The supermarket meal deal has frankly become a British institution but does Tesco, Sainsbury's, Boots or somewhere else give you more for your money?

Amid the rising cost of living, shoppers are always looking to save a penny or two on their lunch break.

Following the recent announcement that Morrisons is increasing the price of its meal deal to £4, online casino Betway has created a meal deal calculator and crunched the numbers for us.

Consumer expert at Hotukdeals and host of False Economy podcast, Vix Leyton, commented on the analysis, saying: “Ultimately value is in the eye of the beholder, if the Meal Deal Price seems like good value for you broadly, the only real decision should be what you'll enjoy the most.

5 ways to save on your weekly shop

"One thing to be careful of is the ranges that sit next to the Meal Deal but aren't actually in it, avoid being stung at the checkout by reading the offer carefully and making sure your lineup is included in the deal.

“Conversely, if you're getting a drink and a bag of crisps, it's worth perusing the 'mains' as it might be as cheap to throw one of those in your basket as well and keep it for meal time.”

READ MORE: Cost Of Living: Compare Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury's, Iceland and more prices with Trolley app

READ MORE: Thousands can apply for £500 in free supermarket vouchers - what you need to do

What is the best value meal deal?

Betway has analysed over two million possible combinations across Tesco, ASDA, Boots, Sainsbury’s, Co-op and Morrisons in order to produce its calculator.

It analysed the percentage value of every possible meal deal combination across the big six retailers listed below, sharing the top 20 best value-for-money meal deal combinations.

Prices were based on data collected by Betway on January 17, 2023.

The meal deal pioneer Boots dominates the top and bottom of the value for money rankings and offers consumers the widest variety of options, Betway says.

That being said, it also takes home the top spot for the worst value-for-money meal deal in its Chicken mayo sandwich, Fruit-tella and still water combo, offering a value by percentage of just 61.40%.

Meanwhile, Tesco, which has positioned itself at the forefront of the meal deal over recent years finds itself towards the bottom of Betway's rankings.

According to the data, its offering is among the lower end of the scale when compared to fellow retailers.

Tesco’s Egg & Cress Sandwich, Kinder Bueno Bar and Glaceau Smartwater finished rock bottom of the rankings with a poor value by percentage of just 73.08%.

To use the calculator, all you need to do is choose your preferred shop, followed by a main, snack and drink and hit calculate via the Betway website.

Your Money Matters

Your Money Matters is a campaign launched by us and our sister titles across Newsquest to help you overcome the surge in the cost of living.

This year has seen a whole host of household price increases — from the energy price cap rise to surging inflation and food prices — costing your family hundreds or even thousands of pounds extra per year.

We’re making it our mission to look out for your cash, offering money-saving deals, competitions, giveaways and insightful stories from your community on the impact this cost-of-living crisis is having on our readers.

The worldwide energy crisis exacerbated by the Ukraine invasion, the financial impact of the Covid pandemic, record inflation figures and a surge in the cost of goods, fuel and travel means we will all feel the pinch.

Through our newspaper, we want to do what we can to help make your cash go further because we know your money matters.