL is the big-box version.
• Jumbo: founded in Veghel, so very present in Brabant. Large range, a 'laagste prijsgarantie' marketing line, more loose produce and a friendly return policy. Usually a bit cheaper than AH on branded goods.
• Lidl: German discounter with a smaller range, fresh bakery counter, good cheap wine and weekly 'non-food' deals such as tools and sportswear. Fruit and vegetables are often the cheapest in town.
• Aldi: the other German discounter. Even smaller range, almost all own brand, fastest shop for basics. No loyalty card.
• Also around: Plus and Spar (small neighbourhood or campus shops, higher prices), Dirk and Vomar (cheap, a few in the region), Ekoplaza (organic), Kruidvat and Etos (drugstore, not food). The TU/e campus has a Spar; Fontys Rachelsmolen is a short walk from the Woenselse Markt shops.

A rough rule: for the same basket Aldi and Lidl are the cheapest, Jumbo sits in the middle and Albert Heijn is the most expensive. The gap is biggest on fresh produce and own-brand basics and smallest on branded goods, where AH's weekly Bonus can beat everyone for one week. Consumer price comparisons by the Consumentenbond have shown this ranking for years, but the exact percentage differences change every month, so treat this as a direction, not a number.

Own brands (AH Huismerk, Jumbo huismerk, Lidl's Milbona and Lidl's Freshona, Aldi's many labels) are typically 20 to 40 percent cheaper than the branded equivalent and are usually fine. 'Prijsfavorieten' at AH and 'Euro's goedkoper' at Jumbo are the budget lines.

Alcohol: supermarkets may only sell drinks up to 15 percent alcohol (beer, wine, port). Spirits are sold by the slijterij (liquor shop), often a Gall & Gall attached to an AH. You must be 18 and will be asked for ID if you look under 25.

Our living cost calculator uses about 300 to 350 euros a month for groceries for one person who cooks most meals; on a discounter-plus-market routine many students manage with less.

Albert Heijn's Bonuskaart has existed since 1998 and is the reason you see 'Bonus' prices on every second shelf tag. Without scanning a card you pay the regular price. You can pick up an anonymous plastic card at the service desk or use the digital card in the AH app. A personal account adds 'Mijn Bonus Box': a weekly set of personal offers you activate in the app, plus the 'Premium' paid tier that gives extra discounts. Online orders and the Bonus are linked to the same account.

Jumbo Extra's is free. You scan the pass or app at every visit and get the Extra's discounts, points on products you buy often and 6 extra personal offers a week. Points are exchanged for free groceries, day trips and other rewards in the app.

Lidl Plus is Lidl's free app: it shows the coupons of the week, you activate them before paying and scan the app at the till. It also stores digital receipts and runs regular 'scratch for a discount' promotions. Lidl Plus prices are shown as a separate blue tag on the shelf.

Aldi has no card and no personal prices: what you see is what everyone pays. Its weekly deals are in the folder and the Aldi app.

Since 2021 small plastic bottles carry a deposit (statiegeld) of 15 cents, and since April 2023 so do cans. Large plastic bottles from 1 litre up have carried 25 cents for much longer. The amount is added at the till and printed as a separate line on your receipt, which explains why a six-pack of cola costs 90 cents more than the shelf price.

You get it back by feeding the empties into the return machine (emballage-automaat) near the entrance of any supermarket, usually also at stations and petrol stations. Do not crush cans or bottles; the machine reads the barcode and the shape. Press the button for a receipt and hand it in at the till or scan it at the self-checkout, or donate the amount with the other button. Juice, water, soft drinks, beer and energy drinks all count; dairy drinks and most glass bottles do not, although beer in glass bottles and crates still has its own older deposit system handled at the same machine.

Verpact, the packaging organisation behind Statiegeld Nederland, says more than 7 billion bottles and 6 billion cans have been returned so far, and the government wants the number of return points to rise to about 10,500 by the end of 2026. The ministry said in November 2025 that it will not raise the deposit amounts.

Most Dutch supermarkets have self-scan checkouts, and AH, Jumbo and Lidl also offer hand scanners or scan-as-you-shop in the app. Random checks happen: a staff member rescans a few items. Alcohol triggers an age check.

The Netherlands is a debit card country. Almost every Dutch person pays by 'pinnen' with a debit card, and many self-checkouts are PIN only, meaning no cash at all. Some whole stores, especially AH to go and some city-centre AH shops, are cashless. Jumbo, Lidl and Aldi normally take cash at staffed tills.

Credit cards are the problem. Jumbo says credit cards are accepted only in a limited number of stores, mostly in border and tourist areas, and many Albert Heijn and Lidl tills historically did not take Visa or Mastercard credit either. This has been changing since 2024 as banks switch from Maestro to debit Mastercard and Visa Debit, which the terminals do accept. In practice: a debit card from any European bank, Apple Pay or Google Pay linked to a debit card, and a Dutch bank card all work; a non-European credit card may not. Open a Dutch bank account early, or carry some cash as a backup for the first weeks.

Supermarkets charge no fee for card payments and there is no minimum amount. Tipping does not exist.

Dutch shops are regulated by the Winkeltijdenwet, and each gemeente decides about Sundays. Eindhoven allows shops to open every Sunday, so unlike some smaller towns in Brabant you can buy groceries seven days a week. Typical supermarket hours are 08:00 to 21:00 or 22:00 Monday to Saturday and 09:00 or 10:00 to 20:00 on Sunday; neighbourhood shops may close earlier. Check the exact store on the chain's website, hours differ per branch.

Public holidays are the exception: on Christmas Day, New Year's Day, Easter Sunday and King's Day many supermarkets are closed or close early. The days before (Christmas Eve, 30 and 31 December) are the busiest shopping days of the year. Stock up before a long weekend.

The Woenselse Markt market (Saturday 10:00 to 17:00) is the biggest, with cheap fruit and vegetables, fish, Turkish bread, olives, cheese and fabrics, and the shops around the square include Turkish and Middle Eastern supermarkets and butchers. The centre market on 18 Septemberplein is on Tuesday from 09:00 to 16:00. Prices drop in the last hour. Most stalls take PIN, but cash is still handy here.

For ingredients the Dutch chains do not stock, Eindhoven has a good set of international supermarkets. This is Eindhoven lists Amazing Oriental (Asian, near the Philips Stadion), Amazing Sang Lee toko on the Kruisstraat, the Indian Food Store on Grote Berg, Nostalgie D&R (Russian and Eastern European) off the Kruisstraat, Polo Smak (Polish) and Betesaida (Ethiopian and Eritrean) on Geldropseweg, A Kang Troesoe (Surinamese) and Semolina (Italian) in the centre. The Kruisstraat and Woenselse Markt area is the place to walk if you want Turkish, Moroccan, Asian and African groceries within a few hundred metres.

• Too Good To Go: the app shows supermarkets, bakeries and restaurants near you that have unsold food at the end of the day. You reserve and pay a surprise bag in the app and collect it in the pick-up window. The company says you pay roughly a third of the retail price. AH, Jumbo, Lidl and Aldi branches all take part in Eindhoven.
• Yellow and orange stickers: AH marks products close to their date with a 35 percent sticker, Jumbo with yellow 'korting' labels, Lidl and Aldi with red stickers. Check the sticker aisle or fridge first, usually from late afternoon.
• Buy staples at Aldi or Lidl, fresh produce at the market, and only the branded Bonus items at AH.
• The chains' own apps show your receipts and bonus savings, which makes it easy to see where the money goes.
• See our separate guide on discounts and saving money in Eindhoven for student cards, second-hand shops and more.

Picnic is an app-only online supermarket with electric vans. Delivery is free, the minimum order is 45 euros, you choose a one-hour slot and the app narrows it to 20 minutes on the day. It delivers 7 days a week between 08:00 and 22:00 and covers Eindhoven; you enter your postcode in the app to confirm your street.

Albert Heijn delivers from ah.nl and the AH app; the delivery fee depends on the slot and a monthly 'Bezorgbundel' subscription makes delivery free. Jumbo delivers for a minimum order of 50 euros with a slot-based fee, or you collect for free from a Pick Up Point from 25 euros.

Flink is the quick-commerce option: a smaller range delivered by bike courier within minutes from a local hub, with dynamic delivery fees shown in the app. Good for the forgotten item, expensive as a weekly shop. Gorillas and Getir left the Dutch market, so Flink is the one that remains in Eindhoven.

Online prices are the same as in store at AH and Jumbo, and the Bonus and Extra's apply, but statiegeld and packaging are added and returned when the driver takes your empties.

• Paying the shelf price at Albert Heijn without scanning a Bonuskaart or the app.
• Crushing cans or bottles before taking them back; the machine rejects them and you lose the deposit.
• Standing at a PIN-only self-checkout with only cash or a foreign credit card and a full trolley.
• Comparing prices by brand instead of by own brand; the discounter's own brand is where the saving is.
• Buying spirits at the supermarket: they only sell up to 15 percent alcohol, you need the slijterij.
• Assuming Sunday is closed; in Eindhoven it is not, but check hours before public holidays.