Two supermarkets now cheaper than Aldi and Lidl for basket of shopping essentials

Two supermarkets previously criticised for their high prices are now working out cheaper than Aldi and Lidl for a basket of essentials.

Our price comparison has monitored the cost of the same eight basic items since March 2022 and it's mostly been one of the two budget retailers coming in cheapest throughout that time.

But this week, both Morrisons and Asda are working out cheaper for the shop of staple items, which includes bread, milk, butter, beans, tea bags, coffee, mince and chicken breasts.

It comes after Aldi made two increases this week, with mince up from £2.39 to £2.49 and coffee up from £1.85 to £1.99.

Both Lidl and Morrisons have increased their blocks of butter from £1.89 to £1.99, which is the price others were already charging.

It's the cheaper price of tea bags at Morrisons and Asda that's made the difference, working out at £1.60 and £1.80 respectively for 160 bags. But Aldi has always argued that our comparison doesn't take into account the difference in quality, insisting that its own Diplomat Red Label tea bags and its coffee are 'higher quality' than the comparative products used and its tins of beans are heavier than some of the others.

When it comes to meat however, our comparison includes the cheapest packs of mince from each place and at Aldi and Lidl, along with Morrisons, it's a 25% fat pack, whereas the others sell 20% fat, which is seen as better quality.

The price of Morrisons chicken breasts has also helped it secure the cheapest crown, with the More Card price bringing the cost of its 330g pack down from £2.65 to £2.35, giving it an overall total of £12.14, 7% more than the most expensive place, Tesco.

In second place, Asda's bill comes to £12.49, which is quite the turnaround for the