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!

Unless Aldi and Lidl are your business Ed’s or are your children why would you be so upset that people don’t like them?

I actually think Lidl is awful. The layout is bad, the shop is often a big mess and the food is bad.

Aldi however... I love shopping there. I find it cheaper than Tesco and Morrison's which are nearby and I prefer Aldi's food too.

I used to be an Asda shopper but now it’s so expensive in there and I find it cheaper to shop at Sainsburys and the food is better quality too.

Lidl is pretty much universally cheaper in my experience, I try them all out and I think the poorest quality is asda by far but they stock specialist items nobody else has (world foods type items) so I visit every few weeks (bonus is they have the car wash but it's 9 miles away) Sainsbury's you need a second mortgage unless it's a price match item ditto Tesco. Lidl has the best bread and bacon (I buy the premium ones)

I was always an Aldi shopper but changed to Lidl when a new superstore opened near me. I stopped using Aldi as kept getting overcharged and it wasn't worth my while to return to store afterwards. Then Lidl started overcharging. One yoghurt at £1.89 was charged twice but I'd only bought one. Expensive yoghurt at £3.88! Used Tesco. Overcharged again. They charme twice for a bag of salad leaves. Now I check every receipt before I leave the shop. Even Boots charged me three times for one lipstick so I had to return for a refund. No matter where you shop please check your receipt before you leave the store. My income is limited and with a cost of living crisis going on its really important to make sure you are paying only for the goods you buy. If I had an M & S nearby I would certainly shop there. They are way ahead of any store with quality and their prices are competitive

How much do you spend on a food shop each week in Sainsburys? How many people? I find it the most expensive supermarket ever. Things like cheese and sausages are expensive from Sainsburys I find and just overall.

@MrsMoastyToasty

See for me it's the opposite, I'd shop in Morrisons out of choice but my local supermarket is Lidl, Morrisons is 9 miles away so I only go there if I need to go to the mall or b&q (or we want good fish, ooo stuffed sea bream for dinner ... too far!) Waitrose is almost as close as is sainsburys but they are £££

I found Lidl expensive with poor choice. I bought some products (pasta sauce etc) but they were poor quality, I wouldn't want to eat them again.

I find Tesco best for me, plenty of choice and price points.

Honestly you couldn’t pay me to shop there.

choices are shit
fruit / veg goes off really quickly
everyone in there bloody rude IME

i don’t think it’s much cheaper either. Just full of spurious rubbish I wouldn’t usually get.

In my town we've got Asda, Sainsburys, Aldi, M&S and Iceland, and they are all within walkimg distance There's only Dh and I at home now and we don't do a big shop but I pick up bits from all but Iceland. I have my best buys/bargains that I pick up from each one. Meat and fruit/veg sainsburys. Steak, bread, Nordpak, loo roll Aldi etc.

Me and OH are big TGI Fridays fans (despite not having one nearby) and when I found out they were stocking TGI Fridays frozen food in Iceland I was so excited. I went down and spent, no joke, £24 on TGI Friday bits.

I can quite assure you the food in no way resembled the equivalent at TGI’s and I have held a grudge against Iceland since 🤣

I spend about £100 a week on a family of 5 in Sainsburys. I think it just depends what you buy as to which supermarket will be cheapest for your family.

We recently went to Aldi and found the overall bill a lot cheaper than tesco (even with a clubcard) but I don't meal plan so can't say I bought exactly the same. However I was with DH which means I normally spend more and there was more alcohol in the trolley 🤣

I find the opposite - Aldi and Lidl always work out cheaper for us, but I don't buy meat or fish. Must be lucky because the veg I get is usually v tasty and lasts just as well as other supermarkets.

I am plant based and find them a lot cheaper for nuts, and soya milk as pp said. Also Aldi chickpeas are so plump and tasty - even prefer them to Napolina and are about 50p per tin.

Lidl now have their own organic tofu which is good. I find Sainsbury and Tesco better for vegan processed stuff, but tend to avoid it if I can.

Oh and most importantly Lidl chocolate is delicious.

That’s my budget too for a family of four, and I’ve never had a problem meeting it in Asda our Sainsburys

I decided to try a new Lidl which opened near us. At first I was really impressed re price however I find the quality of fresh stuff awful. Fruit and veg may be cheaper but don’t last as long. I always buy organic meat and again the price was amazing, However when I opened it it looked disgusting, I nearly threw it away but thought that was wasteful, so cooked it but it was horrible, slimy and rubbery.
I’ve gone back to Waitrose where, you get great quality and if you watch what you put in your trolly, doesn’t have to be really expensive.
I do go to Lidl for mixed nuts and seeds, and olive oil, which are great.

I don't usually go to Lidl but popped into one recently.

I only needed a couple of things and they were good and much cheaper than expected:

Tinned tuna for the cats (no complaints from them).
Own brand fabric softener - really pleased with it and will buy again.

Those little Portugese tarts from the bakery which were lush.

We use Lidl rarely now due to poor quality meat ( grey, gristly mince and water plumped chicken) and only go there to buy Formil, continental meats and low GI bread.

Their fruit and veg just doesn't last but Tesco's fruit and veg is ropey anyway.

Aldi and Lidl's range of herbs and spices is limited as well as store cupboard ingredients.

I’d find Aldi much cheaper than Lidl, both much cheaper than other places especially for things like yoghurts, cereals, biscuits, cakes etc but we’ve had very bad luck with milk and meat and I don’t like the taste of a lot of their fruit. Interesting the voting is so against both!!!

Oh sorry forgot cooking oil- so much cheaper in lidl and Aldi!!!

I honestly think it depends on your local store too. My local Lidl is awful dirty, fruit and veg really poor quality. Yet the one near my dil is so much better.
I find Morrisons very expensive, Asda ok. I’m a Sainsbury’s fan, have been for twenty odd years. Not the cheapest but definitely best quality.

We use Iceland or the CoOp quite frequently. They are in walking distance. Or it's Sainsbugs for us. Aldi is near Screwfix so go there for variety.

We usually shop at Aldi, but I have been noticing that Asda's Just essentials range is often cheaper than Aldi. We have been picking up lots of the Asda just essential stuff recently and can recommend lots of it (haven't tried the meat though) Flour, runny honey, blueberries, strawberries, pasta, rice, soup, chickpeas, chopped tomatoes, raspberries, kiwis, yogurts, chocolate mousses, peppers, pears, greek yogurt, garlic bread, grapes, orange juice and tortilla chips. All cheaper than Aldi and the quality is good in my opinion for the price.

For example

A tin of Chickpeas 400g
Aldi 55p
Asda just essentials 50p
Sainsburys 55p

Tomato Soup 400g
Asda Just essentials 57p (tastes like Heinz, my Husband didn't notice the difference)
Sainsburys 75p
Aldi 67p

Chocolate moussue 6x 60g
Aldi £1.09
Asda just essentials 86p
Sainsburys £1.09

Fresh Blueberries 125g
Asda Just essentials 99p
Aldi £1.59
Sainsburys £1.59

Fat free greek style yogurt 500g
Asda Just essentials 85p
Aldi 85p
Sainsburys £1.10

Penne pasta 500g
Asda Just esstenitals 41p
Aldi 41p
Sainsburys 75p

Aldi and Lidl used to be significantly cheaper (before brexit) due to their buying power and free trade. Brexit has imposed new costs on their buisiness model so now they are obviouly the same as other UK retailers (bar a few ever changing loss leaders). It was all explained before the referendumb in 2016 but people voted for it.

Also everything is going up due to global inflation - which is also worse in the UK due to Brexit.