The big supermarkets now all have their own home brands. Photo / Richard Robinson

The big supermarkets now all have their own home brands. Photo / Richard Robinson

Pak'nSave is no longer the undisputed home of cheap food.

A Consumer magazine survey showed those who want the cheapest possible groceries would be better off at Woolworths, Countdown and Foodtown.

The yellow barns' more upmarket rivals proved the best places in Auckland to shop for a basket of budget items.

Pak'nSave was the cheapest option in Wellington and Christchurch, beating its nearest rivals by less than a dollar a basket.

House brands are usually cheaper than named brands because they get basic packaging and little advertising.

They have grown more popular this year, as shoppers switched brands to trim rising grocery spending.

However, the recent survey showed not all supermarkets were equal when it came to cheap options.

The Consumer survey checked the prices of 15 staple items, including milk, bread, cheese, rice and wheat biscuits.

It left out popular brands like Weet-Bix and Wattie's Baked Beans, going for the cheapest brand on offer in each item. That meant buying Budget brand at New World and Pak'nSave, and Home Brand at Foodtown, Woolworths, Countdown, SuperValue and Fresh Choice.

When there was no house brand item available, the next cheapest item was picked.

In Auckland, Woolworths ($37.33), Countdown ($38.24) and Foodtown ($38.57) were the cheapest places to buy, followed by Pak'nSave ($40.11), New World ($40.36) and The Warehouse Extra ($41.51).

Pak'nSave was the cheapest in Wellington and Christchurch, where the same basket of goods cost $36.80 and $37.75 respectively.

Of the 15 supermarkets tested in the three centres, the most expensive was New World in Wellington's Wakefield St, where the basic basket cost $46.58.

Survey supervisor Bev Frederikson said the survey used house brands because they were "the cheapest deal you can get".

She said the one-off survey was inspired by the growing number of people switching to budget brands.

Ms Frederikson said Pak'nSave lost out because it did not have as wide a range of house brand items, forcing shoppers to buy the more expensive Pam's brand.