Aldi is selling a complete Thanksgiving dinner for ten people for under $39 this year — less than $4 a person — in a direct challenge to the national average for the same meal.
The discounter announced the meal on October 14, and the products are marked with a turkey logo on in-store shelves from October 14 through November 25. The list covers a classic turkey dinner for ten, with a 16-pound turkey, classic sides and pumpkin pie, built to match the American Farm Bureau Federation’s annual Thanksgiving Dinner Cost Survey menu.
The Farm Bureau’s most recent survey, from November 2025, put the national average for the classic meal for ten at $55.18, or $5.52 a person, with a 16-pound frozen turkey at $21.50. Aldi’s list comes in at least $16 below that average — about 29% less.
The official survey is not out yet
One caveat applies. The Farm Bureau’s 2026 survey is not out yet — its volunteer shoppers check prices in the first week of November and the results are usually published the week before Thanksgiving — so Aldi’s 2026 price is being compared with the previous survey, not this year’s official figure.
The early signals point slightly up. PwC’s 2026 holiday outlook expects turkey to cost nearly 8% more than last year, and a typical family’s Thanksgiving to run about $90, up from $88. The US Department of Agriculture expects frozen whole hens to average about 175 cents a pound wholesale in late 2026, roughly the same as late 2025, at 172 cents, but far above early 2025.
Why turkey prices are hard to read
Retail turkey prices at Thanksgiving do not follow wholesale prices closely, because many grocers sell turkeys at a loss to bring shoppers in, often with a minimum purchase. That is why the Farm Bureau’s turkey fell 16% in 2025, to $1.34 a pound, while wholesale prices were climbing.
For shoppers, the practical advice is to compare the whole basket rather than a single item. Aldi’s under-$39 list is a fixed menu for ten, and the saving is real against last year’s national average — but the official 2026 survey, due the week before Thanksgiving, will be the number that settles whether this year’s dinner really is cheaper. Until then, Aldi’s list is the cheapest complete Thanksgiving dinner on offer from a national chain, and it is on shelves now.
