Meal delivery services (also referred to as meal kits) can save you time and money. Not to be confused with grocery delivery services like Instacart, the companies that offer meal kits provide everything you need to cook multiple meals for your family each week delivered directly to your home. There are a number of popular direct-to-consumer brands competing in this space. We have personally ordered and cooked meals from eight of the most popular services. We’ll give a summary of our findings along with links to a full review for each company. Whether you are a bachelor looking for quick meals or a parent planning healthy meals for a growing family, these meal delivery services have you covered.
| Rank | Meal Service | Price | Visit | Shipping | People | Recipes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | $7.49 |  | $7.99 | 2-4 | 3-5 |
| 2 |  | $7.49 | | Free | 2-4 | 2-4 |
| 3 |  | $9.95 | | $10 | 2-4 | 2-4 |
| 4 |  | $10.99 | | Free | 2-4 | 2-4 |
| 5 |  | $7.99 | | Free | 1-4 | 4-12 |
| 6 |  | $9.99 | | Free | 1-4 | 2-3 |
| 7 |  | $4.99 | | $8.99 | 2-4 | 3-5 |
There are some key differences between the meal delivery services on our list. We focused on price, food quality, and the number of people / recipes offered per order. We also looked at the delivery times but understand that this can vary depending on where you live. Our testing was all performed in the United states so we can’t speak to the service levels offered in other countries. We plan to follow up with a similar article for the UK market. In the meantime you can learn more about meal kits and how the subscriptions work in this post, regardless of where you live. As for shipping, the cost ranged from free to $10 per order. Consider the all in cost (meals + shipping) if price is at the top of your list. Here are some tips to help you get started.
We noticed that there were a few items that the meal kits assumed we would already have on hand. These included salt, pepper, olive oil, butter, and flour.
This may seem obvious but some may have picky eaters that aren’t likely to eat the meal kits menus. Some companies also offer meals focused on kids.
Meal delivery services offer a range of meals per delivery. By default most of them deliver a meal kit to your home each week with the number of meals and servings you desire.
Most of the companies on our list cater to those with food allergies. You will find selections for those seeking gluten-free, vegetarian, and diabetic friendly meals. Before ordering make sure you look at the recipe card and meal info which is available on their website.
We tested several meal delivery services and did not have any issues with freshness. Your meal kit will arrive with ice packs and the packaging is meant to keep everything fresh. If you ever have a problem I would suggest reaching out to the company for a replacement or refund.
We have experience with both cancelling and pausing our subscriptions. You can pause or postpone your subscription at any time. Each site works a little different but in general you sign into and opt out of deliveries. This is very helpful for those who travel or do not want meal kits each week. As for canceling your subscription, most of the companies allowed us to cancel online. A couple made us call or email but none of them made it hard to cancel. Just make sure you cancel before the meal lock-in date or you may have to pay for the next meal kit.
Now that we’ve covered the basics of meal delivery services, let’s take a closer look at the meal kits we tried:
1. HelloFresh
HelloFresh is our top choice for families and singles
- Best price – $7.49 per serving (see all plans)
- Shipping cost – First box free, then $7.99 per delivery
- Number of people – Meal kit plans right for 2 to 4 people
- Recipes per week – Order from 3 to 5 recipes per week
- Delivery area – Every US state except Alaska and Hawaii
HelloFresh promo: Save $80 over 5 deliveries of our #1 rated meal delivery service
Since launching in Berlin, Germany in 2011, HelloFresh has grown into the largest meal kit delivery service in the United Sates, Canada, and Europe. They overtook a number of early entrants in the meal kit space by offering a mix of high quality ingredients, a good mix of recipes, and very strong marketing plan with influencers like Jessica Alba. We have been quite impressed with HelloFresh meals and highly recommend the service as our favorite for both singles and those planning to feed the whole family.
We took advantage of the HelloFresh promotion and ordered three meals with two servings each. Our selections included cherry balsamic pork chops with garlic herb couscous and roasted broccoli, pork teriyaki meatballs with carrots and zucchini over rice, and garlic herb tortelloni with roasted tomato and zucchini. We also added a side of garlic bread and organic chocolate chip cookies. The recipes were easy to prepare and delicious.
2. Blue Apron
Blue Apron is a great option for families on a budget
- Best price – $7.49 per serving for 4 recipes (see all plans)
- Shipping cost – Free when ordering for 4 people
- Number of people – Meal kit plans right for 2 or 4 people
- Recipes per week – Order from 2 to 4 recipes per week
- Delivery area – Everywhere in the contiguous United States
Blue Apron promo: Save $110 over your first 4 boxes
Blue Apron is a US-base meal delivery service that ships meal kits throughout the United States. The first 30 boxes were packed by the founders in 2012 in Long Island, New York. They have since opened fulfillment centers across the country to ship nationwide. Blur Apron also sells 4 serving meal kits in select Costco stores in California. You can reach their customer service agents by phone six days a week. At $7.49 a serving and free shipping, Blue Apron meal kits are an outstanding value.
We ordered an eclectic menu of recipes from Blue Apron. Out first meal was pork lo mein with bok choi and celery. The second night we enjoyed spicy zucchini quesadillas with poblano pepper and fried eggs, our favorite meal. The final dinner consisted of lime & fig chicken with goat cheese and vegetable farro. The meals took between 30 minutes and 45 minutes to cook.
3. Home Chef
Home Chef offers a good mix of quality and value
- Best price – $9.95 per serving (see all plans)
- Shipping cost – First box free, then $10 per delivery
- Number of people – Meal kit plans right for 2 to 4 people
- Recipes per week – Order from 2 to 4 recipes per week
- Delivery area – Delivers to 98% of the United States
Home Chef is based in Chicago, Illinois. Distribution centers in Chicago, Los Angeles, and Georgia allow them to ship meal kits to more than 97% of the US population. You may have seen Home Chef meal kits at your local grocery store. There is a good reason since Kroger acquired Home Chef and started carrying their own selection of meal kits in stores nationwide. Not to be confused, the meal kits in Kroger are not the same recipes that are offered online. We have tried both and prefer the subscription service.
We ordered three meals along with smoothies for desert from Home Chef. Our first dinner consisted of salmon with dill crema and green beans amandine. The following night we enjoyed toasted coconut fish tacos with pineapple slaw. For The final meal, we cooked steak with sauce robert and spinach scalloped potatoes. This time we finished up with orange creamsicle smoothie with honey and greek yogurt.
4. Sun Basket
Sun Basket has a large selection of meals and snacks
- Best price – $10.99 per serving (see all plans)
- Shipping cost – First box free, then $7.99 per order
- Number of people – Meal kit plans right for 2 to 4 people
- Recipes per week – Order from 2 to 4 recipes per week
- Delivery area – Most US zip codes except Alaska and Hawaii
Justine Kelly, a chef in San Francisco, launched Sun Basket with her tech entrepreneur co-founders in 2014. She was previously a contestant on Iron Chef America. Within two years the company expanded with a distribution center on the east coast and 400 employees. The company has focused on healthy meals. They have actively worked on healthy recipes for those with diabetes, heart issues, and cancer. You will find vegetarian, gluten-free, and paleo options sourced from California farms.
Our Sun Basket experience started with chicken breast with peach caprese salad and red pepper vinaigrette for lunch. The salad was quite tasty. We then moved on to dinner with spicy chipotle-rubbed steaks with vegetable skewers and creamy slaw. The chipotle added a nice kick to the dish. For the finale we devoured tomato coconut shrimp over cauliflower rice. This was a simple dish that took less than 30 minutes to complete.
5. Freshly
Freshly offers microwavable meals completed in 3 minutes
- Best price – $7.99 per serving (see all plans)
- Shipping cost – Vaires based on location and meal plan
- Number of people – Meal kit plans right for 1 to 4 people
- Recipes per week – Order from 4 to 12 recipes per week
- Delivery area – Most the continental US within 48 hours
Freshly is a meal delivery service that offers microwavable meal kits to customers throughout the United States. They are the only service in our list that focuses on microwave-ready meals. You can heat them within 3 minutes or less. This makes Freshly a good choice for singles and those who do not have a lot of time to prepare and cook dinner. Keto fans will be excited to see a number of low carb recipes. The freshly support team is available 24 hours a day. You can reach them via live chat or by phone.
The freshly meals arrive in microwavable containers. You can heat any of their meals in the microwave in 3 minutes or less. You can also heat the meals in a skillet and stir, or at 350 degrees for 25-35 minutes in the oven. We enjoyed four meals from Freshly. They included steak peppercorn, super pesto & veggie fusilli, sicilian-style chicken parm, and low country boil. They were all good but we prefer the taste of other meal kits.
