Cheapest supermarket for own-brand bathroom essentials revealed including toothpaste & nappies – how much can you save?

ASDA is the cheapest supermarket for own-brand bathroom essentials – with a basket of toiletries costing £1 less than rivals Aldi and Lidl.

The Sun analysed the cost of ten everyday bathroom items including toothpaste, toothbrushes, toilet roll, handwash, shampoo, shower gel, nappies, cotton buds and baby wipes.

We included products similar in size and quality to enable a fair comparison, and where necessary included two of a particular product when only a smaller version was available.

We then compared the basket price of items at Aldi, Asda, Boots, Lidl, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s and Tesco

Asda came in cheapest at £12.26, with its Just Essentials range helping to bring the cost 8% lower than the next cheapest retailer, Lidl (£13.30).

Aldi was third (£13.37) and Tesco, fourth (£14.33), followed by Sainsbury’s (£14.49), then Morrisons (£17.25).

Boots was by far the most expensive – with its own-brand goods coming in at £21.89 – almost £10 dearer than Asda’s.

But the research highlighted the importance of comparing value as well as price, as Asda’s own brand range only had the best value in four of ten categories. 

That’s because in some cases rival supermarkets sell slightly bigger packs for around the same price.

For example, Asda sells 54-packs of its Little Angel nappies for £5, whereas Aldi and Lidl sell 60-packs for the same cost, making them better value overall.

Asda’s Little Angel cotton buds are sold in packets of 200 for 50p, while Lidl does 300 for 59p.

Experts say it’s important to check value as well as the immediate price tag on the shelf.

Scott Nelson, founder at MoneyNerd, said: “While we all tend to lean towards the cheapest grocery items and supermarkets for our weekly shops, there is often more value in looking at how much you get from each item than how much they cost to buy.

“Make sure to look at the unit price of the items you are buying, as this will allow you to truly compare how far your money is going. 

“Ultimately, buying the item that will last longer makes more sense, even if it’s initially more expensive than a cheaper alternative.

“Otherwise, you might just have to buy two of the cheaper alternatives to make up for it.”

Here we look at where’s cheapest for each item – and importantly, which is the best value.

NAPPIES

• CHEAPEST: Aldi, Sainsbury’s and Lidl all sell 60-packs of size six nappies for £4.99. 
• DEAREST: Boots, £4.20 for a pack of 23, cost less than other supermarkets sell for 60-packs.
• BEST VALUE: Aldi, Sainsbury’s and Lidl also have best value, at a cost of 8p each.
• WORST VALUE: Boots, with nappies costing 18p each

BABY WIPES

• CHEAPEST: Sainsbury’s, Asda, Tesco, Aldi and Lidl all sell 60-packs for 65p, bringing the cost per sheet to around 1p each.
• DEAREST: Morrisons, with 64-packs costing 85p.
• BEST VALUE: Sainsbury’s, Asda, Tesco, Aldi and Lidl, with each sheet costing a penny.
• WORST VALUE: Morrisons, although the cost of a sheet is only slightly more expensive, at 1.4p each.

COTTON BUDS

• CHEAPEST: Aldi, 43p for 200
• DEAREST: Boots, 89p for 200, although they are organic.
• BEST VALUE: Lidl, 20p for 100
• WORST VALUE: Sainsbury’s, 50p for 100  

SHAMPOO

• CHEAPEST: Lidl, 59p for 400ml
• DEAREST: Morrisons, £1.80 for 500ml, although the shampoo is also a conditioner
• BEST VALUE: Lidl, Asda, Aldi and Boots, 15p per 100ml
• WORST VALUE: Morrisons, 36p per 100ml

SHOWER GEL

• CHEAPEST: Tesco Essentials, 60p for two 250ml bottles
• DEAREST: Boots, £1.70 for two 250ml bottles
• BEST VALUE: Tesco and Asda, 12p per 100ml
• WORST VALUE: Boots, 34p per 100ml

LOO ROLL

• CHEAPEST: Asda, £1.99 for six rolls
• DEAREST: Boots, £2 for four rolls
• BEST VALUE: Tesco, 11p for 100 sheets
• WORST VALUE: Boots, 26p per 100 sheets

TOOTHPASTE

• CHEAPEST: Sainsbury’s and Tesco, 50p for 100ml
• DEAREST: Boots, £1 for 100ml
• BEST VALUE: Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Aldi and Lidl, 50p for 100ml
• WORST VALUE: Asda, Morrisons and Boots, £1 for 100ml

TOOTHBRUSHES

• CHEAPEST: Asda, Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons all do twin-packs of toothbrushes for 25p
• DEAREST: Boots, do two-packs for £1.50
• BEST VALUE: Asda, Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons, 13p a toothbrush
• WORST VALUE: Boots, 75p for a toothbrush

HANDWASH

• CHEAPEST: Sainsbury’s, 60p for 500ml
• DEAREST: Boots, 85p for 250ml
• BEST VALUE: Sainsbury’s, 12p for 500ml
• WORST VALUE: Morrisons, £1 for 50ml, but we’ve used their hand gel to compare, as they don’t sell handwash.

BABY SHAMPOO 

• CHEAPEST: Tesco, Aldi and Lidl, 95p for 500ml
• DEAREST: Sainsbury’s, £1.25 for 500ml
• BEST VALUE: Tesco, Aldi and Lidl, 19p per 100ml
• WORST VALUE: Sainsbury’s, 25p per 100ml