How we compare prices

What we read

• The product ranges and this week's folders of 12 supermarkets: Albert Heijn, Jumbo, Lidl, PLUS, ALDI, Dirk, DekaMarkt, Vomar, Hoogvliet, SPAR, Poiesz, Nettorama.
• Everything comes from the supermarkets' own websites and folders. Prices are read every morning, folders as soon as a new week starts.
• Coverage differs per supermarket: some publish their whole range online, others only their folder. When we cannot read something, we leave it out rather than guess.
• Folder pages are read by a vision model; fixed rules then work out the price per kg, litre or piece. We check samples by hand.

Which products are compared

• Every product gets a product type, such as "semi-skimmed milk" or "pesto". A search compares products of the type you meant: semi-skimmed milk with semi-skimmed milk, not with chocolate milk or yoghurt.
• The cheapest choice is the lowest price per kg, per litre or per piece among those matches, so a big pack and a small pack are compared fairly.
• For "buy it all at one supermarket", each product on your list is matched with the same product (same barcode), then the same brand, then a similar product of the same type and flavour. What a supermarket does not have is listed, never filled in with something unrelated.

How results are sorted

• Search: products of the type you meant come first, then products whose name starts with it, then the rest. Supermarkets take turns, so no single chain fills the top.
• The three picks above the results are Cheapest (lowest price per unit), Healthiest (best Nutri-Score, then lowest price) and Best balance (a good Nutri-Score at a price close to the cheapest).
• Deals: by the size of the discount, with a few extra points for a better Nutri-Score and for offers printed in the folder; similar offers of one supermarket are spread out. You can also sort by price, discount or Nutri-Score.
• Nothing else moves a product up or down: not the supermarket, not the brand, not payment.

When we call it a deal

• A discount is the difference between the regular price the supermarket gives and the offer price.
• A discount above 60% keeps its price but not its percentage: that is usually a misreading or a multi-buy, not a real saving. The same goes for a regular price far above what the same brand costs per kg or litre in its other sizes.
• Some offers only count with a store card, when you buy several ("2 for €5") or in some regions. Folder offers link to the folder page itself, so you can check the conditions before you buy.
• "Historically low" is paused until we have collected enough weeks of price history to say so honestly.

Nutri-Score

The Nutri-Score shown is the one the supermarket publishes, or the one from Open Food Facts. We never calculate it ourselves; when nobody gives one, the product shows "unknown". Nutri-Score compares products within the same group, so a B for crisps is not the same as a B for yoghurt. It is not medical advice: check the pack for allergens and ingredients.

Money

Nobody pays for a place on this site, and advertising does not influence the ranking. Links to supermarkets earn us nothing today. If we ever add a paid highlight or an affiliate link, it will say so on the product.

What to keep in mind

Prices change during the day and can differ per store or region. The price at the till and the supermarket's own conditions always count. Seen a wrong price? Mail info@hokimi.com and we fix it.