Supermarket cheapest for essentials for third week running and it's not Aldi or Lidl

A supermarket is spending its third week as the cheapest retailer in our price comparison of essentials.

Five months ago Morrisons was the 'most expensive' supermarket for the basket of basics, which includes chicken, mince, a two-pint bottle of milk, a loaf of bread, coffee, teabags, butter and beans.

But for the last fortnight it's been cheaper than both Aldi and Lidl, a position it retains this week.

It swiped the cheapest crown from Aldi after cutting the price of its chicken breasts by 15% as part of an expansion of its More Card scheme, which gives shoppers exclusive prices on a number of products and lets them collect points to turn into vouchers.

Read more: 'I did a big shop at the supermarket that's been cheaper than Lidl and Aldi for essentials'

With that offer still in place until September 22, it means Morrisons is still working out as cheapest of all the six main supermarkets in our comparison, which has seen us monitoring prices every week since March 2022.

The price of its basket has risen to £12.05 since last week though, after the retailer, along with Asda, increased the cost of butter from £1.69 to £1.79, as part of the Aldi and Lidl price match.

Aldi, at £12.12, remains in second position this week, with rival Lidl, just a penny more at £12.13. Sainsbury's is now fourth cheapest, at £12.56, with Asda at £12.65 and Tesco, spending the 18th consecutive week as the most expensive, with a bill of £12.73.

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. For example, the supermarket says that its beans are 20g heavier than Sainsbury's and that Aldi tea bags are 'better quality than the comparative products used'.

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:

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 (up from £1.69)

Beans 410g tin - 27p

Chicken 300g - £2.25 for 330g, equates to £2.05 for 300g

Mince 500g 25% fat - £2.29

Total £12.05 (up from £11.95)

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

Lidl

Loaf of white bread 800g - 47p

Milk 2 pints - £1.20

Coffee 200g - £1.99

Teabags 240 - £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 £12.13

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 - £2.50

Mince 500g 20% fat - £2.49

Total £12.56

Asda

Loaf of white bread 800g - 47p

Milk 2 pints - £1.20

Coffee 200g (2 x 100g) - £1.98

Teabags 160 (4 x 40-pack) - £1.80

Salted butter 250g - £1.79 (up from £1.69)

Beans 410g tin - 27p

Chicken 300g - £2.65

Mince 500g 20% fat - £2.49

Total £12.65 (up from £12.55)

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 - £2.65

Mince 500g 20% fat - £2.49

Total £12.73