More than 175,000 citizens have already used or visited PosoKanei, the digital price comparison platform created by the Ministry of Development with the aim ofbring greater transparency to the consumer goods market.
The positive response during its first weeks of operation is no coincidence. At a time when the prices of basic goods continue to significantly impact household budgets, the ability to directly compare products and prices across different supermarket chains meets a need that, until now, had only been partially addressed.
Until recently, a consumer who wanted to compare the cost of their purchases had to visit the online stores of different chains separately, search for the same products, andcalculate the total cost on their own. The process was time-consuming and often made it difficult to draw reliable conclusions.
PosoKanei aims to bring all this information together in a single platform, allowing users to know not only how much a product costs, but also the total cost of their shopping cart before they even visitthe store.
** What is PosoKanei **
The platform is available for free at posokanei.gov.gr, as well as through apps for Android and iOS mobile devices.
This is a search and price comparison tool for consumer goods that allows citizens to compare prices by retail chain, track price trends over time, and organize their shopping through personal lists.
It does not function as an online store, and no purchases are made through the platform. Its role is exclusively informational and comparative.
** What users will find in the app **
Today, the database includes approximately 10,000 product codes, both brand-name and private-label, which are constantly updated and expanded.
The products are divided into six main categories:
Food
Beverages
Personal Care Products
Cleaning products
Baby Products
Pet Products
The largest category is food, with 4,810 products, while the items are organized into 36 subcategories covering everything from pasta, legumes, and dairy products to detergents, paper products, and oral hygiene products.
Users can search for a product either by typing its name or by scanning its barcode. The mobile app allows users to scan the barcode for an instant search.
** Which chains do the prices come from? **
The platform collects data from the Galaxias, Sklavenitis, Chalkiadakis, SYNKA, Masoutis, My Market, AB Vassilopoulos, Kritikos, Market In, and Lidl.
Prices are updated daily. Data is collected in two ways: either through direct data provision by the chains themselves or through automated data extraction from their online stores.
This means that users have access to up-to-date information without having to visit each website separately.
** Why price comparison can be useful **
The platform’s core value lies not simply in displaying prices. It lies in the organization of information.
Consumers can determine whether a product they regularly purchase is available at a lower price at another chain, compare the costs of multiple products at once, and gain a clearer picture of the differences exist in the market.
In a household that makes regular weekly purchases, even small variations in the prices of basic products can translate into significant savings over the course of several months.
At the same time, having a unified database significantly reduces the time required to gather information and enables more informed decision-making.
The philosophy behind the platform’s development is based precisely on this approach of leveraging technology to solve citizens’ everyday problems. As Dimitris Papastergiou, Minister of Digital Governance and Artificial Intelligence, points out, “PosoKanei is a prime example of how technology provides real solutions to real problems. And accuracy is one of the most important ones.”
According to him, the app provides immediate and reliable information on the prices of thousands of products, enhancing transparency and the ability to compare prices before every purchase. The minister also notes that the platform is based on cloud infrastructure and continuously updated data, while he makes special mention of the fact that itit was developed by a Greek startup based in Ptolemaida, a fact that—as he points out—demonstrates that innovation can be generated in any region of the country.
** The digital shopping cart that shows the true cost **
The feature that may be of the greatest practical value to users is the ability to create personal shopping lists.
Each user can create up to five different lists and add up to fifty items to each one. Additionally, they can specify specific quantities for each product.
Based on these selections, the system calculates the total cost of the shopping cart at the retail chains that carry these specific products.
The difference is significant. Consumers do not compare individual prices but rather the actual amount they will pay at the register.
This way, they can determine whether it is in their best interest to do all their shopping at a single chain or whether savings result from choosing different products.
** “Find Me Cheaper”: When the app suggests alternatives **
One of the features that can have the greatest impact on your total cost is the “Find me a cheaper option” feature.
The platform suggests more affordable alternatives within the same product category, allowing the user to explore options they might not have found on their own.
The comparison does not involve a complete matching of all quality characteristics, but it does offer a useful starting point for those seeking to reduce their shopping costs without significantly changing their consumption habits.
** The Value of Price History **
One of the most interesting features of the platform is the ability to track price trends over the last two months.
The price history allows users to determine whether an offer is truly attractive or whether a product’s price is close to its usual range.
This limits the seller’s information advantage and enhances the consumer’s ability to evaluate market offers more objectively.
** Comparison with Other Countries **
Where available and comparable data exists, PosoKanei also displays prices from European markets.
Currently, the service primarily covers retail chains in countries such as Italy, France, Belgium, Romania, Bulgaria, Cyprus, and Spain.
This feature is not intended for simplified comparisons, as each market operates under a different tax and commercial framework. However, it gives citizens a broader picture of how prices are set in other European countries.
The Ministry of Development has already announced that the platform will be continuously expanded with new codes, additional product categories, and new data sources. Plans also include extending the PosoKanei philosophy to the energy market.
The participation of more than 175,000 users to date shows that there is strong interest in tools that make the market more transparent. PosoKanei aims to fill a gap that has existed for years: to bring together in one place information that was previously scattered, and to give consumers the ability to know, before they start shopping, not only how much a product costs but also what the true cost of their choices is.
