There are a few things you can rely on at Easter: foil-wrapped eggs, supermarket aisles turned pastel – and the creeping suspicion that the thing you’re about to buy is smaller than it used to be.
Shrinkflation has become as much a part of the season as chocolate itself. Reports this year suggest shoppers could be paying as much as 73 per cent more per 100g for some Easter eggs compared with just a couple of years ago, as manufacturers juggle rising cocoa costs, supply chain pressures and the delicate art of not scaring customers off.
The result? Eggs that look familiar but quietly contain less chocolate. Boxes that feel generous, but open to reveal something closer to the suggestion of an egg than the real thing. And extras – bars, truffles, sweets – that range from genuinely decent to borderline tokenistic.
So, we did the maths.
We compared 260 Easter eggs across Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Waitrose, Asda, Aldi, Lidl and M&S, looking at weight, price and, crucially, price per 100g, as well as what you actually get alongside the egg. Some come with a full-size bar, others, a single truffle. Some include a proper bag of mini eggs, others, a handful of something vaguely chocolate-adjacent.
Not all eggs are created equal – and not all eggs cost the same amount at different supermarkets – so here’s what’s actually worth buying this year. And what isn’t.
The best value mainstream eggs:
This is where most people are shopping: standard hollow eggs with a familiar extra. A Creme Egg, a Twirl, a tube of Smarties. And here, the biggest takeaway is simple: the discounters are miles ahead.
Aldi Large Skittles Easter Egg (225g) – £2.25
Price per 100g: £1.00
On paper, this is the cheapest egg in the entire dataset, but it comes with a caveat. A good chunk of that weight is Skittles, which aren’t chocolate, so it’s not quite a fair fight. If you’re buying purely on price, fine. If you actually want chocolate, keep reading.
Buy here
Aldi Bounty Large Easter Egg (177g) – £2.25
Price per 100g: £1.27
Now we’re talking. A recognisable branded egg at a price that feels faintly illicit. You get the coconut hit, a proper chocolate shell, and none of the filler – one of the clearest “how is this so cheap?” options on the shelf.
Buy here
Asda Maltesers Medium Easter Egg (96.5g) – £1.40
Price per 100g: £1.45
Small, yes, but sharp on value. Comes with a bag of Maltesers, which at least makes sense alongside the egg. Proof that going smaller can still be the smartest move if the price is right.
Buy here
Lidl Smarties Medium Easter Egg (100g) – £1.49
Price per 100g: £1.49
Another compact win. The kind of egg that doesn’t shout, but quietly outperforms most of the bigger, pricier options. A useful reminder that “large” often just means more packaging.
Buy here
At the more typical £4 to £5 mark, value becomes more varied:
Terry’s Chocolate Orange Egg with Mini Eggs (200g) – £4.50
Price per 100g: £2.25
One of the strongest performers in the standard £4.50 bracket. You get a hollow chocolate orange egg and a pack of Terry’s Chocolate Orange Mini Eggs, which makes it feel properly generous rather than technically bundled. It’s also identical in price per 100g to the white chocolate version at Tesco and to the Sainsbury’s version, so there’s no penalty for buying the classic.
Buy here
Rowntree’s Fruit Pastilles Egg (198g) – £4.50
Price per 100g: £2.27
A very solid bit of mid-range value. The extra here is a full tube of Fruit Pastilles, not a token sweet or two, and the overall weight holds up well against similarly priced branded eggs. Sainsbury’s matches Tesco on both price and price per 100g, so this is one of the more consistent buys across shops.
Buy here
Cadbury Marvellous Creations Shell Egg (197g) – £4.50
Price per 100g: £2.28
A surprisingly strong showing from Cadbury. The extra is a pack of Marvellous Creations Jelly Popping Candy, which at least feels distinct from the usual one-bar add-on, and the overall maths is better than a lot of more familiar branded eggs in the same price bracket. A good example of an egg that actually earns its shelf space.
Buy here
Verdict: All offer a decent amount of chocolate plus a recognisable extra that feels like more than an afterthought.
At the weaker end, still within the same price bracket:
M&M’s Crispy Bunny Easter Egg (149g) – £4.50
Price per 100g: £3.02
This is where things start to wobble. You’re paying the same £4.50 as stronger mid-range options, but getting significantly less chocolate in return. The Crispy Bunny extra doesn’t quite make up for it either – it’s smaller, sweeter and feels more like filler than a proper add-on. One of the weakest-value eggs at this price point.
Buy here
Maltesers Teasers Easter Egg (155g) – £4.50
Price per 100g: £2.90
Better than the M&M’s, but still not great. You get a pack of Maltesers Teasers, which at least makes thematic sense, but the overall weight is low for the price. Compared to others at £4.50, pushing closer to 200g, this feels like you’re paying for branding rather than chocolate.
Buy here
And then there’s the part that really stings: where you shop matters just as much as what you buy.
Take the Cadbury Mini Eggs Egg (181g). It’s £4.50 at Tesco and Sainsbury’s (around £2.49 per 100g), £3.97 at Asda (closer to £2.19), and £5.50 at Waitrose (£3.04). That’s a swing of nearly 40 per cent for essentially the same product. The same pattern repeats across Celebrations eggs and Terry’s Chocolate Orange XL eggs – identical chocolate, wildly different deals.
Verdict: If you’re buying a standard egg, Aldi and Lidl are consistently the safest bets. If you’re sticking with brands, check both the weight and the shop – because two eggs at £4.50 can offer very different value.
The best premium eggs (and when to spend more):
Not all expensive eggs are bad value – but they do need to justify themselves. Some premium eggs at least offer substance.
M&S Collection Extra Thick Pistachio & Milk Chocolate Easter Egg (485g) – £20
Price per 100g: £4.12
Expensive, yes, but at least it earns it. This isn’t your standard hollow shell; it’s thick, layered with pistachio truffle and properly weighty in the hand. The kind of egg that feels closer to a dessert than a novelty, and one where the higher price per 100g makes more sense once you see what you’re actually getting.
Buy here
Waitrose No 1 Pistachio Easter Egg (320g) – £17
Price per 100g: £5.31
Leaning harder into luxury, and priced accordingly. You’re paying a premium for pistachio, presentation and the whole No 1 positioning, and while it’s rich and substantial, the maths is less forgiving than M&S. This is one for people who care more about what’s inside than what it costs.
Buy here
After Eight Dark Chocolate Mint Easter Egg (400g + 200g extras) – £10
Price per 100g: £2.50
A bit of an outlier, and a very welcome one. You get a large dark chocolate egg plus a full 200g box of After Eights, which makes the overall weight (and value) far more generous than most in this bracket. Not exactly cutting-edge, but quietly one of the smartest buys if you want quantity without completely sacrificing quality.
Buy here
At the other end, value starts to slip – and often for the same reason.
Lindt eggs, in particular, look the part but don’t always deliver on quantity. Depending on the version, you might get one truffle, or three, or a few more – but rarely enough to justify the £5.77 to £6.56 per 100g price tag. The same goes for Ferrero Rocher eggs (£7.40 per 100g), and Lindt Gold Bunny sets, where a lot of the cost is tied up in branding, gifting appeal and that familiar gold foil rather than the amount of chocolate you’re actually getting.
Verdict: Premium eggs can be worth it when they’re thick, filled or genuinely substantial. If they’re still mostly hollow, you’re probably paying for packaging and perception.
The worst offenders: all box, no bite:
This is where things get a bit silly. The poorest-value eggs in the dataset tend to fall into three camps: toy-led eggs, gift-style branded eggs and small-format luxury products.
Standouts include:
Kinder Surprise Easter Eggs (100g-220g) – £7.50–£17.85
Price per 100g: £7.50-£8.11
A reminder that you’re not really paying for chocolate here. Across both sizes, the toy is doing most of the heavy lifting, and while that might make sense for children, the maths is brutal. Fine as a gift, less convincing if you’re thinking in terms of chocolate per pound.
Buy here
Lindt Gold Giant Bunny (1kg) – £85
Price per 100g: £8.50
Impressive, theatrical, faintly absurd. A kilo of Lindt chocolate shaped into a bunny sounds fun – until you clock the price per 100g. This is less an Easter egg and more a statement piece, with a price tag to match.
Buy here
No 1 Caramel Ganache Easter Egg Tin (110g) – £10
Price per 100g: £9.09
The most expensive in the dataset on a per-gram basis – and it’s not even especially large. What you’re buying here is presentation and filled chocolates rather than volume, but even so, the numbers are hard to ignore. A proper indulgence, just not a particularly efficient one.
Buy here
In most cases, you’re not just buying chocolate – you’re buying a toy, a tin, a brand, or a sense of occasion. Which is fine. But it’s worth knowing what you’re paying for.
Verdict: The worst-value eggs aren’t always the smallest – they’re the ones dressed up as gifts.
The bottom line
Easter eggs have always been a bit of a con – a hollow shell in a box twice its size. But this year, the maths is harder to ignore.
Between shrinking weights, rising prices and wildly inconsistent extras, the same £5 can now buy very different amounts of chocolate depending on what – and where – you choose.
The rule is simple: ignore the size of the box, check the weight, and always look at the price per 100g.
And if in doubt? Aldi is probably cheaper.
