Aldi, Lidl, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda: which is the cheapest UK supermarket?

Saving on the weekly grocery shop will be a top priority for many of us. But which supermarket came out the cheapest in the latest analysis?

With food inflation expected to rise to 4% during 2025 according to analysts Peel Hunt, cutting the cost of the weekly shop may be more important than ever.

But where will you find the best bargains?

While there aren’t any guarantees, looking back at the past year could be a sign of things to come.

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The cheapest supermarket of 2024

The team at Which? runs a useful study each month, comparing the average cost of own-branded products at Asda, Lidl, Morrisons, Ocado, Sainsbury's, Tesco and Waitrose.

The researchers then used this information to determine an average for 2024.

According to the findings, Aldi narrowly beat Lidl as the most affordable retailer during every month.

Overall, the price difference between the deep discounters averaged out at £1.99.

This is the fourth year Aldi has taken the crown.

Across the board, Which? found that food prices have risen 3.4% year-on-year.

What about the larger supermarkets?

In terms of the big names, Asda came in as more affordable than Sainsbury’s or Tesco in eight out of 12 months.

That said, prices at Tesco were cheaper for Clubcard holders than at Asda more than half the time.

The big shop

As well as looking at own-brand items, the researchers investigated the cheapest retailer for a ‘big shop’.

This involved looking at 150 items, including branded products.

Note that the researchers couldn’t include Aldi and Lidl since they only stock a limited number of brands.

Again, Asda came out on top and was the cheapest for nine months of 2024.

Waitrose was the most expensive for 11 out of 12 months.

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Prices for December

As part of the research, Which? tracked the cost of 56 own-label and branded items for every day last month.

Goods included baked beans, a Hovis loaf, milk, carrots and Birds Eye peas.

The survey includes the prices for both members and non-members of loyalty schemes.

As you can see from the table above, there’s quite a difference between the cost of a trolley of food sourced from the deep discounters and the more premium outlets such as Waitrose and Ocado.

Indeed, a Waitrose shop was almost £30 more expensive than Aldi in December.

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The bigger trolley

Of course, many households pick up a wider range of items when grocery shopping, so Which? carried out a similar study with a total of 158 items.

That’s the original 56 goods and an additional 102 items.

Again, this analysis didn’t include Aldi or Lidl.

Here’s how the supermarkets compare on the larger shopping basket:

Again, Waitrose came out as the most expensive, with prices almost £48 higher than those for Clubcard holders.

The impact of loyalty schemes

Although Tesco came out the cheapest for loyalty scheme members with a total cost of £410.40, non-members would have paid an additional £30.

Likewise, Nectar card holders would have paid an average of £412.14 for the items on the list.

Meanwhile, those who aren’t members of the loyalty scheme would have faced a bill almost £35 higher.

The Grocer study

Which? isn’t the only organisation that keeps a keen eye on supermarket pricing.

Industry bible The Grocer also tracks prices and other supermarket features, such as service and product availability.

Its latest study had Morrisons come in the most affordable at £75.54, which was £2.87 cheaper than runner-up Tesco.

During the time covered, Morrisons had discounts on 13 items on The Grocer’s list, with price drops totalling £6.84.

Tesco offered discounts on 10 items, all reserved for Clubcard members and worth £6.07.

Prices for other supermarkets came in at £78.41 for Tesco, £80.06 for Asda, £82.22 for Sainsbury’s and £88.28 for Waitrose.

Although Waitrose was the most expensive overall, it offered the best deal on salmon fillets.

Note that all the prices above include loyalty schemes.

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Where do we want to shop?

With the cost-of-living crisis, it’s hardly a surprise that our shopping habits ‒ and particularly the supermarkets we use ‒ are changing.

However, it’s not in the way you might expect.

In previous years, the likes of Tesco and Sainsbury’s lost market share as shoppers looked for cheaper deals.

However, they are recovering, partly due to those lower prices for their discount scheme members.

According to the latest research from data firm Kantar, Tesco has a market share of 28.5%, Sainsbury’s is at 16%, Asda stands at 12.5%, Morrisons at 8.6% and Waitrose holds 4.6% of the market.

When it comes to the smaller supermarkets and discounters, Aldi is at 10%, Lidl at 7.3% and Iceland at 2.3%.

Have your say

What do you think of this research? Which supermarket do you find the cheapest? Or perhaps you think price isn’t always the top concern.

We’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.