Independent editorial guide
Best Online Supermarkets for Groceries in the UK (2026)
Which online supermarket fits the shop you need?
For planned delivery or collection, start with Tesco for switching between formats, Asda for comparing a medium-size shop around its £40 delivery threshold, or Sainsbury’s for a choice of one-hour and wider Saver delivery windows. Choose Ocado when combining M&S Food, its own range and other brands matters; choose Waitrose for its ranges, eligible free collection and item-specific shopper notes. For urgent top-ups, compare Whoosh, Chop Chop and Asda Express separately. Use the actual postcode, basket and slot: fee rules do not establish the cheapest products or best delivery quality.
How to use this shortlist
This is a UK shortlist of five scheduled online grocery services, with separately labelled urgent formats. Compare shopping method, available ranges, basket rules, fees, substitutions and recurring passes. All five have a positive practical fit; order is not a quality score. We have not tested delivery reliability or priced an identical product basket across the market.
Compare scheduled supermarket delivery and collection
| Supermarket | Useful shopping format | Basket or ordinary fee rule | Material condition |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tesco UK Groceries | Home Delivery, Click+Collect; separate Whoosh | £5 below £50 delivery or £25 collection, plus slot fee | Delivery Saver does not remove every basket charge |
| Asda Groceries Online | Scheduled delivery, Click & Collect; separate Express | £4 below £40 delivery or £25 collection, plus slot fee | Express has no minimum; published £8.50–£8.99 fee |
| Sainsbury's Groceries Online | 1-hour or wider Saver delivery; collection; separate Chop Chop | £25 delivery minimum; next-day £7.50 below £50, £1–£5.50 above | Discounts affect threshold; exactly £50 pay-per-slot wording unclear |
| Ocado | Scheduled online delivery with M&S, own-range and other brands | £40 minimum; £0–£8 delivery plus a separate small-order charge | Fee boundaries and Christmas minimum differ; Smart Pass is a subscription |
| Waitrose Online Groceries | Home delivery or free eligible Click & Collect | Ordinary grocery minimum £40; delivery slot fee quoted | Fixed-weight substitution protection; pass and amendments have conditions |
For planned delivery and store collection
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Tesco UK Groceries
Switching between scheduled home delivery and store collection, with Whoosh separate
Tesco is useful if you switch between a booked Home Delivery shop and Click+Collect at a participating location. The £50 delivery and £25 collection figures are surcharge thresholds: smaller orders attract £5 as well as the slot fee. Its substitution exception prevents an otherwise qualifying order acquiring that charge solely because replacements reduce the basket.
Whoosh is a different local-store top-up service with its own range and prices. Eligible existing Anytime Delivery Saver customers can still have a temporary Whoosh benefit, but the published new-plan signup window ended on 18 October 2026.
Sources: Tesco: minimum-basket charges and substitution exceptions, Tesco: scheduled shopping, slot hold and amendment deadline, Tesco: separate Whoosh range, fees and delivery estimates, Tesco: Delivery Saver plans and temporary Whoosh benefit, Tesco: Delivery Saver renewal, cancellation and exclusions
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Asda Groceries Online
Planned delivery around the £40 threshold or flexible collection, with Express separately priced
Asda’s published delivery threshold is £40, with £4 added below it; Click & Collect uses £25. That makes it a useful planned-shop comparison for a medium-size basket, without establishing cheaper products than another supermarket. Ordinary delivery/collection changes are described as open until 23:00 the previous day.
For urgent orders, Express is a separate choice: the operator publishes no minimum and fees of £8.50–£8.99, with timing and availability affected by item count, postcode and store. Its third-party couriers also have a different unwanted-substitute return process.
Sources: Asda: delivery, collection, thresholds and amendments, Asda: Express delivery and its separate fee/minimum rules, Asda: unwanted substitutes and Express returns exception
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Sainsbury's Groceries Online
Choosing a precise delivery window or a wider Saver slot, with collection and Chop Chop separate
Sainsbury’s is useful when the delivery window matters: standard one-hour slots and wider Saver slots let you compare timing against the offered charge. Delivery starts at a £25 basket after the named discounts; next-day delivery below £50 is £7.50, while the published over-£50 range is £1–£5.50.
It also offers collection and a separate Chop Chop top-up service. For a smaller collection, check the final quote: the main help calls the under-£25 fee an additional £4 surcharge, while later FAQ/terms wording describes a £4 charge.
Sources: Sainsbury’s: delivery windows, fees and pass prices, Sainsbury’s: Click & Collect fees and conditions, Sainsbury’s: online groceries, substitutions and final pricing, Sainsbury’s: Chop Chop rapid groceries
For a range-led delivered shop or Waitrose collection
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Ocado
Combining M&S Food, Ocado’s own range and other brands in a scheduled delivery
Ocado is a practical range-led choice when you want M&S Food, Ocado own-range groceries and other brands in one scheduled delivery. Current help confirms a £40 ordinary minimum and £0–£8 delivery charges depending on available slots, plus a separate small-order charge. Compare the complete quote, not just the slot fee.
Ocado also offers Anytime and Tuesday–Thursday Midweek Smart Passes with monthly, six-month and annual payment options. Membership is a separate recurring purchase with small-order and seasonal conditions to check; it does not prove the whole shop is cheaper or guarantee the desired slot.
Sources: Ocado: M&S Food, own range and other brands, Ocado: minimum spend, Ocado: ordinary delivery charges, Ocado: current Anytime and Midweek Smart Pass prices, Ocado: manage Smart Pass and stop auto-renewal, Ocado: Smart Pass benefits and seasonal conditions, Ocado: small-order charge tiers, Ocado: small-order exceptions and Christmas minimum, Ocado: threshold wording for avoiding the small-order charge
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Waitrose Online Groceries
Waitrose groceries with free eligible collection and item-specific shopper notes
Waitrose is useful for shoppers who want its grocery ranges and either a delivered shop or free eligible collection. Ordinary groceries require £40 for either format. The delivery fee is quoted with the slot, while item-specific notes and a substitution opt-out help when a replacement would not fit a recipe or household.
Its terms protect the lower price when a fixed-weight item is replaced by something more expensive. Check the actual order deadline: dedicated help says 23:00 for ordinary next-day amendments, but the general shopping page still says 22:00, with separate Christmas and prepared-food rules.
Sources: Waitrose: shopping formats, ranges and general amendment guidance, Waitrose: booking, shopper notes and substitution controls, Waitrose: receiving deliveries and current amendment exceptions, Waitrose: grocery pricing, substitutions, minimums and pass terms
Choose the shopping format, then compare the complete order
Use scheduled delivery when a booked window and fuller planned basket suit you, collection when the journey and chosen time work, and a separate rapid service for an urgent smaller shop. Ocado and Waitrose offer useful range-led alternatives, while Tesco, Asda and Sainsbury’s provide different collection and delivery rules.
Compare the ordinary final basket after applicable loyalty discounts, plus delivery, small-basket charges and any membership allocation. Product prices, stock, substitutes and slot availability can change the practical choice. Published policies support these recommendations by fit; they do not establish a nationwide cheapest shop, best food quality or most reliable delivery.
What do £25 and £60 scheduled baskets mean for fees?
These are arithmetic fee illustrations for ordinary scheduled home delivery without a pass, introductory discount or premium upgrade. They do not price identical named products, test one postcode’s stock/slots or confirm the chosen date. Smaller baskets unavailable under a service’s minimum remain unavailable; no fictitious price is supplied. The scenarios are outside Christmas week; Ocado publishes a £90 minimum for 20–24 December.
At a £25 basket, Tesco and Asda add their small-basket charge plus the chosen slot fee. Sainsbury’s next-day delivery gives £32.50 before other applicable adjustments. At £60, Tesco/Asda small-basket charges fall away; Sainsbury’s next-day range gives £61–£65.50. Ocado’s explicit £60-or-less statement adds £2, giving £62–£70 with the published £0–£8 slot range if available; its adjacent band wording also includes £60, so confirm that boundary in the actual quote. Waitrose needs the real slot fee. These compare fee rules, not national product-price value.
Ocado’s small-order pages do not agree cleanly at the upper boundary either: one says £75 or less is charged, another says minimum £75 avoids it. The illustrative £60 row uses the explicit £2 rule; no exact-boundary checkout was verified. A pass should not be assumed to remove an extra charge that its actual order still shows.
| Service | £25 food basket | £60 food basket | Condition |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tesco | £30 plus selected slot fee | £60 plus selected slot fee | £5 charge below £50; substitutions have exceptions |
| Asda | £29 plus selected slot fee | £60 plus selected slot fee | £4 charge below £40; Express separate |
| Sainsbury’s | £32.50 with next-day delivery | £61–£65.50 with next-day delivery | After named discounts; same-day charges differ |
| Ocado | Unavailable: £40 minimum | £62–£70 using the explicit £2 charge plus £0–£8 delivery | £60 band wording overlaps; confirm actual quote. Christmas-week minimum £90. |
| Waitrose | Unavailable: £40 ordinary minimum | £60 plus selected delivery-slot fee | Eligible £40+collection free; Entertaining-only exception separate |
Sources: Tesco: minimum-basket charges and substitution exceptions, Asda: delivery, collection, thresholds and amendments, Sainsbury’s: delivery windows, fees and pass prices, Ocado: minimum spend, Ocado: ordinary delivery charges, Waitrose: booking, shopper notes and substitution controls, Waitrose: grocery pricing, substitutions, minimums and pass terms, Ocado: small-order charge tiers, Ocado: small-order exceptions and Christmas minimum, Ocado: threshold wording for avoiding the small-order charge
When a separate rapid or same-day format fits better
For an urgent top-up, compare the actual local range and estimate. Whoosh’s published 20–60 minutes and Chop Chop’s 60-minute headline are estimates for eligible areas, rather than promises at every address. Asda Express publishes slots within the next four hours, in as little as one hour, with fee and item-count conditions. A scheduled same-day supermarket slot is a further distinct format.
For a £20 illustrative basket, ordinary Whoosh delivery gives £22.99 and Chop Chop £24.99 before other applicable adjustments. Asda Express’s published £8.50–£8.99 fee would give £28.50–£28.99 if that quote is offered. Those are fee illustrations across potentially different ranges and item prices, not a cheapest identical shop or live delivery-time test.
| Format | Published fee or minimum | Timing and material limit |
|---|---|---|
| Tesco Whoosh | £2.99 delivery; extra £2.50 below £15 | 20–60 minutes in selected areas; specific range/prices; dated pass benefit separate |
| Sainsbury’s Chop Chop | £15 minimum; £4.99 delivery | Up to 30 items; advertised 60 minutes; use live postcode estimate |
| Asda Express | No minimum; £8.50–£8.99 published fee | As little as 1 hour; slots within 4 hours, depending on items/postcode/store; courier-return rules differ |
Sources: Tesco: separate Whoosh range, fees and delivery estimates, Sainsbury’s: Chop Chop rapid groceries, Asda: Express delivery and its separate fee/minimum rules
Compare a pass against the orders it can actually cover
Count eligible deliveries and their ordinary slot fees, then compare the subscription’s payment period, minimum spend, day restrictions, renewal and excluded services. Tesco’s Anytime/Off Peak/Click+Collect plans retain small-basket fees. Sainsbury’s passes require £50 or more after the named discounts; Midweek is Tuesday–Thursday and collection is not free under a pass.
Ocado’s current monthly rates are £9.99 Anytime or £4.99 Midweek Tuesday–Thursday, with six-month/annual options, separate small-order fees and seasonal conditions to check. Waitrose’s current £8 monthly, £45 six-month and £85 annual pass requires £40 after discounts, covers one available direct grocery delivery per day and auto-renews; third-party couriers are excluded. Asda’s available pass has its own offered plan terms. A lower subscription rate alone does not establish savings for your routine.
For temporary benefits, keep the signup deadline separate from the end of use. Tesco’s Whoosh eligible signup window ended 18 October 2026; the benefit for qualifying customers lasts through 11 January 2027. Waitrose’s Christmas early access requires a pass purchased before 1 September in that year. Neither a new October signup nor priority access guarantees a 2026 Christmas slot. Ocado’s specific 2026 offer gives one Christmas-week delivery voucher to qualifying paid Anytime customers signed up before 1 September, with active-membership and voucher-claim conditions; its Christmas-week minimum is £90. Check that specific offer and recheck by 24 December 2026.
Sources: Tesco: Delivery Saver plans and temporary Whoosh benefit, Tesco: Delivery Saver renewal, cancellation and exclusions, Sainsbury’s: delivery windows, fees and pass prices, Sainsbury’s: Click & Collect fees and conditions, Ocado: current Anytime and Midweek Smart Pass prices, Ocado: manage Smart Pass and stop auto-renewal, Ocado: Smart Pass benefits and seasonal conditions, Waitrose: current Delivery Pass prices, Waitrose: pass minimum, renewal, availability and exclusions, Waitrose: grocery pricing, substitutions, minimums and pass terms, Asda: delivery, collection, thresholds and amendments, Ocado: small-order charge tiers, Ocado: small-order exceptions and Christmas minimum, Ocado: specific 2026 Anytime Christmas delivery voucher
Availability and substitutions can change the useful total
Start with the exact postcode, format and date. Then compare the products and sizes your household needs, the final loyalty/discount basis, available slot, order deadline and how unwanted replacements are handled. A broad advertised UK service area does not establish that every address or rapid format is available.
Allowing substitutions can change the ingredient list, allergens, product size and total. Use per-item opt-outs or shopper notes where offered, inspect replacements and refuse unsuitable items through the service’s stated process. Waitrose requires someone to receive the order; Asda Express cannot accept returns through its courier. A published policy helps planning but is not evidence of better freshness or delivery reliability.
Sources: Tesco: scheduled shopping, slot hold and amendment deadline, Tesco: minimum-basket charges and substitution exceptions, Asda: turn off substitutions for items or the whole order, Asda: unwanted substitutes and Express returns exception, Sainsbury’s: online groceries, substitutions and final pricing, Ocado: order-specific cut-off times, Ocado: substitution pricing and refusal, Waitrose: booking, shopper notes and substitution controls, Waitrose: receiving deliveries and current amendment exceptions, Waitrose: grocery pricing, substitutions, minimums and pass terms
Questions before you choose
Should I choose Tesco Home Delivery, Click+Collect or Whoosh?
Use Home Delivery for a booked shop brought to your address, Click+Collect for the selected collection point, and Whoosh for a smaller urgent top-up where available. Scheduled delivery adds £5 below £50; collection adds £5 below £25, as well as any slot fee. Whoosh has its own range, prices and fees.
Can substitutions create a Tesco minimum-basket charge?
Tesco’s help says a minimum-basket charge is not added when substitutions take an otherwise qualifying order below the threshold. Later amendments bringing the final basket above the threshold can also remove the charge. Check the revised summary.
How long is a Tesco slot held, and when can I change the order?
The shopping guide gives a two-hour slot hold while you shop and check out, and 23:45 the previous day for ordinary delivery/collection amendments. Follow any special-product or actual-order deadline and check out again after changes.
Is Whoosh included in Tesco Anytime Delivery Saver?
Only for eligible customers under the temporary offer. The published new-plan signup window was 14 September–18 October 2026 and has closed by this 23 October check. Eligible existing Anytime customers can still receive £0 delivery on qualifying Whoosh baskets over £25 through 11 January 2027, subject to area/terms. Off Peak and Click+Collect are excluded. Recheck the benefit by 11 January 2027; do not assume a new signup now qualifies.
Does Tesco Delivery Saver renew automatically, and can I cancel?
Yes, Delivery Saver auto-renews unless stopped. Its terms describe a 14-day cancellation period: an unused eligible membership can receive a full refund, while used delivery/collection fees can be deducted. Turning off renewal lets the paid period finish; keep confirmation and check any already-booked order after the membership ends.
Which other supermarket lets me change substitutions or amend a booked order?
Asda describes 23:00 the previous day for ordinary delivery/collection changes and permits substitution opt-out. Sainsbury’s ordinary next-day deadline is also 23:00, with earlier same-day/Occasions rules. Waitrose permits item notes and substitution opt-out, but general 22:00 versus dedicated 23:00 amendment guidance differs; Christmas/Entertaining rules and cancellation can be earlier. Ocado uses the order-specific cutoff in its confirmation and Orders page. Use the exact order deadline and check out after editing.
Which online supermarket is cheapest for my weekly shop?
A cheapest-shop finding needs the same named products, sizes, quantities, postcode, delivery date/slot and loyalty assumptions, with ordinary fees and substitution treatment. The £25 / £60 scenarios in this guide compare published charges only, not a matched product basket, national grocery prices or service quality.
Can I use a delivery-pass price as the cost of one order?
No. Passes are recurring or prepaid memberships with eligible basket, day and service conditions. Add any charges that remain and compare the deliveries you actually use. A pass does not guarantee a slot.
Will a substitute keep the same price and ingredients?
Rules differ. Waitrose’s terms protect the lower price for a higher-priced fixed-weight substitute; Ocado charges the item actually delivered, and Sainsbury’s warns of different prices. Ingredient and allergen information can change with any replacement. Use opt-out/return options and check the final receipt.
How we selected these places
We compared these five existing UK grocery services using current operator shopping pages, help, terms, pass prices and separate urgent-service conditions, checked on 23 October 2026. Current official help supplies Ocado fees, minimums and pass details, and Asda substitution controls. Groups reflect practical format/range fit. The £25 / £60 and rapid-basket figures are fee illustrations, not matched product quotes or confirmed local slots. We have not placed orders, tested freshness or delivery reliability, or measured service quality.
Sources and review dates
- Tesco: minimum-basket charges and substitution exceptions — Operator website — checked 2026-10-23
- Tesco: scheduled shopping, slot hold and amendment deadline — Operator website — checked 2026-10-23
- Tesco: Delivery Saver plans and temporary Whoosh benefit — Operator website — checked 2026-10-23. Whoosh signup eligibility ended 18 October 2026; eligible benefit runs through 11 January 2027, subject to conditions.
- Tesco: Delivery Saver renewal, cancellation and exclusions — Operator website — checked 2026-10-23
- Tesco: separate Whoosh range, fees and delivery estimates — Operator website — checked 2026-10-23
- Asda: delivery, collection, thresholds and amendments — Operator website — checked 2026-10-23
- Asda: Express delivery and its separate fee/minimum rules — Operator website — checked 2026-10-23
- Asda: turn off substitutions for items or the whole order — Operator website — checked 2026-10-23
- Asda: unwanted substitutes and Express returns exception — Operator website — checked 2026-10-23
- Asda: Rewards missions, Cashpot and vouchers — Operator website — checked 2026-10-23
- Sainsbury’s: delivery windows, fees and pass prices — Operator website — checked 2026-10-23. Pay-per-slot wording leaves exactly £50 unclear; pass eligibility expressly says £50 or more.
- Sainsbury’s: Click & Collect fees and conditions — Operator website — checked 2026-10-23. Next-day small-basket wording differs between the main summary and a later FAQ; use the actual slot total.
- Sainsbury’s: amend orders and special prepared-product deadlines — Operator website — checked 2026-10-23
- Sainsbury’s: same-day delivery and collection — Operator website — checked 2026-10-23
- Sainsbury’s: online groceries, substitutions and final pricing — Operator website — checked 2026-10-23
- Sainsbury’s: Chop Chop rapid groceries — Operator website — checked 2026-10-23
- Ocado: M&S Food, own range and other brands — Operator website — checked 2026-10-23
- Ocado: ordinary delivery charges — Operator website — checked 2026-10-23. Delivery-slot fee only; a separate small-order charge may apply.
- Ocado: minimum spend — Operator website — checked 2026-10-23. Ordinary minimum; Christmas-week conditions differ.
- Ocado: current Anytime and Midweek Smart Pass prices — Operator website — checked 2026-10-23. Current monthly, six-month and annual subscription prices; separate from per-order charges.
- Ocado: manage Smart Pass and stop auto-renewal — Operator website — checked 2026-10-23
- Ocado: Smart Pass benefits and seasonal conditions — Operator website — checked 2026-10-23
- Ocado: order-specific cut-off times — Operator website — checked 2026-10-23
- Ocado: substitution pricing and refusal — Operator website — checked 2026-10-23. The answer specifies the delivered replacement’s item price and doorstep refusal; it does not establish a new delivery-fee rule.
- Waitrose: shopping formats, ranges and general amendment guidance — Operator website — checked 2026-10-23
- Waitrose: booking, shopper notes and substitution controls — Operator website — checked 2026-10-23
- Waitrose: receiving deliveries and current amendment exceptions — Operator website — checked 2026-10-23
- Waitrose: current Delivery Pass prices — Operator website — checked 2026-10-23. £8 monthly, £45 six months, £85 annual. Advertised annual savings assume a particular delivery pattern.
- Waitrose: pass minimum, renewal, availability and exclusions — Operator website — checked 2026-10-23
- Waitrose: grocery pricing, substitutions, minimums and pass terms — Operator website — checked 2026-10-23. Includes £40 delivery/collection minimum and Entertaining-only collection exception; a cancellation deadline is separate from amendment guidance.
- Ocado: small-order charge tiers — Operator website — checked 2026-10-23. An additional charge is separate from the delivery-slot fee; boundary wording differs across help articles.
- Ocado: small-order exceptions and Christmas minimum — Operator website — checked 2026-10-23. The article states a £90 minimum for 20–24 December.
- Ocado: threshold wording for avoiding the small-order charge — Operator website — checked 2026-10-23. This says minimum £75 to avoid a charge, while the definition says £75 or less is charged. Confirm exact £60 / £75 boundary totals.
- Ocado: specific 2026 Anytime Christmas delivery voucher — Operator website — checked 2026-10-23. One eligible Christmas-week delivery requires a paid Anytime signup before 1 September 2026, a claimed voucher and active membership at the stated points; no slot guaranteed.
Author and corrections
Sarah Haddad is responsible for this guide. It is based on the published sources cited here; no firsthand visit or independent service test is claimed.