Aldi has been crowned the cheapest UK supermarket for the eleventh month in a row by Which? consumer champions.
The price of a basket of goods came to £69.99 at the discount supermarket in April - this was £17.34 cheaper than the same shop at the most expensive store, Waitrose.
The second cheapest supermarket was Lidl, where the same basket of goods came to £70.64 - a difference of 65p compared to Aldi.
Which? looked at the price of 39 popular groceries at eight of the biggest UK supermarkets as part of its monthly comparison.
Sainsbury’s was the third cheapest (£76.85), followed by Asda (£77.92), Tesco (£78.09), Morrisons (£81.46), Ocado (£83.69) and Waitrose (£87.33).
The exact items featured in the monthly Which? surveys are always a closely guarded secret, although the Office for National Statistics recently launched a new tool showing how much the price of 450 products have changed over a year.
Which? also compared the cost of a larger trolley of 135 items, including the original 39 products, plus 96 more.
This comparison included a larger number of branded items, such as Andrex toilet paper and Cathedral City cheese, and did not include discounter supermarkets Aldi and Lidl.
This is because they do not sell the full range of branded items included in the larger price analysis.
Asda was the cheapest once again for the larger trolley comparison - it has held this title since January 2020.
The larger shop at Asda was found to have cost £343.46 in April. This was £38.76 cheaper than the most expensive grocer, which was also Waitrose again.
In second cheapest was Sainsbury’s (£353.96), followed by Morrisons (£355.84), Tesco (£365.77), Ocado (£374.53) and Waitrose (£382.22).
Ele Clark, Which? Retail Editor, said: “The price of food and drink has continued to soar as people suffer through the worst cost of living crisis in decades.
“It’s no surprise to see many people turning to discounters like Aldi and Lidl when our research shows they could save up to £17 on a basket of everyday groceries by doing so.
“Supermarkets aren’t currently doing enough to help shoppers.
“Which? believes the big retailers have a responsibility to ensure everyone has easy access to basic, affordable food ranges at a store near them, and to provide transparent and comparable pricing so people can easily work out which products offer the best value.”
Cheapest supermarkets for basket of 39 items
- Aldi - £69.99
- Lidl - £70.64
- Sainsbury’s - £76.85
- Asda - £77.92
- Tesco - £78.09
- Morrisons - £81.46
- Ocado - £83.69
- Waitrose - £87.33
Cheapest supermarkets for trolley of 135 items
- Asda - £343.46
- Sainsbury's - £353.96
- Morrisons - £355.84
- Tesco - £365.77
- Ocado - £374.53
- Waitrose - £382.22
How to save money in the supermarkets
- Avoid shopping in smaller convenience stores when you can. Which? previously found people shopping at Tesco Express face spending an average £817.91 a year more compared to shopping online or at a larger store.
- Always compare prices and shop around for the best deals. There are great websites that help you monitor food prices including Trolley.co.uk.
- Swap branded products for supermarket own-brand goods and save hundreds of pounds a year. This is known as Downshifting and it could cut around a third of the price of your shop.
- Search different aisles – and look up and down for the best value products. Some items, including rice, sauces, and baking ingredients, can be found in multiple different supermarket aisles at different prices.
- Never shop when hungry – this only increases the chance of you making impulsive buys. Try and use a basket instead of a trolley as well, as you'll have to be more selective of the items you buy.
- Search for coupons and discount codes online to save money in stores. Some free supermarket magazines also contain vouchers that you can cut out and use.
