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Asda was the cheapest supermarket for branded groceries in July
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 sixth month in a row, while Sainsbury's without a loyalty card was the most expensive once again.
Our comparison list included 224 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 and cakes – 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 July, with the list of products costing £769.80. Sainsbury's without a loyalty card was 14.56% 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 (£781.07), Morrisons with a More Card (£799.24) and Sainsbury's with a Nectar card (£801.48). These were more expensive than Asda, on average, by 1.46% (Tesco), 3.82% (Morrisons) and 4% (Sainsbury's).
| Supermarket | % difference with Asda |
|---|---|
| Asda | Cheapest |
| Tesco (with Clubcard) | 1% |
| Morrisons (with More card) | 4% |
| Sainsbury's (with Nectar card) | 4% |
| Morrisons | 4% |
| Ocado | 7% |
| Waitrose | 11% |
| Tesco | 13% |
| Sainsbury's | 15% |
Table note: percentages rounded to the nearest whole number
Shopping at Sainsbury’s without a Nectar loyalty card (£881.88) was the most expensive way to buy our branded list in July, at 14.56% more on average than Asda. Tesco without a Clubcard (£873.66) was 13.49% more than Asda. Without a loyalty card, both were more expensive than high-end Waitrose (£851.82) and Ocado (£821.29).
- Find out more: The best supermarkets in 2026, rated by customers.
The impact of loyalty card pricing
There were 155 products on loyalty promotion from Sainsbury’s through the month of our analysis, 143 at Tesco and seven 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 July, 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, on average, at Asda (£2.31) and was most expensive at Sainsbury's and Tesco without a loyalty card (£6) – a huge 159.45% difference.
Ocado and Waitrose weren'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) | £2.31 | £6 | Asda | Sainsbury's*, Tesco** | 159% |
| Mr Kipling Fruit Pie Selection (6-pack) | £1.50 | £3.25 | Tesco with Clubcard | Sainsbury's*, Tesco** | 117% |
| Starbucks Frappuccino Mocha Chocolate Flavoured Milk Iced Coffee (250ml) | £1.03 | £2.20 | Asda | Ocado, Sainsbury's, Tesco | 113% |
| Oral-B Pro Expert Toothpaste (75ml) | £2.24 | £4.38 | Asda | Waitrose | 96% |
| Tilda Boil In Bag Basmati Rice (4 x 62.5g) | £1.13 | £2.15 | Asda | Sainsbury's* | 90% |
| Colgate Plax Cool Mint Mouthwash 500ml | £2.46 | £4.50 | Asda | Sainsbury's*, Tesco** | 83% |
| L'Oreal Paris Elvive Bond Repair Shampoo (200ml) | £7.13 | £13 | Asda | Sainsbury's*, Tesco** | 82% |
| Cadbury Dairy Milk Caramel Ice Cream Cones (4x100ml) | £2.36 | £4.28 | Asda | Ocado | 81% |
| Fairy-Platinum Plus All in One Dishwasher Tablets Lemon (36) | £6.81 | £12.34 | Morrisons | Ocado | 81% |
| Febreze Air Freshener Spray Cotton Fresh (185ml) | £2 | £3.50 | Tesco | Waitrose | 75% |
| Filippo Berio Classic Olive Oil 500ml | £5 | £8.75 | Morrisons | Waitrose | 75% |
| Mr Kipling Mini Battenburgs (5-pack) | £1.57 | £2.75 | Morrisons | Sainsbury's* | 75% |
| Plenty White Original Kitchen Rolls 2 ea | £3.45 | £6 | Asda | Waitrose | 74% |
| Nescafé Azera Americano Instant Coffee (90g) | £4.23 | £7.25 | Tesco with Clubcard | Sainsbury's*, Tesco** | 72% |
| Ryvita Thins Sea Salt and Cider Vinegar 125g | £1.35 | £2.30 | Morrisons | Ocado, Sainsbury's*, Tesco** | 70% |
| Doritos Cool Original Tortilla Chips 180g | £1.50 | £2.50 | Sainsbury's with Nectar | Morrisons, Sainsbury's*, Tesco**, Waitrose | 67% |
| Soreen Lift Bars Blueberry 4x42g | £1.42 | £2.35 | Morrisons | Waitrose | 66% |
| Mr Kipling Angel Cake Slices 8ea | £2.12 | £3.50 | Tesco with Clubcard | Tesco** | 65% |
| Carex Original Antibacterial Hand Wash 250ml | £1 | £1.65 | Asda | Sainsbury's*, Tesco** | 65% |
| Quorn picnic eggs 140g | £1.28 | £2.10 | Asda | Ocado, Sainsbury's*, Tesco | 64% |
Average loyalty card prices where applicable:
*Sainsbury’s with Nectar Listerine Total Care Clean Mint Antibacterial Mouthwash 500ml (£4.97), Mr Kipling Fruit Pie Selection 6-pack (£2.06), Tilda Boil In Bag Basmati Rice 4 x 62.5g (£1.37), Colgate Plax Cool Mint Mouthwash 500ml (£3.77), L'Oreal Paris Elvive Bond Repair Shampoo 200ml (£9.65), Mr Kipling Mini Battenburgs 5-pack (£2.35), Nescafé Azera Americano Instant Coffee 90g (£6.09), Ryvita Thins Sea Salt and Cider Vinegar 125g (£1.96), Doritos Cool Original Tortilla Chips 180g (£1.50), Carex Original Antibacterial Hand Wash 250ml (£1.34), Quorn picnic eggs 140g (£1.72).
**Tesco with Clubcard Listerine Total Care Clean Mint Antibacterial Mouthwash 500ml (£3.95), Mr Kipling Fruit Pie Selection 6-pack (£1.50), Colgate Plax Cool Mint Mouthwash 500ml (£3.85), L'Oreal Paris Elvive Bond Repair Shampoo 200ml (£7.97), Nescafé Azera Americano Instant Coffee 90g (£4.23), Ryvita Thins Sea Salt and Cider Vinegar 125g (£1.85), Doritos Cool Original Tortilla Chips 180g (£1.85), Mr Kipling Angel Cake Slices 8ea (£2.12), Carex Original Antibacterial Hand Wash 250ml (£1.15).
- 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. Asda, Morrisons, Ocado and Waitrose didn't provide a comment.
Sainsbury's said: 'We have not been able to verify the calculations used by Which? as the group has not shared its full analysis. However, our customers know they can get great value by using a Nectar card when they shop with us, which is why 85% of our sales involve one. We remain 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 said: 'Clubcard prices unlock the best value at Tesco with thousands of deals in store and online each week. With more than 80% of sales at Tesco involving a Clubcard, most Tesco shoppers are already taking advantage of the great savings that Clubcard provides.'
- 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 224 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.
