One of the many things impacting the rising cost of living these days is the price of groceries in our supermarkets with people becoming more and more cautious about what they buy and where they do the weekly shop.
On RTE's Claire Byrne Live this week, they revealed that the price of a loaf of sliced pan has increased by 2.4% since before the pandemic, cornflakes have jumped by 2.4%, a block of butter by 2.6%, vegetable oil by 3.3% and lamb chops by 19.7%.
So the Irish Mirror went shopping in two major supermarkets, Tesco and Aldi, to find out which store is the best value for money - and the results were surprising.
We decided to buy the same twenty everyday products on a shopping list to see exactly what the price difference was when comparing like-for-like, including items such as a loaf of bread, butter, pasta, minced beef, eggs, tea and more.
In each case, we chose the cheapest option available and bought store-brand products where possible to get the best value for money.
Tesco
Penne Pasta (1kg) = €0.99
Pasta sauce (500g) = €0.53
Rice (1kg) = €0.99
Minced Beef 18% (1.029 kg) = €3.90
Whole Chicken (2kg) = €5
Loaf of bread (800g) = €0.75
Milk (2l) = €1.69
Butter (454g) = €2.49
Ham (125g) = €1.09
Cheddar Cheese (200g) = €2.00
6 Eggs = €1.00
Corn Flakes (750g) = €1.49
6 Apples = €1.50
6 Bananas = €1.32
Carrots (2kg) = €1.79
Onions (1kg) = €0.59
Baked beans (420g) = €0.25
Low fat yogurt (500g) = €0.69
Bourbon creams (296g) = €0.36
Tea bags (250g) = €1.15
Aldi
Penne Pasta 1kg = €0.99
Pasta sauce 500g = €0.53
Rice 1kg = €0.99
Minced Beef 18% (1kg) = €3.79
Whole Chicken (1.9kg) = €4.69
Loaf of bread (800g) = €0.75
Milk (2l) = €1.69
Butter (454g) = €2.49
Ham (125g) = €1.09
Cheddar Cheese (200g) = €1.39
6 Eggs = €0.99
Corn Flakes (750g) = €1.49
6 Apples = €0.99
6 Bananas = €1.49
Carrots (2kg) = €1.75
Onions (1kg) = €0.59
Baked beans (420g) = €0.25
Low fat yogurt (500g) = €0.49
Bourbon creams (200g) = €0.24
Tea bags (250g) = €1.15
Conclusion: Aldi is cheaper than Tesco
The total amount for the Tesco shop came to €29.57, while the Aldi shop was €1.74 cheaper, coming in at €27.83.
While many items were the same price, Aldi beat Tesco on price when it came to cheese, eggs, apples, carrots and yogurt.
Tesco beat Aldi on price on just one item, bananas.
However, it should be noted that some of the Tesco items, such as the bourbon creams and the minced beef, came in slightly larger quantities but cost the same as Aldi per kilogram.
