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If you drink coffee at home every day, the tin in your cupboard is one of your most repeated purchases. It is also one of the easiest to overpay for, because the sizes are all different and flyers rarely print a price per 100 g.
The short answer: in Ontario flyers from April to mid-September 2026, big tins of Maxwell House ground coffee (864 or 900 g) were advertised at $15.97 to $15.99 at almost every store. That works out to about $1.78 to $1.85 per 100 g. Store-brand 907 g tins were a little cheaper, and small premium bags cost about twice as much per 100 g.
What we looked at
We reviewed ground and whole bean coffee in the Ontario flyer data FlyerHawk tracks from April 9 to mid-September 2026. We left out pods, instant coffee, creamers and "coffee enhancers", which are a different product.
The big-tin price is almost fixed
The most striking pattern was how little the price moved on the large tins:
- Maxwell House, 864 or 900 g: $15.97 at Walmart, Giant Tiger, Sobeys and Real Canadian Superstore; $15.99 at Metro, Food Basics, FreshCo, Longos, No Frills, Fortinos and Shoppers Drug Mart. The only notable exception was $18.99 at Fortinos in the week of April 9.
- Nabob, 915 to 930 g: mostly $19.99 (FreshCo, No Frills, Food Basics, Metro), with $20.99 at Food Basics for several weeks in summer and $24.00 at No Frills in the week of May 21.
So the flyer price for a big name-brand tin is not really a "deal price" that swings up and down. It is closer to a standard promotional price. If you see Maxwell House at $15.97 or $15.99, you are paying the normal flyer price, not a special one. If you see it above $17, wait a week.
Store brands
Store-brand large tins were about $1 cheaper:
- no name ground coffee, 907 g: $14.92 to $15.00 at Real Canadian Superstore and No Frills
- Great Value ground coffee: $14.92 at Walmart (size not printed in the flyer)
- Selection ground coffee: $14.99 to $15.99 at Food Basics (size not printed in the flyer)
Cost per 100 g, side by side
This is the number that actually lets you compare:
| Product and flyer price | Size | Per 100 g |
|---|---|---|
| no name ground, $14.92 | 907 g | $1.64 |
| Maxwell House, $15.99 | 900 g | $1.78 |
| Maxwell House, $15.99 | 864 g | $1.85 |
| Nabob, $19.99 | 930 g | $2.15 |
| Nabob, $8.99 (FreshCo) | 340 g | $2.64 |
| Kicking Horse whole bean, $17.00 | 454 g | $3.74 |
| Kicking Horse ground, $11.00 | 284 g | $3.87 |
Two things stand out.
First, one "Maxwell House tin" is not always the same size. Flyers listed it as "631 to 900 g" or "864 or 900 g" depending on the roast. At the same $15.99, the 864 g tin costs about 4% more per 100 g than the 900 g tin, and a 631 g tin would cost over 40% more. Look at the weight on the tin, not the flyer headline.
Second, small bags cost much more per 100 g. Nabob in the 340 g bag at $8.99 was about 23% more expensive per 100 g than the 930 g tin at $19.99, even though the small bag feels cheaper at the till.
Premium bags: the price does move
The premium brands showed much wider swings, which means waiting pays off:
- Kicking Horse ground (284 g where the size was printed): from $9.99 (Food Basics, April 9) to $14.99 (Food Basics, June 4, and Fortinos, June 11). Most often $10.99 to $11.99.
- Kicking Horse whole bean, 454 g: from $15.00 (Real Canadian Superstore, Your Independent Grocer and Zehrs in April) to $21.49 (Shoppers Drug Mart, most of the summer). Loblaw-family banners were usually $17.00.
If you like a premium coffee, this is where tracking helps. The gap between a $15.00 week and a $21.49 week on the same 454 g bag is $6.49, or 43%.
How much coffee should you buy at once?
Unopened ground coffee in a sealed tin keeps well, and whole beans in a sealed bag keep for a while too. Check the best-before date on the package. Once opened, most people find ground coffee tastes best within a few weeks.
A practical approach:
- For big tins at a steady price, buy one extra tin when you see the standard flyer price, so you never pay the shelf price when you run out.
- For premium bags, buy two or three when the price is at the bottom of its range, and store unopened bags in a cool, dark cupboard.
A quick coffee checklist
- Divide the price by the grams and multiply by 100. Compare that number, not the sticker.
- Check the actual weight on the tin; one flyer line can cover several sizes.
- Know your brand's normal flyer price. For Maxwell House big tins in 2026, it was about $16.
- For premium bags, wait for the low end of the range.
- Keep one backup so you never buy in a hurry.
Let FlyerHawk watch the price
You probably buy the same one or two coffees all year. FlyerHawk tracks them across the stores near you, keeps the price history, and alerts you only when the price is genuinely low compared with normal. Start your 14-day free trial and add your coffee to your watch list.
FAQ
What is a good price for a big tin of coffee in Ontario?
In Ontario flyers from April to September 2026, Maxwell House big tins (864 or 900 g) were almost always $15.97 to $15.99, and Nabob tins (915 to 930 g) were mostly $19.99. Store-brand 907 g tins were $14.92 to $15.00. For Maxwell House, a price above $17 was high for the period.
Is a bigger tin always cheaper per 100 g?
Usually, but not always. Tins with the same price can differ in weight, so an 864 g tin at $15.99 costs more per 100 g than a 900 g tin at the same price. Always check the weight.
Is whole bean coffee more expensive than ground?
Per 100 g, the premium whole bean bags we saw were about twice the price of big ground tins. Compare within the same brand and size for a fair comparison.
How do I calculate the price per 100 g?
Divide the price by the weight in grams, then multiply by 100. For example, $15.99 divided by 900 g, times 100, is about $1.78 per 100 g.
