Home Chef vs Dinnerly (2026): Home Chef for Couples, Dinnerly for Big Families

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.

Dinnerly's homepage says meals start at $5.99 per person. Its help center publishes box prices for every plan. On the 2-person plan, 2 meals cost $57.95 and 6 meals cost $128.27. On the 4-person plan, 2 meals cost $91.91 and 6 meals cost $203.75. On the 6-person plan, 2 meals cost $119.87 and 6 meals cost $227.63. Every order also pays an $11.99 shipping fee.

That pricing favors bigger boxes. Here is how a few common weeks compare, with Home Chef at its $9.99 standard average:

Because Home Chef does not publish its shipping fee after the first box, the Home Chef column leaves shipping out. For couples, Home Chef costs less before shipping. For families ordering 6 meals for 4 or more people, Dinnerly's per-serving price drops below Home Chef's standard average.

Home Chef's new customer offer is 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.

Menu and formats

Dinnerly offers 100+ recipes every week and lets you view the menu three weeks in advance. Some meals carry a Customize label, which lets you choose a different protein or side. Dinnerly says it cannot remove single ingredients for dietary needs. Its Market sells extra groceries, desserts, snacks and drinks. Digital recipe cards are always in your account, and you can opt in to printed cards in your box.

Home Chef has more ways to cook. 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.

Diets

Dinnerly says its weekly menu includes family friendly, vegetarian, vegan, fast, healthy and reduced-carb options. 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.

Dinnerly delivers throughout the contiguous United States. Delivery days and windows depend on your zip code. It is a flexible subscription: you are billed each week unless you skip, pause or cancel. You can skip up to 7 weeks ahead, pause until a date you pick, or cancel at any time from your account.

Who should pick each

• Pick Home Chef if you cook for one or two, want Oven-Ready trays or microwave-friendly meals on busy nights, or like adding breakfast, lunch and dessert to your box.
• Pick Dinnerly if you feed four to six people, want the lowest per-serving price on a big box, or want vegetarian, vegan and reduced-carb choices from a large weekly menu.

Verdict

Home Chef, with a MealFan score of 8.8/10, is the stronger all-round service and costs less for small households before shipping. Dinnerly, at 8.0/10, becomes the cheaper option once you order bigger family boxes, though its $11.99 shipping fee applies to every order. Read our Dinnerly review for more on its menu.

Frequently Asked Questions

Prices and offers from homechef.com, dinnerly.com and the Dinnerly Help Center, checked September 23, 2026. Prices change with the weekly menu.