Cost of living: We tracked the prices across five UK supermarkets - showing the cheapest and most expensive

Supermarkets across the country have issued price rises on almost 100 basic range groceries in July amidst the cost of living crisis – with a fifth of groceries getting more expensive for at least the second month running.

The UK has seen steep rises in the price of basic groceries at five major UK supermarkets - as we track the price of groceries at Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, Asda, and Aldi.

Between 4 July and 2 August, we recorded a total of 97 price increases at five of the UK’s top supermarkets  – almost one in six of the products that we were watching.

Only 27 products came down in price during the same period.

Since April of this year, more than half of the value range items on offer across the five supermarkets have risen in price – 307 out of the 569 products (nearly 55%) - that had prices displayed online in both April and August.

The average price rise for the products that saw increases was 15.1% across the five-month period.

Although 20 items have risen by at least a third (33%), with two products doubling in price.

In total - supermarkets have imposed 102 price rises between April and May, 175 between May and June, and 138 between June and July of this year.

What brands have gone up in price?

Our research covers the value ranges at each supermarket.

At Asda these are the ‘Smart Price’ and ‘Farm Stores’ brands, which are in the process of being replaced with a bright yellow new range called ‘Just Essentials’.

Aldi meanwhile has an ‘Everyday Essentials’ line – although many products that are not part of this specific range have a price point similar to budget line items at other supermarkets.

Morrisons is home to ‘Morrisons Savers.’

Tesco and Sainsbury’s both dropped their value lines in recent years - replacing them with a collection of in-house brands in an effort to keep up with German rivals Aldi and Lidl.

At Tesco these include ‘Ms Molly’s’ (sweets), Stockwell & Co (pantry essentials) and Creamfields (dairy products).

Sainsbury’s meanwhile boasts Hubbard Foodstores (pantry essentials), J. James and Family (fresh and frozen meat and fish) and Stamford Street (chilled products such as ready meals), among others.

Asda

Eleven products saw price rises at Asda between July and August - compared to just four decreases.

That was 6% of the 171 products in this month’s research.

Between April and August - Asda saw price rises on 74 out of the 156 items that had prices listed for both months – 47% of its offering.

The biggest rise during this time was for a 392g tin of chilli con carne, which has risen by 103%, from 65p to £1.32.

In some instances - an old Smart Price product has been replaced by a more expensive Just Essentials item.

The full list of items that saw price rises in the latest month is below, ranked by percentage increase:

• Smart Price Chilli Con Carne 392g (now Just Essentials)  – 71p up to £1.32, rise of 86% (was previously 65p)
• Smart Price longlife skimmed milk 1 Litre – 59p up to 69p, rise of 17% (previously 55p)
• Farm Stores Mixed Peppers 3 pack – £1 up to £1.15, rise of 15% (previously 92p then 98p)
• Farm Stores 8 Pork Sausages 454g (now Just Essentials) – 86p up to 96p, rise of 12% (previously 83p)
• Smart Price chicken breast fillets frozen 1kg (now Just Essentials) – £3.50 up to £3.79, rise of 8%
• Farm Stores Salad Tomatoes 6pk (now  Just Essentials) – 70p up to 75p, rise of 7% (was previously 72p before falling to 70p)
• Smart Price fruit fromage frais 12 x 55g (now Just Essentials) – 75p up to 80p, rise of 7% (had previously been 80p before dropping to 75p)
• Farm Stores Plums 400g (now Just Essentials) – 65p up to 68, rise of 5% (previously 59p then 62p)
• Farm Stores Kiwis 6pk (now Just Essentials) – 85p up to 88p, rise of 4% (was previously 67p then 78p then 82p)
• Farm Stores Beef Roasting Joint (Typically around 1.4KG) (now Just Essentials)  – £10.85 up to £11.19, rise of 3% (was previously £9.79) 
• Smart Price 15 eggs (now Just Essentials) – £1.32 up to £1.35, rise of 2% (previously £1.18)

An Asda spokesperson said: “We are doing all we can to limit the impact of inflation for our customers, including launching our new value range - Just Essentials - which offers more than 300 products at budget prices, along with Dropping & Locking price of over 100 family favourites and keeping them the same price until the end of the year.

“We’re proud to have been recognised as the best value supermarket in independent research carried out by the Grocer and Which? magazines.”

Aldi

Aldi only increased prices for four products in the latest month, while dropping the price of eight items – the only store where price drops outnumbered rises.

Since April however Aldi has increased the price of more than two out of five Everyday Essentials products – 22 out of the 52 products (42%) from the available data.

The average increase was 11.4% for those that saw price rises, with the biggest hike coming for a tin of spaghetti hoops, which rose by 23% from 13p to 16p.

For the first time, we found that dozens of products were out of stock when taking a price snapshot online this month.

No price was displayed for the 38 items affected, meaning they could not be included in our August tracker.

The list of items that saw price rises in July, ranked by percentage increase is below:

• Everyday Essentials 10 Mild Cheddar Slices 200g – 99p up to £1.09, rise of 10%
• Everyday Essentials Red Kidney Beans In Water 400g (240g Drained) – 30p up to 33%, rise of 10%
• Everyday Essentials Light Mozzarella 200g – 43p up to 45p, rise of 5%
• Everyday Essentials Mozzarella  200g – 43p up to 45p, rise of 5%

An Aldi spokesperson said: “We are the lowest-priced supermarket in Britain and our customers always pay less for their shop with Aldi, which is why we were named as the cheapest supermarket in July by consumer champion Which?.

“Value is the number one consideration for most households as they wrestle with rising costs and our promise to our customers is that we will always provide the lowest grocery prices in Britain.”

They added that all stores are restocked daily to ensure good availability.

Morrisons

From July to August, Morrisons put up prices on one in every five of their products – 13 out of 66 (20%).

That compared to just three price decreases. Two products saw price rises for at least the second month running.

Since April, more than half (54%) of Morrisons’s value range offering has seen price rises – 19 out of 35 products (Morrisons expanded its Savers range after we began our tracker in April, so the sample of items we have been tracking since then is much smaller than for the latest month).

The average increase for items that have seen a price rise since April was 19.9% – the highest of any supermarket.

The biggest rise was for a 300g tin of marrowfat peas, which went up by 41% from 39p to 55p.

The full list of items that saw price rises in the latest month, ranked by percentage increase is below:

• Laundry Powder 3.333kg – £2.60 up to £3.30, rise of 27% (previously £2.59 then £2.45)
• Lemon Dishwasher Tablets 40 per pack – £1.99 up to £2.49, rise of 25%
• Still Water 2L – 19p to 23p, rise of 21% (previously 17p)
• Soft cheese 250g – 80p up to 95p, rise of 19% (previously 70p)
• Ice Lollies 8 x 35ml – 75p up to 83p, rise of 11% (previously 70p)
• Tea bags 80 200g – 59p up to 65p, rise of 10% (previously 55p)
• Cottage Cheese 300g – 69p up to 75p, rise of 9%
• Macaroni Cheese ready meal 400g – £1.30 up to £1.35, rise of 4%
• Sweet & Sour ready meal 400g – £1.30 up to £1.35, rise of 4%
• Morrisons Savers Sausage & Mash ready meal  400g – £1.30 up to £1.35, rise of 4%
• Morrisons Savers Cottage Pie ready meal  400g – £1.30 up to £1.35, rise of 4%
• Morrisons Savers Chicken Curry ready meal 400g – £1.30 up to £1.35, rise of 4%
• Morrisons Savers Spaghetti Bolognese ready meal 400g – £1.30 up to £1.35, rise of 4%

Morrisons did not respond to a request for comment.

Sainsbury’s

Sainsbury’s raised prices on 30 out of 136 items between July and August this year – 22% of its offering, the highest proportion of all five supermarkets this month.

Only five items went down in price, while four went up for at least the second month running.

Since April, 79 products have had price rises imposed on them – 58% of the offering.

The average rise for products that have gone up in price since April was 16.8%, with the biggest hike coming for House 247 bio laundry powder, which has doubled in price from 75p to £1.50.

The full list of items that saw price rises in the latest month, ranked by percentage increase is below:

• The Greengrocer sweetcorn 950g – 89p to £1.13, rise of 27%
• Hubbard’s Foodstore tea bags 160 400g – £1.09 up to £1.29, rise of 18%
• J. James and Family beef burgers x8 397g – £1.50 up to £1.75, rise of 17%
• The Greengrocer mixed vegetables 1kg – 69p up to 79p, rise of 14%
• Mary Ann’s Dairy Strawberry Yoghurt 450g – 75p up to 85p, rise of 13%
• Allcroft’s Deli Classics Cheese & Onion Quiche 400g – £1.59 up to £1.79, rise of 13% (was  previously £1.45)
• Mary Ann’s Dairy Low Fat Fruit Yoghurts Peach and Strawberry 4x125g – 80p up to 90p, rise of 13% (was 60p)
• Hubbard’s Foodstore brown sauce 450g – 58p up to 64p, rise of 10% (Was 54p)
• Hubbard’s Foodstore crunchy peanut butter 340g – 99p up to £1.09, rise of 10% (was 89p)
• Hubbard’s Foodstore instant hot chocolate drink 400g – 99p up to £1.09, rise of 10%
• Hubbard’s Foodstore chicken soup 400g – 45p up to 49p, rise of 9% (Was 40p)
• Hubbard’s Foodstore vegetable soup 400g – 45p up to 49p, rise of 9% (Was 40p)
• Hubbard’s Foodstore strawberry jam 454g – 28p up to 30p, rise of 7%
• J. James and Family british wafer thin cooked ham slices 400g – £1.59 up to £1.69, rise of 6%
• J. James and Family Breaded Fresh British Chicken Steaks x4 500g – £2.40 up to £2.55, rise of 6% (Was £2.20)
• Hubbard’s Foodstore orange marmalade medium cut  454g – 49p up to 52p, rise of 6% (was 27p)
• J.James and Family British Cooked Chicken Slices x12 300g – £1.69 up to £1.79, rise of 6% (Was previously £1.49 then £1.59)
• Stamford Street Minced Beef Hotpot 400g (Meal for 1) – 85p up to 90p, rise of 6% (had been 80p)
• Stamford Street Beef Lasagne 400g (Meal for 1) – 85p up to 90p, rise of 6% (had been 80p)
• Stamford Street Chicken Curry 400g (Meal for 1) – 85p up to 90p, rise of 6% (had been 80p)
• Stamford Street Chicken Hotpot 400g (Meal for 1) – 85p up to 90p, rise of 6% (had been 80p)
• Stamford Street Cottage Pie 400g (Meal for 1) – 85p up to 90p, rise of 6% (had been 80p)
• Stamford Street Macaroni Cheese 400g (Meal for 1) – 85p up to 90p, rise of 6% (had been 80p)
• Stamford Street Spaghetti Bolognese 400g (Meal for 1) – 85p up to 90p, rise of 6% (had been 80p)
• Stamford Street Sweet & Sour Chicken 400g (Meal for 1) – 85p up to 90p, rise of 6% (had been 80p)
• J. James and Family fresh british chicken breaded kiev with garlic butter x 2 240g – £1.70 up to £1.80, rise of 6% (was previously £1.80 before dropping to £1.70)
• Mary Ann’s Dairy Grated Mozzarella 500g – £3 up to £3.15, rise of 5% (had been £2.50)
• Mary Ann’s Dairy mozzarella 125g – 43p up to 45p, rise of 5%
• Mary Ann’s Dairy red leicester 600g – £3.29 up to £3.44, rise of 5% (had previously been £2.69 then £2.84, then £2.99)
• Hubbard’s Foodstore tomato ketchup 460g – 44p up to 46p, rise of 5%

Sainsbury’s has consistently told us that our research is not a fair reflection of the value they offer.

A spokesperson said the store has hundreds of own brand products across a variety of ranges, which includes some non-value range items which are still low price options.

They added: “With costs going up, we are working hard to keep prices low.

We are investing over half a billion pounds to ensure the items people buy most often are on the shelves at the best prices and we are confident our Sainsbury’s Quality, Aldi Price Match campaign and Price Lock promise are making a big difference to our customers.

“Our latest financial results show that we are putting up prices at a slower rate than our competitors and focus on offering customers the best quality and value food.

“The bold steps we are taking to focus on value means all our customers will find great deals when they shop with us and do not need to go anywhere else to get the best prices on their weekly shop.”

Tesco

There were 39 price rises at Tesco last month, affecting one in five (19%) of the 201 products we were tracking - compared to just seven price decreases.

Of these, 11 items had seen price hikes for at least two months in a row.

Since April, Tesco has raised the price of 113 out of the 190 products captured in the five-month tracker – 60% of its offering, the highest proportion of any supermarket.

The average rise for those that went up in price between April and August was 15.1%. Worst affected was the Heart Food Co frozen potato croquettes (700g) which went from 61p to 90p, a rise of 48%.

The full list of items that saw price rises in the latest month, ranked by percentage increase is below:

• Grower’s Harvest Orange Juice 3X200ml – 40p to 68p, rise of 70% (had been 40p then 59p before going back to 40p)
• Creamfields soft cheese 200g – 49p up to 79p, rise of 61%
• Grower’s harvest sweetcorn 907g – 77p up to £1.08, rie of 40%
• Ms Molly’s Chocolate Chip Cookies 250G – 29p up to 39p, rise of 34%
• Butcher’s choice chicken portions 2kg – £2.62 up to £3.50, rise of 34% (had been £3.50 before dropping to £2.62)
• Stockwell & Co vegetable soup 400g – 39p up to 49p, rise of 26%
• Stockwell & Co 80 tea bags 200g – 55p up to 65p, rise of 18%
• Hearty Food Co 20 Breaded Chicken Nuggets 320G – 85p up to 99p, rise of 16%
• Grower’s Harvest Sweetcorn 325G – 39p up to 45p, rise of 15%
• Grower’s Harvest Apple Juice 3X200ml – 59p up to 68p, rise of 15%
• Nightingale Farms Peppers 375G – £1 up to £1.15, rise of 15% (had been 89p, then 95p, then 98p)
• Stockwell & Co. Variety Pack Crisps 6X25g – 74p up to 85p, rise of 15% (had been 69p)
• Grower’s Harvest Tomato Puree 200G – 34p up to 39p, rise of 15% (had been 31p)
• Grower’s Harvest Mixed Vegetables 1Kg – 69p up to 79p, rise of 14%
• Creamfields Grated Mature Cheddar 250G – £1.75 up to £1.99, rise of 14% (had previously been £1.49 then £1.59)
• Creamfields Grated Lighter Mature Cheese 250G – £1.75 up to £1.99, rise of 14% (had previously been £1.49 then £1.59)
• Creamfields 4 Pack Strawberry Raspberry Yoghurt Pouches 320G – 75p up to 85p, rise of 13%
• Eastmans Cheese & Bacon Quiche 400G – £1.59 up to £1.79, rise of 13%
• Stockwell & Co. Sweeteners 850S – 98p up to £1.10, rise of 12%
• Eastmans Brussels Pate 175G – 59p up to 65p, rise of 10% (had been 49p)
• Eastmans Ardennes Pate 175G – 59p up to 65p, rise of 10% (had been 49p)
• Stockwell & Co brown sauce 530g – 69p up to 76p, rise of 10% (had been 64p)
• Stockwell & Co crunchy peanut butter 340g – 99p up to £1.09, rise of 10% (had been 89p)
• Stockwell & Co Hot Chocolate 375G – 93p up to £1.02, rise of 10%
• Ms Molly’s Jumbo Chocolate & Vanilla Swiss Roll – £1 up to £1.09, rise of 9%
• Creamfields Cottage Cheese Low fat 300g – 69p up to 75p, rise of 9%
• Creamfields Uht semi skimmed milk 1 L – 69p up to 75p, rise of 9%
• Redmere Farms Beetroot 500G – 79p up to 85p, rise of 8%
• Stockwell & Co. Ready Salted Crisps 6X25g – 79p up to 85p, rise of 8% (had been 69p)
• Creamfields Uht Skimmed milk 1 L – 65p up to 69p, rise of 6%
• Creamfields double cream 300ml – 99p up to £1.05, rise of 6% (had been 95p)
• Grower’s Harvest Pure Apple Juice 1 Litre – 75p up to 79p, rise of 5%, rise of 5%
• Grower’s Harvest orange juice smooth 1 Litre – 75p up to 79p, rise of 5%, rise of 5%
• Hearty Food Co 4 battered white fish fillets 500g – £1.89 up to £1.99, rise of 5%
• Hearty Food Co 4 breaded white fish fillets 500g – £1.89 up to £1.99, rise of 5%
• Creamfields mozzarella 210g – 43p up to 45p, rise of 5%
• Creamfields Lighter Mature Cheese 400G – £2.19 up to £2.29, rise of 5% (had been £1.79, then £1.89, then £1.99)
• Creamfields Red Leicester Cheese 400G – £2.19 up to £2.29, rise of 5% (had been £1.79, then £1.89, then £1.99)
• Creamfields Greek Feta 200G – £1.15 up to £1.19, rise of 3%

Tesco did not respond to a request for comment.

How have we been tracking price rises?

• More than 750 value range products across five supermarkets are included in our price tracker.
• Not all items will be included every month - in some shops, when an item is listed as out of stock online, a price is not displayed. 
• We have been taking price snapshots on the first monday of every month since April (first Tuesday of the month in August, due to Scottish bank holiday)
• Some new products have been added to the tracker as time has gone on after they were added to the supermarket’s websites. These include new products at Morrisons after it expanded its Savers range. These products are excluded from comparisons with April prices.