I was originally going to try the inexpensive and easy to find Relion brand (Walmart - total price less than $30 for everything), but the bad reviews convinced me to spend a little more money for something better. This Bayer Contour Next EZ machine had good reviews everywhere.

To compare, someone recommended the Accu-Chek Aviva Plus machine which would have been no charge with insurance, but the Accu-Chek Aviva Plus 100 ct test strips cost $170 with prescription.....but the co-pay for insurance would only be $69 only for the strips. I would also have to buy the lancets and test solution which would be about an additional $10 making my total cost $79. The expensive part in the long run would be the test strips for $170 (full price) or $69 depending on the insurance. This reminds me of buying an inexpensive inkjet printer but paying high prices for ink cartridges.

This Contour Next EZ kit only costs $60 with free delivery, and it has everything one needs.
I individually priced each item to check the value:
Contour Next EZ Glucose Monitor: $10-$15 depending on the retailer
100 ct Coutour Next Test Strips: $30 on average
Testing Solution: $6-$9 depending on retailer
100 ct 30 gauge lancets: $1.50 from a big box retailer
Lancing Device: $6 from a big box retailer
Little case to hold everything: $2 (something cheap)

The price of this bundle pieced together ranges from $55.50 - $65.50. The best part was getting this delivered SAME DAY with Amazon Prime, so $60 for this kit is a good value and a huge convenience.
The only thing I didn't like so much was the little carrying case. The one I received is smaller than shows on the listing's picture, and there's no printed logo. This issue is not a big deal, and it sure is nice to have a little zippered bag to hold everything.

I would recommend this bundle because of the overall value and that the Contour Next test strips are reasonably priced compared to other brands....and for the convenience from Amazon.
However, if you want a better price and can wait a few days for delivery, get the $8.20 Contour Next EZ machine on Amazon which includes the glucometer, case, test solution, and a few test strips and lancets, order more test strips on Amazon (100 for $22), and buy the lancets locally 200 for $1.50. Your total cost will be about $35 for the same thing as this bundle....but you have a do a little work to piece it all together. Had I known, I would rather have saved the money.

This Bayer Contour Next takes closer reading to professional lab works than FreeStyle Freedom, which reads10 to 15 points lower. Better accuracy and user friendly.... and much more economical than FreeStyle. I have been successfully controlling diabetes for 40 years on Zone style eating and hiking. I don't take any medication or supplement. In my recent years I monitored my blood sugar level with FreeStyle Freedom Light, because it is covered under Medicare and Tricare with doctor's prescriptions. Most doctors don't have their own physical experience in controlling Diabetes; that makes them so quick to push for drugs and supplements, that truly annoys me. For a long time, I looked for economical and less cumbersome way to obtain the monitoring kit without prescriptions. FYI; you don't see them on drugstore's shelf unless they are enormously inflated in price. Then this Bayer Contour NEXT Diabetes Testing kit came in my view on Amazon. This Bayer Contour NEXT gave me the freedom from doctor's office. This is how it should be in democratic society.

This has been a great meter. Used the contour control solution that came with the kit to check out the accuracy of the reading of the meter. It was right on. I'm very happy to have this meter as I have been diagnosed with pre-diabetics and I am now using the reading from this meter to track what foods are okay for me. It has been a learning process to say the least. The meter I had before this meter I can no longer get the test strips for. Which was reading lower. This meter is no code which I was looking for, ease of using. Very nice kit, not real crazy about the wallet everything fits in. Quite soft, everything fits inside fine. It is just me.

I bought this meter until my insurance sent me the one they would pay for. I, actually, like this one better than the smaller one they sent that requires less blood. I, still, have to prick my finger, and, still, get the same amount of blood, so that is not a factor, for me. I like this meter better, because it is just a bit bigger, therefore, easier to handle. The smaller meter has very thin test strips, which makes it harder to get them out of the bottle. At least, for me. The carrying pouch for both is the same size.

I gave up my OneTouch Ultra2 for the Bayer Contour Next EZ and so far I'm glad I did. I was getting some very high fluctuations with the OneTouch. Yes, It was calibrated to the strips correctly. I did control tests and I made sure I used it correctly. I was going through very expensive OneTouch tests strips like crazy (often 2 or 3 per test). I finally decided to pack it in and bought the Contour Next based on reviews and claims of accuracy.

The unit showed up right on time and in pristine condition with all items in tow. The first thing I noticed was the really good tactile feedback you get when inserting a test strip. There is a little resistance and a little click so you know you're set and then the audible that tells you it's ready for the blood sample. Lancet pen worked fine and painless and the unit appeared to need very little blood for testing. Results showed on a nice large screen in about 5 seconds or so and you can save results in the device. So far I have not had any weird readings and have not had to use more than one strip per test.

A nice benefit that I discovered was the price of the Contour's test strips. They are about half the price of the OneTouch. Another nice feature is in the event you screw up and don't get enough blood the device will signal you and give you time to try again with the same strip. However, the device does have an audible signal when the strip sucks up enough blood so I don't know how you can screw that up. The storage bag is kind of cheese but I understand that when you register the device you can get a better one for free from the manufacturer (according to literature that cam with it).

I've only had it for about a week so I don't know how the durability is. Like everything else these days, it's an all plastic gadget so I wouldn't drop it to often. So far I am more than pleased with this purchase and the performance, and the lower cost of strips.