The supermarket, which was the most expensive for key purchases for most of last year, is now just a few pennies behind Aldi and Lidl.
Our comparison of essentials such as bread and milk showed that Asda was the most expensive of the eight essentials for most of 2023.
In fact, since we first started tracking prices in March 2022, it has spent the most weeks in the lowest spot, behind the other five major supermarkets – Lidl, Aldi, Tesco, Morrisons and Sainsbury’s.
But that all changed this week as the retailer is the third cheapest – and just a few pennies behind Lidl and Aldi.
Read more: Shoppers are racing to get their hands on Aldi’s new £1.99 ice creams
Cutting the price of its 300g pack of chicken breasts from £2.65 to £2.50 means the total bill for the basket comes to £12.18.
In addition to bread, milk and chicken, the weekly basket includes coffee, tea bags, butter, baked beans and mince.
A large part of Asda’s basket is made up of products from the Just Essentials range, which launched in summer 2022 and includes more than 250 items, replacing its former Smart Price brand.
The bright yellow packaging angered some customers who said it “embarrasses poorer families” by highlighting the fact they were buying cheaper products, but others said they liked that the cheaper items were easier to find.
Lidl remains the cheapest in our comparison for the fourth week running with a bill of £12.11, followed by Aldi’s £12.14.
Morrisons is fourth cheapest behind Asda at £12.27, followed by Sainsbury’s at £12.33 and Tesco, which is the third most expensive week, with a bill of £12.62.
Aldi disputes the results of our weekly comparison, saying it does not take into account similar products or the “higher quality” of its products. For example, the supermarket says that Aldi’s beans are 20g heavier than Sainsbury’s beans and that Aldi’s tea bags are “better quality than used comparison products”.
Asda also disagrees with our comparison, saying our small sample of products does not represent a more complete picture of prices and does not take its stores into account. The supermarket says its Just Essentials range is the biggest and cheapest available next to Aldi’s.
The full list is as follows:
Lidl
Loaf of white bread 800g – 45p
Milk 2 pints – £1.20
Coffee 200g – £1.99
Teabags 240 – £2.79 / equivalent to £1.86 for 160
Salted Butter 250g – £1.69
Beans 420g can – 28p
Chicken 300g – £2.35
Minced 500g 25% fat – £2.29
Total £12.11
Aldi
Loaf of white bread 800g – 45p
Milk 2 pints – £1.20
Coffee 200g – £1.99
Teabags 160 – £1.89
Salted Butter 250g – £1.69
Beans 420g can – 28p
Chicken 300g – £2.35
Minced 500g 25% fat – £2.29
Total £12.14
Asda
Loaf of white bread 800g – 45p
Milk 2 pints – £1.20
Coffee 200g (2 x 100g) – £1.98
Teabags 160 (4 x 40 packs) – £1.60
Salted Butter 250g – £1.69
Beans 410g tin – 27p
Chicken 300g – £2.50 (down from £2.65)
Ground 500g 20% ​​fat – £2.49
Total £12.18 (down from £12.33)
Morrisons
Loaf of white bread 800g – 45p
Milk 2 pints – £1.20
Coffee (2 x 100g) – £1.98
Teabags 160 (2 x 80 pack Savers) – £1.58
Savers Salted Butter 250g – £1.69
Beans 410g tin – 27p
Chicken 300g – £2.65 per 330g, equivalent to £2.41 per 300g
Minced 500g 25% fat – £2.29
Total £12.27
Sainsbury’s
Loaf of white bread 800g – 45p
Milk 2 pints – £1.20
Coffee 200g – £1.99
Teabags 160 – £1.89
Salted Butter 250g – £1.69
Beans 400 g can – 27 p
Chicken 300g – £2.35
Ground 500g 20% ​​fat – £2.49
Total £12.33
Tesco
Loaf of white bread 800g – 45p
Milk 2 pints – £1.20
Coffee 200g (2 x 100g) – £1.98
Teabags 160 (2 x 80 packs) – £1.88
Salted Butter 250g – £1.69
Beans 420g can – 28p
Chicken 300g – £2.65
Ground 500g 20% ​​fat – £2.49
Total £12.62