"Compared to other big grocery chains in the U.S., Aldi offers quite the unique shopping experience. For one, it charges 25 cents for a shopping cart, though you do get the quarter back when you return the cart to its rightful place once you're done shopping. The practice of having to use change to access a shopping cart is pretty rare in the States, but it's actually very common in Europe, where Aldi is originally from."
"Should you ever find yourself entirely out of quarters, tokens are an alternative, neat little tool that unlocks Aldi's shopping carts; some people have even tried to use coins from other currencies, but that kind of experimentation might yield inconsistent results. However, if you've caught the wanderlust bug and plan to shop at international Aldi locations, you'll definitely benefit from knowing which foreign coins to keep in your wallet."
Aldi charges 25 cents for a shopping cart in the U.S., refunded when the cart is returned. The cart-deposit system is common in Europe, Aldi's origin. Tokens serve as an alternative when quarters are unavailable, and some shoppers experiment with foreign coins though results can be inconsistent. A country-by-country list matches Aldi locations to the specific coins that unlock carts and converts those coin values to U.S. dollars as of December 2025. Example entries include Poland, which requires one or two złoty ($0.27/$0.55), and Hungary, where a 100 forint coin ($0.30) or allegedly a €1 coin may work.
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