Compare the Cheapest Meal Delivery Services Company Starting Price Delivery Area Products Arrive Customers Can Choose Delivery Date? Free Shipping EveryPlate $4.99 per serving 48 states Fresh Yes No Dinnerly $4.99 per serving 48 states Fresh Yes No Daily Harvest $6.79 per serving 48 states Frozen Yes Yes Revive Superfoods $6.99 per serving 50 states Frozen Yes No Home Chef $7.99 per serving 48 states Fresh No No Blue Apron $7.99 per serving 48 states Meal kits are fresh, prepared meals are frozen Yes No Mom’s Meals $7.99 per serving 49 states Fresh No No Fresh N Lean $8.49 per serving 50 states Fresh No Yes, except for AK and HI Martha Stewart & Marley Spoon $8.69 per serving 43 states Fresh Yes No HelloFresh $8.99 per serving 48 states Fresh No No
How to Choose an Affordable Meal Delivery Service What to Consider Price/Cost Per Meal: Perhaps most importantly, you’ll need to ensure that the meal delivery service you choose will fit within your budget. (Luckily, with our wallet-friendly picks in this list, that shouldn’t be much of a problem!)Number of Meals Per Delivery: Are you only feeding yourself, or are there multiple people at the table every night? Make sure the service you select will be able to provide the appropriate number of meals you’ll need every week. Flexibility: Going out of town for a while? Double-check that your meal delivery service will allow you to pause your membership or skip deliveries if necessary. Menu Selection: Who wants to order food they don’t want to eat? Most meal delivery services will allow you to view the menu prior to placing your order, so it’s best to take advantage of this and verify that the service offers meals that you and your family will enjoy. Nutrition Goals/Dietary Restrictions: Allergic to peanuts? Need to limit your intake of sodium? Whatever your dietary needs may be, it’s important to check and see if the company offers meals that will accommodate them.Are Meal Delivery Services Right for You? If you’re a busy person and need a little help getting dinner on the table every night, meal delivery services can be a great option. Some services provide meal kits complete with recipes and preportioned meats, veggies, sauces, and seasonings, so all that’s left to do is cook and plate them. And if you don’t love to cook, there are plenty of services that ship fully prepared meals that only require a few minutes of reheating before digging in.
With that said, whether or not a meal service is right for you will depend on multiple factors unique to you and your situation. While the services on our list all provide meals at wallet-friendly price points, those who are working with a tight budget may find it more cost-effective to go grocery shopping for ingredients themselves rather than investing in meal delivery. Additionally, if you have specific dietary needs , like a severe gluten allergy, for example, it may be a safer option to prepare and cook meals in your own kitchen to reduce the risk of any cross-contamination.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can You Feed a Family With Meal Delivery Services? In many cases, yes! However, this will depend on the size of your family. Most meal kits max out at four servings per recipe, and a handful of them can accommodate six. If you’ve got more mouths to feed than that, it may be challenging to feed your entire family with meal delivery services alone. With that said, services like Daily Harvest allow you to order up to 24 frozen meals in each box, and you can order multiple boxes per week if needed. This allows you to keep your freezer stocked with tasty meals to feed however many people are at your table.
Are Meal Delivery Kits Healthy? They certainly can be! Many meal delivery kits provide nutritious recipes that utilize fresh produce and meats (or meat alternatives), and in some cases, you can alter or omit ingredients here and there to tweak the amount of sugar or sodium in the meal. With that said, it’s important to note that the term “healthy” means something different to everyone. When considering nutrition goals and dietary needs, what’s healthy for one person may not be so healthy for another.
Are Meal Delivery Services Cheaper Than Restaurants? That depends on which restaurant—but in many cases, they are! Since the services on our list all offer meals under $10 per serving, that equates to a much lower price than you’d likely pay to dine out (especially when you factor in the gratuity).
Can You Customize Recipes in Meal Deliveries? This largely depends on whether the meal delivery service provides meal kits or prepared meals. With meal kits, most of the ingredients come packaged separately and if there’s something you don’t like, you can simply leave it out of the recipe or sub it for something in your own fridge or pantry. Some companies also offer protein customization options at the point of ordering, so you can substitute those chicken breasts for tofu if you so desire. With prepared meals, however, it’s a bit different. The majority of prepared meal services make their dishes as indicated on the menu, and, unfortunately, that usually means they’re not customizable. If you’re in doubt, though, it never hurts to reach out to customer service and see if they can make something happen.
Methodology Our team of food writers, editors, and meal testers evaluated a total of 40 meal delivery services to determine the most affordable options. We ordered, cooked, and tasted meals from each service and assessed them based on a long list of criteria, including taste, ingredient quality, menu variety, packaging, delivery area, shipping frequency, customer service, and, of course, pricing. We also took note of any accommodations these companies made for various dietary needs, as well as any special perks the companies offer their customers.