I Did the Math: This Meal Kit Service Gives You the Most Bang for Your Buck

Meal kits are a comfort product, full cease. Whereas the worth hole between meal kits and grocery retailer costs has shrunk since they first launched, what you are paying for is pre-measured substances curated right into a single field and delivered to your door able to be spun into dinner.

We have calculated how meal package supply companies stack up towards grocery costs, and the findings aren’t shocking, even amid rising meals prices nationwide. It is almost all the time cheaper to purchase groceries on the retailer, and also you put together meals, particularly whenever you shop in person rather than have them delivered.

Learn extra: I Test Meal Kits for a Living: These 7 Mistakes Are Costing You

Meal package costs are straightforward to check. What’s tougher to reply is whether or not any of them truly ship worth relative to what the identical groceries would price at a grocery store — and whether or not some companies are supplying you with meaningfully greater than others in your cash.

So I did the mathematics. Contemplating seven of the preferred traditional-format meal package supply companies, lots of which seem on our Best Meal Kits of 2026 record, here is how they stacked up, from highest to lowest, primarily based on the worth they provide for the worth. (The decrease the financial savings within the right-hand column to be able to make the identical meals your self, the nearer in worth between the meal package and the precise price of groceries.) 

And whereas these signify one of the best worth meal kits, we have additionally dug into them to seek out the absolute cheapest meal kits available in 2026.

• Price: $11.49 per serving plus upcharges for premium objects  
• Combination financial savings on this HelloFresh field to make it your self: 35%
• Full review of HelloFresh

*Be aware that Blue Apron just lately modified its pricing construction and has moved away from a subscription mannequin. Every dish now has a selected worth per serving and you should purchase meal kits everytime you need with out having to maintain monitor of a recurring weekly supply.

• Price: $6.99 per serving plus upcharges for premium objects
• Combination financial savings on this EveryPlate field to make it your self: 40%
• Full review of EveryPlate

How I did the mathematics

Utilizing weekly menus out there on-line for every of the seven meal package companies, I chosen two customary choices from every, ensuring to combine up the protein kind: a steak or premium crimson meat dish, a shrimp dish or a rooster or poultry choice. (Typically the sandwich took the type of a burrito, wrap or tacos.)

Armed with in-store grocery costs from a Kroger in suburban Michigan (just about the median for present grocery costs within the US). I added up the prorated quantities for the desired portions of every ingredient, then calculated the financial savings between the meal package worth and what you’d pay to make the identical recipe by sourcing the substances your self. 

To indicate my algebra, here is an instance from one of many kits:

• Meal package price: $11.99 per serving for 2 servings: $23.99
• Price to make two servings by way of groceries: $12.14
• Financial savings to make this recipe your self: 49%

Be aware that the one price I used to be calculating right here was meals price for a conventional meal package mannequin. I did not consider supply price or promotional presents (which many meal kits provide on start-up, or for lapsed clients who return to the service)

I needed to make some estimates for sure substances (e.g., roughly 6 teaspoons per fluid ounce or the load of an average-sized potato), however these estimates have been stored constant throughout all meal kits. I selected the least costly out there model for the ingredient, besides when a selected model or customary (reminiscent of natural) was specified. 

I indicated the proportion financial savings per merchandise to do it your self, however to provide you with the combination financial savings per field, I added up the full worth of all of the substances within the field and divided it by the full worth of the field, slightly than taking the common of every of the three financial savings percentages. 

Some observations on worth

“Worth” will be tough to quantify as a result of your private values form the way you understand price. Natural produce, extra accountable packaging or a greater variety of recipes to select from could play a better function in your decision-making than the precise meals prices calculated right here. 

That stated, the most important disparity in worth among the many meals I calculated was certainly within the natural choices: Inexperienced Chef and Sunbasket, as a result of natural produce and the highest-quality proteins purchased in-store have been nearer in worth to their standard objects than the upper costs in these meal package manufacturers would have you ever consider. Sunbasket, curiously, has a fairly low price per serving, however my calculations confirmed that you just’re getting much less in these bins than in these with standard substances.

I additionally calculated the price of every ingredient, however your notion of price could rely on whether or not you have already got sure objects in inventory. For instance, if you have already got garlic powder available, you would possibly probably not depend that as a price, as you did not have to shell out for it on this week’s grocery buy. (These 11 cents’ value of garlic powder aren’t in all probability making an enormous distinction within the backside line anyway.)

However, a specialty ingredient that is not a staple — truffle mud, for instance — will really feel costlier as a result of it’s important to purchase it outright to make use of solely a portion of it, although extra stays to be used in different recipes. (That exact specialty ingredient goes to hit you particularly onerous on the level of buy, as a result of it is truffles.) 

One other consideration value noting is that each recipe right here requires 10 ounces of shrimp. In case your grocery store would not have a seafood counter that means that you can purchase in bulk, you would possibly discover that packaged frozen shrimp is just out there in 12 ounces. I calculated the worth for under the ten ounces referred to as for however the precise outlay is increased and likelihood is you will use all 12 ounces and never save 2 for the longer term.

Getting probably the most in your cash with any meal package

Given these calculations, I discovered that one of the best worth, irrespective of which service you select, is for premium-ish objects that do not include a premium markup. Meat and seafood-based dishes will just about all the time incur increased DIY prices than vegetarian or pasta-based meals, that are cheaper so that you can put collectively your self, such that the distinction between making these meals your self versus getting them by means of a meal package is way better. 

The worth actually comes all the way down to the provision of cheap proteins in your space. Shrimp availability in suburban Michigan in January inflated these DIY prices, which is probably not the case on the coasts or in different seasons. To take advantage of your meal package cash, irrespective of which model’s menu you favor, verify native protein costs and select your meals accordingly.

What extra? Listed here are 7 ways to maximize your meal kit service and one of the best meal kits for staying healthy in 2026.