Plain-English guides to money, tech, health, home and everyday life.
A Thanksgiving dinner for 10 costs about $78.93 in 2026, down 0.4%, per Wells Fargo. See what’s cheaper, why turkey prices are mixed, and how Walmart’s $35, ALDI’s $39 and Target’s $30 meals compare.
Liafi Studio Editors
A classic Thanksgiving dinner for 10 will cost about $78.93 in 2026, or $7.89 a person, according to the Wells Fargo Agri-Food Institute’s Thanksgiving Food Report. That’s 0.4% less than last year. Retailers are going even lower: Walmart’s meal basket feeds 10 for $35, ALDI’s feeds 10 for under $39, and Target’s feeds six for $30. Here’s what’s cheaper, what isn’t, and how the store deals actually compare before Thanksgiving on Thursday, Nov. 26.
Wells Fargo’s estimate uses Nielsen (NIQ) retail data for the 52 weeks ending Sept. 19, 2026. Its 10-person menu includes turkey, stuffing, frozen vegetables, prepared mashed potatoes, gravy, fresh cranberries, dinner rolls, salad mix, pumpkin pie and whipped cream. The food alone comes to $78.93, including dessert.
For the first time, the report also adds drinks. With wine, beer and sparkling water, the full celebration costs $127.54, or $12.75 per person, up just 0.5% from last year. The three beverages add $48.61 on their own, which is why the institute says the real price pressure this year is “in the glass, not on the plate.”
Six of the 10 food items cost less than a year ago, USA TODAY reported from the same data:
None of the food items is up by double digits. One practical tip from the report: the 58-ounce pumpkin pie works out to about 11 cents an ounce, versus 26 cents an ounce for a 22-ounce pie.
The Wells Fargo number looks back over a full year, but recent turkey prices have been firmer. The October Consumer Price Index showed turkey and other uncooked poultry up 1.9% from September, and overall grocery prices up 0.4% for the month, Yahoo Finance reported. Ham prices are down, while ground beef rose 1.2% in a month as U.S. cattle numbers stay at record lows.
Store circulars tell a similar story. The USDA’s weekly retail turkey report for ads running Oct. 31 to Nov. 12 puts the average advertised price of a frozen conventional whole turkey at about $1.19 a pound, which the USDA says is 26 cents a pound higher than a year ago. The good news is that turkey ads are ramping up fast, and the deepest deals are local: Kroger and Meijer stores in the Cincinnati area are advertising store-brand turkeys for 48 cents a pound with a digital coupon or app offer, WCPO found.
Several big chains have bundled a whole Thanksgiving meal at a set price. They’re not identical menus, so compare what’s in the basket and how many people it’s meant to feed.
| Store | Price | Feeds | Per person | Available |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Walmart | $35 | 10 | $3.50 | Through Dec. 24 |
| ALDI | Under $39 | 10 | Under $4 | Through Nov. 25 |
| Target | $30 | 6 | $5 | Nov. 8–29 |
Walmart’s Holiday Meal Basket includes 26 items, including a Butterball turkey at 97 cents a pound, Stove Top stuffing, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes and gravy, green bean casserole ingredients, dinner rolls, sweet potato casserole with mini marshmallows, corn casserole with Jiffy mix, and pumpkin pie with whipped topping, according to TODAY. Walmart says it has 18% more items than last year’s basket and costs 12% less than those same items did a year ago. Last year’s basket was $39.92. You can buy it in stores or online through Dec. 24, the Times Union reports.
ALDI’s list includes a 16-pound Farmer’s Choice turkey, cubed stuffing, sweet potatoes, dinner rolls, frozen peas, fresh cranberries, celery, carrots, pumpkin pie mix and crusts, whipping cream and whole milk. It needs no coupons, loyalty card or membership. ALDI built the menu around the American Farm Bureau Federation’s annual Thanksgiving survey so shoppers can compare it with the national average. One catch: some items arrive on a schedule. The turkey has been available since Nov. 4, and the pumpkin pie mix since Nov. 11, with prices good through Nov. 25.
Target’s deal feeds six for $30. It includes a Butterball turkey plus russet potatoes, cranberry sauce, green beans, cream of mushroom soup, fried onions, stuffing, gravy and two baguettes, TODAY reports. It runs Nov. 8 through Nov. 29, NewsNation notes, and serves two more people than last year’s version for the same per-person price.
ABC News reports that Amazon has a $25 Thanksgiving meal with a turkey, side and dessert ingredients, and free same-day delivery (ABC didn’t say how many people it serves). ShopRite customers who spend $400 on qualifying purchases between Oct. 25 and Nov. 26 can earn a free holiday item such as a whole turkey or ham. BJ’s free-turkey offer ended Nov. 9.
Thanksgiving also kicks off the holiday spending season. If you’re shopping the sales the next morning, our Black Friday 2026 dates guide lists every major retailer’s schedule, and our tips on a stress-free holiday gift budget can help keep December from undoing November’s savings.
How much is Thanksgiving dinner for 10 in 2026? About $78.93 for food including dessert, according to Wells Fargo, or $127.54 with wine, beer and sparkling water.
Is Thanksgiving dinner cheaper this year? Slightly. Wells Fargo puts the food basket 0.4% below 2025, though recent turkey prices have risen month to month.
What is the cheapest Thanksgiving meal deal? Per person, Walmart’s $35 basket for 10 ($3.50 each) is the lowest of the big published bundles, followed by ALDI at under $4 and Target at $5.
When is Thanksgiving 2026? Thursday, Nov. 26, 2026.
When does the Farm Bureau release its Thanksgiving survey? The American Farm Bureau Federation usually publishes its national estimate the week before Thanksgiving. We’ll update this post when it’s out.
Sources: Wells Fargo Agri-Food Institute; USA TODAY; Yahoo Finance; USDA Agricultural Marketing Service; ALDI; TODAY; Times Union; NewsNation; ABC News; WCPO. Prices and availability vary by location and can change.
Featured image: a home Thanksgiving dinner table, photo by Ms Jones via Wikimedia Commons, licensed CC BY 2.0 (cropped).
Liafi Studio is an independent magazine of useful, plain-English guides: money and work, tech, health, home, learning, style and family life.
© 2026 Liafi Studio. All rights reserved.
Liafi Studio is ad-supported and some posts contain sponsored links, always labelled. Our guides are general information, not professional, medical, legal or financial advice.
