Top 10 Best Meal Kit Delivery Services 2022 – Compare Companies & Plans
Meal delivery services are a quick and convenient way to eat healthy, affordable, and delicious food at home. With meal delivery kits you can enjoy nutritious, restaurant-quality meals at a fraction of the cost of going to a restaurant. They make getting takeout a thing of the past.
No matter what type of diet you follow, meal delivery services offer varied options. Whether it’s lean proteins, vegetarian and vegan dishes, snacks or smoothies, meal delivery services have it all. There are also dedicated meal plans for diabetics, for people who follow a gluten-free diet, and other dietary restrictions. And if you’re looking to lose weight, they can also be a great way of easily maintaining meal planning and portion control.
Meal delivery kits are an excellent way to keep mealtime exciting and never boring. Whether you choose to prepare them yourself, or opt for pre-prepared meal kits, these services will save you precious time in the kitchen.
From oven-ready to prepared meal kits, we’ve tested, reviewed and ranked them all.
Top 10 Best Meal Kit Delivery Services In The US In 2022:
HelloFresh – Best for easy recipes
Home Chef – Best for variety of meals
Factor – Best for diet options
Martha & Marley Spoon – Best for foodies with cooking skills
EveryPlate – Best for busy people on a budget
Green Chef – Best for healthy eaters
Nutrisystem – Best for weight-loss guarantee
Fresh and Easy – Best for piping hot comfort foods
Freshology – Best for prepared meal deliveries
Blue Apron– Best for improving your kitchen skills
Our rating system
Our reviews come from verified users–just like you!
Our reviews come from verified users–just like you!
The star ratings are based on the overall rating of each brand. Some reviews are provided via third party suppliers. We encourage you to write a review of your experiences with these brands.
theQuick10.com selects
#1
Our Top Choice
HelloFresh-A simple, healthier solution for feeding your household.
#3
Factor- Factor_ meals require zero prep and are ready to heat and eat on arrival.
#5
EveryPlate – EveryPlate delivers an affordable, no-frills meal kit for those seeking a simple, budge
#7
Nutrisystem- Nutrisystem is great for those wanting to cook and lose weight.
#8
Fresh and Easy- Fresh and Easy includes calorie or carb-conscious meals in reusable pans and grill bags.
- Price- From $3.99
- What’s in the box - 3-5 meals
- Special diets - Vegetarian, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free
HelloFresh is a nice meal delivery service for people looking for healthier, varied, easy-to-prepare recipes to feed their household. Regardless of your recipe preference, every kit includes all the ingredients you need, with clear directions, and easy clean-up.
HelloFresh works best for families who don’t follow a restrictive diet pattern but are interested in receiving a variety of meals. This service does not offer dairy-free, nut-free, or gluten-free recipes, but does provide a variety of protein options and includes fresh produce in every recipe. Every week offers at least 25 recipes to choose from, and you can always adjust, skip, or cancel your delivery and subscription
Prons
- No commitment or contract; you can skip, edit, or cancel orders and subscriptions
- The average prep time for most meals is 30 minutes
- Similar price point to competitors
Cons
- Does not offer gluten-free, dairy-free, or nut-free meals
- Does not contain plant-based proteins outside of beans and legumes
- Price- From $6.99
- What’s in the box-:- 2-6 meals
- Special diets-Vegetarian, soy-free, dairy-free, calorie-conscious
Home Chef is a meal delivery service that puts tasty and healthy eating within reach. If you want to cut down on food waste and prep times, while still enjoying making dinner with family and friends, Home Chef is a great choice. Home Chef aims to make dinner prep easier by giving you all the pre-portioned ingredients you’ll need to feed 2 – 6 people, plus the detailed step-by-step instructions with pictures to make great dinners possible, no matter your skill level.
With a level of quality and a price point typical of your average meal delivery services, Home Chef’s distinguishing feature is their customizability. For starters, you can choose between two healthy diet options: calorie-conscious or carb-conscious. Then you can cut out any of 8 common dietary preferences. When it comes to proteins, you can swap, double up, or switch to a vegan meat alternative. Finally, you can categorize recipes based on dietary preference, giving you full control over what arrives in the box on your doorstep.
Prons
- Adaptable to common dietary preferences/restrictions
- Meal plan for the whole family
- Calorie-conscious and carb-conscious options for healthy eating
Cons
- High sodium content
- Few sustainable and organic options
- Price-From $5.49
- What’s in the box-4-18 servings per week
- Special diets- Soy-free, organic & more
Factor_ (also known as Factor or Factor 75) provides chef-crafted and dietitian-designed meals that are suited for almost every diet, delivered fresh, and ready-to-eat. Each meal is carefully balanced to be nutritious, delicious, and promote a healthy lifestyle. It’s particularly good for people on paleo, ketogenic, or other carb-conscious diets.
Meals are made from high-quality, organic ingredients and do not require any prep work. Factor_ avoids soy and gluten in their meals, but they are not approved for those with Celiac disease.
Meals stay fresh for up to 10 days and can be frozen to eat later. Factor_ also offers nutritional consultations and coaching to help you be more accountable for your diet and health. If you’re looking for a simple way to live a healthier lifestyle, Factor_ could be the meal delivery service for you.
Prons
- Convenience- heat and serve meals
- Provides nutritional consultation service with dietitians
Cons
- Higher cost per meal
- Mostly lower carb options
- Price-From $8.69
- What’s in the box-2-4 meals
- Special diets-Vegetarian, low-calorie, family-friendly
Martha & Marley Spoon provides fresh and seasonal ingredients and a colorful variety of recipes from the mind of one of America’s most respected lifestyle mavens. Busy parents and couples who don’t have time for grocery shopping or complicated recipes will appreciate the simplicity of having high-quality ingredients for easy, 6-step meals delivered to their doorstep.
Martha & Marley Spoon’s meals are tasty, beautiful, and easy to prepare. Their options are sure to please, with meals that are vegetarian and that satisfy multiple other health-based diet preferences. Besides giving you the quality you expect from their name, Martha and Marley Spoon also does some serious work on the backend to make sure your meals get to you in sustainable, carbon-neutral fashion. If you’re looking to step up your cooking game with new techniques and interesting flavors, while also saving a little bit on grocery shopping and preparation, this is a delicious choice.
Prons
- Variety of health-oriented options
- Try out new skills and new flavors
- High quality, fresh ingredients
Cons
- No breakfast, lunch or dessert
- No completely allergen-free meal plans
- Price- From $1.99
- What’s in the box -3 meals
- Special diets- None
EveryPlate is a nice option for people looking for simple and affordable home-cooked dinners. Their kits provide all the ingredients you’ll need and step-by-step instructions that won’t take more than 30 minutes to make. Additionally, the company makes ordering meals, the ability to skip meals or pause meals, and schedule meals effortless.
While EveryPlate offers a rotating menu of 17 meals per week, over time, their limited menu may feel repetitive. EveryPlate has some vegetarian options, however, they don’t offer any options for those following a keto, gluten-free, paleo, low carb or vegan diet. Moreover, EveryPlate does not cater to people with food allergies.
Prons
- Budget-friendly
- No commitments: you can skip, swap recipes or cancel as needed
- Several vegetarian options to choose from
Cons
- $8.99 shipping cost
- Limited menu options particularly for those with allergies or special dietary needs
- Price-From $5.99
- What’s in the box: 2-3 meals
- Special diets- Carnivore, pescatarian, paleo, keto and more
Green Chef is a nice meal kit delivery service for people seeking certified organic meals that save time and effort. Using Green Chef, you can choose from several preferences, including keto, paleo, vegetarian, vegan, low-carb, gluten-free, Mediterranean, and quick meals.
Green Chef works best for people and families who want to cook healthy and tasty meals in around 30 minutes. This may be a good fit for people who already follow a healthy lifestyle and want the addition of easy meals, or want to start eating healthier with the help of simple recipes that will teach them how to use a variety of flavors, seasonings, and ingredients.
Prons
- No commitment or contract; you can skip, edit, or cancel orders and subscriptions
- Certified organic for as many ingredients as possible
- Similarly priced to competitors with more dietary preference options
Cons
- Shipping fees not included
- No add-ons and smaller menu sizes than similar kits
- Price-From $6.99
- What’s in the box:2-6 meals
- Special diets- Low-calorie, low-carb
If you’re looking for a scientifically proven method of weight loss, consider Nutrisystem. You’ll have between 90 to 160 meal choices, depending on which plan you choose. Meals arrive monthly, saving you time that you’d usually spend having to plan, shop, and prep meals.
Meals are dietitian-approved and based on the scientifically sound US Dietary Guidelines. Diabetic-friendly and vegetarian meal options are available in addition to snacks, shakes, and bars to make weight loss easier. In addition, you’ll get the support you need through Nutrisystem’s Numi app to help you achieve your weight loss goals.
Prons
- 160+ menu options
- Eat 6 meals a day
- Streamlined order and delivery process
Cons
- Limited dietary preferences
- Relatively new service
- Price-From $6.99
- What’s in the box:2-6 meals
- Special diets- Low-calorie, low-carb
Fresh and Easy is a meal delivery service by Home Chef, providing little to no-prep meals. Mix and match until you’ve chosen your allotment of meals and then enjoy.
Fresh and Easy’s pre-portioned meal ingredients come prepped, and in many cases, pre-made. All you need to do is assemble the ingredients and toss them in your oven, microwave, grill or slow-cooker. Fresh and Easy menus change weekly and feature over 20 different items. Most meals are full entrees, though sandwiches and salads are also available.
Many of Fresh and Easy meals include meat, poultry, or other animal proteins for carb-conscious or calorie-conscious eaters. Vegan and vegetarian options are available, too.
Prons
- No cutting or prep work needed
- Meals served in oven- and grill-ready dishes
- Streamlined order and delivery process
Cons
- Limited dietary preferences
- Relatively new service
- Price-From $8.57
- What’s in the box-Ready-made meals according to your subscription
- Special diets- Keto, carb30, diabetes, vegetarian
Freshology is a meal delivery service that provides nutritionally balanced meals crafted by chefs and dietitians. Freshology has 500+ delicious meal options that will help you eat healthily, lose weight, and live life better. Choose from four main meal plans – Balance, Balance-Diabetes, KetoCarb30, and Vegetarian to suit your preferences. No matter what meal plan you choose, you can customize it to your preferences with its large variety of substitutions.
Freshology has great customer service available for their meal plan subscribers. They can be contacted by phone, contact form, or email. Freshology helps customers with substitutions if they are not satisfied with their meals, and canceling your subscription is easy. Freshology can be an expensive meal plan service depending on how and what you order, but happy customers say that it was worth the price and investment in their health.
Prons
- Has both delivery and pickup options for meals
- Meals are nutritionally balanced and portioned
- Over 500 meal choices
Cons
- Meals may be delivered thawed
- Meals are expensive
- Price-From $3.24
- What’s in the box- 2-4 meals
- Special diets- Vegetarian, gluten-free, low carb, diabetic
Blue Apron is the most well-known in the industry and has taken leaps and bounds in recent years to try and change how we’re eating at home.
The company wants to help customers learn more about how to cook well at home, and to become more intimately acquainted with their food and the ingredients that go into it.
One drawback of Blue Apron is that it offers less variety than most of it’s competitors. That said, even with the smaller selection you can experiment with some brilliantly designed and delicious recipes.
Prons
- Fresh produce and ingredients
- Great variety in recipes
- Packaging is mostly recyclable
Cons
- Subscription meals no longer ship for free
- No options for lunches, snacks, or desserts
Our Methodology for Choosing the Best Meal Kit Delivery Services
To rate these best meal delivery services and help you to decide which companies are worth your time and money, we dug deep so you don’t have to.
Our experienced dietitians and nutritionists ordered, selected meals, prepared, and tried out each of these meal kits to assess the following:
1) User experience online and customer service
2) Flexibility of subscriptions
3) Diversity and variety of meal plans
4) Quality of the ingredients
5) Recipe accuracy
6) Difficulty level
7) Overall taste of the meals
What Is a Meal Kit Delivery Service?
Meal kit delivery services are a subscription-style service. These services allow you to order pre-packaged and sometimes pre-made meals to your doorstep. Their pre-packaged meals are easy to make at home, and consist of high quality ingredients.
This means you don’t have to settle on restaurant takeout or delivery for sustenance.
You can order meals compiled into a weekly box that can take as little as 30 minutes to prepare. Meal kits are highly customizable.
You can order whenever you want, for however many people you need, and pick from many tastes and diets through extended menu options.
What Are the Advantages of Meal Kit Delivery Services?
Not making food from scratch daily can cause a lot of guilt, and meal kit delivery services can certainly help with that.
First, it saves time and makes decision making easy. You can pick meals according to your tastes and preferences or specialty diets. Ingredients are usually pre cut and arranged for easy assembly.
Since you’ll get only what you need to cook in a balanced portion size, you’ll eat better and won’t end up with tons of leftovers. So, you won’t waste money by throwing away the food you get sick of.
Meal Delivery Services Save Time
Yes. One of the major draws of meal delivery services is the time factor. People from all walks of life have been turning to meal delivery services to save time.
Whether you’re a parent, a busy professional, or even a college student, signing up for meal delivery services can be a life changer.
For one thing, they save you the trip to the grocery store. With everything you need delivered straight to your doorstep, you have more time to spend on what matters, be it work, kids, or other errands.
Meal delivery kits are also easy to make and can save you time searching for recipes and then chopping, grating, and preparing ingredients.
With all the ingredients delivered portioned and ready to cook, you’ll be able to drastically minimize the time you spend in the kitchen. Not to mention – the pesky job of doing the dishes afterwards.
Meal Kits are Great if You Have Dietary Restrictions
If you have dietary specifications, like gluten allergies or food sensitivities, meal kits can be a great way to help you break the monotony.
Most companies have special meal plans that are suited for specific diets (such as a low-carb diet or a vegetarian diet), so you don’t need to feel so limited by your dietary preferences.
Others let you substitute ingredients when you’re ordering meals so that you can leave out problematic ingredients. And since all of them list the ingredients on the menu options, you’ll have no problem finding meals that meet your dietary needs.
Meal Kits are Sustainable and Good for the Environment
From ditching plastic straws to bringing your own bags to the grocery store, the importance of conservation is something many people are aware of these days.
Meal kit companies can help by supporting sustainable providers and making sure that you have exactly the amount of food you need. That way, you’re not over-purchasing and throwing out food waste.
What Do You Get in a Meal Kit Delivery?
It’s pretty simple: You’ll get food for the week in a meal kit delivery box. After choosing exactly what you’d like to eat based on the provided menu options, your dishes will arrive prepackaged.
You’ll get labeled ingredients and step-by-step instructions on how to combine them. Beyond the dishes included in the meal plan, you can add some extra meals to supplement your schedule.
What Is the Difference Between Meal Kits and Meal Delivery?
Both meal kits and prepared meal delivery will bring food to your table, reducing the effort it takes to make meal time happen. But, it’s worthwhile to provide a comparison between the two services.
You can order meal kits if you like to experiment and don’t mind preparing meals. You choose from a weekly menu and get all the ingredients through weekly deliveries. Meal kit recipes are more affordable and take less time to put together.
Meal delivery is perfect if you want to eat with zero effort. You get fully-prepared meals shipped, either fresh or frozen, to your home. These services are not only affordable, but some of them even offer free shipping on their meal plans.
Meal delivery and meal kits are both tailorable according to dietary restrictions. This includes diabetes friendly options and plant-based meals.
What Types of Meal Delivery Services Are There?
With the growth of the meal delivery market has come an increase in specialty purveyors focusing on anything from vegan to kid-friendly or gluten-free.
No matter what your food preferences or allergies may be, there is a service that will meet your needs:
1) Prepared Meal Services – Prepared meal kits delivered straight to your home for quick and easy meals.
2) Vegetarian Meal Services – For vegetarians or those looking to add more fresh veggies to their diet.
3) Vegan Meal Services – Meal kits for vegans, consisting entirely of plant-based ingredients.
4) Gluten-Free Meal Services – Gluten-free meals for people looking to cut gluten from their diet or for people with celiac.
5) Organic Meal Services – Meal kits made with organic components and cleaner produce.
6) Weight Loss Meal Services – For those looking to lose weight, these meal delivery services offer different diet plans.
7) Keto Meal Services – These meal delivery services make it super easy to follow a keto diet.
8) Paleo Meal Services – Portion-perfect meals for people following a paleo diet.
9) Diabetic Meal Services – Meal kit delivery services with special programs for diabetics to manage their sugar level.
How Much Do Meal Delivery Services Cost?
Meal delivery service prices vary from one company to the next, and is often based on how many meals you order per week.
Since companies offer different pricing structures that can appear complex, the best way to compare prices is to look at how much each serving (meal) costs.
Cheapest Meal Delivery Services
EveryPlate is one of the more affordable meal delivery service companies, charging $4.99 per serving across the board. From there, the prices can go up depending on the type of cuisine, the quality of ingredients, and other factors.
HelloFresh, one of the best-rated meal delivery services out there, charges $7.99-$8.99 per serving and offers a wide variety of recipes and high quality ingredients.
Expensive and High-end Meal Delivery Services
At the higher end of the spectrum is Green Chef, whose meals range between $11.99 and $12.99 but feature USDA-certified organic produce ingredients and plenty of healthy, tasty recipes.
Most meal kit companies today offer special family meal plans. There are often fewer family recipe options include per week, and they are a little less adventurous than the recipes for couples and singles.
The focus is usually on hearty, kid-friendly meals that can be cooked in a single pot—and leave some leftovers for later.
Meal Delivery Shipping Cost
One factor that can really make a difference when choosing a meal kit company is the shipping cost. The shipping costs range from around $6.99 to $9.99 or more per order, basically the same price as a meal serving.
With many companies, the shipping cost is waived if your overall order is above a certain total. For instance, with Plated, shipping costs $7.95 per order, but is free if you order more than $60. With Home Chef the shipping is free if your order exceeds $45.
With HelloFresh on the other hand, you get free shipping – no matter how many meals you order. While with Sunbasket, the shipping isn’t waived with a minimum order amount.
If you’re ordering for yourself, it may be difficult to hit that order minimum, but by doing so, the savings on shipping could offset your delivery costs. If you’re ordering for a family of four, you should be able to exceed the minimum order no problem.
How to Choose and Compare Meal Delivery Services
When choosing a meal delivery service, you should first see if you want a meal kit or a ready-to-eat food service.
There are many meal delivery services out there, and each one caters for a different purpose. For example, some meal delivery services only have vegan dinners, while others specialize in smoothies or comfort foods.
The bright side of these diverse options is that you have a great chance to find something that fits your unique requests.
Picking a meal kit that has all-natural ingredients is an easy way to get delicious food. Make sure to check out where ingredients come from, how long they will take to get to you, and how they get packaged as all of these points will impact taste.
Which Meal Delivery Service Is Best for Diet and Weight Loss?
To get delicious meal kits for diet and weight loss, you should know who are the best of the meal delivery companies.
Nutrisystem’s meals are designed by dietitians. So if you’re seeking to lose weight, or if you follow a certain diet (like high protein or low-carb diets), Nutrisystem’s meal delivery service can help you make your calorie goals, with a set number of meals per week.
Eating healthier foods often starts with sourcing better ingredients. Green Chef provides great certified organic meals, with diverse menu options (not just chicken breasts and green beans).
Another great meal delivery service for dieters is Factor_, who offer 29 chef-designed, dietitian-approved recipes and pre-cooked meals every week. Their regulated portion sizes, fresh ingredients, and carb conscious recipes can get you eating really nutritious meals.
Is the Meal Kit Delivery Industry Growing?
Statistics from recent years say the industry really is a growing one. In the United States alone, 17% of Americans have opted to order recipe boxes. Out of these 17%, almost 90% have referred their friends or family to the plans. On the other side of the ocean, in the United Kingdom, over 11 million people bought meal kits.
These kits became a popular meal alternative to known grocery store experiences in the past few years, bringing an interesting array of items from the internet to doorsteps.
This industry growth is expected to continue even after the pandemic, as it’s expected to generate over 10 billion dollars in sales by 2024.
Which Demographics Use Meal Kits?
Surveys showed that while older generations were less prone to use fresh meal delivery plans, 26% of Generation X (those who were born between 1965 and 1980), and 29% of millennials (those born between 1981 to 1996) opted to order recipe boxes.
When it comes down to gender, men tend to use these services more often than women. In general, the top subscribers to meal kit delivery services all earned more than $100,000 annually.
More Meal Delivery Services and Companies We Reviewed
Aside from our Top 10 meal delivery services, our certified dietitians and nutritionists reviewed other meal kit services, and you can read all about them here:
1) Purple Carrot
2) BistroMD
3) RealEats
4) Diet-To-Go
5) Dinnerly
6) Sunbasket
Our Most Popular Meal Delivery Articles
Our readers have found these articles to be interesting and helpful:
1) Top 10 Most & Least Expensive States for Grocery Shopping in the US
2) 10 Sugar-Free Snack Ideas for Diabetics
3) 10 Fat-Burning, High-Protein Meals Pescatarians Love
4) Are Meal Kits Really Cheaper Than Groceries?
5) 10 Important Reasons to Start Meal Planning
The Bottom Line
Meal kit delivery services can be a great way to save time and money, while making sure your family gets the best of both worlds – healthy and delicious meals. If you’re busy and find trying to figure out recipes too time consuming, a meal subscription is the perfect solution.
It also helps you control your nutrition and keep up with certain diets like keto, vegan, diabetic, and others. For saving extra time, opt for ready to eat options from a prepared meal delivery service.