Shopping at Aldi is shaving nearly $15 off Australians’ grocery bills when compared with the same items sold at Coles and Woolworths, where the difference in prices is just 75 cents, according to a new report by Choice.

The report, released by the consumer advocacy group on Thursday, comes as the supermarket giants face ongoing allegations of price gouging to record massive profits, and remain the subject of a number of inquiries.

Choice was commissioned to conduct the reports by the federal government, which gave the organisation $1.1 million in the federal budget to produce a report every three months for three years.

To conduct its research, Choice sent “undercover shoppers” to 81 supermarkets around the country in March to record prices of 14 different products and determine which chain offered the best value for money.

Choice found the average basket of groceries purchased at Aldi cost $51.51 — approximately 25 per cent less than the same basket of goods at Coles and Woolworths.

The items at Woolworths cost an average of $68.58, while Coles had the most expensive basket at $69.33 — meaning there was just 75 cents difference between the two major supermarket chains in Australia.

“Aldi is the best value when it comes to groceries across the nation,” Choice CEO Ashley de Silva told The Business.

“One of the things that we saw is that Aldi’s prices across the stores that we visited were reasonably consistent, you get a bit more variation in Coles and Woolworths.”

However, factoring in specials, the cost of items at Woolworths totalled $64.93, while the items at Coles cost $68.52. Choice noted that there were no specials on offer at Aldi at the time of shopping.

Mr de Silva said Choice determined its supermarket basket of goods after consulting its supermarket experts, who selected grocery items that are purchased frequently by Australians regardless of where they live.

Not all baskets are created equal

The Choice report highlighted that Australians are paying different prices depending on where they live, and people in areas without Aldi stores were often slugged with higher prices at the check-out.

“For people who aren’t near an Aldi, and there’s still quite a few of those, it does really matter where you live when it comes to what you pay for groceries at the supermarket,” Mr de Silva said.

“For example, places like Tasmania and the NT don’t have Aldi stores, so people there by default are going to be paying higher prices. But even in states like WA where Aldi is present, people there on average pay about $1 more for the same basket of goods.

“It differs too between city and regional areas, so metro folks are paying about 70 cents more for that same basket of goods.”

In lieu of Aldi’s presence in the Northern Territory and Tasmania, Choice compared grocery prices for 10 items sold at four IGA locations, finding that the items were more expensive compared to Coles and Woolworths. Further analysis on IGA’s prices was not conducted in other jurisdictions.

According to Choice, Coles and Woolworths combined make up 65 per cent of Australia’s supermarket sector. Aldi contributes 10 per cent to the sector, while IGA accounts for 7 per cent.

In a statement, Aldi said the data from Choice clearly showed its commitment to being “Australia’s most affordable supermarket” that provided “high-quality groceries at the lowest possible price”.

Representatives for Coles and Woolworths both noted that current prices were available on their respective websites, apps and catalogues, and were committed to delivering competitive prices for their customers.