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Every month, we compare thousands of prices at eight of the UK's major supermarkets – Aldi, Asda, Lidl, Morrisons, Ocado, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose – to reveal the cheapest supermarket to buy your food, drink and household essentials from.
Unsurprisingly, Aldi and Lidl tend to be cheaper – but which of the discounters has the lowest prices, and how do big chains such as Tesco and Sainsbury's compare?
Read on to find out the latest results of our supermarket price comparison.
Aldi was the cheapest supermarket in March, charging £121.06 on average for our shopping list of 71 popular groceries. Lidl was close behind, at less than £2 more (£122.95).
Waitrose was the most expensive supermarket at £158.52 - a whopping 30% more than Aldi.
Supermarket | Average price for 71 items |
Aldi | £121.06 |
Lidl | £122.95 |
Asda | £138.31 |
Tesco | £139.23 |
Sainsbury's | £143.48 |
Morrisons | £145.19 |
Ocado | £148.18 |
We also compared a larger selection of 184 groceries - the original 71 plus 113 more - to reveal the cheapest supermarket based on a big shop including more branded products.
We were unable to include Aldi and Lidl in this price comparison as they tend to stock fewer branded items.
Asda was the cheapest supermarket for our bumper shopping list (£468.90), while Morrisons came in second place.
Waitrose remained the priciest supermarket (£517.17) - £48.27 more than Asda.
Supermarket | Average price for 184 items |
Asda | £468.90 |
Morrisons | £485.49 |
Tesco | £497.13 |
Ocado | £505.83 |
Sainsbury's | £508.99 |
Waitrose | £517.17 |
Aldi was the cheapest supermarket in February, with a list of 72 popular groceries costing £125.43 on average. Lidl came in a close second, at less than £3 more expensive (£128.19).
Waitrose was the most expensive, and 30% costlier than Aldi.
Supermarket | Average price for 72 items |
---|---|
Aldi | £125.43 |
Lidl | £128.19 |
Asda | £140.51 |
Tesco | £143.51 |
Sainsbury's | £147.78 |
Morrisons | £151.73 |
Ocado | £153.47 |
We also compared a larger selection of groceries - the original 72 plus 113 more - to reveal the cheapest supermarket based on a larger sample size including more branded products.
We were unable to include Aldi and Lidl in this comparison as they tend to stock a smaller range of branded items.
Supermarket | Average price for 185 items |
---|---|
Asda | £460.34 |
Morrisons | £488.46 |
Ocado | £497.51 |
Tesco | £498.10 |
Sainsbury's | £509.16 |
Waitrose | £522.70 |
Aldi was the cheapest supermarket in January, with our shopping list of 72 items costing £129.24.
Waitrose was the most expensive for the same list of groceries, at £170.44 – that's 32% pricier than Aldi.
Supermarket | Average price for 72 items |
---|---|
Aldi | £129.24 |
Lidl | £132.37 |
Asda | £145.75 |
Tesco | £149.11 |
Sainsbury's | £153.50 |
Morrisons | £156.05 |
Ocado | £157.15 |
We also compared a larger selection of groceries - the original 72 plus 116 more - to reveal the cheapest supermarket based on a larger sample size including more branded products. We were unable to include Aldi and Lidl in this comparison as they don't stock the full range of items we were looking at.
Supermarket | Average price for 188 items |
---|---|
Asda | £475.06 |
Morrisons | £496.68 |
Ocado | £504.82 |
Tesco | £506.12 |
Sainsbury's | £516.82 |
Waitrose | £519.43 |
We track the prices of up to 200 branded and own-label products every day over the course of a month to work out the average cost per item. We then add up those averages to get a total for each retailer. We include special offers, but not multibuys or loyalty discounts.
Products on our list include everything from Heinz baked beans and Mr Kipling cakes to own-label milk, bread and cheese.
Our data is supplied by an independent price comparison company. For stores that don't have online prices we send fieldworkers out to stores to gather prices.
The master list of 200 products is currently updated annually but otherwise remains constant. However, the specific products chosen from the master list vary from month to month depending on availability. This means the totals aren't comparable between months or years.
The Which? App puts Best Buys in your pocket – browse expert reviews from your phone and enjoy full access to Which? magazine
Find out moreWe checked the price of a basket of groceries at the UK's biggest supermarkets every day throughout 2023, and announced the results each month.
Aldi was the cheapest supermarket for 11 months of the year, officially making it the cheapest supermarket of 2023 according to our analysis.
Lidl was the second-cheapest supermarket for the same 11 months, but narrowly beat Aldi to the top spot in October.
Waitrose was the most expensive supermarket for our basket in every month of 2023.
In our analysis of a bigger trolley of goods, in which we don't include Aldi or Lidl due to their smaller product ranges, Asda was the cheapest supermarket every month but one.
Morrisons scooped the winning spot in July.
Waitrose was the most expensive for a big trolley-full every month except September, when Sainsbury's was priciest for the first time (for shoppers not using a Nectar card).
Our analysis includes discounts that are available to everyone, but not multibuys or loyalty prices such as Clubcard or Nectar prices, where you only get the discount if you're a member of a loyalty scheme. This is because not everyone is able to join a loyalty scheme. You can read more about our research further down the page or by clicking here.
The results for each month of 2023 are below.
Aldi was the cheapest supermarket in December overall, with our list of 43 groceries coming in at £74.83 on average.
Lidl was less than £2 more expensive at £76.74.
Waitrose was nearly £20 pricier than Aldi, with the same basket of groceries coming in at £94.94.
Supermarket | Average basket price |
---|---|
Aldi | £74.83 |
Lidl | £76.74 |
Asda | £84.21 |
Sainsbury's | £84.54 |
Tesco | £84.86 |
Morrisons | £87.24 |
Ocado | £89.28 |
We also compared the cost of a larger list of 131 items (the original 43, plus 88 more).
Asda was the cheapest for our trolley of groceries, at £326.77 on average.
Waitrose was £41.02 pricier than Asda, with our big shop costing £367.79 at the high-end supermarket.
Aldi was the cheapest supermarket in November, knocking Lidl off the top spot – our basket of 47 items cost £76.77.
Waitrose was the most expensive for the same basket of groceries, at £97.39 – 27% pricier than Aldi.
Supermarket | Average basket price |
---|---|
Aldi | £76.77 |
Lidl | £77.56 |
Asda | £84.42 |
Tesco | £87.42 |
Sainsbury's | £87.79 |
Morrisons | £89.54 |
Ocado | £93.40 |
For our larger analysis, including a mix of 134 branded and own-brand items, Asda was the cheapest once again this month (£328.15), followed by Morrisons which was £10.01 more expensive.
At the other end of the table was high-end Waitrose, at £369.80 for the same list of groceries. Sainsbury's was the next priciest, at £360.26 for those without a loyalty card – almost £10 cheaper than high-end Waitrose.
Supermarket | Average trolley price |
---|---|
Asda | £328.15 |
Morrisons | £338.16 |
Tesco | £354.53 |
Ocado | £356.78 |
Sainsbury's | £360.26 |
Waitrose | £369.80 |
Lidl was the cheapest supermarket in October, with our shop costing £74.58, beating discounter rival Aldi by just 17p.
The same basket of 44 items at Waitrose would have set you back an average of £91.15 – that's 22% pricier on average than Lidl.
When it came to the 'big four' supermarkets, Asda was the cheapest for our basket, at £82.11.
Supermarket | Average basket price |
Lidl | £74.58 |
Aldi | £74.75 |
Asda | £82.11 |
Tesco | £85.34 |
Sainsbury's | £85.88 |
Morrisons | £86.35 |
Ocado | £90.37 |
We also compared the cost of a larger trolley of 135 items (the original 44 plus 91 more).
Asda was the cheapest for our trolley of groceries, continuing its reign as the cheapest big supermarket and beating beating second-placed Morrisons by £10.98.
Our analysis also showed that Waitrose was the most expensive supermarket for a big shop this month. It was £49.66 pricier than Asda on average, with a trolley-full costing £378.08.
Supermarket | Average trolley price |
Asda | £328.42 |
Morrisons | £339.40 |
Ocado | £354.54 |
Tesco | £358.08 |
Sainsbury's | £364.61 |
Waitrose | £378.08 |
Aldi was the cheapest supermarket in September, with our shop costing £67.72, beating discounter rival Lidl by £1.24.
Supermarket | Average basket price |
Aldi | £67.72 |
Lidl | £68.96 |
Asda | £75.42 |
Tesco | £78.74 |
Sainsbury's | £78.95 |
Morrisons | £79.70 |
Ocado | £82.80 |
We also compared the cost of a larger trolley of 131 items (the original 39 plus 92 more).
Asda was cheapest, while – for shoppers not using a Nectar card – Sainsbury's was the most expensive for the first time. It was £33.52 pricier than Asda on average, with a trolley-full costing £359.23.
Supermarket | Average trolley price |
Asda | £325.71 |
Morrisons | £332.22 |
Ocado | £349.79 |
Tesco | £350.41 |
Waitrose | £355.51 |
Sainsbury's | £359.23 |
Aldi was the cheapest supermarket in August overall, with our shop costing £65.21, pipping its discounter rival Lidl to the post by £1.32.
When it came to the 'big four' supermarkets, our comparison revealed that Asda was the cheapest for our basket, at £71.48.
Supermarket | Average basket price |
---|---|
Aldi | £65.21 |
Lidl | £66.53 |
Asda | £71.48 |
Tesco | £74.00 |
Sainsbury's | £74.12 |
Morrisons | £75.37 |
Ocado | £79.38 |
We also compared the cost of a larger trolley of 133 items (the original 37, as well as 96 more).
Asda was the cheapest for our trolley of groceries, returning to its reign as the cheapest big supermarket after being pipped to the post by Morrisons in July – the first time another supermarket earned the title since January 2020.
Supermarket | Average trolley price |
Asda | £325.35 |
Morrisons | £341.28 |
Tesco | £352.86 |
Ocado | £353.81 |
Sainsbury's | £359.41 |
Waitrose | £369.04 |
Aldi was crowned the cheapest supermarket for the 14th consecutive month, with our basket of 38 groceries costing £71.22 on average.
Supermarket | Average basket price |
---|---|
Aldi | £71.22 |
Lidl | £72.60 |
Asda | £78.65 |
Tesco | £79.59 |
Sainsbury's | £81.06 |
Morrisons | £82.00 |
Ocado | £86.26 |
Morrisons ended Asda’s as the cheapest traditional supermarket for a larger trolley of products. Our big shop at Morrisons cost £341.92 on average.
Supermarket | Average trolley price |
---|---|
Morrisons | £341.92 |
Asda | £342.14 |
Tesco | £360.97 |
Ocado | £367.96 |
Sainsbury's | £370.54 |
Waitrose | £376.66 |
Aldi was the cheapest supermarket for the 13th month in a row, with a basket of 42 items costing £75.25 on average.
Supermarket | Average basket price |
Aldi | £75.25 |
Lidl | £77.18 |
Asda | £82.55 |
Tesco | £82.67 |
Sainsbury's | £83.46 |
Morrisons | £85.98 |
Ocado | £89.20 |
For our larger trolley of 134 grocery items, Asda continued its long-running streak as the cheapest traditional supermarket – a title it's held since January 2020.
Supermarket | Average trolley price |
Asda | £332.40 |
Morrisons | £334.47 |
Sainsbury's | £341.40 |
Tesco | £349.35 |
Ocado | £354.90 |
Waitrose | £363.99 |
Aldi was the cheapest supermarket for the 12th month in a row, with our basket of 40 products costing £68.60 on average.
Supermarket | Average basket price |
Aldi | £68.60 |
Lidl | £70.51 |
Asda | £76.45 |
Sainsbury's | £77.13 |
Tesco | £77.56 |
Morrisons | £79.09 |
Ocado | £83.90 |
For a larger trolley of 131 grocery items, Asda continued its long-running streak as the cheapest traditional supermarket.
Supermarket | Average trolley price |
Asda | £332.40 |
Morrisons | £334.47 |
Sainsbury's | £341.40 |
Tesco | £349.35 |
Ocado | £354.90 |
Waitrose | £363.99 |
Aldi was the cheapest supermarket in April, with a basket of 39 items costing £69.99 on average. It beat rival discounter Lidl by 65p.
Supermarket | Average basket price |
Aldi | £69.99 |
Lidl | £70.64 |
Sainsbury's | £76.85 |
Asda | £77.92 |
Tesco | £78.09 |
Morrisons | £81.46 |
Ocado | £83.69 |
For a larger trolley of 135 grocery items, Asda continued its long-running streak as the cheapest traditional supermarket:
Supermarket | Average trolley price |
Asda | £343.46 |
Sainsbury's | £353.96 |
Morrisons | £355.84 |
Tesco | £365.77 |
Ocado | £374.53 |
Waitrose | £382.22 |
Aldi was the cheapest overall, with a basket of 41 items costing £72.54:
Supermarket | Average basket price |
Aldi | 72.54 |
Lidl | 72.79 |
Sainsbury's | 80.27 |
Tesco | 81.58 |
Asda | 81.88 |
Morrisons | 83.63 |
Ocado | 88.03 |
Asda was cheapest for a big trolley of 137 items:
Supermarket | Average trolley price |
Asda | £343.91 |
Sainsbury's | £353.16 |
Morrisons | £354.87 |
Tesco | £366.65 |
Ocado | £371.85 |
Waitrose | £385.74 |
Aldi was cheapest for a basket of 43 items:
Supermarket | Average basket price |
Aldi | £74.81 |
Lidl | £77.50 |
Sainsbury's | £85.25 |
Tesco | £85.32 |
Asda | £85.81 |
Morrisons | £89.01 |
Ocado | £89.96 |
Asda was cheapest for a trolley of 139 items:
Supermarket | Average trolley price |
Asda | £355.29 |
Sainsbury's | £358.77 |
Morrisons | £371.86 |
Tesco | £376.95 |
Ocado | £382.54 |
Waitrose | £396.58 |
Aldi was the cheapest supermarket for a basket of 45 groceries:
Supermarket | Average basket price |
---|---|
Aldi | £82.03 |
Lidl | £84.07 |
Tesco | £93.80 |
Asda | £95.32 |
Sainsbury's | £95.65 |
Morrisons | £96.58 |
Ocado | £100.87 |
For a big trolley of 144 items, Asda was cheapest:
Supermarket | Average trolley price |
---|---|
Asda | £363.29 |
Sainsbury's | £375.84 |
Tesco | £376.72 |
Morrisons | £379.13 |
Ocado | £392.43 |
Waitrose | £408.72 |
According to our analysis, Aldi was the cheapest supermarket in 2022.
The discounter was the cheapest in our analysis for seven out of 12 months in 2022, which was more than any other supermarket.
Lidl wasn't far behind, coming out cheapest in the first five months of the year.
Across the seven months that Aldi was the 'cheapest supermarket of the month', the average difference was £1.59 compared with Lidl.
Asda was the cheapest of the non-discounters, coming out on top every month across 2022.
According to our research, Aldi was the cheapest supermarket in 2021.
It won the 'cheapest supermarket of the month' title six times that year – more than any other supermarket. Lidl came top for five months and, for one month, the two discounters were tied.
At the other end of the scale, Waitrose was most expensive each month.
Lidl was the cheapest supermarket in 2020. The discounter was just 34p cheaper than its nearest rival Aldi for our trolley of 45 branded and own-label groceries.
It was £26.02 cheaper than the most expensive supermarket, Waitrose.
Prior to 2020 we were unable to include Aldi and Lidl in our analysis, and only looked at Asda, Morrisons, Ocado, Sainsbury's, Tesco and Waitrose. The overall cheapest supermarkets for each year between 2014 and 2019 were: