UK’s cheapest supermarket revealed

Lidl was the cheapest supermarket in the UK in October, with an average household basket full of groceries and other essentials coming in at £120.38, a study by consumer group Which? found.

Aldi came in second, with the same shopping list costing only 62p more at £121. The German discounter lost its crown as the cheapest supermarket for the second time in recent months.

Lidl shoppers saved an average of £42.66 when compared with customers at Waitrose, the most expensive retailer, who spent an average of £163.04 for the same basket of goods.

The basket of 70 items cost £132.69 at Asda, £133.38 at Tesco (TSCO.L) with a Clubcard, £135.41 at Morrisons with a More card, £136.79 at Sainsbury’s (SBRY.L) with a Nectar card, and £151.57 at Ocado (OCDO.L).

Reena Sewraz, Which? retail editor, said: “Lidl has bagged the top spot as the UK’s cheapest supermarket for the second time in just a few months, according to our latest price analysis, showing that it can beat Aldi even for those who aren’t signed up to its discount scheme."

The list of items included both branded and own-brand items, such as Birds Eye Peas, Hovis bread, milk and butter. Special offers and loyalty prices were included, but any multi-buys were not.

The study found Asda to be the cheapest supermarket for a larger trolley of 187 items, at £469.11.

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Asda beat Tesco by about £7, as the country's biggest supermarket came in second at £476.11. Asda’s top spot for the longer shopping list comes after the supermarket brought back its "rollback" pricing — claiming to have slashed the prices of more than 4,000 products in-store and online by an average of 25%.

Waitrose was the most expensive supermarket for the larger trolley of items. In October, a Waitrose shop cost a total of £541.55, a difference of £72.44 compared to Asda.

"The longer list of groceries shows that Asda continues to be one of the UK’s cheapest supermarkets and a good option for those who want to choose from a larger range of branded goods," Sewraz said.

“High food prices are still a growing concern for many households, especially as we approach Christmas, but our analysis shows it pays to shop around; simply choosing one supermarket over another could save you 26%.”

Meanwhile, food and drinks prices in the UK are increasing at their slowest rate in more than a year, while overall inflation remains unchanged for the third month in a row.

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Month-on-month, the cost of food and non-alcoholic drinks actually edged down slightly in September – the first fall since May 2024. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said this was likely to have been driven by increased sales and discounting by retailers.

Story Continues

The UK inflation rate for all items remained stable at a lower-than-expected 3.8% in the year to September, official figures show.

However, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) has issued a stark warning that food inflation will remain above 5% well into 2026 if the retail sector faces additional tax hikes in the upcoming autumn budget.

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