Aldi or Lidl? Which is better?

PabloNeruda

I wouldn't be seen dead in either in my unenlightened days. Thank God I woke up and saw the light.

Which is better?
My personal preference is for Lidl simply because of its fruit and vegetable selection. Cheaper, fresher and more variety.
However ,Aldi for electrical goods.

Chrismojam

I used to always shop at Aldi years ago.........the store was only about 5/10 minutes walk away from my then home...........but for some reason...I stopped going there and went to the Kwikky in my local (couple of miles away) shopping centre instead....just because I could get the bus or a taxi straight home????

Now I am really not sure what my logic was there??? Given that there is a bus stop outside of Aldi on the main road?????????? (which would have taken me straight home...) I think I thought that if I shopped there, I should be able to walk home...because I felt either stupid for getting the bus home or I wouldn't pay for a taxi from there!!

I have to say that sometimes (only sometimes..........) my logic is complete !!!!!!!!

wendym

Lidl for the best olive oil anywhere at any price, and for anything that a decade ago you'd have had to bring back from a holiday in Europe.

If they sold themselves on Continental delicacies rather than price, their car parks would be packed with 4 x 4's.

MBN

I love Lidl for its fruit and vegetables - often half price - and also for its jams, pesto, roasted peppers in vinegar, and smoked 'kabanossi' (a delicious variety of sausages - yum yum!). Like others have said, I do my main shopping in Tesco and Asda, but go to Lidl at least once a week for some very tasty top-ups. We've got 2 Aldis in the region, but none of them is close to where I live, so I shop there rarely. However, there is one thing I can say for sure: long live Aldi's chocolate soya drink - it's GORGEOUS!

If I were to choose between Lidl and Aldi, I would choose the former simply because I am more familiar with its offers. Having said that, I can't wait to try more products from Aldi soon.:-)

Chrismojam

wendym wrote:

Lidl for the best olive oil anywhere at any price, and for anything that a decade ago you'd have had to bring back from a holiday in Europe.

If they sold themselves on Continental delicacies rather than price, their car parks would be packed with 4 x 4's.

Ooh , so many peeps giving Lidl the thumbs up I'll have to give it a try next time..........my 'local' is a few miles away.so I might try and tie it is to one of the area's farmers markets.......always wanted to see what's on offer there........

There's a farmers market in my area too but on a Thursday when I'm in work.....

newleaf

wendym wrote:

... their car parks would be packed with 4 x 4's.

Ours is, and plenty of BMWs and occasional Mercs! I think people are beginning to cotton on.

sukysue

We love the frozen continental tarts/cheesecake for £ 2.49
they are unbelievable also the frozen cream and jam doughnuts are definate yes!!
only trouble is they are so yummy they are irresistable and we are getting fatter by the min!!Their 99p slabs of strong cheese are the best I have ever tasted, you know the good cheddar that is so strong it is gritty inside yum yum pigs bum!!

Sui_Generis

I think the reason most people can't do a complete shop in Aldi or Lidl is that they are essentially *small* supermarkets - they have their niche and as such the larger supermarkets aren't competing with them. They are pretty cheap and they don't have fresh meat/cheese/fish counters as the majors do so much of their food is prepacked as a result. For some things sausage etc that's not really a problem. I don't buy much prepacked food so I don't buy that much from either.

They are very good for continental staples - like another poster I buy olive oil at Lidl (what price up from £1.79 to £2.29?! shocking still about £2 per bottle cheaper than Tesco...).

Either are essentially unbeatable on eg. home PCs where the spec is excellent for the price and then they add a 3 year warranty on top. Much of their twice a week specials are good too except for the horse blanket weeks twice a year . Power tools are excellent and extremely cheap.

Aldi seem to be pulling away in terms of offering more home entertainment equipment (LCDs, plasma etc) than Lidl. Lidl sell some astonishingly good quality childrens/toddlers leather shoes really at least on a par with Clarks - though they do sell the usual plastic rubbish too, often for only a £1 less. Toddlers clothes vary from very good to cheap. Aldi don't seem to be able to match them in this area.

Value?
Here's a funny comparison: idly standing in line at Aldi I bought one of their tube-packed (think Pringles size) mixes - had little bread baguettes and nuts etc and I have to say it was tasty if not the sort of food I often eat. Anyway a month later I'm wandering up and down the aisles in my local Tesco (yes, they'd moved everything about again) and I find a Tesco "Finest" product - yes you've guessed it it was the nut/crips mix I'd bought in Aldi - exactly the same contents. So is this an endorsement of the Aldi product? Well it turned out that the "specially prepared Tesco Finest" mix was actually SIXTEEN times more expensive than the Aldi product weight for weight. You decide.

stamfordblue

I go to both regularly.
If I had to choose between the 2 I'd say Aldi is better for the food.
It's slightly more expensive than Lidl but is better quality.
This is borne out by several awards/recommendations by magazines.
Both have good buys on the electrical front.
An example is Lidl are selling a Microwave with grill this week for a mere £29.99!

Jimbo333_2

I started using Lidl as it's closer than any other supermarket.

We move houuse next week, but w'll stil be driving back to Lidl!

we (wife & me) used to walk into Sainsburys, and end up spending £60+ and walk out thinking "how?? we've hardly bought anything"

Now we walk out of Lidl thinking "£20?? but we have a weeks shop...HOW??"!!

fruit/veg/raw meats are great value & good. we never buy processed foods as a rule, and I especially don't like the look of Lidl microwave food.

BAD POINTS:
some items are rubish- you learn which fast.
Tills- NEVER more than 2 working ,so 9 times out of ten you end up queing too long.

Go try it!