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Guide · Offers & prices

Supermarket flyers vs. a price check on your own receipts

Updated · 5 min read

Flyer apps show you what is on offer this week in German supermarkets; a price check on your receipts shows whether any of it was already in your basket. They answer different questions, so you can use both.

What do supermarket flyer apps do?

In Germany, shops such as REWE, Lidl, Edeka or Aldi publish weekly Prospekte (flyers). Apps like kaufDA, marktguru or MeinProspekt collect these in one place. Instead of sorting paper flyers from your mailbox, you browse the offers near you, search for a product and save hits to a list. Depending on the app, you can also get notifications for favourite shops or products.

That is useful if you want to know before you shop where a particular product is cheaper right now, or if you hunt for specific deals. The strength is breadth: many retailers, many offers, quickly searchable.

What can a flyer not know about you?

A flyer does not know you. It shows every offer, not the ones that fit your routine. Three typical gaps:

None of this is a flaw in those apps; they are not built for it. It is simply a different question: not "What is on offer?" but "What did I buy, and was it cheaper somewhere?"

How is a price check on your receipts different?

The price check in Bonstructer turns the direction around. You scan your receipt, and the prices you paid are held against two sources: public current offers for your postcode region and your own price history from earlier receipts. For each line you see whether an item was cheaper elsewhere or at times, or whether you paid more than usual.

The starting point is your real shopping, not the whole market. The price check is meant for groceries. You enter your postcode (Postleitzahl) in the settings so it knows which region's offers to use.

Flyer app or price check: which one when?

If you use both, you glance at the flyers beforehand and afterwards see on the receipt how the shop actually turned out. The chat in Bonstructer also builds a shopping list from what you buy regularly, which you can push to Bring! or copy. That way you check offers against what is really on your list, not against the entire flyer.

How do you compare prices fairly? Use the unit price

Regardless of any app: compare the unit price (Grundpreis), meaning the price per kilogram, litre or piece, not the pack price. German shops must show it next to the selling price for many goods (price indication ordinance, Preisangabenverordnung). That is what makes offers comparable:

The unit price is usually printed small on the shelf label. For better receipt photos, see the guide how to scan receipts.

How do you try the price check?

  1. Enter your postcode. In the Bonstructer settings, so offers from your region are used.
  2. Scan a grocery receipt. With the camera, a photo, a PDF or a QR e-receipt.
  3. Read the hints. For each item you see whether there was an offer or whether you paid above your usual price.
  4. Double-check yourself. Compare the unit price before you change a habit.

Sources

FAQ

Does the price check replace a flyer app?

No, it complements it. A flyer app helps you search before shopping; the price check then rates your actual shopping against current offers and your own price history.

Where do the prices in the price check come from?

From two sources: public current offers for your postcode region and your own price history from earlier receipts. It needs a postcode in the settings.

Does the price check see Lidl Plus or Payback discounts?

No. Discounts from loyalty apps such as Lidl Plus or Payback are not visible to the price check. A hint can therefore differ from what you actually pay with an app discount.

How much can I save with it?

That cannot be said in general, and we do not promise any savings. The price check is not complete and only shows where a public offer or your usual price was lower.

Which purchases is the price check meant for?

Groceries. Search, chat and statistics work with any receipt.

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