Supermarket cheaper than Aldi for essentials after 18% price drop with loyalty scheme

A supermarket is working out cheaper than Aldi for a basket of essentials following a price drop with its loyalty scheme.

Since we started tracking prices back in 2022, there's never been a big difference between Aldi and Lidl for the eight basic items including bread and milk.

For a long time it was Lidl that held the cheapest crown, until Aldi swiped it back in August, and Morrisons held the top spot for much of last month thanks to its own More Card scheme.

But now Lidl has regained the title once again, after cutting the price of its tea bags by 50p with its Lidl Plus scheme.

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It's not as widely known as the likes of Tesco's Clubcard and Sainsbury's Nectar card, but it's becoming more and more popular and, just this week, announced an extra perk for shoppers, with a free bakery item for anyone who spends £10 a month at the supermarket.

Its other offers include getting 10% off a weekly shop for anyone spending £250 a month there.

The offer on tea bags, which runs until October 9, means the comparative cost of a 160-pack is now down to £1.53 and its overall bill for the eight items - including bread, milk, butter, coffee, beans, chicken and mince - is down to £11.80.

Aldi is second cheapest, at £12.12, with Sainsbury's now third cheapest, at £12.31, after reducing the price of its chicken.

Tesco is just pennies behind, at £12.33, followed by Morrisons, at £12.45, and Asda, which is the most expensive for a second consecutive week, with a bill of £12.77.

Aldi disputes the results of our weekly comparison and says that it doesn’t take into account like-for-like products or ‘the higher quality’ of its products - something that was highlighted in last month's Panorama investigation.

An Aldi spokesperson said: "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 three years running. Which? has also named Aldi the UK’s Cheapest Supermarket every month this year, even in its latest analysis including loyalty prices."

Asda also disagrees with our weekly comparison 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.

The full list is as follows:

Lidl

Loaf of white bread 800g - 47p

Milk 2 pints - £1.20

Coffee 200g - £1.99

Teabags 240 - £2.29 / equates to £1.53 for 160 (down from £2.79 / equates to £1.86 for 160)

Salted butter 250g - £1.79

Beans 420g tin - 28p

Chicken 300g - £2.25

Mince 500g 25% fat - £2.29

Total £11.80 (down from £12.13)

Aldi

Loaf of white bread 800g - 47p

Milk 2 pints - £1.20

Coffee 200g - £1.99

Teabags 160 - £1.85

Salted butter 250g - £1.79

Beans 420g tin - 28p

Chicken 300g - £2.25

Mince 500g 25% fat - £2.29

Total £12.12

Sainsbury's

Loaf of white bread 800g - 47p

Milk 2 pints - £1.20

Coffee 200g - £1.99

Teabags 160 - £1.85

Salted butter 250g - £1.79

Beans 400g tin - 27p

Chicken 300g - £2.40 for 320g / equates to £2.25 for 300g (down from £2.65 for 320g / £2.48 for 300g)

Mince 500g 20% fat - £2.49

Total £12.31 (down from £12.54)

Tesco

Loaf of white bread 800g - 47p

Milk 2 pints - £1.20

Coffee 200g (2 x 100g) - £2

Teabags 160 (2 x 80-pack) - £1.84

Salted butter 250g - £1.79

Beans 420g tin - 29p

Chicken 300g - £2.25

Mince 500g 20% fat - £2.49

Total £12.33

Morrisons

Loaf of white bread 800g - 47p

Milk 2 pints - £1.20

Coffee (2 x 100g) - £1.98

Teabags 160 (2 x 80-pack Savers) - £1.60

Savers Salted butter 250g - £1.79

Beans 410g tin - 27p

Chicken 300g - £2.65 for 330g, equates to £2.41 for 300g

Mince 500g 25% fat - £2.29

Total £12.45

Asda

Loaf of white bread 800g - 47p

Milk 2 pints - £1.20

Coffee 200g (2 x 100g) - £2

Teabags 160 (4 x 40-pack) - £1.80

Salted butter 250g - £1.89

Beans 410g tin - 27p

Chicken 300g - £2.65

Mince 500g 20% fat - £2.49

Total £12.77