Supermarkets in Cyprus: an experience report on prices

Prices vary extremely across Cyprus, which is why we went out and tested different supermarkets to compare prices in 2021.

4 min readJan 7, 2021

Some items have a very strange pricing across Cyprus, and toilet paper is one of those examples. But also others, such as oil and cleaning products vary vastly across the island. Here is a report with a lot of images and a recent field test for 2021: prices across Larnaca.

I am getting around on a tight budget, which you obviously know when you read my other articles on budgetcyprus.medium.com. Here is a rundown of these four supermarkets and their strengths and weaknesses: Spar, Metro, Smart and Super Discount Store. Please also see the list I made on Google Docs, with a report and documentation of the exact prices of individual items that have been bought in 2020 and 2021.

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Please also read the verdict at the end of this article.

Here is an overview and rundown of a few of the groceries that I looked at, sorted by the respective supermarket. All samples and photos have been taken in Larnaca in 2021.

Spar

Eggs are quite cheap in Metro Larnaca (0.20 EUR per egg), but are even cheaper in Super Discount Store (0.12 EUR per egg, if you buy 30 eggs). See the Cyprus Shopping Saver List for reference.

Tomatoes grade “A” are 0.79 in SPAR. This is very cheap.

400g sheep yoghurt is 1.18 EUR in Spar, which is very cheap.

Spar’s own brand pasta is very cheap, 0.59 EUR for 500g. Only 1 cent more expensive than in Smart.

Larger quantities of oil are cheaper in Spar, but still can’t compare to SDS.

Balsamic vinegar: 2.49 EUR a bottle in Spar.

Cheapest tea in Spar: camomile, 1.07 EUR for a pack of 20, making one tea cost 0.05 EUR.

Super Discount Store (SDS)

Super Discount Store has a lot of cheap frozen vegetables, but not fresh ones.

Oils are very cheap in Super Discount Store. Here is virgin olive oil for 0.54 EUR per 100 ml

Sunflower oil is 0.99 EUR for 1 litre at SDS (this is a special offer, but regular price is also low at 0.99 for 850 ml)

Tahini, 250 grams for 1.19 EUR. This is the cheapest price on the island.

Hamburgers are cheap in Super Discount Store: 3.99 EUR for 900G (6 pieces)

Toilet paper is cheap in Super Discount Store, if you are willing to buy a large pack. Here are 48 rolls for 5.99 EUR, which makes 0.12 EUR per roll.

Cleaning products are also very cheap in Super Discount Store. Here are 4L of general purpose cleaner for 1.99 EUR, making a price of only 0.05 EUR for 100ml.

4L chlorine, 1.99 EUR at Super Discount Store

Shampoos and other chemical products are also cheap at Super Discount Store.

Metro

Potatoes (large) are 0.99 EUR / kilo at Metro

Unwashed potatoes are 0.75 EUR / kilo at Metro

Smart

Verdict and results of the test

Spar is an overall cheap supermarket. I can suggest to do most of your shopping there, although larger amounts of things (eggs or cleaning materials for example) might be cheaper in Super Discount Store.

Super Discount Store is an amazing place for cleaning products, and for cans (long preservable food). An absolute savings tips is: Sunflower oil, eggs, and toilet paper. You cannot buy vegetables here. Look out for the haloumi savings.

Metro is not particularly cheap, only when it comes to vegetables. I suggest to do only your grocery shopping there.

A lot of people online talk about Smart, but I really don’t like the selection of groceries, as it is not cheaper in comparison with Super Discount Store or Spar.

If you have comments, please respond here in this article or on reddit.