The best affordable meal delivery services bring the cost per serving under $10 while still delivering fresh, chef-designed recipes with quality ingredients. After testing every budget option on the market, these five services consistently deliver the best value — ranked by price, taste, and portion size.
Our team has tested 25+ budget meal delivery services over 400+ orders and 5 years of subscription reviews. Rankings are based on: food quality (taste + freshness, 30%), value (price vs. what you get, 25%), menu variety (diet options + weekly selections, 20%), ease of use (signup, skip, cancel, delivery, 15%), and customer support (10%). Scores updated June 2026.
| Service | Price/Serving | Best For | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| EveryPlate | from $4.99 | Cheapest meal kit | 7.0/10 |
| Dinnerly | from $4.99 | Budget with digital recipes | 6.8/10 |
| HelloFresh | from $7.99 | Best value + variety | 8.2/10 |
| Blue Apron | from $7.99 | Wine pairing, cooking quality | 7.5/10 |
| Home Chef | from $8.99 | Customization & flexibility | 7.8/10 |
EveryPlate is the most affordable meal delivery service in the US, starting at $4.99 per serving — less than a fast food combo meal. It achieves this price by keeping the recipe format simple (25–35 minutes, 6 steps or fewer), reducing packaging, and sourcing standard-quality (non-organic) ingredients. You won't find anything here that belongs in a Michelin-starred kitchen, but the food is consistently good for the price.
The weekly menu offers 8–10 choices covering American comfort food, pasta, chicken dishes, and a rotating "premium" option (slightly upcharged). Portions are generous — most meals comfortably serve the stated 2 or 4 portions. Our testers gave EveryPlate 7.0/10, with high marks for value and portion size, lower marks for ingredient quality compared to premium services.
Best for: Budget-conscious families and couples who want home-cooked meals at the lowest possible per-serving cost. Not ideal if you want organic ingredients or gourmet techniques.
Dinnerly matches EveryPlate on price (from $4.99/serving) but takes a different cost-cutting approach: instead of printed recipe cards, Dinnerly uses a digital-only recipe format accessed via the app. This keeps overhead down and lets the service offer 8 meals per week at a rock-bottom price. Ingredients are standard quality, portioned pre-measured for each recipe.
Where Dinnerly stands out from EveryPlate is in recipe ambition — you'll find more globally inspired dishes (Korean bowls, Thai noodles, Mexican street-food style plates) at the same price point. Cooking times average 30–40 minutes. We rated Dinnerly 6.8/10, with points off for occasional ingredient quality issues and digital-only recipe access being a friction point for some users.
Best for: Tech-comfortable cooks who want global cuisine variety at the lowest price. Dinnerly suits people comfortable cooking from an app rather than a printed card.
HelloFresh is the world's largest meal kit service and the best all-around value in affordable meal delivery. Starting at $7.99/serving, it costs more than EveryPlate or Dinnerly, but the jump in ingredient quality, recipe variety (25+ weekly options), and cooking technique is significant. HelloFresh is the service most likely to make you a better cook while feeding you affordably.
The weekly menu covers classic comfort food, international dishes, quick-prep options (under 20 minutes), and family-friendly meals. Printed recipe cards are clear, well-photographed, and rated by difficulty. HelloFresh scored 8.2/10 in our testing — the highest of any service on this list — and the top overall pick for households willing to spend $2–3 more per serving than the bare-minimum budget options.
Best for: People who want the best balance of price and quality. HelloFresh is the right pick when you want affordable meal delivery that still delivers a genuinely enjoyable cooking and eating experience.
Blue Apron pioneered the US meal kit industry and has since evolved into a service that punches above its price on recipe quality and culinary ambition. At $7.99–$10.99/serving, Blue Apron pricing is competitive with HelloFresh, but the recipes skew slightly more technical — better for people who want to develop real cooking skills, not just follow simple steps.
The standout differentiator is Blue Apron's wine pairing program: a curated wine subscription that pairs each week's meals with sommelier-selected bottles at $10–$15 each. For date-night cooking at home, the meal-plus-wine combination is hard to beat at this price. We rated Blue Apron 7.5/10, with strong marks for recipe quality and wine integration, lower marks for menu variety and smaller portion sizes vs. EveryPlate.
Best for: Couples who want an elevated cooking experience at an affordable price, especially anyone interested in wine pairing. Blue Apron's recipes teach more culinary technique than simpler budget alternatives.
Home Chef starts at $8.99/serving and offers something rare at this price point: genuine protein customization. Many recipes let you swap the protein (e.g., chicken to salmon, salmon to shrimp) at a small upcharge, and the platform remembers your preferences week to week. This makes Home Chef the most flexible affordable meal kit on the market.
The weekly menu offers 25+ options including oven-ready meal kits (no browning pans required), 15-minute express meals, and calorie-conscious selections. Cooking times average 30–45 minutes. We rated Home Chef 7.8/10 — strong marks for flexibility and menu variety, moderate marks for ingredient quality vs. Sun Basket or Green Chef at higher price points.
Best for: Households with mixed dietary preferences that need per-meal protein swaps and maximum weekly flexibility within a budget. Home Chef is the right pick when different household members want different proteins.
Every service on this list offers a first-box discount ranging from 20% to 60% off. To maximize savings: (1) use a new email address for the first-box promo, (2) check Honey or RetailMeNot for current coupon codes before checkout, (3) on HelloFresh, refer a friend for $40 off your next box. EveryPlate and Dinnerly regularly run "first box free minus shipping" promotions on social media.
EveryPlate and Dinnerly both start at $4.99/serving — the lowest published price of any meal kit service. On a 2-person, 3-meal-per-week plan that's $29.94/week before shipping ($8.99). HelloFresh is the cheapest service that doesn't compromise on recipe quality or ingredient sourcing.
Yes, for specific household sizes. A 2-person household using EveryPlate or Dinnerly typically spends $40–$55/week including shipping — competitive with a grocery run for the same meals, once you factor in food waste (average US household wastes 31% of food purchased). Single-person households usually save more cooking from scratch.
Quality varies by service. EveryPlate and Dinnerly use conventional (non-organic) ingredients to hit their price points. HelloFresh and Blue Apron use higher-quality sourcing at slightly higher prices. Home Chef sources proteins sustainably. None of the budget services on this list are organic — for organic ingredients, expect to pay $11–$14/serving minimum.
HelloFresh and Home Chef both offer 25+ weekly options. EveryPlate has 8–10 options per week. Dinnerly has 8 weekly options. Blue Apron offers 10–12 weekly options. For maximum weekly variety at an affordable price, HelloFresh or Home Chef are the clear winners.
Compare These Services Head to Head
EveryPlate is consistently the cheapest meal kit, starting around $4.99 per serving. Dinnerly is a close second. Both keep costs low by simplifying packaging and ingredient selection without sacrificing taste or portion size.
For households that overbuy and waste food, meal kits like EveryPlate can actually cost less per meal than grocery runs. The biggest savings comes from eliminating food waste — you get exactly what you need for each recipe, nothing more.
Yes. EveryPlate and Dinnerly both deliver fresh, properly portioned ingredients. The tradeoff is less variety and fewer premium add-ons compared to higher-end services. For everyday weeknight dinners, the quality is more than good enough.
EveryPlate is our top pick for affordable meal delivery — the lowest cost per serving in the category without meaningfully sacrificing quality. Dinnerly is a strong runner-up if you want more recipe variety. Both are excellent choices for budget-conscious households looking to cut back on takeout.
We tested every budget meal delivery option on this list with a focus on cost-per-meal. Full reviews:
All meal delivery services listed above are subscription-based but can be cancelled anytime. Our step-by-step cancel guides:
Want to see exactly what you'd be cooking before signing up? Our meal index covers 6,000+ meals across 13 brands — full nutrition, ingredients, and step-by-step instructions:
Browse the MealFan Meal Index →
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