Aldi has been named the cheapest supermarket as part of a new price-match probe by a leading consumer group.
The German discount chain pipped main rival Lidl to the top spot last month, according to Which?.
The consumer group compared the cost of 20 essential items in each of Britain’s biggest supermarket chains in April.
Aldi topped the charts with the cost of the basket – containing items such as eggs, raspberries and pizzas – coming to a total of £22.64.
The basket total at Aldi was found to be £8 less than Waitrose, which was priced up at £30.89.
Aldi has been named the cheapest supermarket as part of a new price-match probe by a leading consumer group
Lidl placed second, with a basket cost of £ 22.76 – 12p more than Aldi.
Asda came next, at £24.95, followed by Sainsbury’s, at £25.93, followed by Morrison’s and Tesco, both at £26.09.
Online supermarket Ocado’s basket was priced at £27.78 – £5 more than Aldi and Lidl.
However it was Asda which topped the ‘big shop’ rankings – in which Aldi and Lidl are not included.
Alongside its 20 item essential list, Which? also compares a basket of 82 items, which include the original 20 plus another 62 extras.
Because some of the items are not available in Lidl or Aldi, the German discounters are not included.
Asda topped the table, with its basket being priced at £152.67, followed by Sainsbury’s, at £159.54.
Morrisons followed, with a price of £163.96, then Tesco, at £166.88. Ocado was the second most expensive, at £170.67.
Waitrose was the most expensive at £173.24 – £20 more than at Asda.
The list from Which? includes branded items such as Cadbury Dairy Milk and Heinz Beanz, as well as own brand items such as onions, chicken drumsticks and milk.
The data, which is checked by experts to make sure items are as close to comparable as possible, also includes an average price for special offers, but not multibuys.
Asda topped the table for the Which? longer list, with its basket being priced at £152.67, followed by Sainsbury’s, at £159.54
Along with the supermarket comparison, Which? also says new data reveals how food prices are dropping for the first time in more than four years.
According to market research company, Kantar Worldpanel, grocery inflation shrank to 0.3 per cent in the 12 weeks to April 18.
Kantar say this is largely down to promotions. The study found that an extra £582m of groceries were sold on offer in April this year compared with last year, while grocery sales rose by 5.7 per cent.
Aldi’s April win means it returns to the top of the table for the first time since January.
Lidl claimed the top spot in February and March, having been named the cheapest supermarket of 2020 by Which?.
In total, the Lidl shopping trolley of goods came to £42.67 on average over the year.
It was only 34p cheaper than the average trolley costs at Aldi, which came in second place at £43.01.
It was the first time Which? included both Aldi and Lidl in its annual price comparison.
Aldi’s victory in the cheapest supermarket table comes after it was engulfed in a row with Marks & Spencer’s over its Cuthbert the Caterpillar.
M&S has argued Aldi’s £4.99 cake is too similar to its £7 Colin the Caterpillar cake.
It claims the product misleads consumers, who might think they are of the same standard.
But in a series of Twitter posts, the budget supermarket made fun of its rival after they launched an intellectual property claim with the High Court.