Tesco beats Asda as cheapest weekly shop

A new study has revealed the UK’s most budget-friendly supermarkets, with Aldi taking the top spot.

Meanwhile, M&S Food and Co-op, both of which have suffered cyber attacks in recent days, ranked at the bottom of the list.

Financial website Afforda analysed data from YouGov to find the most popular supermarkets in the UK. Per supermarket, a list of 30 common products was searched for, recording the cheapest available option.

Each item was assigned a standard amount for fair comparison. The total price of all 30 products was tallied up and the supermarkets were ranked from the cheapest to the most expensive.

Aldi tops the ranking, with a total cost of £47.31 for an average weekly shop. Some of Aldi’s cheapest items were baked beans, at £0.27 per tin, penne pasta, at £0.41 per 500 grams, and a loaf of white bread, at £0.47.

In second place is Tesco, with a total cost of £49.28 for an average weekly shop. Tesco’s baked beans came in just one penny more than Aldi, at £0.28, while penne pasta and a loaf of white bread were the same, at £0.41 and £0.47.

Third in the ranking is Asda, with a total cost of £52.76 for an average weekly shop. Baked beans saw a steep increase in price at Asda compared with Aldi and Tesco, coming in at £0.43. Penne pasta and a loaf of white bread also fetched higher prices of £0.69 and £0.74.

Morrisons places fourth, with a total cost of £52.83 for an average weekly shop. Some of Morrisons’ cheapest items beyond beans, pasta and bread were carrots, at £0.53 per kilogram, washing up liquid, at £0.55 per 500 millilitres, and plain flour, at £0.79 per one and a half kilograms.

In fifth comes Sainsbury’s, with a total cost of £52.88 for an average weekly shop. Sainsbury’s carrots came in 16 pence more than Morrisons, at £0.69, while washing up liquid and plain flour were recorded at £0.69 and £0.90.

Waitrose comes in sixth, with a total cost of £63.66 for an average weekly shop. Carrots jumped up in price again, at £0.75 in Waitrose, while washing up liquid also fetched a higher price of £0.75. Plain flour came in slightly less than Sainsbury’s, at £0.85.

Seventh on the list is Iceland, with a total cost of £64.69 for an average weekly shop. Some of Iceland’s cheapest products beyond carrots, washing up liquid and plain flour were fish fingers, at £1 for 10, bananas, at £1 for five (£0.20 each), and granulated sugar, at £1.19 per kilogram.

In eighth place is M&S Food, with a total cost of £64.97 for an average weekly shop. M&S’s fish fingers came in a huge £1.30 more than Iceland, at £2.30 for 10, while five bananas and granulated sugar were recorded cheaper at £0.90 and £1.10.

Co-op ranks ninth, with a total cost of £79.14 for an average weekly shop. Fish fingers made another staggering leap in price compared with M&S, at £4.30, while bananas (five) and granulated sugar also fetched higher prices of £1.35 and £1.45.

Mark Fiander, CEO of GAIN Credit LLC trading as Afforda said, “In today’s challenging economy, this study highlights that shoppers who look for value can save a lot at budget supermarkets in the UK, namely Aldi, Tesco and Asda. For families wanting to make their food budget go further without giving up essentials, these supermarkets are a big help.”