OCU compared 101,520 prices in 690 stores across 189 Spanish cities. In Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, the gap between the cheapest and most expensive supermarkets reaches €2,167 a year for one household.
Carrefour has the city's lowest price index, at 114. Mercadona follows at 115 and Hiperdino at 121. SuperDino reaches 126. Supermercado El Corte Inglés and Hipercor both stand at 144, while Supercor ranks highest at 151.
The cheapest chain varies across the islands. Carrefour also leads in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, with an index of 113. Lidl and Mercadona share 114. Hiperdino stands at 118, followed by SuperDino at 122. HiperTrébol reaches 126. Supermercado El Corte Inglés is the most expensive store in the comparison, at 144.
San Cristóbal de La Laguna has a different result. Aldi is cheapest at 112, ahead of Alcampo at 115 and Hiperdino at 118. In Telde, Alcampo leads at 114, while Hiperdino records 121.
OCU sets the cheapest store at a price index of 100. It measures every other store against that figure; a lower index means a cheaper overall basket.
The basket covers 244 products in 80 categories, including fresh and packaged food, as well as personal hygiene and household cleaning products. Both leading brands and store brands are included in the comparison.
Across Spain, choosing the cheapest store over the most expensive saves an average of €1,310 a year. An earlier comparison found the same pattern outside the islands. In some cities, OCU puts the possible saving above €4,200. EFE reports that Comunidad Valenciana and Murcia are among the least expensive autonomous communities on average, while several northern and central regions rank among the most expensive.
The basket remains much more expensive than it was five years ago. OCU says prices rose by an average of 1.8% over the past year, the smallest annual increase in five years. Over the full five-year period, prices rose by 39.5%.
Fresh products rose by 4.7% in the latest year. Fish recorded an increase of 8.6%, the largest of these categories. Meat rose by 3.7%; fruit and vegetables increased by 3.5%.
Some products rose far more. The cheapest ground coffee blend became 142% more expensive over five years. M eggs rose by 135%.
During the latest period, 61.8% of the products in the basket increased in price, while the remaining 38.2% fell. Canary bananas were among the products with the sharpest declines, dropping by 22.6%.
OCU's national ranking puts Supermercados Dani at the bottom of the price index, with a score of 100. Family Cash and Tifer follow. Alcampo and Supeco come next. Lidl and Mercadona also rank among the cheaper chains, as does Aldi.
Hipercor and El Corte Inglés are among the most expensive. Supercor and Sánchez Romero rank there too. The ranking also varies by product type: Mercadona has lower prices for economical products. Aldi performs well for fresh goods, while Lidl is more even across categories.
No single chain is cheapest in every Canary Islands city. Carrefour leads in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and Santa Cruz de Tenerife. Aldi leads in La Laguna, while Alcampo is cheapest in Telde.
In Las Palmas, the choice can change a household's annual bill by €2,167. Food prices remain 39.5% above their level five years ago. Checking the local ranking can make a real difference.
