We compared products at Whole Foods and Sprouts near San Francisco to see which store had better quality and prices - and the winner surprised us

Sprouts: $6.99

Whole Foods: $5.99

Whole Foods wins on peanut butter price and selection —and jelly, too.

Sprouts (Lamarca): $14.99

Whole Foods (Presto Prosecco Brut): $12.99

This isn’t an exact apples-to-apples comparison because the brands are different, but I have to declare Whole Foods the winner in the cheap prosecco category.

I like prosecco better than champagne, and I love that both Sprouts and Whole Foods had it on sale at the same time. Prosecco is the right drink for summer dinners at outdoor tables in an Italian vineyard — or in your backyard in Oakland.

Sprouts: $4.99 per melon

Whole Foods: $4.99 per melon

This one’s a tie on the price. Sprouts only had a few melons in stock, while Whole Foods had a large display, so more melons to thump to find one that’s perfectly ripe.

Sprouts: $2.98/lb

Whole Foods: $2.49/lb

Whole Foods wins on price and selection here. Overall, although Sprouts had a fairly broad selection of produce, Whole Foods had more organic choices and more fresh fruits and vegetables than Sprouts.

Sprouts: $4.99

Whole Foods: $4.49

Whole Foods sells Tom's toothpaste for 50 cents cheaper than Sprouts.

Sprouts: $1.59

Whole Foods: $1.39

Whole Foods offered a cheaper price on Larabars. While both stores stocked lots of different energy bars, the selection of Larabar flavors at Whole Foods was superior. Point to Whole Foods.

Sprouts: $5.59

Whole Foods: $5.39

Whole Foods wins on price. As a side note, I’m thrilled to see this bread in both stores. The titular Dave rejoined his family bakery business after spending time in prison. The brand makes a point of giving employment to people who have been in prison. Read their story here (it may make you cry).

Sprouts: $16.49 on sale (on sale from $17.99)

Whole Foods: $19.99

The regular Sprouts price is lower, plus this cat food was on sale. Your cat votes for Sprouts.

Sprouts: $3.49 (on sale from $4.49)

Whole Foods: $3.69

Sprouts wins on price, but only because of their sale. I'll call this one a tie, since Whole Foods' regular price is much lower than Sprouts.

Sprouts: $4.79

Whole Foods: $4.29

Whole Foods wins on price for these corn flakes. Now I'm hungry.

Sprouts (Mighty Organic): $5.29 (on sale from $6.99)

Whole Foods: (Country Archer): $6.99

The two stores didn't carry the same brands of beef jerky, so this isn't a completely fair comparison, but I'm going to give the win to Sprouts for their sale and the fact that they also have an organic store brand of beef jerky.

Sprouts: $2.99

Whole Foods: $3.19

Sprouts sells kettle chips for less than Whole Foods, which might explain the nearly empty shelves when I stopped by the store around dinnertime.

Sprouts: $4.49 (on sale from $4.99)

Whole Foods: $3.79 (on sale from $4.49)

Whole Foods wins on price. Fun fact: cherry juice helps you fall asleep. That’s made this lifelong insomniac a cherry juice fan.

Sprouts: $3.99 (on sale from $4.99)

Whole Foods: $4.69

I’ll give this one to Sprouts because they had Bark Thins on sale, even though their regular price is slightly higher than Whole Foods.

Whole Foods ended up being more affordable for eight out of 14 items surveyed (and the prices were tied for several more). Whole Foods also had a wider selection and was better stocked than the Sprouts I visited.