TopCC vs Prodega vs Aligro: the Swiss cash-and-carry comparison

Aligro is open to everyone, and in 12 of its 14 stores you do not even need a card. TopCC also sells to private shoppers but requires a free personal entry card. Prodega serves registered businesses only. The Prodega card is not valid at Aligro, and which one is cheapest depends on your basket.

Sources checked regularly: topcc.ch (purchasing terms, card application), transgourmet.ch (becoming a customer, markets), aligro.ch (FAQ, terms and conditions), Wikipedia, St. Galler Tagblatt, watson.ch, Blick and Handelszeitung. Conditions can change; the retailers' own pages are authoritative. Current Aligro offers are live in the Rappn app.

Rappn is the only neutral grocery price comparison app in Switzerland, with no commercial agreements with any retailer.

TopCC, Prodega and Aligro: three wholesalers, three systems

All three are cash-and-carry wholesalers: big halls, bulk and professional pack sizes, you pick the goods yourself and pay at the till like in a supermarket. Behind the format sit three completely different companies with different rules. TopCC is the cash-and-carry subsidiary of the SPAR group Switzerland, headquartered in St. Gallen. Prodega is the market format of Transgourmet Switzerland, which belongs to the Coop Group. Aligro is run by Demaurex, an independent family company from French-speaking Switzerland (sources: Wikipedia, transgourmet.ch, aligro.ch).

Store counts come from the retailers themselves and can change. The table already shows why lumping the three names together is misleading: access, cards and price logic work differently at each one.

Who may shop where, and which card do you need?

TopCC tested sales to private customers in 2019 and 2020 and made them permanent in 2021 (source: Wikipedia, Blick). "Everyone may shop at TopCC" is how the company itself puts it today. The one condition is the personal TopCC entry card: you apply for it free of charge, there is no minimum purchase, and it is scanned at the entrance gate on every visit (source: topcc.ch, purchasing terms and card application).

Prodega remains the classic trade-only wholesaler. Only people with a registered business can become customers, typically from gastronomy, hotels, bakeries, retail or institutional catering (source: transgourmet.ch). Entry requires a mandatory personal photo customer card that cannot be transferred; apprentices in the trade can get a Junior Card. During the Covid period some Prodega markets temporarily opened to private households (source: Handelszeitung), but that was an exception and no longer applies.

Aligro is the most open of the three: private individuals, clubs, associations, companies and professionals are all welcome, and in 12 of the 14 stores you can walk in without any card at all. Only in Bern and Pratteln is the customer card mandatory for legal reasons; it is free, personal and valid indefinitely (source: aligro.ch FAQ). For the card details, from the Gourmet card to the Pro card with its permanent 2 percent discount, see the guide to Aligro's customer card for private shoppers.

Is the Prodega card valid at Aligro?

No, you should not count on it. Prodega belongs to Transgourmet in the Coop Group, Aligro to the Demaurex family; each runs its own card system, and there is no published statement that Aligro accepts the Prodega card. In practice it hardly matters: at Aligro you get in without any card everywhere except Bern and Pratteln, and Aligro's own card takes a few minutes to obtain free of charge. The reverse is also true: an Aligro card gives you nothing at Prodega, where a registered business is strictly required. The TopCC entry card likewise only works at TopCC.

Excluding or including VAT: the most common comparison mistake

TopCC publishes its prices as net prices excluding VAT (source: topcc.ch, purchasing terms). At Aligro the professional prices in the flyer and advertising are also quoted without VAT; as a private shopper you pay the tax on top at the till, currently 2.6 percent on food and 8.1 percent on most other items (source: aligro.ch terms and conditions). Prodega addresses businesses that reclaim VAT anyway; expect wholesale logic there too, with the in-store labelling being authoritative.

Supermarket prices at Migros, Coop, Aldi, Lidl or Denner, by contrast, are always displayed including VAT. A wholesaler's flyer price can therefore look cheaper than it effectively is for you as a private shopper. Never compare an excl.-VAT price with an incl.-VAT price, or you are comparing apples with oranges.

Assortment and regions: which market suits whom?

TopCC carries over 30'000 items with a clear gastronomy focus, an in-house butchery and a large wine department, but it operates only in German-speaking Switzerland, for example in St. Gallen, Winterthur, Rümlang, Kriens and Muri bei Bern (source: topcc.ch, Wikipedia). Prodega has the densest network with 31 markets and is the only one of the three covering all language regions, including Ticino with its market in Quartino (source: transgourmet.ch). Aligro runs 14 markets in French- and German-speaking Switzerland, stands out with one of the country's biggest fresh fish counters, around 30'000 items and over 2'000 weekly promotions, but has no store in Ticino (source: aligro.ch).

In everyday terms: in French-speaking Switzerland you will find Aligro and Prodega, in German-speaking Switzerland all three, and in Ticino only Prodega, and there only with a business. For how Aligro stacks up against a very different kind of discounter, see Aligro vs Otto's.

So which cash-and-carry is the cheapest?

There is no honest one-word answer. Independent basket comparisons such as K-Tipp or Comparis regularly measure supermarkets and discounters, but the three cash-and-carry chains barely appear in them. Bulk packs do push the unit price down, yet you easily buy more than planned, and excl.-VAT price tags distort the picture further. Wholesalers pay off most for volume: parties, club events, office apéros and stocking up.

Of the three, Rappn covers Aligro live: the current Aligro promotions are searchable in the Rappn app, right next to Migros, Coop, Aldi, Lidl, Denner and Otto's. That way you can check before driving out whether the detour is worth it or whether the supermarket around the corner is cheaper this week. TopCC and Prodega are compared here editorially; their promotions are not in the app. For what awaits you at Aligro in detail, read the Aligro Switzerland deep-dive, and for the full picture across all chains start with the price comparison.