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Asda was the cheapest supermarket for branded groceries in August
Find out how the big supermarkets compare, and which popular supermarket was the most expensive for non-loyalty members
Hannah is an investigative journalist covering retail issues from fake reviews and unsafe products to supermarket pricing practices. She's been at Which? for 12 years.
Ellie is an award-winning investigative reporter who has written about retail issues at Which? for more than 12 years.
Asda was the cheapest, on average, for our list of branded groceries for the seventh month in a row, while Sainsbury's without a loyalty card was the most expensive once again.
Our comparison list included 220 popular branded groceries such as Heinz beans, Nescafé coffee and Mr Kipling cakes.
If you’re attached to your branded groceries – whether that's butter and bread or coffee, cakes and ketchup – read on to find out how much extra you might pay by shopping at the various supermarkets.
Asda cheapest for branded goods
Asda was the cheapest supermarket for branded groceries in August, with the list of products costing £771.27. Sainsbury's without a loyalty card was 12.69% pricier.
Supermarkets that offer loyalty schemes were the next cheapest for the month, with members receiving significant discounts compared with non-members. Here's what the list of products cost with loyalty schemes: Tesco with a Clubcard (£782.39), Sainsbury's with a Nectar card (£787.57) and Morrisons with a More Card (£797.32). These were more expensive than Asda, on average, by 1.44% (Tesco), 2.11% (Sainsbury's) and 3.38% (Morrisons).
| Supermarket | % difference with Asda |
|---|---|
| Asda | Cheapest |
| Tesco (with Clubcard) | 1% |
| Sainsbury's (with Nectar card) | 2% |
| Morrisons (with More card) | 3% |
| Morrisons | 4% |
| Ocado | 6% |
| Waitrose | 9% |
| Tesco | 12% |
| Sainsbury's | 13% |
Table note: percentages rounded to the nearest whole number
Shopping at Sainsbury’s without a Nectar loyalty card (£869.16) was the most expensive way to buy our branded list in August, at 12.69% more on average than Asda. Tesco without a Clubcard (£860.29) was 11.54% more than Asda. Without a loyalty card, both were more expensive than high-end Waitrose (£839.71) and Ocado (£815.28).
- Find out more: The best supermarkets in 2026, rated by customers.
The impact of loyalty card pricing
There were 149 products on loyalty promotion from Sainsbury’s through the month of our analysis, 143 at Tesco and six at Morrisons. None of the products on our list were part of a loyalty promotion at Waitrose.
While most people are part of a membership scheme, some customers may be unwilling to sign up to loyalty cards for reasons such as data privacy. Others have no choice due to unfair eligibility criteria.
Tesco recently announced that customers aged 16 and 17 can now sign up for a Clubcard on their parent or guardian's account after years of campaigning by Which?.
Asda and Ocado don’t offer member-only pricing in the same way.
- Find out more: Tesco launches Clubcard for 16 and 17-year-olds.
The products with the biggest price differences
We’ve compared the average price of branded groceries across supermarkets in August, including loyalty discounts where applicable. And we've identified the products with the largest percentage price difference between the cheapest and most expensive supermarkets.
On average, Listerine Total Care Clean Mint Antibacterial Mouthwash (500ml) again saw the biggest difference between the highest and lowest price. It was at its lowest price for Sainsbury's Nectar card holders (£2.80), and its highest price for Sainsbury's shoppers without a Nectar card and Tesco without a Clubcard (£6) – a huge 114% difference for shoppers.
Ocado wasn't the cheapest for any of our examples this month again.
| Product | Lowest price (average) | Highest price (average) | Cheapest supermarket | Most expensive supermarket | % difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Listerine Total Care Clean Mint Antibacterial Mouthwash (500ml) | £2.80 | £6 | Sainsbury's with Nectar | Sainsbury's*, Tesco** | 114% |
| Colgate Plax Cool Mint Mouthwash (500ml) | £2.25 | £4.50 | Sainsbury's with Nectar, Tesco with Clubcard | Sainsbury's*, Tesco** | 100% |
| Tilda Boil In Bag Basmati Rice (4 x 62.5g) | £1.09 | £2.15 | Asda | Sainsbury's* | 98% |
| Fox's Chocolatey Milk Chocolate Biscuits Rounds (130g) | £1.41 | £2.70 | Tesco | Waitrose | 91% |
| Vimto No Added Sugar Squash (1,000ml) | £1.24 | £2.35 | Asda | Waitrose | 90% |
| Fairy-Platinum Plus All in One Dishwasher Tablets Lemon (36) | £7.58 | £13.98 | Asda | Ocado | 85% |
| Starbucks Frappuccino Mocha Chocolate Flavoured Milk Iced Coffee (250ml) | £1.19 | £2.20 | Asda | Ocado, Sainsbury's, Tesco | 84% |
| Oral-B Pro Expert Toothpaste (75ml) | £2.24 | £3.95 | Asda | Sainsbury's*, Tesco** | 76% |
| Dove Advanced Care Original Antiperspirant Deodorant Roll On (50ml) | £1.75 | £3.05 | Asda, Sainsbury's with Nectar | Waitrose | 74% |
| McCain Lightly Spiced Potato Wedges (650g) | £1.59 | £2.75 | Waitrose | Sainsbury's*, Tesco** | 73% |
| Mr Kipling Angel Cake Slices (8) | £2.03 | £3.50 | Asda | Tesco** | 73% |
| Sensodyne Repair and Protect Whitening Sensitive Toothpaste (75ml) | £3.95 | £6.58 | Sainsbury's with Nectar | Waitrose | 67% |
| Carex Original Antibacterial Hand Wash (250ml) | £1 | £1.65 | Asda, Tesco with Clubcard | Sainsbury's, Tesco** | 65% |
| Dove Original Beauty Bar (6x90g) | £4.27 | £7 | Asda | Waitrose | 64% |
| Philadelphia Original Soft Cheese (165g) | £1.38 | £2.25 | Tesco with Clubcard | Morrisons, Sainsbury's*, Tesco** | 63% |
| Lynx Africa Anti Perspirant Deodorant Spray (150ml) | £2.50 | £4.06 | Sainsbury's with Nectar | Waitrose | 63% |
| Mr Kipling Fruit Pie Selection (6) | £2 | £3.25 | Asda, Morrisons | Sainsbury's*, Tesco** | 63% |
| Little Moons Mochi Ice Cream Vegan Passionfruit and Mango Ice Cream (6 x 32g) | £3.15 | £5 | Morrisons | Sainsbury's*, Tesco** | 59% |
| Loyd Grossman Tomato and Basil Pasta Sauce (350g) | £1.89 | £3 | Tesco with Clubcard | Morrisons, Ocado, Sainsbury's*, Tesco** | 59% |
Average loyalty card prices where applicable: *Sainsbury’s with Nectar Listerine Total Care Clean Mint Antibacterial Mouthwash 500ml (£2.80), Colgate Plax Cool Mint Mouthwash 500ml (£2.25), Tilda Boil In Bag Basmati Rice 4 x 62.5g (£1.33), Oral-B Pro Expert Toothpaste 75ml (£2.50), McCain Lightly Spiced Potato Wedges 650g (£1.86), Philadelphia Original Soft Cheese 165g (£1.99), Mr Kipling Fruit Pie Selection 6 (£2.28), Little Moons Mochi Ice Cream Vegan Passionfruit and Mango Ice Cream 6 x 32g (£4.71), Loyd Grossman Tomato and Basil Pasta Sauce 350g (£2.59).
**Tesco with Clubcard Listerine Total Care Clean Mint Antibacterial Mouthwash 500ml (£4.66), Colgate Plax Cool Mint Mouthwash 500ml (£2.25), Oral-B Pro Expert Toothpaste 75ml (£3.15), McCain Lightly Spiced Potato Wedges 650g (£2.12), Mr Kipling Angel Cake Slices 8ea (£2.82), Carex Original Antibacterial Hand Wash 250ml (£1), Philadelphia Original Soft Cheese 165g (£1.38), Mr Kipling Fruit Pie Selection 6 (£2.35), Little Moons Mochi Ice Cream Vegan Passionfruit and Mango Ice Cream 6 x 32g (£4.32), Loyd Grossman Tomato and Basil Pasta Sauce 350g (£1.89).
- Find out more: See how the supermarket loyalty schemes compare.
What did the supermarkets say?
Each supermarket included in our price analysis was given the right to reply to our specific examples.
A spokesperson for Asda said: 'We’re proud that Which? has named Asda the lowest-priced supermarket for branded products for a seventh consecutive month. Others may talk about ‘unbeatable prices’, but independent research continues to show that Asda customers get the best prices on their favourite brands.'
A Morrisons spokesperson said: 'Morrisons remains committed to providing good, honest value and that's why we are guaranteeing 'Unbeatable Prices' on hundreds of weekly essentials.
'In addition, our More Card members can earn Five More Points on every product in store, online and in Morrisons Daily stores and also benefit from personalised offers and money-off coupons on the things they buy the most of. Customers to our Cafés can also take advantage of a range of offers such as our Kids Eat Free promotion, which runs every day, or free refills on all hot drinks.'
A Sainsbury's spokesperson said: 'We have not been able to verify the calculations used by Which? as the group has not shared its full analysis with us.
'With 85 per cent of sales involving a Nectar card, we're confident our customers know they can get great value when they shop with us.
'We're focused on offering outstanding value on the products people buy most often, with more than 10,000 Nectar Price offers available every week on top of personalised Your Nectar Prices.'
Tesco, Waitrose and Ocado did not provide comment.
- Find out more: Aldi Price Match scheme secrets.
Where are Aldi and Lidl?
Our research has shown that the discounters offer good value, and are consistently the lowest priced in our monthly cheapest supermarket analysis, which includes a large number of own-label products and a handful of branded items.
We couldn’t include Aldi and Lidl in this analysis because they don’t stock the same range of branded goods as the non-discounter supermarkets.
- Find out more: The cheapest supermarket of the month.
We analysed the price of 220 groceries from the most popular brands – including Chicago Town, Dove, Kellogg’s, Mr Kipling, Nescafé and Tilda – every day over the course of a month to work out the average cost per item. We then add those up to get each supermarket's average total price.
The list represents the most popular brands across a wide range of grocery categories based on industry data and is designed to produce a robust sample rather than to be representative of a typical shop.
We include loyalty discounts separately in the table where they are available. We can’t include the value of points, personalised discounts or other rewards as these vary from customer to customer. Our data is supplied by an independent price comparison company.
