To say Lidl and Aldi are not cheaper or better quality than other supermarkets?

[WeetabixTowels]

A Lidl has opened near me and so many people have said how good it is and how much cheaper it is to shop there. So I thought I’d give it a go.

I meal plan over 2 weeks and we generally eat the same things. So I went with my usual list - and spent £20 more than I do in Asda!

This was yesterday, and we ate chicken last night which was very gristly and then today I made the kids bacon sandwiches for breakfast - I had to bin the bacon as it was so fatty and shrivelled and grey it was revolting.

Comparing my receipt, I saw that

• The only things that were cheaper than Asda were bakery items and biscuits/treats - but I don’t tend to buy a lot of either so made no massive difference
• Fruit and veg were more expensive in Lidl
• Meats were a little more expensive in Lidl
• Frozen stuff was a lot more expensive and smaller quantities too so it won’t all last as long. We always have a movie and pizza night on Saturdays and I spent £3 per pizza whereas in Asda I can easily find them for £1.50 or cheaper
• Cupboard things like olives are more expensive in Lidl
• Toilet roll is cheaper in Lidl but honestly I wouldn’t buy it again, it’s like wiping my arse with a cheese grater

Now I will say that I bought 2 things I can’t get in Asda that were to die for and I would 100% make a trip to Lidl again for these - pickled garlic cloves and the Towergate digestives 🤤 amazing!

But have I done something wrong? I have officially failed at Lidl and I have no idea why 😂 was chatting to my cousin about this last night and she said the same happened in Aldi to her!

I find Sainsbury's the cheapest supermarket for quality and Value with M&S coming second.. it amazes me how many people think these two are expensive.. we have every supermarket there is in my city..so been to them all.
It's false economy if you don't like the food and end up throwing it away.

That’s interesting
my choice is between sainsburys and Lidl and I find Lidl much cheaper for things I buy like bags of nuts, own brand crisps, cereal etc. haven’t closely compared veg but think it’s cheaper at Lidl.

@Grannyknowsbest Sainsbury’s is especially cheap if you use the shop and scan and have a Nectar card as there are loads of personalised offers. The Sainsburys own brand stuff is good quality too

We have limited choice where I live - Lidl used to be a lot cheaper, now it's not that much cheaper (and probably a less pleasant overall shopping experience). I do like when they get some of the 'foreign' ranges in though, for something a bit different.

I think the pickled garlic cloves were from a ‘foreign’ range (also bought some plantain thingmabobs) so I would go back for the odd thing - even though the queues seem to take about half an hour!

If it's not working for you as a main shop then maybe just check the leaflets online and pop in when there are specific things you want, unless of course it's really out of the way (we have a Lidl next to our other main supermarket in the bigger town, so it's not too much hassle to do both on the same shop). I have heard others say that Lidl and Aldi, while still a little cheaper overall on an average shop, aren't as comparatively cheap as they were. If we had an Asda or Sainsburys within 20 miles or so I'd definitely use those, as it is it would be a long and expensive journey. I routinely used Adsa where I lived before, and Sainsburys every now and then.

I have Sainsbury’s lidl and Iceland in walking distance and Aldi Morrisons Asda and Tesco a short drive.

I get 70% sainsburys. I get a few bits from lidl but find I cannot do a full shop and veg doesn't always last.

Iceland I find can be cheap for some frozen stuff but alot is takeaway stuff and expensive now. Fresh food is very expensive I think generally there.

Asda is good for a fortnightly cupboard shop. Again don't always think their meat is the best.

They might be cheaper but the quality is🤢

We always did Asda as there’s a massive one nearby, but they were crap during the pandemic (empty shelves, less choice, fewer offers) so started dabbling with Morrisons and Lidl and alternating the three. Not much in it these days, price wise. Can’t stand Aldi, never understood the hype, it’s generally crap.

M&S meal deals are good as is the fruit and veg. And yellow stickers on an evening.
Waitrose ok for bits, good cheese counter.
Booths is by far the nicest supermarket in the UK. Hands down winner for quality with some good offers if you’re happy to go off list.

The quality is shit and it's not cheaper anymore, maybe five years ago it was. M&S and waitrose are on par if you shop wisely,.

Aldi shopper mostly but today shopped in Sainsburys, no more expensive really and fruit snd veg better quality. Forever chucking Aldi veg because it goes off so quickly. Sainsburys price match to Aldi on quite a few things and im choosy, i do look at prices

I dont get it either. I mean it ended up cheaper simply cos I couldn't get half the stuff I wanted. Quality was awful though. I mean its great fir a diet I guess cos u don't wanna eat half of it.

I'm advised of being a food snob however I'm.away with family at the.moment and despite their constant attempts to convince me to shop in aldi and lidl, they seem to be eating an.awful.lot of stuff I've bought from elsewhere. My butter is nearly used up despite them raving about how good the lidl margarine they buy is🤔

To add its tskes me much longer in Sainsburys as i like to look at clothes and homeware .....

Agreed. I've tried both at various times & don't find them cheaper than Tesco which is my regular place. I get my shopping delivered too so it's not worth it to me to change.

I mean its great fir a diet I guess cos u don't wanna eat half of it.

🤣 this is true. I’m out off bacon for life after seeing the grey greasy mess in the pan this morning practically oinking at me

I have a Tesco and Lidl near my work so I would mainly shop in Tesco but every few weeks I'd do my full shop in Lidl for a change. Used to be cheaper but now there's no cost difference really and the whole packing thing is too stressful

I've always felt this too. There are a few things in Lidl I like but just not enough to warrant always going there. I popped in to our local one the other day for the first time in a while and it reminded me why I don't like going there. I find the people shopping at our one much ruder at just barging past and blocking aisles etc too.

I never even see anything in the middle aisle or the world food offers in ours that I want whenever I go in.

Their flower bouquets are nicer than other supermarket ones a lot of the time though.

I normally shop in Morrisons as we have a large one near us but I've also started travelling to go to M&S in the city near us. I just get the bus there and back so can't do a massive shop but it's perfect for the bits and bobs I prefer in M&S compared to Morrisons. I also get frozen stuff from Farmfoods as DD works there and we get a discount, they're great for bread, milk and butter too.

We have a lovely local butcher around the corner from our house which we used to use all the time and I really need to use them instead of the supermarkets again for fresh meat, the prices aren't much different but the taste is just so much better.

This.

Which say Aldi and Lidl are cheaper.

The towergate digestives are excellent value. The Waitrose essentials ones are a bit gritty imo. The quality of the fruit and veg is not great imo; it’s not cheaper if you have to throw some away.

Used to be a die hard Aldi shopper and it was a lot cheaper than the bigger supermarkets but the prices crept up and the quality went down. Now shop at Waitrose and it’s actually really good value for everyday items. Obviously you can get expensive and very specific items but if buying run of the mill veg fruit and meat etc it’s reasonable and the soft fruits last the whole week. Assuming the dc haven’t eaten them by then.

Lidl has gone up a lot in price in the last year so you really need to be careful what you buy there. I tend to get toilet rolls, cleaning wipes, kitchen roll, tissues, teabags, pasta, biscuits, certain frozen goods eg thin chips, chicken nuggets, broccoli, green beans, ice lollies. Meat can be iffy tbh so I tend to buy that at Morrisons. Anything branded Lidl will be more expensive unless it's in their specials, can sometimes pick up branded cereals on offer. You just need to get a feel for what is cheaper. Also make sure you get the Lidl app as you get coupons and also rewards at intervals when you reach certain spend thresholds.

Also their reduced orange stickers tend to be decent, I pick up quite a few bargains this way, particularly sausages. Best to go early in day for these.

I would totally agree @WeetabixTowels - we have every supermarket here and my shop is a mix of M&S and sainsburys - and a bit of Waitrose.

I don't actually rate much in Lidl- if I had kids at home I would use it for those cartons of multivit juice, some cold meat and snacks and that would be it- some of the stuff is downright awful - however we really like good food and I cook-

Crikeyalmighty we used to always buy those multi vitamin juice mini cartons from Lidl as I haven't seen them anywhere else but they have shot up in price from around a pound to about £1.70