Which supermarket is cheapest? Compare your real basket
Is the cheapest supermarket in France necessarily the cheapest one for your family? Not always. Your budget also depends on the products you buy, the quantities, the brands, the special offers and how far you have to travel.
The right approach, then, is not to compare slogans or a handful of headline prices, but the basket that actually matches your menus. Here is how to do it without turning your weekly shop into a market research project.
What the September 2026 supermarket ranking reveals
In its ranking published on 8 September 2026, Que Choisir (France's best-known consumer association) compared prices collected from more than 4,500 supermarkets and hypermarkets offering a "drive" service (online ordering with click-and-collect pick-up).
E.Leclerc comes out on top among the mainstream chains, for both national brands and own-label products. Hyper U and Intermarché hypermarkets complete the podium. Among mid-sized stores, Intermarché finishes slightly ahead of Super U.
At the other end of the ranking, Auchan is the most expensive chain: on a representative €150 basket, the average gap reaches €20 compared with E.Leclerc. That is just over 13 % of the basket studied.
The gap is not that wide everywhere, though. Que Choisir notes, for example, a difference of less than €1.50 on €150 between Super U and Carrefour Market in the supermarket category.
These results are a useful benchmark, but they do not automatically point to the best shop near you.
Why a national ranking does not tell the whole story
Prices vary from one store to another
Two stores under the same banner can charge different prices. Local competition, store format and commercial policy all affect the total. A chain that ranks well nationally can therefore be beaten by a competitor in your own town.
No two baskets are alike
The ranking is based on a representative basket. But a family that buys lots of fresh produce and a mostly vegetarian household will not fill the same trolley.
The result also depends on pack sizes. A pack that is cheaper per unit can cost more per kilo. Conversely, a large pack that is good value per kilo is no saving if part of it ends up in the bin.
Discounters are not included
Lidl and Aldi do not appear in this monthly ranking. Que Choisir explains that its method relies on drive prices and on a sufficiently comparable product range, two conditions that do not fit the way these chains operate.
Their absence therefore does not allow you to conclude that they are cheaper, or that they are more expensive. To include them in your comparison, you need to check the prices of the products you actually buy yourself.
The most reliable method: compare your real basket
Comparing an entire trolley across five shops every week would be tedious. Fortunately, a few steps are enough to get a meaningful result.
1. Start with meals, not special offers
Before opening a leaflet, decide which meals you will cook and how many people will be eating. Then check which ingredients you already have in the fridge, the freezer and the cupboards.
This step stops promotions from dictating the menu and triggering purchases with no clear purpose. A discount on three packs of yoghurts saves nothing if the family only gets through two before the use-by date.
2. Turn the menu into a list with quantities
"Buy vegetables" is not a precise enough list to compare prices. Instead, write down the products and quantities you need: 1 kg of carrots, 500 g of lentils, 8 yoghurts or 600 g of chicken, for example.
You can then check comparable products, without mistakenly pitting two different pack sizes against each other. France's Ministry of the Economy points out that prepacked foods must display both their total price and their unit price, notably per kilo or per litre. It is this second figure that lets you compare pack sizes properly.
3. Pick around fifteen benchmark products
There is no need to check every spice or condiment. Focus on the regular purchases that weigh most in your basket: milk, eggs, yoghurts, coffee, meat or fish, fruit, vegetables, starchy staples and cleaning products, depending on your habits.
Build the same basket on two nearby drive sites, keeping the same quality, brand and pack size wherever possible. If an item is missing, choose an equivalent substitute and note the difference.
Running the comparison two or three times a year is often enough to identify the best-value chain. Repeat the test if prices or your habits change significantly.
4. Work out the full cost of your shopping
A basket that is €4 cheaper can lose its appeal if the shop means a long detour, a motorway toll, delivery charges or a lot more time. On the other hand, a gap of €15 or €20 can justify an extra trip for a big stock-up shop.
So add to the total:
- the price of the basket;
- any delivery or picking fees;
- the approximate cost of the journey;
- the time it takes;
- the risk of a second trip because some products were out of stock.
The best shop is not necessarily the one where every item is cheapest. It is the one that offers the best balance for your whole list and the way you organise yourself.
Special offers: three checks before filling the trolley
Is the reference price clear?
A price reduction announcement must normally use as its reference the lowest price charged by the seller over the previous 30 days. The DGCCRF (France's consumer protection and fraud authority) restated this rule on 25 August 2026.
It does not replace comparing the price per kilo or per litre. A genuine discount can still leave a product more expensive than an own-label alternative sold at full price.
Does the quantity match your needs?
A multipack is only good value if all of it will be eaten or properly stored. For a fresh product, ask yourself straight away which meals each portion will go into. Without a clear answer, it is often better to buy less.
Was the product on the list?
An offer can allow a smart substitution: swapping the fish you planned for another species at a good price, or choosing a seasonal vegetable on promotion.
On the other hand, an item added only because it is discounted pushes the receipt up instead of bringing it down.
When is it really worth switching supermarkets?
Above all, the September ranking is an invitation to test your usual shop. If your benchmark basket shows a large and consistent gap with another store you can easily reach, switching chains for your big shops can make sense.
If the difference stays small, convenience and simplicity may win out. Shopping around several stores to grab every promotion costs time and can encourage impulse buys. A more realistic strategy is to choose:
- one main chain for most of the list;
- possibly a second store for a category where it is genuinely cheaper;
- simple rules for substitutions and special offers.
The goal is not to save a few cents on every item, but to bring the cost of meals down for good without adding to the mental load.
GustoPlan turns comparison into a simple decision
To know which supermarket is really the cheapest, you first need to know exactly what is in your basket. That is where planning changes everything.
With GustoPlan, recipes match your household profile, your preferences and the number of people at the table. The ingredients you need are gathered into a shopping list with the right quantities, without adding products that will never be used. The list, sorted by aisle, then makes the trip around the shop easier, while batch cooking cuts preparation time during the week.
You also stay in control of the ingredients that go into the basket. You can choose between a usual brand, an own-label product, a local product or a genuinely worthwhile promotion, while keeping quantities consistent and the quality you want.
The national ranking shows a trend. Your GustoPlan list gives the answer that fits your family. Plan your meals, generate your exact basket, then compare it in nearby stores: you will know where to shop without wasting your budget, your time or your food.
Sources
- Que Choisir: Palmarès des supermarchés les moins chers en septembre 2026, 8 September 2026
- Ministère de l'Économie: Affichage des prix : ce que vous devez savoir
- DGCCRF: Annonces de réduction de prix, updated 25 August 2026