Chili's Vs Applebee's: Which Chain Offers The Better Meal Deal?

There is a constant battle going on between two casual chain restaurant titans, each of them vying for your appetite with what are, frankly, really good deals. In one corner, we have Chili's, a chain with around 1,200 restaurants in the U.S. offering up its 3 For Me deal. Opposite Chili's is Applebee's, which itself boasts close to 1,500 locations spread across the country, as well as its Really Big Meal Deal. At first glance, both of these deals offer exceptional value, so it's difficult to decide whether Chili's or Applebee's is more affordable in their offering. To get to the bottom of this, we needed firsthand experience. After sampling the meal deals at both of these chains, I can say that the judgment was incredibly close, but my dining companion and I agreed that Chili's was a narrow winner on both quality and value. Both deals, however, are worth exploring.

Applebee's Really Big Meal Deal (available only at select locations) starts at just $9.99 and includes six options of basic burgers and chicken sandwiches at that price. Included with the meal is a fountain drink and a side of fries. For $3 more, the sandwich can be upgraded to something like the Whole Lotta Bacon Burger that has bacon both as a topping and mixed into the patty, or the Bacon Ranch Chicken Sandwich, which is pretty self-explanatory. A full meal starting at $10 is a real win these days wherever you can find it, but the options feel pretty limited, particularly at the starting price.

The Chili's 3 For Me deal is a little bit more expensive, with the lowest-tier offer coming in at $10.99, but there is a lot that comes with that increase. For starters, it comes with, well, a starter. In addition to the fountain drink, main, and side present in the Applebee's deal, Chili's offering begins with a cup of soup, a side salad, or bottomless chips and salsa. Already, that extra dollar is looking like a small price to pay. At the bottom end of the pricing scale, however, there are only two options, both of them burgers. If you are willing to pay a bit more, though, there are lots of choices — everything from a 6-ounce sirloin or Cajun shrimp pasta for $16.99 to chicken bacon ranch quesadillas at $14.99. 

For comparison's sake, in both restaurants, my dining partner and I each ordered the cheapest burgers on offer. Both Applebee's and Chili's have a good happy hour, but we stuck to the basics with drinks and sides, adding nothing else to our meal deals. At both restaurants, the staff were very friendly, and the food arrived incredibly quickly. They must be turning out a lot of these burgers because they arrived at the table almost as fast as you expect from the drive-thru window. The individual elements of the meal were divided in quality, with Applebee's serving up a larger portion of better fries, but Chili's dishing out a superior burger. Add to that the cup of soup we each started the Chili's meal with, and it is clear why it won our vote.

The burger at Applebee's was much thinner and greasier than the picture on the menu, but it tasted good and had plenty of crispy fries on the side. At Chili's, on the other hand, the burger was better, but the portion of fries was small, and they were not as crisp as the competition. It was a contest decided by fine margins. The margins are not so fine, though, when compared to another significant part of the burger market.

These deals also make it clear just how overpriced fast food has become. For example, a Quarter Pounder with Cheese combo meal at McDonald's costs around $10.69 these days, only $0.30 less than Chili's Big QP deal. For reference, that Big QP burger has a 7.5-ounce patty made of 85% more beef than McDonald's Quarter Pounder. It also comes with a salad or soup, as well as a friendly conversation with the server, if you want it. 

While the gap between the meal deals at Chili's and Applebee's was small, both offered huge value compared to their fast food counterparts. There are still some decent prices out there, if you head to the most affordable fast food chains and know what to order, but in many cases, these fast-casual restaurants are giving them a run for their money. Next time you're hankering for a fast food combo meal, you're better off ordering one of these deals as takeout. It's about the same price, nearly as fast, and comes with a lot more food.