Food shopping Aldi vs Tesco

[mumof1littlebun]

We really need to try and budget better next year and spend a fortune on food shopping as do a weekly show then pop to the shops for bits in between. Obviously this needs to stop but also I’d like to see if people budget shopping at Tesco as I think the quality is much better than Aldi but my husband thinks we can get a lot more for our money at Aldi even though I don’t think the quality of a lot of things is great!

I personally prefer Aldi but my local Aldi is really good and local Tesco is rubbish. Maybe depends a bit on what you buy. I tend to cook from scratch so the basic ingredients from Aldi are fine.
I then do occasional shops at Waitrose for spices etc I can’t get at Aldi.

I do try and cook from scratch and it is something I want to do more of next year. It’s not the basic ingredients I find bad quality but some of the raw meat, ham for sandwiches etc

Oh no OP, quality at our local Aldi and Lidl is at least as good as Tesco (sometimes better), but much MUCH less money.

Meat is consistently better quality at Aldi/Lidl.

Fresh produce is as good if you make sure you buy it when it looks fresh, though you do need to check as the discounters don't routinely look after their fresh produce as well (e.g. not keeping things refrigerated).

I only buy things at Tesco that I can't get in Aldi. There is nothing I'd buy from Tesco if I could get it in Aldi instead.

I think I save about 30% of my monthly food spend shopping in Aldi.

We find Tesco better in quality, keep trying Aldi and yes it can be cheaper for some things but we never really like them and end up going back to tesco

The meat is better quality at Aldi, we predominantly cook from scratch so don't need any branded sauces jars/packets or frozen foods, so we don't have to factor that in.

As a PP said I do check more thoroughly through any packaged fruit (blueberries and such)

I do get my beans, humous, Philadelphia from Tesco and have even moved over to their Mayonnaise.

you will get a 1/3 split on this thread the aldi shopeers will say aldi, the tesco shoppers will say tescos and the lidl shoippers will swear they never shop anywhere else personally i am an aldi shopper but like everything experimenting is the best way to find out do your shopping in tescos one week and aldis the next and after you have actually tasted the food you have bought you will know which one you prefer and which one fits your budget better

I prefer meat from Aldi, even things like mince seems to taste much better than Tesco. The quality of their produce can be hit and miss sometimes, but we've saved so much by shopping there it's still cheaper if it doesn't last as long.

I much prefer Tesco to Aldi. Aldi is probably cheaper though.

Maybe it’s just our Tesco (it’s a huge Tesco Extra) but the quality of food in our Aldi is far superior.

We only go to Tesco when we’re looking for their non food things, we’ll pick up a few food items while there but would never choose Tesco if it was only food we were after.

I prefer Tesco and do it online so I can see what I am spending. They price match Aldi with many products and you can see them when online shopping.

I do like Aldi for a few things but overall I just prefer Tesco.

I don't find Aldi that much cheaper and think Tesco is better quality for the majority of things I buy.

I shop at both. If you have a Clubcard Tesco has some good deals, but Aldi is definitely cheaper. I can see the difference when we've been stuck in the house and had to order online from Tesco rather than just topping up stuff I can't get at Aldi. Both my local Aldi's have very nice quality fresh stuff, and I like all their store cupboard, non fresh too, but there's lots less choice. Which can be a cost saving in itself

Aldi is much cheaper, basics/meat and cheese are good. Some things you have to go elsewhere for though as you really can taste the difference eg Kellogg’s cereals, walkers crisps and birds eye frozen peas.

I've tried aldi, but in our area tesco is much better quality.
It seems cheaper but then when you get stuff home the veg go off quickly, and the meat could double as shoe leather!

Aldi is much fresher. For their meats I buy the high end only (which I can afford in aldi) and the nicest ham etc is waitrose quality. Wouldn't buy cheap meat ever 😷 so often go without. Same as PP I buy everything I can in aldi then get the bits I can't in waitrose.

I shop at both.

A lot of it depends on the store, but this is my experience:

Fruit and veg - Tesco. They are often slightly dearer, but if you choose stuff carefully you get the quality and variety. If it's just for a basic veg soup then you can use Aldi's stuff but use it on the same day (in my experience)

Cheese - varies, but Tesco has a slight edge and has a LOT more variety. Aldi has some good stuff, though. I buy from both.

Fresh meat - Tesco is currently price matching a lot of the basics and has more variety. They also seem to take a little more care than Aldi in our local stores.

Frozen - Not really tried much in Aldi. Their frozen chicken portions were fine, but they didn't have low fat mince and the free from stuff isn't there.

Cooked/sandwich meat, esp salami - Aldi, much nicer and less expensive

Chocolates and biscuits - Aldi

Crisps and snacks - Aldi, just as nice and much less expensive.

Jars and tins - Aldi is less expensive and their curry and pasta sauces are great, but they don't have the range if you want a variety of stuff. Their sweetcorn isn't as good.

Pasta - can't really judge much as we have to have gluten free pasta but some of the household are fine with regular stuff and the Aldi own brand pot noodles are okay and less expensive.

Coffee (only DH drinks) - Tesco (most people prefer Aldi)

Baking stuff - Tesco. Aldi doesn't have the variety

Free From stuff (gazillion food issues in this house) - Tesco. Aldi is very limited.

Bread - Morrisons or Lidl (I shop everywhere) but Tesco slight advantage for variety, Aldi better for the fancier stuff. The prices are slightly cheaper at Aldi

Cleaning - Astonish stuff from local shops or Amazon.

If you have a clubcard for Tesco and use it carefully (don't buy stuff just because it's marked down but because you are going to use it) then there are some decent deals and yesterday there were signs everywhere about them price matching with Aldi. You also get points.

My opinion, for the stuff we buy in our household and way we work, on the whole, by and large, all things considered, Tesco is a little more expensive than Aldi, but not much, with greater variety and some items better quality. It is worth, however, dipping into Aldi for some of the other stuff on the regular, though.

Some people have stamp collecting or hiking as their hobbies. I have grocery shopping.

I think Aldi does some things really well, we buy the bockwursts, continental meat and some cheeses from there but I think the fresh meat is poor quality compared to some other places and buying ingredients is often more difficult than at other places.

I buy meat and ingredients from Waitrose and spend less than I would at Tesco or Sainsbury’s for better quality. In January, Waitrose usually have a big sale on basic food cupboard items and I always stock up on noodles, stir fry sauces, pasta, tomatoes etc.

I prefer Aldi to Tesco for groceries, dairy and charcuterie. Fresh meat and fish I get from Morrisons or the local butcher. Vege - what ever looks good at the market or Aldi. All the specialist things noodles, spices, sauces etal I get from the Chinese Indian and Persian supermarkets in bulk every 6 months or so. Tesco I use for hair dye, razors, Vegemite, Belgian Cherry Beer....

I was an Aldi shopper for years until around June this year when I switched to Tesco home delivery. I wouldn’t go back to Aldi now. The quality was amazing when I first switched to Aldi around 9 years ago but has obviously got worse over the years without me realising. Since switching to Tesco this year I’ve noticed the quality of the food (particularly the fruit, veg and meat) is much better - dh and the dc have noticed too - and the club card deals make it so it’s not much more expensive. My shop costs around £95-£100 a week now whereas at Aldi it was creeping up to £85-90 each week (got more expensive in the first lockdown. Aldi is that bit cheaper but I think it’s worth paying the extra for the better quality food. I’m sticking with Tesco for the foreseeable.

I use scan as you shop at Tesco to avoid having to go through a till, it's hard enough for me there without trying to keep up with Lidl/Aldi level super fast scanning

Aldi and Lidl are both good and both much cheaper than Tesco but I find we buy a lot of things that the discounters don't sell. I don't have time in the week to shop at both so compromise by alternating a bit e.g. going to Tesco tomorrow to stock up on various ingredients that I know they will have, will get the rest of the shopping while I'm there but then that should keep us going long enough to shop at Aldi for a few shops.
Also I know this isn't what you asked it have you considered saving money by buying meat from a local butcher? Dh gets meat from the butcher, cheaper than any of the supermarkets, they will cut it up how he wants and let him take his own containers to reduce packaging. Also means we can buy the exact amount e.g. 3 chicken breasts instead of having to get 4 in the packs at the supermarket. He tends to go about once a fortnight and freezes it.

I shop at both, depending on whether I do an online or in person shop. I find Aldi better quality on the whole and significantly cheaper.

I do like Tesco though and there are some products I will always buy from them mainly because there is more choice. (Things like table sauces, specialist cooking ingredients.)

Pre covid I did try shopping at Aldi a few times but some of the own brand stuff is inedible and it’s the only time my ds has complained about chicken that I’ve cooked . I also couldn’t stand the check out fiasco . As it is I now don’t go shopping at all so get a Tesco delivery and my dsis picks me up bits in Marks . I don’t find Tesco particularly expensive if you are cooking from scratch and they do the Aldi price match thing as well .