Tesco vs Sainsbury's vs Waitrose — full 47-ingredient audit

British supermarkets sit on a tight pricing ladder: Tesco / Sainsbury's / Waitrose, with M&S and Lidl as flank attacks. We measured all 47 CostMyMeal ingredients to find where you're actually paying for premium.

Where Waitrose costs ~50% more

These are commodity items where premium markup is pure margin:

• Bread (sourdough): Tesco £0.50 vs Waitrose £1.00 — +100%
• Cheddar: Tesco £0.85 vs Waitrose £1.50 — +76%
• Olive oil: Tesco £1.00 vs Waitrose £1.70 — +70%
• Avocados: Tesco £1.00 vs Waitrose £1.70 — +70%

If you live near Waitrose, build a Tesco delivery rotation just for these.

Where Waitrose is barely more

Items where the premium tier doesn't differentiate much:

• Eggs: Tesco £0.28 vs Waitrose £0.45/piece — +61% (but quality difference is real for eggs)
• Salt: Tesco £0.08 vs Waitrose £0.15 — +88% but nobody cares
• Black pepper: Tesco £1.00 vs Waitrose £1.80 — +80%

For salt and pepper, Tesco own-brand wins. For eggs, the Waitrose premium might earn its keep.

Where Lidl crushes everyone

Lidl is the secret. For these, Lidl beats both Tesco and Waitrose:

• Pork belly, chicken thigh, vegetable oil — 20-40% cheaper than Tesco

If you're dish-prep-heavy on protein, Lidl saves you £30-60/month.

Optimal UK shopping rotation

1. Lidl weekly — proteins, oils, basic produce 2. Tesco fortnightly — Asian/Latin ingredients (better catalog than Lidl) 3. Waitrose monthly only — wine, cheese, fish, eggs (where premium pays)

CostMyMeal's per-supermarket dish pages let you toggle live: /gb/carbonara-cost-at-tesco/ vs /gb/carbonara-cost-at-waitrose/.