Cheapest Supermarket in the UK: Aldi Beats Lidl Plus by Just £2

Written by Al Baker | Founder & Editor, The Penny Pincher - Last updated on 5th October 2026

When you’re putting milk, bread, cheese and the rest of the weekly essentials into your trolley, it’s the total at the till that matters, rather than how many discount labels you’ve spotted. Finding the cheapest supermarket in the UK can help you cut that total, although the answer depends on what you buy and which loyalty prices you can use. Aldi leads the latest Which? supermarket price comparison, with September’s 93-item list costing £159.48 on average.

Lidl is close behind at £161.48 with Lidl Plus, a difference of just £2 across the full list. Asda is the next-cheapest retailer, while Tesco with Clubcard has moved ahead of Sainsbury’s with Nectar this month. Those results give you a useful starting point, but a small saving can disappear if getting to another shop costs more than you’d save.

Last checked: the 5th of October 2026. The main comparison covers September; the separate branded-grocery results below cover August. Neither table is a live quote for an order today.

Which supermarket was cheapest in September?

Aldi was cheapest for the 93 products compared, a mixture of well-known brands and supermarket own-brand groceries. Lidl took the next two places when its member and non-member prices were shown separately. The table contains 12 price combinations across eight retailers, rather than 12 different supermarkets.

Which supermarket was cheapest in the latest price comparison?

Aldi was the cheapest supermarket in the latest August comparison, with its list of 92 popular branded and own-label products costing an average of £159.36 across the month. Lidl came second at £161.10, only £1.74 more, while Asda was the next-cheapest supermarket at £185.21. Aldi has now taken first place in the main comparison for every month so far this year.

Sainsbury's with Nectar followed at £185.55, just 34p behind Asda, while Tesco using Clubcard prices cost £189.45. Tesco without Clubcard came to £192.97, Morrisons was £194.11 and Sainsbury's without Nectar cost £195.33.

Ocado came to £207.62, while Waitrose was the most expensive at £223.75. These were average prices across the month rather than a single day's shelf prices, which is useful when promotions move in and out during the period.

Asda came to £186.71, just £1 below Tesco with Clubcard, while Sainsbury’s with Nectar was another £1.24 above Tesco. Morrisons with More cost £192.93, followed by its non-member total of £193.13. The membership labels matter here, because removing the loyalty discounts changes the order of these supermarkets.

At the other end of the table, Ocado cost £208.64 and Waitrose £223.38. The £63.90 difference between Aldi and Waitrose means Waitrose was about 40% more expensive for the list, or Aldi about 29% cheaper when measured against Waitrose’s total. It doesn’t mean every household could cut its food bill by those percentages, because your trolley won’t contain exactly the same products.

Is Aldi really cheaper than Lidl?

Aldi was cheaper in this comparison, but £2 is a small difference across a shop costing around £160. Without Lidl Plus, the gap was £2.36, so the member prices reduced Lidl’s total by 36p for the items Which? measured. That doesn’t tell you the full value of Lidl Plus to a particular customer, because personalised offers and rewards sit outside these figures.

If Lidl is a short walk away and Aldi means driving across town, there may be little reason to move your whole shop for that difference alone. The products your household actually gets through each week matter too, particularly if you buy different pack sizes or have a few brands you won’t swap. Keep a list of 15 or 20 regular purchases in your phone and compare those at your nearby stores to see whether the national result fits your own shopping.

Which supermarket is cheapest for branded groceries?

Asda won the separate August branded-grocery comparison, with 220 products costing £771.27. Tesco with Clubcard followed at £782.39, then Sainsbury’s with Nectar at £787.57 and Morrisons with More at £797.32. These are August results, not part of September’s 93-item list.

The percentages are rounded to whole numbers. Aldi and Lidl are excluded because they don’t stock the same breadth of branded products. Use this table if brands make up much of your shopping, rather than comparing its total directly with the smaller September list.

How much difference do Nectar and Clubcard prices make?

Tesco’s September total fell from £193.45 to £187.71 with Clubcard, a saving of £5.74 on the products compared. Sainsbury’s fell from £195.01 to £188.95 with Nectar, saving £6.06. Nectar gave the larger reduction against that supermarket’s own non-member total, but Tesco still finished £1.24 cheaper overall.

Morrisons More reduced its total by 20p, while Lidl Plus reduced Lidl’s by 36p. Those smaller amounts reflect the offers affecting this particular list, rather than a verdict on everything the schemes offer. A reward on a product you buy regularly might be useful to you even if it wasn’t part of the comparison.

The price to compare is the one you can actually pay, so don’t use the member total if you won’t be using that loyalty account. A discount can save you money at your usual shop while another supermarket still offers a cheaper alternative. Our guide to supermarket loyalty prices explains how to judge the saving without assuming that a Clubcard or Nectar label automatically makes something the best deal.

How does Which? compare supermarket prices?

Which? averages the price of each product across the month, then adds those averages together for each supermarket. That helps account for offers coming and going, rather than judging every retailer on a single shopping trip. Branded products can be matched directly, while own-brand alternatives are selected to be as similar as possible in factors such as weight and quality.

Ordinary promotions and loyalty prices available to all members of a scheme are included, but multibuys, personalised discounts and reward points aren’t. The full product list isn’t published, to discourage supermarkets from cutting only the prices they know will be measured. It’s a comparison of the selected groceries, rather than a test of every product or every local shop.

The list can also change from month to month, which matters if you notice that Aldi’s total has risen from August’s £159.36 to September’s £159.48. August covered 92 items and September covered 93, so that 12p difference isn’t a reliable measure of food inflation. Compare supermarkets within each month, rather than treating consecutive totals as the cost of an unchanged shopping list.

Could delivery costs or cashback change the result for you?

The totals above cover the groceries compared, rather than the full cost of getting your own order home. If you shop online, delivery charges may apply, and collection fees or charges for a small basket can change which supermarket works out cheapest. Tesco’s delivery and collection information shows why it’s worth checking your chosen slot and any minimum-spend conditions before paying.

Once you’ve compared supermarket prices and checked the loyalty offers you can use, cashback may reduce your spending a little further. Our JamDoughnut review explains how you can earn cashback by buying a participating supermarket’s gift card and using it to pay for shopping you were going to buy anyway. Read the gift card’s terms before buying, including whether it works online, in store or only at particular branches, and don’t load more money than you expect to use.

For eligible online orders, TopCashback, Quidco or Rakuten may offer another way to earn money back. Offers can depend on the retailer, the order and whether you’re a new or existing customer, so check the terms before clicking through to shop. Our cashback apps and websites guide explains the different routes, while our supermarket cashback apps guide covers offers on individual products where you submit proof of purchase.

You can also browse UK deals and discounts for offers on everyday products. Compare each offer with the price you’d normally pay and include delivery where it applies. Buying an extra product simply because it’s on offer still means spending money you hadn’t planned to spend.

What should you do with the cheapest supermarket results?

Start with your next shopping list and identify the things you buy repeatedly, whether that’s cereal, pasta, washing powder or a particular coffee. Compare the same sizes and quantities, or use the price per 100g, litre or item when packs differ. Our guide to spotting real bargains explains why a large discount doesn’t always mean a lower cost for what you actually receive.

Then add the costs that apply to you, such as a delivery slot or an extra journey, before deciding whether another store is worth trying. Use any relevant loyalty price and check for eligible cashback once you know the underlying shop is good value. Save the prices of your regular items alongside your list, so next time you’ve got something useful to compare rather than trying to remember what you paid.

Frequently asked questions

Which is the cheapest supermarket in the UK?

Aldi was cheapest in Which?’s September comparison, with 93 groceries costing £159.48 on average. Lidl followed at £161.48 with Lidl Plus. These are monthly research results, so your own shopping list can produce a different result.

Is Aldi cheaper than Lidl?

For September’s Which? list, Aldi was £2 cheaper than Lidl with Lidl Plus and £2.36 cheaper than Lidl without it. That’s a small gap across 93 items. Compare your regular purchases and the cost of getting to each store before making a special trip.

Is Asda cheaper than Tesco?

Asda was £1 cheaper than Tesco with Clubcard for the September list: £186.71 compared with £187.71. Tesco without Clubcard cost £193.45. That result applies to the products compared, rather than every possible basket.

Is Morrisons cheaper than Tesco?

Tesco with Clubcard cost £187.71, below Morrisons with More at £192.93 in September’s comparison. Without the relevant loyalty cards, Morrisons cost £193.13 and Tesco £193.45. The answer changes depending on which prices you can access.

Which supermarket is cheapest for branded groceries?

Asda won the separate August branded comparison. Its 220-product total was £771.27. That tracker covers different products and a different month from September’s main comparison.

Do loyalty cards make your supermarket shop cheaper?

They reduced the cost of this September list where eligible member prices were available. The differences were £5.74 at Tesco, £6.06 at Sainsbury’s, 36p at Lidl and 20p at Morrisons. Those figures exclude personalised rewards and points, so they aren’t the full value of each scheme.

Does Which? include cashback, points and multibuy offers?

Which? includes ordinary promotions and member prices available to all members of a scheme. It leaves out multibuys, personalised discounts and reward points. Cashback isn’t deducted from the published totals either, so compare any eligible extra saving separately.

Can you compare this month’s total with last month’s?

Not as a measure of how much grocery prices have risen or fallen, because the products compared can change. August’s main list had 92 items, while September’s had 93. Use the rankings to compare retailers within the same month, then check prices for your own regular shop.