Aldi vs Tesco: How Much Do You Really Save at Aldi?

The Limitations of Aldi

There are several disadvantages of using Aldi rather than one of the big 4 supermarkets.

Aldi Has a Smaller Range.

Now there’s a reason for this. Holding a more concentrated range lets Aldi focus purely on best-selling lines to keep prices low. Check out the articles below if you want to know more.

http://uk.businessinsider.com/reasons-why-aldis-groceries-are-so-cheap-2018-3

https://www.thesun.co.uk/money/6983382/aldi-secrets-behind-cheap-prices/

But, this does mean you might need to do a top-up shop somewhere else…

No Coupons

Aldi doesn’t issue money off vouchers. These can bag you some big savings with the traditional supermarkets. You’re also limited when it comes to using manufacturer coupons. As Aldi mainly sells its own products, you won’t get many opportunities to grab freebies or use manufacturer discount coupons.

No Loyalty Scheme

Aldi is a no-frills discount store first and foremost. As a result, they’ve never had any kind of loyalty scheme. Now you might think the savings outweigh this, but this might not be the case. The Tesco Clubcard, Morrisons More and Nectar Loyalty Schemes,  all allow you to collect points. And boost them in some cases. This means you can get up to 3% of your shop back in voucher spend

Cashback

Aldi doesn’t appear on the cashback sites or in the cashback apps. This means there are potentially more savings to be had at the big 4 supermarkets when you factor this in.

Limited Promotions.

What Aldi is very good at is providing your basic shop at an ongoing low price. What you don’t benefit from when shopping at Aldi is the chance to exploit promos. There’s always a ton of promotions running at the big 4 supermarkets. So if you’re a savvy shopper, you can probably spot some major bargains, which you wouldn’t find in Aldi.

Limited “Yellow Sticker” Reductions

You get the occasional markdowns in Aldi, but their few and far between. It’s to inevitable as they have such a concentrated range and sell their stock through fast. Mainstream supermarkets, however, nearly always have a reduction section so you can grab a bargain. My personal favourites are fresh meat that you can freeze for up to 3 months and defrosted when you need it.

Aldi Doesn’t Deliver Groceries

This is a big factor for me. One of the issues we have is lack of spare time which is why switching to online deliveries is something we’re considering.

So Is Aldi Really Cheaper Than Tesco?

Baby Products

Nappies

Follow On Baby Formula

Baby Products Total

Kitchen Cleaner

All in One Cleaner 1Ltr

Cleaning Products Totals:

Cooking Ingredients

Olive Oil

Burrito Dinner Kit

Tomato Puree

Garlic Granules

Cooking Ingredients Total

Biscuits, Crisps & Snacks

 Variety Crisps – 30 Pack

Melts / Skips

Oaties Biscuits

Biscuits, Crisps and Snacks Total

Dairy Products

Greek Light Yoghurt

Fromage Frais

Dairy Products Total

Fresh Fruit & Veg

Large Onions x 3

Royal Gala Apples

Lemons

Bananas

Sweet Leaf Salad

Large Flat Mushrooms

Fresh Fruit & Veg Total

Fresh & Cooked Meat

Unsmoked Back Bacon

Diced Chicken

Diced Beef – 400g

Lean Beef Mince 5% Fat – 500g

Cooked Ham

Fresh and Cooked Meat Total

Frozen Food

Stonebaked Pizza x 2

Garlic Baguette

Fish Fingers

Straight Cut Chips 1.5kg

Frozen Broccoli

Frozen Petit Pois Peas

Frozen Sweetcorn

Frozen Food Total

Store Cupboard – Tins, Jars & Packets

Sliced Beetroot

Cheese & Broccoli Pasta & Sauce

Tinned Ravioli x 2 Tins

Tuna Chunks in Brine x 2 Tins

Tinned Soup – 3 Tins (Tomato, Chicken, Vegetable)

Spaghetti Hoops

Tinned Chick Peas

Red Kidney Beans

Everything Else

Quilted Toilet Tissue x 9 Rolls

Tinned Cat Food x 6 Tins

Apple & Blackcurrant Squash 1.5L

Rich Roast Coffee 200g

Cotton Pads

Crumpets – Pack of 6

Grand Total

Total Aldi Spend: £60.35

Now let’s factor in the extra savings you could make with Tesco to see of this levels the playing field.

Remove Products I Wouldn’t Usually Buy

I’ve removed the Burritos kit as I wouldn’t have usually bought this – I just bought it as it was a promo. So it’s not really a fair comparison.

New Tesco Spend: £69.04

New Aldi Spend: £59.36

Revised Saving: £9.68

Tesco’s 10p a litre off Petrol voucher

Factoring in Tesco’s 10p a litre off petrol promotion makes a big difference. Let’s say 50 Litre fill up based on a small hatchback such as a Ford Focus.

Saving: £5.00

Revised Tesco Spend: £64.04

Revised saving by using Aldi £4.68

We do have a larger car too which takes around 60 litres to fill up, which would result in a £6 saving.

Tesco Clubcard Points

Tesco Clubcard points give you another saving. You get 1 point per £1 spend. 1 point = 1p voucher value. But, you can Boost Clubcard Points to triple the value of your points. This effectively gives you a further 3% saving.

With boost: £0.69 x 3 = £2.07

Without boost: £0.69

Revised Tesco Spend (with Boost): £61.97

Revised Aldi Saving: £2.61

So with Tesco’s 10p per litre off fuel offer and Clubcard points factored in, the gap has narrowed to just £2.61. Aldi still ends up cheaper but only just.

But wait there’s, more ways you can save….

Cashback

If you’re a new online customer, you can also grab one of the Cashback offers below.

You can get £6.50 cashback through Quidco for a new customer grocery order placed online with a minimum spend of £45.

You can sign up for Quidco here and get £5 just for signing up.

TopCashback currently offers a slightly lower £6.30 cashback for a New Customer Online Purchase over £45.

You can sign up for TopCashback here and get a £5 Amazon e-gift card.

If you’re looking for more ways to save money when shopping online check out this post, 

Cashback Apps

Cashback Apps give you cash back for your in-store shopping. They tend to be limited to specific offers but they’re all well worth having to give you some extra savings. The offers are for branded products so you’re unlikely to be able to use these at Aldi.

• Quidco’s instore cashback app, ClickSnap currently has 29 cashback offers at Tesco. You can download the ClickSnap App at iTunes or Google Play for Android
• Shopmium currently has 21 offers at Tesco. This includes a freebie worth £1.29 for a bottle of Robinsons Refresh’d. You can sign up with my referral code: 66s9i to receive an extra freebie too. It’s currently a jar of Nutella but this is subject to change. You can download the Shopmium App at iTunes if you have an iPhone or Google Play if you’ve got an Android phone.
• CheckoutSmart currently has 35 offers at Tesco. Again CheckputSmart is available on Google Play or iTunes.
• GreenJinn is a relatively new app (launched in 2016). New offers go live every Monday with an average weekly offer value of £30. Get GreenJinn on Android or iOS.

Want to learn more about cashback apps? Check out my post on how to save money using cashback apps.

Vouchers and Coupons

There’s always plenty of vouchers from major brands and supermarkets. The free Tesco magazine usually has some decent vouchers in it including the odd freebie. So, it’s worth checking out the deals page on MoneySavingExpert to find the most up to date list.

At the time of writing this post, Tesco has a coupon in its magazine for £1.50 off Ben & Jerrys Ice Cream 500ml. The offers valid until 30th November 2018.