A supermarket meal deal is a staple of British culture. When you’re out and about and in the need for a quick meal, supermarkets across the country offer a special price for a main, snack and a drink.
The mains are typically a sandwich or wrap, although some supermarkets also include sushi or pasta salads as an option as well.
Snacks are typically fruit, packets of crisps, sweet packets, chocolate bars, or other small bites to eat, while drinks are fairly self-explanatory (although typically don’t include alcoholic drinks).
While the concept remains the same across the UK’s supermarkets, the price certainly does vary. We’ve gathered together every major brand’s meal deal price to rank them from cheapest to most expensive.
Read more: The best and worst baby foods in UK supermarkets: the nutritionist's verdict
Aldi, Lidl, and M&S all don’t offer meal deal prices, although you can buy ready-to-eat food from the takeaway sections.
Co-op: £3.50 with a Co-op membership, £4 without
We’ve ranked the prices according to if you have a membership with that supermarket, but it’s worth noting that a Co-op membership does cost £1 to join.
However, with the meal deal being 10p cheaper than the next entry on this list, you only need to buy 10 meal deals for that membership to be worth it.
Morrisons: £3.60 with a More card, £4 without
Once again, the best value at Morrisons comes with a Morrisons More card, but £4 still isn’t bad if you have to pay full price.
With over 1,700 stores across the UK, Morrisons locations are often outside of town centres – but are ideal for road trips or suburban pitstops.
Boots: £3.75 with Advantage Card, £4 without
Admittedly Boots is not a supermarket, but the pharmacy does have a home for its meal deal selection in larger stores.
It matches Co-op and Morrisons when comparing the non-loyalty card prices, but you can shave off an extra 25p if you have an Advantage Card.
Tesco: £3.85 with Clubcard, £4.25 without
Tesco’s standard meal deal went through a price increase in August, yet still comes out cheaper than Sainsbury's with a Clubcard – although more expensive without.
Clubcards are free to sign up for, though, and offer price drops on a wide range of other products at Tesco, as well as points to collect towards vouchers.
Read more: How to get the most value out of your Tesco Meal deal
Sainsbury’s: £3.95
There’s no different in the meal deal price whether you have a Nectar card or not, with a flat rate of £3.95.
That’s cheaper than any of the other supermarkets or shops listed so far if you don’t have a loyalty card anywhere, so Sainsbury’s could be the best value bet for impuslive shoppers.
Waitrose: £5
Waitrose is known to be one of the more expensive supermarkets in the UK and its meal deal price doesn’t disappoint.
However, it’s worth noting that Waitrose’s included items are typically more expensive than other supermarkets, so the reduction to £5 does actually save you more money overall on average.
Asda’s three-for-two meal deal
Asda’s meal deal is harder to compare to the other supermarkets because, instead of a flat price, Asda offers a three-for-two deal where you get the cheapest item in your lunch for free.
Obviously, you can then increase the value by going for the most expensive items, or lose out if you fancy something that’s cheaper.
