How to Survive the Aldi Checkout Line

EDITOR’S NOTE: Updated for 2025. 

The Aldi checkout process can be intimidating to newbies, and even to some regular Aldi shoppers. How do you pay? Do you bag your own groceries? Why do the cashiers go so fast? Am I unloading my groceries too slowly? What if I want to use self-checkout?

If you go into Aldi prepared, your shopping trip should go smoothly and easily, and you’ll appreciate all the money you have saved and all the cool products you’ve found. We’re here to help you know what to expect so you can have a great shopping trip.

Here are Aldi Reviewer’s top tips for surviving the Aldi checkout line, both in the traditional line with a cashier and in the self-checkout line.

For Traditional Checkout:

1. If the line is long, don’t worry. Aldi cashiers move lines along quickly, so even if it looks like it will take forever to check out, it never does. Aldi also is quick to open a new lane or two when lines get long. Even at the busiest times, Aldi will get you through the checkout process way faster than Walmart. Trust us.
2. Load your heaviest items onto the conveyor belt first, followed by the lightest items. It’s going to be fine if you don’t load your groceries onto the belt this way. It’s just a helpful technique because after Aldi cashiers pick up your items from the conveyor belt and scan them, they will load them into a waiting cart. Cashiers do this quickly, and they generally try to be careful with fragile items. I’ve never had problems with them squashing delicate items like produce or bread, but when I remember to do so, I feel it’s probably helpful to load the heavy milk jug and canned goods onto the belt before I load the berries or the cilantro. But sometimes I’m in a hurry, or my kids are helping, and things get loaded onto the belt with no rhyme or reason, and it’s okay.
3. Load items onto the conveyor belt quickly. Again, because Aldi cashiers scan your groceries fast, you’ll want to be quick when you move items from your cart to the belt. If you can’t keep up with the cashier, though, don’t worry too much about it. Just move as efficiently as you can, and don’t stress.
4. Don’t crowd fellow shoppers who are ahead of you in line. While speed is important, make sure you give the person ahead of you enough time to load all of their groceries onto the belt before you begin loading your own items. Also remember to not stand too close while the person ahead is conducting their credit or debit card transaction, including entering their PIN. Fellow Aldi shoppers are typically a friendly bunch, but no one likes having their personal space invaded or their groceries squished. Practice good etiquette and leave a bit of room.
5. Don’t try to bag your groceries at the checkout. Unless you have a small amount of groceries, this just is not practical because cashiers scan items so quickly. If you are buying a large load of groceries, you won’t be able to keep up, and that might result in unhappy customers in the line behind you. Instead, after paying, take your groceries to the bagging shelf past the cash registers. There, you can bag everything to your liking. (Or, back in 2020, we bagged our groceries at our car in the fresh air.)
6. Have your payment method in hand after your groceries have been loaded onto the belt. Aldi traditional checkout stations accept cash, debit cards, credit cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and EBT. They don’t accept personal checks or WIC. You can insert your credit or debit card into the machine to begin the transaction while the cashier is still scanning your items, helping to speed up the final checkout process.
7. Take a glance at your receipt before leaving the store. Because Aldi products have multiple bar codes, and because cashiers are so fast, it’s not uncommon for something to get accidentally double scanned. In our experience, if you’re double charged for something, Aldi cashiers are quick to fix the problem when you bring it to their attention.

For Self-Checkout:

1. Don’t pay in cash. While cash is fine at the regular checkout with a cashier, self-checkouts only accept credit, debit, Apple Pay, and Google Pay.
2. Don’t worry about item limits. Some other stores will limit self-checkout to customers with only 10 or 15 items. Aldi has no such limits. If you want to do self-checkout with a full cart, you can.
3. Don’t stress about the bossy self-checkout machine. When Aldi first introduced self-checkout, the machines were incredibly impatient, repeatedly telling customers to scan the next item while they were just setting down the last scanned item. It was annoying. We think Aldi has tweaked the machines so they don’t bark orders quite as frequently. Regardless, if a robotic voice tells you to scan the next item, don’t sweat it.

Regardless of How You Check Out:

1. Make sure you have bags or boxes. Aldi employees do not bag groceries, and self-checkout stations don’t have free bags. You’ll bag your items yourself after the checkout process — either directly at the self-checkout kiosk or at a special bagging shelf past the cash registers. Aldi does not provide bags free of charge. Most shoppers bring their own reusable bags, but you also can purchase paper bags or reusable bags for a small cost. If you didn’t bring your own bags and you don’t want to purchase bags, often you can find large empty boxes out on the selling floor, and these are free for you to take and use. These are the same boxes that merchandise is shipped and displayed in, and when they empty out, they are fair game for customers looking for ways to carry their Aldi treasures. Take whatever boxes you need, and when you get home you can flatten them and place them in your recycling bin or compost bin.
2. Grab an ad on your way out the door. Aldi often has paper ads for the following week’s Aldi Finds (Special Buys) located in a stand near the exit door. If you want to see what’s coming soon, grab a flyer, or you can view specials on Aldi’s website.
3. Return your cart. After you load your bagged groceries into your vehicle, don’t forget to return your cart to the corral and get your quarter back, or you can pass your cart on to another customer who is getting ready to shop. If you pass your cart to another customer, they will give you their quarter. Or you can spread a bit of goodwill and pass the cart along for free, which is a common occurrence at Aldi stores. The choice is up to you and either way is considered acceptable.

What are your tips for making the Aldi checkout process quick and painless? Let us know in the comments.