It’s the most expensive supermarket in our weekly price comparison for the third week running
A supermarket is selling one essential item for 17% more than almost every other retailer.
Our price comparison looks at the cost of a basket of eight items across the six main supermarkets every week.
One of the products – a 500g pack of the cheapest supermarket mince (either 20% or 25% fat) – has been rising for quite some time, but now the cost at Sainsbury’s is 17% more than at Aldi, Lidl, Asda and Morrisons, and 13% more than at Tesco.
Most places sell their cheapest pack for £2.99 – which is a whopping 77% more than the cheapest price (£1.69) it was being sold for at Aldi when we first started tracking prices more than three years ago. At the time, Sainsbury’s was still charging 50% less than it is now, with a price of £2.
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But now Sainsbury’s price is £3.50, the highest price it’s been throughout our comparison.
Its overall bill, of £13.90, means it’s the most expensive supermarket for a third consecutive week.
Aldi remains the cheapest for a fifth week, with a bill of £13.09, just a penny less than Lidl’s £13.10.
Asda is now third cheapest at £13.33, followed by Tesco at £13.46 and Morrisons at £13.55.
Despite working out cheapest, Aldi disagrees with our comparison, saying the list doesn’t take into account the difference in quality, insisting, for example, that its own Diplomat Red Label tea bags and its coffee are ‘higher quality’ than the comparative products used. The supermarket says its tins of beans are also heavier than some of the others.
When it comes to meat however, Aldi and Lidl, along with Morrisons, sell a 25% fat pack, whereas the others sell 20% fat, which is seen as better quality.
An Aldi spokesperson added: “Our promise to customers is that they will make significant savings every time they shop with Aldi, which is why we’ve been named Which? Cheapest Supermarket of the Year for four years running.”
Asda also disagrees and says that our small sample of products does not represent the fuller picture of prices and does not account for its deals. The supermarket says that, across the board, its Just Essentials range is the largest and cheapest available, alongside Aldi’s.
Sainsbury’s pointed out that there have been industry-wide factors that have influenced the price of beef.
A spokesperson for the supermarket said: “This review of a limited number of products does not reflect the fantastic value our customers will find at Sainsbury’s. We are committed to offering the best possible value across a wide variety of products – whether that’s through our value Stamford Street range, Low Everyday Prices, Aldi Price Match or Nectar Prices.”
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Aldi
Loaf of white bread 800g – 55p
Milk 2 pints – £1.20
Coffee 200g – £1.99
Teabags 160 – £1.85
Salted butter 250g – £1.99
Beans 420g tin – 27p
Chicken 300g – £2.25
Mince 500g 25% fat – £2.99
Total £13.09
Lidl
Loaf of white bread 800g – 55p
Milk 2 pints – £1.20
Coffee 200g – £1.99
Tea bags 240 pack – £2.79 / equates to £1.86 for 160
Salted butter 250g – £1.99
Beans 420g tin – 27p
Chicken 300g – £2.25
Mince 500g 25% fat – £2.99
Total £13.10
Asda
Loaf of white bread 800g – 55p
Milk 2 pints – £1.20
Coffee 200g (2 x 100g) – £2.28
Teabags 160 (4 x 40-pack) – £1.80
Salted butter 250g – £1.99
Beans 410g tin – 28p
Chicken 300g – £2.24
Mince 500g 20% fat – £2.99
Total £13.33
Tesco
Loaf of white bread 800g – 55p
Milk 2 pints – £1.20
Coffee 200g (2 x 100g) – £2.30
Teabags 160 (2 x 80-pack) – £1.80
Salted butter 250g – £1.99
Beans 420g tin – 28p
Chicken 300g – £2.40 for 320g, equates to £2.25 for 300g
Mince 500g 20% fat – £3.09
Total £13.46
Morrisons
Loaf of white bread 800g – 55p
Milk 2 pints – £1.25
Coffee (2 x 100g) – £2.30
Teabags 160 (2 x 80-pack Savers) – £1.80
Savers Salted butter 250g – £1.99
Beans 410g tin – 26p
Chicken 300g – £2.65 for 330, equates to £2.41 for 300g
Mince 500g 25% fat – £2.99
Total £13.55
Sainsbury’s
Loaf of bread 800g – 55p
Milk 2 pints – £1.20
Coffee 200g – £2.30
Teabags 160 – £1.85
Salted butter 250g – £1.99
Beans 400g tin – 26p
Chicken 300g – £2.40 for 320g, equates to £2.25 for 300g
Mince 500g 20% fat – £3.50
Total £13.90