The UK’s cheapest supermarket revealed – as basket of 33 goods compared at Lidl, Asda and more

LIDL has been revealed as the cheapest supermarket compared to big names like Tesco and Sainsbury’s. A comparison of a basket of goods bought at each store found that the German discounter was £7.13 cheaper than its nearest rival Asda. The basket of 33 items ranging from apples to bleach came in at £53.06 at […]

LIDL has been revealed as the cheapest supermarket compared to big names like Tesco and Sainsbury’s.

A comparison of a basket of goods bought at each store found that the German discounter was £7.13 cheaper than its nearest rival Asda.

The basket of 33 items ranging from apples to bleach came in at £53.06 at Lidl, versus £60.19 at Asda.

The same items would set you back £63.26 at Sainsbury’s, £64.55 at Tesco, £72.73 at Morrisons and £85.40 at Waitrose, according to The Grocer.

Aldi, Iceland, Amazon, M&S and Ocado are not included in the comparison.

Lidl’s shopping basket contained 28 of the cheapest items and couldn’t be matched by other supermarkets on 21 of them.

A similar check of supermarket prices by Which? found Lidl was the cheapest last month.

The recent research found the Lidl bill was 4.5% higher than a year ago, when the same items would have set you back around £50.75 – or £2.31 cheaper.

But it’s a similar story at all the supermarkets checked, with inflation running at 5.5% largely driven by food and energy costs

Recent official data form the Office for National Statistics shows the cost of some food products like margarine and other vegetable fats have shot up a whopping 37.2% in the past year.

Pasta and couscous have gone up by 14.9%, and jam, marmalade and honey by 13.6%.

Another store cupboard staple, eggs, are 8% more expensive than this time last year.

Which? crowned Aldi the top shop on prices last year, coming top for six of the 12 months, but Lidl won it five times.

It’s worth noting that prices change almost daily and items can go on offer at any time, so basket comparisons are only ever a snapshot in time.

You can check where items are cheapest using Trolley.co.uk which compares the prices of 130,000 products across 14 major supermarkets.

The Latest Deals app also lets you search items and lets you compare prices at several supermarkets to see where it’s cheaper.

And there are plenty of other ways to reduce your grocery bill.

How to reduce the cost of your supermarket shop

Yellow sticker shopping

Keep an eye out for yellow sticker food to get the biggest bargains.

Supermarkets will often reduce the price of food nearing its use by date to shift stock and avoid food wastage.

These items are usually tagged with yellow stickers, showing how much the item has been reduced by.

You can get up to 75% off products in some cases, so it’s worth hunting for these deals if you’re on a budget.

If you’ve spotted a bargain in this section but aren’t sure you’ll have time to eat it before it goes off, buy it and chuck it in the freezer, says money saving guru Naomi Willis.

Naomi, who runs finance blog Skint Dad with her husband Ricky, said: “Be more conscious of use by dates and freeze what you won’t use straight away to avoid throwing food away.”

Use loyalty schemes

Many supermarkets have schemes in place providing incentives – such as vouchers for money off your groceries – to incentivise shoppers to keep buying at their stores.

For example, Sainsbury’s runs its Nectar card reward scheme, where customers receive points every time they shop in stores.

To get one Nectar point you need to spend £1 in Sainsbury’s store, or you get one Nectar point for every litre of fuel purchased in Sainsbury’s fuel stations.

The scheme now offers personalised discounts based on customers’ shopping habits – and claims you can save £200 a year on your groceries.

Morrisons’ has recently revamped its loyalty scheme too.

Instead of collecting points to get money off shopping, customers are now offered instant rewards when they spend money in stores.

Shoppers at Tesco can cheaper prices with a Clubcard, on top of building up points when they spend.

We’ve previously explained which supermarket loyalty schemes are the best and worst value for money.

Plan your meals

It can be tempting to buy your groceries based on what you fancy at the time you’re trawling round the aisles.

But this can be an expensive way of shopping – as you can often buy much more than you need.

Planning your meals in advance means that you can stick to a list of food you know you need – instead of buying food you want, according to savvy saver Charlotte Jessop.

Charlotte, who owns the money saving blog Looking After Your Pennies, said: “One of the best ways to save money on food is to meal plan. 

“This means that you only buy what you need and therefore stops you from throwing away as much. 

“If you combine this with checking your cupboards before you start your plan, you’ll find that you can save loads of money by only buying exactly what you need.”

Check price per quantity

Charlotte also saves cash on her shopping by checking the price per quantity on goods.

You might be tempted to opt for a bigger box or packaging because you think you might get more.

But it’s always worth checking the price per kg/lb/litre when comparing offers so you’re making a like for like decision.

“Rather than looking at the total cost, I look at how much it costs per 100g say,” Charlotte said. 

“This means that I can compare products more easily to check I am getting the best deal.”

Use food waste apps

Families waste an average of £720 on unused food per year according to food charity Waste & Resources Action Programme.

But there are plenty of apps you can use that cut food waste and reduce your shopping bill – helping you save more and waste less.

For example, Kitche keeps track of the food you bought at the supermarket and lets you know when items are getting close to their sell by date – promising to save you £630 a year.

While Too Good To Go means you can buy food and treats from shops including Morrisons, Greggs and Pret at a big discount.

The app means shops can sell food that would only have been thrown away at the end of the day.

You could save £300 a year by ignoring best before dates – and it’s perfectly safe.