UK cheapest supermarket revealed as Which? issues 'shop around' warning

Aldi has been crowned the cheapest UK supermarket again in the latest Which? price comparison.

The average bill for 71 items at the budget chain came to £122.77 in September. This was £1.18 cheaper than rival Lidl, where an identical shop came to £123.95 on average.

Which? compares the average price of a shop consisting of popular groceries at eight biggest supermarkets every month. The analysis includes special offer prices and loyalty prices where applicable, but not multibuys.

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None of the items included in its latest analysis was cheaper for Lidl Plus customers this month. The list of 71 items included both branded and own-brand items, such as Birds Eye Peas, Hovis bread, milk and butter.

Tesco came in third place, with the average bill for Clubcard members coming to £135.64, while without a Clubcard, the Tesco shop cost £138.66.

Sainsbury’s Nectar card shoppers would have paid £138.74 on average in September, or without a Nectar card, the same items at Sainsbury’s cost £142.70.

Which? also compares a longer list of 186 items and this list doesn't include Aldi and Lidl, as they have a smaller range of products.

For the longer list of 186 items in September, Asda was the cheapest once again with an average bill of £465.66. This was cheaper than Tesco with a Clubcard, where an identical shop came to £472.45.

Waitrose was the most expensive on average, with the smaller shop costing £161.19 on average and the bigger shop costing £531.39.

Reena Sewraz, Which? Retail Editor, said: “Aldi is the UK’s cheapest supermarket again this month, according to our latest price analysis, showing that it continues to represent great value without the need for two-tiered pricing.

“When it comes to a longer list of groceries, Asda beats all the other major stores including membership prices at Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons.

“With food prices still rising and the weather getting colder we know many households will be worried about costs, so it really is worth shopping around as you can save 36% by swapping to a cheaper supermarket.”

Cheapest supermarket for 71 items

• Aldi - £122.77
• Lidl - £123.95
• Tesco with Clubcard - £135.64
• Asda - £136.98
• Tesco - £138.66
• Sainsbury’s with Nectar - £138.74
• Morrisons with More - £140.19
• Morrisons - £140.24
• Sainsbury’s - £142.70
• Ocado - £154.08
• Waitrose - £167.19

Cheapest supermarket for 186 items

• Asda - £465.66
• Tesco with Clubcard - £472.45
• Sainsbury’s with Nectar - £480.58
• Morrisons with More - £488.75
• Morrisons - £492.52
• Tesco - £509.20
• Ocado - £512.20
• Sainsbury’s - £518.15
• Waitrose - £531.39
• Waitrose - £531.39
• Ocado - £154.08
• Waitrose - £167.19