UK supermarket savings methodology
Last updated: 2026-04-21
How much can you save?
UK households spend, on average, £62/week on food and non-alcoholic drinks (ONS Family Spending). Our reference basket shows that splitting a weekly shop across the two cheapest stores saves 16% versus shopping at one average-priced store.
Potential annual saving on food and drink: approx. £510 (£62/week × 52 weeks × 16%)
The number above assumes you replicate the category mix in our reference basket. Your actual savings depend on your weekly shop, brand preferences, and how far you're willing to travel between stores.
Methodology
We designed the reference basket from ONS Consumer price inflation, updating weights: 2026. The ONS publishes annual category weights for the Consumer Prices Index (CPIH), describing how UK households distribute their spend across food and household-staples categories. We use the normalised weights below to guide basket composition.
| Category | ONS weight |
|---|---|
| Bread and cereals | 18% |
| Meat | 17.5% |
| Milk, cheese and eggs | 11.4% |
| Vegetables | 11% |
| Non-alcoholic beverages | 8% |
| Fruit | 7.8% |
| Food products n.e.c. | 6.2% |
| Sugar, jam, confectionery | 6% |
| Personal care | 4.4% |
| Household goods | 4% |
| Fish | 3.2% |
| Oils and fats | 2.5% |
Designed from ONS CPIH 2026 category weights (food + household staples). National-brand products present at 5+ of 6 UK supermarkets. Prices include active promotions.
Results
The table below summarises savings per basket and strategy. Click a basket name to jump to its full breakdown.
| Basket | Products | Best 2-store split vs avg | Best 3-store split vs avg | Structural savings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK CPIH reference basket | 30 | 16% | 19% | 19% |
UK CPIH reference basket
Reflects typical UK grocery spend, weighted by ONS CPIH 2026 category weights. National-brand products available at 5+ of 6 major UK supermarkets (Asda, Tesco, Sainsbury's, Morrisons, Waitrose, Aldi).
| Retailer | Total basket | Coverage | Savings vs most expensive |
|---|---|---|---|
| Morrisons | £100.15 | 30/30 | 22% |
| Asda | £101.98 | 30/30 | 21% |
| Sainsbury's | £109.27 | 30/30 | 15% |
| Aldi | £112.33 | 2/30 | 13% |
| Tesco | £120.30 | 30/30 | 7% |
| Waitrose | £128.70 | 30/30 | 0% |
Best 2-store split
ASDA + Morrisons
£94.41save 16% vs average store
Best 3-store split
ASDA + Morrisons + Sainsbury's
£90.85save 19% vs average store
View all 30 products
| Product | Pack | Asda | Tesco | Sainsbury's | Morrisons | Waitrose | Aldi |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Kellogg's Krave Milk Chocolate Breakfast Cereal 410g Bread and cereals | 410 g | £3.48 | £3.50 | £3.50 | £3.50 | £3.75 | ~ |
Weetabix Protein 24 pack cereal Bread and cereals | 24 st | £3.95 | £3.60 | £3.95 | £3.00* | £4.00 | ~ |
Ben's Original Egg Fried Microwave Rice 220g Bread and cereals | 220 g | £1.32 | £1.40 | £1.00 | £1.40 | £1.45 | ~ |
McVitie's Dark Chocolate Digestive Biscuits 266g Bread and cereals | 266 g | £1.50 | £2.25 | £2.25 | £2.25 | £2.35 | ~ |
Jacob's Cornish Wafers Crackers 150g Bread and cereals | 150 g | £1.68 | £1.70 | £1.70 | £1.70 | £1.85 | ~ |
Lurpak Slightly Salted Butter 200g Milk, cheese and eggs | 200 g | £2.47 | £2.80 | £2.80 | £2.70 | £2.95 | ~ |
Anchor Salted Butter 200g Milk, cheese and eggs | 200 g | £1.65 | £2.60 | £1.70 | £1.70* | £2.75 | ~ |
Anchor Spreadable Blend of Butter and Rapeseed Oil 400g Milk, cheese and eggs | 400 g | £4.08 | £4.45 | £4.45 | £3.75 | £4.65 | ~ |
Filippo Berio Extra Virgin Olive Oil 1Litre Oils and fats | 1 l | £8.98 | £12.50 | £12.75 | £9.00* | £12.50 | ~ |
Lindt Excellence Dark 85% Cocoa Chocolate Bar 100g Sugar, jam, confectionery | 100 g | £3.48 | £3.50 | £3.25 | £3.00* | £3.75 | ~ |
Ritter Sport Colourful Variety Marzipan 100g Sugar, jam, confectionery | 100 g | £1.70 | £1.90 | £2.00 | £1.90 | £2.25 | ~ |
Bonne Maman Apricot Conserve 370g Sugar, jam, confectionery | 370 g | £3.58 | £3.60 | £3.00 | £3.00* | £3.60 | ~ |
Ben & Jerry's Churrifically Churros-y Ice Cream Tub 465 ML Sugar, jam, confectionery | 465 ml | £3.00 | £5.55 | £2.77 | £3.00* | £5.80 | ~ |
Hellmann's Mayonnaise 100% Plant-based 400 g Food products n.e.c. | 400 g | £3.34 | £3.75 | £3.75 | £3.40 | £3.95 | ~ |
Bonne Maman Sweet & Crunchy Peanut Spread 230g Food products n.e.c. | 230 g | £2.00 | £2.90 | £2.00 | £3.00 | £3.00 | ~ |
Baxters Chicken Broth 400g Food products n.e.c. | 400 g | £2.00 | £2.00 | £2.00 | £2.00 | £2.15 | ~ |
Coca-Cola Original Taste 1.25L Non-alcoholic beverages | 1.25 l | £2.24 | £2.25 | £2.35 | £2.15 | £2.35 | £2.55 |
Pepsi Max No Caffeine No Sugar Bottle 2L Non-alcoholic beverages | 2 l | £1.50 | £2.15 | £2.45 | £1.75 | £2.55 | ~ |
Twinings Assam 80 Tea Bags 200g Non-alcoholic beverages | 200 g | £3.50 | £5.80 | £5.80 | £6.00 | £6.20 | ~ |
Taylors of Harrogate Yorkshire Gold 80 Tea Bags 250g Non-alcoholic beverages | 250 g | £3.97 | £4.30 | £3.50 | £4.00 | £4.50 | ~ |
Robinsons Apple & Blackcurrant No Added Sugar Squash 1L Non-alcoholic beverages | 1 l | £1.84 | £1.40 | £2.00 | £2.00 | £2.10 | ~ |
Colgate Triple Action Toothpaste 75ml Personal care | 75 ml | £1.24 | £1.25 | £1.25 | £1.25 | £1.35 | £1.24 |
Aussie Bouncy Curls Shampoo 400xml. Gently Cleanses and Moisturises Wavy and Curly Hair Personal care | 400 ml | £4.00 | £6.00 | £5.50 | £4.00* | £6.20 | ~ |
Bulldog Skincare Original Shower Gel 500ml Personal care | 500 ml | £5.00 | £5.00 | £3.30 | £5.00 | £5.25 | ~ |
Aussie Mighty Mega Lightweight Conditioner 275ml. Daily Moisturiser for All Hair Types Personal care | 275 ml | £4.00 | £5.70 | £5.50 | £4.00* | £6.20 | ~ |
Lynx Anti-Perspirant Roll On Africa 50ml Personal care | 50 ml | £1.70 | £1.50 | £1.50 | £1.70 | £2.00 | ~ |
Ariel Washing Liquid, 63 Washes, Original Household goods | 1.953 l | £9.00 | £11.30 | £9.25 | £6.00* | £13.25 | ~ |
Comfort Botanical Fabric Conditioner First Blooms 960 ml (64 washes) Household goods | 960 ml | £4.98 | £5.00 | £4.00 | £4.00* | £5.00 | ~ |
Air Wick Active Fresh Refill, Fresh Linen & White Orchid Air Freshener, 228ml Household goods | 228 ml | £6.64 | £6.65 | £6.00 | £7.00 | £7.00 | ~ |
Cif Infinite Clean All in One Cleaner Lavender & Eucalyptus 280 ml Household goods | 280 ml | £4.16 | £4.00 | £4.00 | £3.00* | £4.00 | ~ |
Of the total 19% savings, 19% is structural (regular-price differences between retailers) and 0% is from current promotions.
Notes and limitations
- The reference basket uses only national-brand products available at 5 or more of the 6 retailers. Own-label and retailer-tier products (e.g. "Tesco Finest") are excluded from Phase 1 to keep comparisons like-for-like. A separate own-label vs national-brand price index is planned.
- Aldi's national-brand range is narrower than other retailers. When Aldi does not stock a basket product, we estimate the Aldi basket total by averaging the prices at the retailers that do stock it. The 2-store and 3-store splits are not affected by this imputation - they only use retailers that actually sell the product.
- Ocado and Iceland are not included in this comparison.
- We include current promotions in the effective price. Prices change daily; the analysis above reflects a snapshot at 2026-04-21.
- These savings estimates do not account for travel costs or the time required to visit multiple stores.
Source: ONS Consumer price inflation, updating weights: 2026 | ONS Family Spending in the UK