Aldi crowned the cheapest supermarket in February

Aldi remains the UK's cheapest supermarket for the second month running in 2026, according to our latest analysis. 

After winning the title in January, the discounter continues the momentum from its 2025 overall win, having taken the title across 10 out of 12 months. It was only beaten by Lidl in July and October.

Read on to find out how other supermarkets, including Tesco and Asda, compare for a longer list, including more branded items and how much you could save by switching supermarkets.

Cheapest supermarket in February

We checked the prices of 89 popular branded and own-brand groceries, including milk, cheese and Hovis sliced bread, at eight of the UK's biggest supermarkets throughout February to see how they compared.

The table shows how much our shopping cost on average:

Aldi has secured the cheapest supermarket title again in February with an average price of £161.56 for a shopping list of 89 items. Lidl came second with an average price of £162.75 - only a £1.19 difference from Aldi. 

Asda came in third with our list of items costing £181.06. Tesco’s Clubcard shop was the next cheapest at £181.58, but without a Clubcard, our list cost £185.93. In our latest analysis, 13 products had a loyalty discount at Tesco 

Morrisons took fifth place with the items costing £185.49 on average throughout February. Our Sainsbury’s shop cost £186.21 with Nectar or £189.18 without - a £2.97 difference.  There were 14 products on our list with a loyalty discount at Sainsbury's in February. 

Waitrose was again the most expensive supermarket in our monthly analysis, with the items on this list costing £217.02 on average. This is a difference of £55.46 or 34% compared to Aldi.

• Find out more: cheapest supermarkets of 2026

What about a bigger shopping list?

Our expanded grocery list comparison covers 225 items, including a wide range of brands not stocked at Aldi or Lidl, such as Heinz, Kellogg’s, and Hovis. 

Tesco’s shop with a Clubcard, got the top spot for the second month in a row this year. Our longer list of items cost £580.35 with a Clubcard, and £629.25 without. 

Asda followed in second place with an average price of £584.32 across February. In third place was Morrison’s with More at £593.34 on average. 

Morrisons, without loyalty prices, came next at £594.09, beating Sainsbury’s with Nectar (£596.93).

Waitrose was the most expensive shop for the longer list at £650.11,  £69.76 more expensive than the cheapest in our analysis.

There were 199 loyalty discounts overall in February —  110 for Sainsbury's, 87 for Tesco and two for Morrisons. We couldn't include Aldi or Lidl here as they didn't stock all the branded items on our list.

• Interested in more than just price? Shoppers have rated product quality, customer service, online deliveries and more to reveal the best and worst supermarkets.

How much of a discount do loyalty cards give?

Based on our smaller list of products, having a loyalty card would save an average of 2.34% at Tesco and 1.57% at Sainsbury's over the month.

For our longer list, which included more branded groceries and a wider selection of items with loyalty discounts, the savings were generally much more substantial, 7.77% at Tesco and 7.20% at Sainsbury's. Savings were still only 0.13% at Morrisons. 

The discounts offered by loyalty cards may sound good, but that's only if you can access them. Our research has found that millions of people can't access loyalty promotions because they're not eligible to join supermarket member schemes due to their age, lack of address or difficulties with digital access. 

Tesco announced in February that it planned to make its Clubcard available to under-18s this year. The move comes after a major campaign launched by Which? urging supermarkets to lift their unfair restrictions on their loyalty schemes. 

Although this is a win for the consumer, more work is needed as certain restrictions continue to lock people out of valuable savings. Groups often affected include those without smartphones and under-18s, who may struggle to access - or simply not know how to access - loyalty prices.

• Find out more: loyalty schemes compared

What's happening to grocery prices?

The UK’s inflation rate dropped to 3% in the year leading up to January, which was down from 3.4% in December, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The biggest downward contributors in January were transport, food and non-alcoholic beverages.

However, according to separate data from Worldpanel by Numerator, grocery price inflation rose to 4.3% in February - up from 4% in January - after four consecutive months of falls. 

The increase came after shoppers held off their Valentine's Day spending until the last minute, with 12% of households picking up a premium meal deal on the Friday night. 

January's figures saw that shoppers were also seeking out more own-label groceries: these accounted for 52% of grocery spending, the highest level ever recorded. 

• Find out more: check what's happening to prices by supermarket, category of food and ranges using the Which? food and drink inflation tracker

How Which? finds the cheapest supermarket

We check the prices of hundreds of grocery items at eight major supermarkets, using an independent price comparison website. 

For each supermarket, we calculate the average price of each item across the month, then add those up to get each supermarket's average total price. 

What items are on the list?

Our shopping list comprises the country’s most popular and widely available groceries, based on extensive market analysis. 

It includes branded items such as Cathedral City cheddar and Hellmann's mayonnaise, as well as own-brand products such as potatoes and baked beans. 

Own-brand items won’t be identical across supermarkets, but we’ve ensured everything we’ve compared is as similar as possible, based on several factors, including quality and weight.

Which? never shares the full list of products used in its analysis, as we want to avoid any attempts by supermarkets to skew the results. 

We don't want supermarkets to compete with one another to lower prices only on the items they know they'll be judged on. Instead, we want retailers to work to make groceries affordable across the depth and breadth of their available lines.

What about special offers and loyalty prices?

We include special offers but not multibuy discounts. 

We are only able to include loyalty prices that apply to all members of a scheme (where there's one price on the shelf for shoppers with a loyalty card and another for those without). Currently, this type of two-tier pricing is used at Lidl, Morrisons, Sainsbury's, Tesco and Waitrose. 

We're unable to include discounts that are personalised to selected members, and we can’t factor in points or other rewards, as these vary between customers and don't always have a quantifiable monetary value.

• Find out more: how to spend less at the supermarket

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