Home Chef vs Blue Apron (2026): Home Chef Costs Less, Blue Apron Skips the Subscription

Compared from each brand's published menus, prices and terms, checked September 2026. Prices change with the weekly menu.

At a glance

Price

Home Chef meal kits start at $7.99 per serving and standard meals average $9.99 per serving. Premium meals, the Culinary Collection and Customize It protein swaps cost more. The minimum weekly order is $50.95 on the Home Chef plan and $82.91 on the Family plan, which comes in 4-serving portions.

Blue Apron's homepage listed its featured meal kits at $12.49 to $15.99 per serving. A Family Style Bundle was listed at $19.49 for 2, $38.99 for 4 and $58.49 for 6, which works out to about $9.75 per person. Single pre-made meals were listed at $8.99 to $11.99, and family-size pre-made dishes at $17.99 to $22.99.

For a sample week of 6 servings, Home Chef at the $9.99 standard average comes to $59.94 plus shipping. Six servings of Blue Apron meal kits at the homepage prices comes to $74.94 to $95.94, plus $9.99 shipping unless you pay for Blue Apron+.

New customer offers differ. Home Chef advertises 18 free meals plus free shipping on the first box. In practice that means 30% off the regular price of your first 3 boxes (up to $30 off each) and 45% off the next 2 boxes (up to $45 off each). The full 18 free meals only applies if you buy 10 or more meals a week for 5 weeks, and Home Chef says most customers get 10 to 14 free meals. Blue Apron offers $25 off your first 2 orders and free shipping with code WELCOME25, with terms applying.

Menu and formats

Home Chef has the wider set of formats. You can pick classic meal kits, Express recipes ready in 30 minutes or less, Oven-Ready meals that come in an oven-safe tray with little prep and no cleanup (they cannot be microwaved), and Fast and Fresh meals that cook in the microwave or oven. Extras include breakfast from $4.98, lunch from $9.98, dessert from $3.98, snacks from $4.98 and drinks from $6.98.

Blue Apron groups its menu into meal kits, 20 minutes or less recipes, Assemble and Bake (its Oven-Ready line), Family Style bundles and pre-made, heat and eat meals. The pre-made range includes burritos, grain bowls, pasta dishes and family-size casseroles, so Blue Apron covers nights when you do not want to cook at all.

Diets

Blue Apron's homepage offers two nutrition filters: 30g+ Protein and 600 Calories or Less. For Home Chef, check the current weekly menu and our Home Chef menu guide for the diet options on offer. If you have allergies, read the ingredient list for each recipe before you order from either brand.

Delivery and flexibility

Home Chef delivers Sunday through Friday on the day you choose. Your first box ships free; after that a flat shipping fee per box is shown at checkout. Home Chef is owned by Kroger, and Home Chef products are also sold in select Kroger stores.

Blue Apron changed its model to one where no subscription is needed. Its homepage says "Get what you want, when you want. No commitment." and promises delivery in as little as 3 days. If you want regular deliveries, the optional Subscribe & Save program takes 5% off every item and lets you set a schedule of every week, every 2 weeks, every 3 weeks or every 4 weeks. Standard shipping is $9.99 per order, and the Blue Apron+ membership at $9.99 a month removes the shipping fee on every order.

Who should pick each

• Pick Home Chef if you cook most weeknights, want the lowest price per serving of the two, and like mixing meal kits with Oven-Ready trays and extras like breakfast or dessert.
• Pick Blue Apron if you want to order only when you feel like it, with no subscription, or you want pre-made meals and Family Style bundles in the same order.

Verdict

Home Chef wins on price and range of formats for households that order every week, and it holds a MealFan score of 8.8/10. Blue Apron, at 7.2/10, costs more per serving for meal kits but is the more flexible choice for occasional orders now that no subscription is needed. Read our Blue Apron review for more on its menu.

Frequently Asked Questions

Prices and offers from homechef.com and blueapron.com, checked September 23, 2026. Prices change with the weekly menu.