Compare Supermarket Prices in Ireland — The Complete 2026 Guide

Last updated: 1 May 2026 · Stores covered: Tesco · SuperValu · Dunnes Stores · Aldi · Lidl · Method: MasterMarket live scrape, weekly refresh

There are five supermarkets fighting for the average Irish weekly shop. They all claim to be cheapest. They all run "compare and save" campaigns. None of them publish their own price data, and the prices on the shelf change weekly thanks to multi-buys, Clubcard, Real Rewards and Special Buys.

We pulled prices from all five — Tesco, SuperValu, Dunnes Stores, Aldi and Lidl — over the last 14 days. 2,500+ distinct products, 4,400+ live price points, validated and de-duplicated. This pillar guide walks you through what the data actually shows: which store is cheapest where, what the loyalty cards actually save you, and the simple three-cart strategy that consistently beats single-store shopping by €30–€50 a week.

Quick summary, if you only read one paragraph: Aldi and Lidl have the cheapest unit prices on own-brand staples (milk, bread, pasta, basic veg). Tesco and SuperValu have the deepest range and the best Clubcard/Real Rewards offers on branded goods if you scan the card. Dunnes Stores is competitive on multi-buy wet/frozen and consistently shows headline shelf prices without requiring a card. The cheapest weekly shop in Ireland is rarely a single-store shop.

The five Irish supermarkets, by the numbers

Here's what we currently track, in our last 14-day window:

Source: MasterMarket live price database, prices captured 18 Apr – 1 May 2026.

A few things to call out from those raw numbers:

• Tesco's 1,701 SKUs vs Aldi's 247 isn't a "Tesco is bigger" claim — it reflects the range strategy: Aldi sells fewer products, often own-brand only, at consistent low prices. Tesco sells everything, with multiple price tiers per category. Both models work; they're not directly comparable shelf-to-shelf.
• Lidl's 47 SKUs is artificially low because Lidl rotates most of its weekly range — what's on the shelf this week is often gone next week. Our scraper currently captures the more persistent core. We're working on this.

Where each store actually wins

Across 924 SKUs that appear in 2 or more stores in our 14-day window, here's the pattern:

Tesco wins when…

• You scan a Clubcard. Clubcard Prices typically save €1–€3 per branded SKU vs the regular shelf price, and they apply to ~60% of promotion lines we see.
• You buy specific branded staples like Pedigree wet food, Cesar trays, name-brand crisps, and sliced cooked meats — Tesco's Clubcard price is often the floor across the five stores.
• You want widest range. If a niche product exists in Ireland, it's almost certainly in Tesco.

SuperValu wins when…

• You're buying Irish-supplier own-brand (Signature Tastes, Real Food) — these often beat Tesco own-brand on quality at a similar price.
• Real Rewards is active on the SKU. SuperValu's loyalty discounts are competitive with Tesco Clubcard on overlapping branded lines.
• You're shopping fresh meat — local supplier coverage is strongest at SuperValu.

Dunnes Stores wins when…

• You won't carry a loyalty card. Dunnes shows the headline price on the shelf — what you see is what everyone pays. For households that don't engage with Clubcard or Real Rewards, Dunnes is structurally the cheapest of the three "branded" supermarkets on most matched-SKU comparisons.
• Multi-buy promotions are running (Cesar wet food, Pedigree treats, frozen lines). Dunnes runs aggressive 2-for-€X offers without requiring a card.

Aldi wins when…

• You're buying own-brand staples. Aldi's "Specially Selected", "The Fresh Marketplace", and core ranges are routinely 20–35% cheaper per unit than the equivalent branded product elsewhere.
• You're filling a basket with milk, bread, pasta, eggs, basic veg, basic meat. Aldi's persistent low price holds without any loyalty mechanic.

Lidl wins when…

• The "Lidl Surprises" weekly range overlaps with what you need. Lidl's mid-week non-food and rotating food deals can be the single cheapest item in a category that week.
• You're buying Coshida, Combino, Vemondo or similar own-brand. Like Aldi, the headline price is the price.

An honest caveat on Aldi and Lidl coverage: Our scrapers currently track 247 Aldi SKUs and 47 Lidl SKUs vs 1,700+ at Tesco. The story above on Aldi/Lidl is industry-standard knowledge confirmed by what we do see, but our spoke articles (e.g. dog food, baby formula, cheapest weekly shop) are scoped honestly to whatever stores we have live data for. We expand coverage every week.

The "Clubcard tax" — what loyalty cards really save

Two of the five Irish supermarkets — Tesco and SuperValu — show two different prices on the same shelf:

The headline finding from our data: a household that doesn't scan Clubcard or Real Rewards is paying €5–€15 more per weekly shop at Tesco/SuperValu than the headline-price stores for the same basket. If you shop at either, the card is genuinely worth scanning.

Conversely, if you're not going to scan: Dunnes and Aldi will quietly out-price both Tesco and SuperValu on most matched dry-grocery SKUs.

Where the real price gaps are: own-brand staples

Branded grocery in Ireland has surprisingly little spread once you exclude promotions. A 3kg bag of Pedigree dry dog food is €13.50 at Tesco, SuperValu and Dunnes. A pint of milk hovers in a tight band. Branded biscuits, branded breakfast cereal, name-brand tea — all clustered.

The real gaps are at the own-brand level, where each chain's house brand is priced independently. Examples from our data:

For a 30-item weekly shop, switching even half of the category to own-brand at Aldi/Lidl is the biggest single saving lever available to Irish households — bigger than Clubcard, bigger than multi-buys.

The three-cart strategy — beating single-store shopping

The honest answer to "which store is cheapest in Ireland" is: none of them, individually. Single-store shoppers leave €30–€50 a week on the table. The cheapest realistic weekly shop in Ireland looks like this:

1. Cart 1 — Aldi or Lidl. Own-brand staples: milk, bread, eggs, pasta, basic veg, basic meat, household basics. Roughly 60–70% of the basket by item count, 40–50% by spend.
2. Cart 2 — Tesco or SuperValu (with the loyalty card). The branded items you're not willing to swap (specific tea, specific wet food, specific snack) at Clubcard / Real Rewards price.
3. Cart 3 — Dunnes or top-up store. Anything missed, or the multi-buy specials worth grabbing while they're live.

This isn't an aspirational strategy — our Average Cost of Weekly Shop guide shows the difference, with worked basket examples. The three-cart shop costs €30–€50 less per week than a single-store equivalent at any of the five supermarkets.

For households without time for three stops, Aldi-only is the single best one-store choice in Ireland on price — at the cost of range. SuperValu-with-Real-Rewards is the best one-store choice when range matters and the card gets scanned.

How to actually compare prices yourself

You don't need to take any of this on faith.

• MasterMarket's live tool shows the current price across all five supermarkets for every product we track, including loyalty-card flags. Search a product and the comparison is one click: www.mastermarketapp.com.
• Build a saved basket with the items you actually buy weekly. The total updates as prices move — you can spot promo windows in real time and time your shop accordingly.
• Set price-drop alerts on your top 10 most-bought items. If Pedigree wet food drops to €0.99 a tray at Dunnes for a week, you'll know.
• Use the price-history view to spot fake promotions ("was €4.99, now €3.99" where it's been €3.99 for six months). These are surprisingly common across all five chains.

FAQ

Which is the cheapest supermarket in Ireland in 2026? Aldi has the lowest unit prices on most own-brand staples (milk, bread, basic veg, pasta). Lidl is competitive in its rotating weekly range. Tesco and SuperValu compete via Clubcard and Real Rewards prices on branded goods. The genuinely cheapest weekly shop is split across two or three stores — see our save €100/month guide.

Is Tesco cheaper than Dunnes? Tesco is cheaper than Dunnes on Clubcard-Price branded SKUs (Cesar wet food, Pedigree puppy pouches, etc.) — but only with a Clubcard. Without one, Dunnes is cheaper on most matched dry-grocery SKUs because Dunnes shows the headline price on the shelf without requiring a card.

Are Aldi and Lidl really cheaper than Tesco? On own-brand staples, yes — typically 20–35% cheaper per unit. On branded goods (the same Coca-Cola, the same Pampers), the gap is smaller because branded floors are tightly clustered across all five chains.

Do I need a Clubcard or Real Rewards card to shop at Tesco/SuperValu? No, but you'll pay €5–€15 more per weekly shop without it. Both cards are free to join and only require you to scan at checkout to apply the promo prices.

How often do supermarket prices change in Ireland? Promotion-driven prices (multi-buy, fixed-amount-off, Clubcard) typically rotate every 1–2 weeks. Headline shelf prices on milk, bread, pasta and core dry goods are remarkably stable month-to-month. Aldi and Lidl rotate the deepest non-staple range weekly.

Is MasterMarket affiliated with any supermarket? No. MasterMarket is independent and not owned by, sponsored by, or commercially affiliated with Tesco, SuperValu, Dunnes Stores, Aldi or Lidl. We pull public shelf prices and surface them in one comparison view.

Read next — by category and by store

By category:

• Cheapest milk in Ireland — €1.15–€2.99 spread, 4-store comparison
• Cheapest baby formula in Ireland — EU pricing rules + safe SKU comparison
• Cheapest dog food in Ireland — Pedigree, Bakers, Cesar live comparison
• Average cost of a weekly shop in Ireland — 30-item basket priced across all five stores

By store match-up:

• Tesco vs Aldi Ireland — full price comparison
• Lidl vs Aldi Ireland — own-brand head-to-head
• Dunnes Stores vs Tesco Ireland — branded comparison

Save money:

• How to save €100/month on groceries in Ireland

Data: MasterMarket live scrape, 18 Apr – 1 May 2026. Prices change weekly; always verify at checkout. MasterMarket is independent and not affiliated with Tesco, SuperValu, Dunnes Stores, Aldi or Lidl.