Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury's and Morrisons basics cost compared

South Wales Guardian

4 days ago

Since buying my first house and car recently, I knew I had to make some serious financial changes, especially when it came to the weekly food shop.
It's safe to say the budget-friendly supermarkets have both been serving their purpose and compared to the bigger-named shops such as Tesco and Asda, I started saving around £50 a week.
But over the last few months, I wondered which of the retail giants are now the cheapest when it comes to buying your everyday essentials, including milk, bread and eggs.
As I hadn't stepped foot in the likes of Sainsbury's and Morrisons in quite some time, I decided to buy the same (ish) six basic items from four of the major UK supermarkets to see which is currently offering the cheapest goods that most households use every day.
Let me tell you – I was shocked.
Disclaimer: I didn't include products from Lidl and Aldi as they are consistently named the UK's cheapest supermarkets by Which? in their monthly shopping analysis (not a bad thing), so therefore focused on the four big names (Morrisons, Tesco, Asda and Sainsbury's).
I also tried my very best to match the size/weight of all the items, depending on availability in my area, to make my research as fair as possible.
However, I can confirm that all the food was the cheapest I could find in the shops at the time I visited.
Total = £6.70
Morrisons also offered a lot of items which were price-matched to Aldi or Lidl, such as the can of chopped tomatoes and bread.
I was also shocked to discover they sold a Savers range, similar to Asda's Just Essentials and thought it was a great option for families.
Do you often shop at Morrisons for everyday essentials? (Image: Newsquest)
Total = £7.79
I thought Asda was going to be the cheapest out of these four supermarkets (Image: Newsquest)
Total = £8.19
Tesco used to be my go-to supermarket (Image: Newsquest)
Total = £8.03
I noticed the toastie thick sliced bread at Sainsbury's was actually an Aldi price match.
I also found that Sainsbury's Stamford Street Co. brand often had cheaper products than the supermarket's standard range, and was a replica of Savers at Morrisons and Asda's Just Essentials.
How much do you spend on your weekly shopping? (Image: Newsquest)
Ding ding ding, we have a winner. Based on the shopping I bought at Morrisons, Asda, Tesco and Sainsbury's using their essential/basic or own-branded ranges, Morrisons claimed the title as the cheapest supermarket from the four big names.
In all honesty, I was pretty shocked because I don't tend to hear about Morrisons being one of the cheapest places to shop.
The shopping at Morrisons was more than £1 cheaper compared to Tesco.
But it was close to £2 cheaper when it came to the likes of Asda and Sainsbury's.
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Additionally, it was interesting to see that the supermarkets were charging near enough the same for 4 pints of semi-skimmed milk and white bread.
It seems cheese was the most expensive essential to buy across the board, while all tins of beans and chopped tomatoes remained well under £1.
So, will you be switching up your usual supermarket when it comes to your weekly shop to see if you can save any money? Let us know in the comments below.
Fear not, no food will be wasted from my very important shopping research, as it will be distributed to family, friends and supermarket donation boxes.