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Meal kits are on the way comfortwhich means you’ll typically pay more per pound for these recipe packages than you would if you made the menu and Grocery shopping yourself. Meal kits offer hidden value beyond saving time and energy since there is often less food waste with meal kits, since they only send you what you need for that night’s meal, and nothing more.
Within the sprawling meal kit categories, you’ll find a number of options with prices ranging from $6 to $15 per meal. Premium services offer higher quality cuts of meat and more complex recipes with delicious ingredients. Budget Services keeps it simple with recipes that typically include just four or five ingredients.
Among the options, you may be wondering which meal kit services offer the best overall value in 2026. Well, we were.
To find out, we calculated how meal kit delivery services compare to grocery prices. Here’s what the math says about meal kits and their value in 2026.
While these represent the best-value Meal kits, we’ve also looked into them to find Cheapest meal kits ever Available in 2026.
Meal groups, sorted by value
| Meal kit service | Save % on preparing the same meals yourself |
|---|---|
| chef | 35% |
| Hello Fresh | 35% |
| Blue apron | 37% |
| Every panel | 40% |
| Marley spoon | 42% |
| Green Chef | 45% |
| Sun basket | 48% |
Home Chef scored top marks in our meal kit value rating.
chef
| Cost of home chef (2 servings) | DIY cost | DIY savings | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fool proof crispy chicken sandwich | $23.98 | $12.14 | 49% |
| Arrabbiata Creamy Shrimp and Feta Pepper | $23.98 | $16.55 | 31% |
HelloFresh is tied with Home Chef as the best value meal kit.
Hello Fresh
| Cost of HelloFresh (2 servings) | DIY cost | DIY savings | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Green curry, coconut, shrimp and rice | $22.98 | $16.58 | 26% |
| Cumin Lamb Chops with Spiced Yogurt Sauce (Premium + $12.99/serving) | $48.96 | $26.96 | 45% |
- Cost: $11.49 per meal plus surcharge for premium items
- Total savings on this DIY HelloFresh box: 35%
- Full review of HelloFresh
Free Blue Apron meal kits* ranked third.
Blue apron
| Blue apron cost (2 servings) | DIY cost | DIY savings | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brown Butter Rosemary Sauteed Steak ($13.29 per serving) | $26.58 | $15.24 | 43% |
| Chicken Caesar Wraps ($8/serving) | $16.00 | $10.88 | 32% |
Note that Blue Apron recently changed its pricing structure and moved away from the subscription model. Each dish now has a set price per meal, and you can purchase meal kits whenever you want without having to track recurring weekly deliveries.
EveryPlate’s recipe cards carefully guide you through each meal kit.
Every panel
| Cost per dish (two servings) | DIY cost | DIY savings | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Banh Mi Style Chicken Taco | $13.98 | $8.40 | 40% |
| Tomato and white bean stew with feta and garlic bread | $13.98 | $8.25 | 41% |
- Cost: $6.99 per serving plus additional fees for premium items
- Total savings on this DIY EveryPlate box: 40%
- Full review of EveryPlate
Our top pick for the best meal kit, the Marley Spoon, was in the middle of the pack in terms of value.
Marley spoon
| Cost of a Marley Spoon (2 servings) | DIY cost | DIY savings | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steak with truffle butter and fondant potatoes | $25.98 | $15.58 | 40% |
| Lemon and herb shrimp with broccoli and pasta | $25.98 | $14.63 | 44% |
Green Chef is one of our favorite healthy meal kit services but didn’t prove its value in our evaluation.
Green Chef
| Green Chef cost (2 servings) | DIY cost | DIY savings | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Black Shrimp and Grits with Bacon | $29.98 | $15.45 | 48% |
| Butter sirloin steak with potatoes | $29.98 | $17.33 | 42% |
Sunbasket performed the worst in our value analysis.
Sun basket
| Sun basket cost (2 servings) | DIY cost | DIY savings | |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Orleans Style Shrimp Creole | $22.98 | $12.10 | 47% |
| Chicken sausage with potatoes, cauliflower and chimichurri | $22.98 | $11.58 | 50% |
How did you do the math?
Ready-to-go vegan meal kit.
Using the weekly menus available online for each of the seven meal kit services, I selected two standard offerings from each, making sure to mix up the type of protein: a steak or prime red meat dish, a shrimp dish or a chicken or poultry option. (Sometimes the sandwich takes the form of a burrito, wrap, or taco.)
Armed with in-store grocery prices from Kroger in suburban Michigan (largely average current U.S. grocery prices), I added up the prorated amounts for the exact amounts of each ingredient, then calculated the savings between the price of the meal kit and what you would pay to make the same recipe by sourcing the ingredients yourself.
To demonstrate my algebra, here’s an example from one of the groups:
Crispy chicken sandwich from Home Chef
| Component | In-store price | Proportional cost |
|---|---|---|
| 2 sweet potatoes | $1.49/lb | $1.11 |
| 1 option | $1.50/stick | $1.50 |
| 10 ounces boneless, skinless chicken tenders | $5.99/lb | $3.74 |
| 2 brioche buns | 5/4 dollar bagel | $2.50 |
| 1.76 ounces mayonnaise | $4.29/15 oz | $0.50 |
| 1 ounce roasted and salted peanuts | $1.99/12 oz | $0.17 |
| ¼ c panko rusk | $2.59/8 oz | $0.65 |
| ½ fluid ounce seasoned rice vinegar | $4.49/12 oz | $0.19 |
| 2 teaspoons Sriracha | $5.79/12 oz | $0.16 |
| ¼ ounce coriander | $2.49/.5 oz | $1.25 |
| 2 teaspoons umami spices | $7.49/6.75 oz | $0.37 |
- Cost of meal kit: $11.99 per serving For 2 servings: $23.99
- The cost of serving two servings through grocery stores: $12.14
- Saving to make this recipe yourself: 49%
Note that the only cost I was calculating here is the food cost of the traditional meal kit model. I didn’t take into account the cost of delivery or promotions (which many meal kits offer when they start up, or to lapsed customers who return to the service).
I had to make some estimates for certain ingredients (for example, approximately 6 teaspoons per fluid ounce or the weight of a medium potato), but these estimates remained consistent across all meal groups. You have chosen the least expensive brand of ingredient available, except when a specific brand or standard is specified (such as organic).
I’ve indicated the percentage savings for each item for doing it yourself, but to get the total savings for each box, I added up the total value of all the components in the box and divided it by the total price of the box, rather than taking the average of each of the three savings percentages.
Some notes on value
Green Chef meal kits are easy to love but they don’t offer the best value, pound for pound.
It can be difficult to define “value” because your personal values shape how you perceive cost. Organic produce, more responsible packaging, or a wider range of recipes to choose from may play a larger role in your decision making than the actual food costs calculated here.
However, the biggest discrepancy in value between the meals I calculated was actually in the organic options: Green Chef and Sunbasket, because the store-bought organic produce and high-quality proteins were closer in price to conventional items than the higher prices at those meal kit brands would have you believe. Oddly enough, Sunbasket costs so low per serving, but my calculations showed that you get less in those boxes than those with traditional ingredients.
You’ve also calculated the cost of each component, but your perception of the cost may depend on whether you already have certain items in stock. For example, if you already have garlic powder on hand, you may not count it as a cost, since you didn’t have to pay for it in your grocery shopping this week. (11 cents worth of garlic powder probably doesn’t make much of a difference in the end result anyway.)
Curiously, Sunbasket has a lower cost per serving, but my calculations showed that you get less in those boxes than those with traditional ingredients.
On the other hand, a specialty ingredient that’s not a staple—truffle dust, for example—will seem more expensive because you have to buy it all to use only part of it, even though there’s more left over to use in other recipes. (This special ingredient will especially hit you at the point of purchase, because it’s the truffle.)
Another noteworthy consideration is that each recipe here calls for 10 ounces of shrimp. If your supermarket doesn’t have a seafood counter that allows you to buy in bulk, you may find that packaged frozen shrimp are only available in 12-ounce packages. You’ve only calculated the price for the 10 ounces needed, but the actual spend is higher, and you’ll likely use the entire 12 ounces and not save 2 for the future.
Get the most for your money with any meal kit
Looking at these calculations, I’ve found that the best value, regardless of which service you choose, is for premium items that don’t come with a premium tag. Meat- and seafood-based dishes will always incur higher DIY costs than vegetarian or pasta meals, which are cheaper for you to put together yourself, so the difference between making those meals yourself versus getting them through a meal kit is much greater.
Many of EveryPlate’s cheap meal kit recipes are simple and hassle-free.
The value really comes down to the availability of cheap proteins in your area. The availability of shrimp in Michigan suburbs in January has inflated DIY costs, which may not be the case on the coasts or in other seasons. To get the most bang for your buck, no matter which brand menu you prefer, check local protein prices and choose your meals accordingly.
What more? here Seven ways to maximize your meal kit Service and the best meal kits for staying healthy in 2026.