Blue Apron vs Marley Spoon (2026): Blue Apron Wins on Classic Meal Kit Quality
Which is better, Blue Apron or Marley Spoon?
It depends on what you value. Blue Apron wins on classic meal kit quality and wine pairings, while Marley Spoon wins on Martha Stewart recipes and large. MealFan tested both services hands on for its 2026 comparison covering pricing, menus, and taste.
- Blue Apron wins on classic meal kit quality and wine pairings
- Marley Spoon wins on Martha Stewart recipes and large
- Both services tested hands on by MealFan
Blue Apron wins for culinary craftsmanship with chef-curated recipes, a wine subscription add-on, and a tight, high-quality weekly menu at 10 to 13 dollars per serving. Marley Spoon wins for variety with 40-plus Martha Stewart-inspired recipes per week at a generally lower per-serving cost around 8 to 12 dollars. Choose Blue Apron if you want premium culinary focus and wine pairings. Choose Marley Spoon if you want a larger recipe selection and Martha Stewart recipe quality at a lower price.
Last updated: June 2026. Prices verified against each service’s current website.
Quick verdict: Marley Spoon wins on recipe variety and price. Blue Apron wins on culinary depth per recipe and wine pairing. If you want 40+ recipes per week with Martha Stewart’s culinary sensibility at a lower per-meal cost, Marley Spoon delivers that clearly. If a smaller, more curated weekly menu with chef-developed technique and optional wine pairing is the priority, Blue Apron is the better fit.
- Marley Spoon’s Martha Stewart partnership is genuine. The recipes are co-developed with Martha Stewart Living, not just branded under the name.
- Blue Apron’s weekly menu is only about 16 recipes. In any given week, this may feel limiting for households with dietary restrictions or strong preferences.
- Marley Spoon also owns Dinnerly, a budget meal kit at $4.99 to $8.99/meal. Marley Spoon is its premium tier.
- Blue Apron wine add-on ships every 4 weeks on a separate cadence. It is an optional add-on, not included in the base subscription.
Ratings Scorecard
| Category | Blue Apron | Marley Spoon |
|---|---|---|
| Price per meal | 6/10 | 8/10 |
| Recipe variety | 5/10 | 9/10 |
| Culinary depth per recipe | 9/10 | 7/10 |
| Martha Stewart recipes | 0/10 | 9/10 |
| Wine pairing add-on | 9/10 | 0/10 |
| Beginner-friendliness | 7/10 | 8/10 |
| Value for households | 6/10 | 8/10 |
| Good for variety seekers | 4/10 | 9/10 |
Blue Apron vs Marley Spoon at a Glance
| Category | Blue Apron | Marley Spoon |
|---|---|---|
| Price per meal | $9.99-$15.99 | $8.99-$14.99 |
| Shipping | $10.99 | $10.99 |
| Recipes per week | ~16 | 40+ |
| Recipe partnership | In-house chefs | Martha Stewart Living |
| Wine add-on | Yes | No |
| Prep time | 30-60 min | 30-45 min |
| Parent company | Blue Apron (NYSE: APRN) | Marley Spoon AG (ASX: MMM) |
| Best for | Technique-focused cooks | Variety seekers, Martha fans |
Pricing: Marley Spoon Has the Lower Floor
Marley Spoon ranges from $8.99 to $14.99 per meal plus $10.99 shipping. Blue Apron ranges from $9.99 to $15.99 per meal plus $10.99 shipping. Both charge identical shipping, so the per-meal difference is what matters. At the entry level, Marley Spoon is $1 to $2 cheaper per meal, which translates to $6 to $12 per week on a 2-person, 3-meal plan, or $25 to $50 per month. Over a year, that is $300 to $600 in favor of Marley Spoon for equivalent delivery frequency.
Marley Spoon Recipe Volume: A Clear Advantage
Marley Spoon offers 40+ recipes per week developed in collaboration with Martha Stewart Living. The breadth covers classic American comfort food, global-inspired dishes, seasonal specials, and lighter options. For a household that cooks 3 to 4 nights per week, having 40+ recipes to choose from means almost never repeating a dish within a month. Blue Apron’s curated menu of 16 dishes is intentionally small, and in any given week, households with specific dietary needs or strong preferences may find themselves with limited options.
The Martha Stewart partnership is genuine editorial collaboration, not a licensing deal. Martha Stewart Living tests and approves the recipes. The sensibility that shows up on the cards, classic technique executed cleanly, good sourcing, kitchen-tested proportions, reflects her brand authentically. For people who grew up with Martha Stewart recipes or trust her kitchen standards, this is a meaningful differentiator.
Blue Apron Culinary Depth and Wine
Blue Apron’s strength is culinary ambition per recipe. The weekly menu is small, but each dish is developed by in-house chefs with technique and ingredient exploration in mind: brown-butter preparations, japchae noodles, fregola pasta, seared duck breast with pickled cherry gastrique. These are dishes that teach something. Marley Spoon recipes are solid and well-executed, but the Martha Stewart sensibility skews toward reliable home cooking rather than pushing technique boundaries.
Blue Apron’s wine add-on is the category differentiator: 6 bottles every 4 weeks, curated to pair with that period’s recipe menu. Marley Spoon has no wine program. If wine pairing is part of your dinner experience, Blue Apron is the only major meal kit that includes this.
Try Marley Spoon: Get $120 off across your first four Marley Spoon boxes.
Try Blue Apron: Get 3 free meals on your first Blue Apron box.
Pricing Comparison
| Meals per week | Blue Apron total | Marley Spoon total |
|---|---|---|
| 6 meals | ~$66 + $10.99 ship = ~$77 | ~$60 + $10.99 ship = ~$71 |
| 10 meals | ~$110 + $10.99 ship = ~$121 | ~$100 + $10.99 ship = ~$111 |
| 14 meals | ~$154 + $10.99 ship = ~$165 | ~$140 + $10.99 ship = ~$151 |
Who Wins: Category Breakdown
Budget: Marley Spoon. Lower per-meal pricing across all plan sizes. Recipe variety: Marley Spoon. 40+ recipes per week versus Blue Apron’s 16. Culinary depth: Blue Apron. Chef-developed technique-forward recipes. Wine pairing: Blue Apron. The only major meal kit with a curated wine subscription. Martha Stewart recipes: Marley Spoon, exclusively. Best overall value: Marley Spoon for most households.
The Final Call
Choose Marley Spoon if you want 40+ recipes per week at a lower per-meal cost and appreciate the Martha Stewart culinary standard. Choose Blue Apron if a smaller curated menu with chef-developed technique-forward recipes and optional wine pairing fits what you want from a meal kit.
Read our full Blue Apron review and Marley Spoon review. Also compare Blue Apron vs Dinnerly to see how Marley Spoon’s budget brand stacks up, or HelloFresh vs Blue Apron for the most direct head-to-head comparison in the mainstream meal kit space.
Both services send email reminders before each weekly cutoff, giving you time to skip, swap meals, or pause without any charges. Keeping an eye on these reminders is the easiest way to stay in full control of your subscription.
Ingredient Quality and Food Freshness
Blue Apron uses conventional sourcing but applies culinary quality standards through partnerships with restaurant-grade suppliers. Proteins are above commodity grade, produce is fresh and properly sized, and specialty items appear regularly: housemade pasta, artisanal spice blends, chef-developed sauces. Where Marley Spoon spreads its supply chain across a 40-plus recipe weekly menu, Blue Apron concentrates on a tighter roughly 16-recipe lineup and picks ingredients that reward technique, so the finished dish often outperforms its raw ingredient grade. There is no organic program. Choose Blue Apron over Marley Spoon when you want each week's ingredients selected around a single ambitious recipe rather than maximum menu breadth.
Marley Spoon sources conventional proteins and produce through its domestic supply network, with culinary quality oversight guided by the Martha Stewart brand. Ingredients are above commodity grade, with emphasis on freshness and recipe performance. Specialty items appear regularly, reflecting the Martha Stewart culinary philosophy: heritage grains, house-recipe spice blends, and produce selected for flavor rather than size uniformity. There is no organic certification program. The sourcing tier matches Blue Apron, reliable conventional quality above budget kits, but Marley Spoon's edge is breadth: its 40 or more weekly recipes expose you to more ingredients and techniques over a subscription than Blue Apron's roughly 16 options. Pick Marley Spoon over Blue Apron when variety across the year matters more than depth on any one plate.
Ingredient quality edge: Blue Apron. Blue Apron uses above-commodity conventional sourcing with a quality focus; Marley Spoon uses standard conventional sourcing at a reliable quality level. The gap is noticeable in protein cuts and produce quality, though both services deliver satisfying results for their respective price tiers.
Who Gets the Most from Each Service
Choose Blue Apron if your household treats cooking as a genuine interest and appreciates culinary depth over sheer menu size. Blue Apron's weekly catalog is smaller than Marley Spoon's, roughly 16 recipes against Marley Spoon's 40 or more, but consistently more ambitious in technique and flavor development. The optional wine subscription pairs curated bottles with that week's meals, a feature Marley Spoon does not offer. Switch from Marley Spoon to Blue Apron when you would trade a larger menu for fewer, more carefully engineered recipes and the option to add wine pairings. The WW (Weight Watchers)-approved wellness menu helps households tracking calorie targets. At $9.99 to $15.49 per serving, Blue Apron runs higher at the top end than Marley Spoon, so the choice is about culinary style rather than headline price.
Choose Marley Spoon if recipe variety is your top priority and you are comfortable cooking 30 to 45 minutes several nights per week. Marley Spoon offers 40 or more recipes per week under the Martha Stewart brand, far more than Blue Apron's roughly 16, so long-term subscribers report low repetition and keep meeting genuinely new dishes for months. Move from Blue Apron to Marley Spoon when you have exhausted a smaller weekly menu and want culinary exploration plus a generally lower per-serving price. At $9.99 to $12.99 per serving it undercuts Blue Apron's $9.99 to $15.49 range at the top end while giving you more weekly options and the Martha Stewart recipe pedigree.
Cancellation, Pausing, and Subscription Management
Both Blue Apron and Marley Spoon allow cancellation through account settings with no contract and no cancellation fee. Blue Apron allows cancellation or pausing in account settings; the optional wine subscription can be paused independently of the meal kit subscription. Marley Spoon allows skipping up to five weeks in advance and cancellation through account settings with no fee. Both services charge for deliveries when the weekly ordering cutoff is missed, typically five to six days before your delivery date, so setting a recurring calendar reminder prevents unwanted charges. Account credits for ingredient quality issues are available from both services; contacting customer service within 24 hours of a delivery produces the fastest resolution on either platform.
Packaging and Delivery Experience
Blue Apron: Blue Apron uses an insulated box with a gel-ice liner and color-coded bags per recipe. The packaging skews premium, thick recipe cards, well-printed ingredient labels, and proteins in vacuum-sealed portions. Because the weekly menu is a tighter 16 or so recipes, the box tends to arrive with fewer bags than a large Marley Spoon order. Blue Apron has committed to reducing plastic and now ships some items without individual portion bags. Choose Blue Apron over Marley Spoon on packaging if you prefer heavier, more detailed recipe cards built around technique. The box handles 24-hour unattended delivery in most climates.
Marley Spoon: Marley Spoon ships in an insulated box with individual recipe bags and full-color recipe cards developed in the Martha Stewart editorial tradition, noticeably higher quality than the standard laminated cards many competitors use. Proteins are vacuum-sealed and the insulated liner is recyclable. Because the weekly menu runs 40 or more recipes, a multi-recipe order arrives with more individual bags than a comparable Blue Apron box. Marley Spoon has reduced plastic over the past two years, though per-recipe ingredient bags remain. Pick Marley Spoon over Blue Apron here if the Martha Stewart recipe cards and larger menu matter more than trimming bag count.
Packaging: roughly even. Blue Apron: Premium presentation, improving on plastic reduction. Cold chain is reliable; packaging reflects the higher price point. Marley Spoon: Premium recipe cards are a real differentiator. Standard cold chain; liner is recyclable. Martha Stewart quality feel at unboxing.
App and Digital Experience
Blue Apron: Blue Apron's app (iOS 4.6 / Android 3.9) covers meal selection, upcoming deliveries, and a recipe archive, with video content and wine pairing suggestions as useful extras that Marley Spoon's app has no equivalent for. The Android version has historically lagged behind iOS in stability, and at 3.9 it trails Marley Spoon's 4.0 Android rating. Account management is functional but the UI feels slightly dated. Choose Blue Apron's app over Marley Spoon's when in-app wine pairings and cooking videos matter more to you than a marginally higher store rating.
Marley Spoon: Marley Spoon's app (iOS 4.5 / Android 4.0) covers meal browsing, delivery management, and access to the full Martha Stewart & Marley Spoon recipe archive. That archive is genuinely large, reflecting the 40-plus weekly menu, and is handy if you want to recreate past meals, an area where it outreaches Blue Apron's smaller catalog. The Android build at 4.0 edges Blue Apron's 3.9, while its iOS 4.5 sits just under Blue Apron's 4.6. Meal selection and skip/pause flows work without friction. Choose Marley Spoon's app over Blue Apron's when a deep, browsable recipe archive matters more than in-app wine pairings.
App edge: Marley Spoon. Functional with a strong recipe archive. The Martha Stewart content library is a differentiator. UI design lags modern competitors.
Customer Service and Account Management
Blue Apron: Blue Apron offers live chat and email support on weekdays, with more limited weekend availability. Phone support has been phased out for most U.S. accounts, the same as Marley Spoon, which offers no phone line either. The self-service portal handles skips and pauses, though the cancel flow requires several confirmation screens. Refund credits typically appear within 48 hours, faster than Marley Spoon's 2 to 3 business days. Choose Blue Apron over Marley Spoon on support when quicker refund turnaround and weekday live chat matter most.
Marley Spoon: Marley Spoon offers chat and email support during business hours, with no phone line, the same channel setup as Blue Apron. Response times via chat typically run 10 to 20 minutes. The account portal handles skips and plan changes, though the cancel flow involves several confirmation steps. Refund credits for quality issues process within 2 to 3 business days, slower than Blue Apron's roughly 48 hours. Choose Marley Spoon over Blue Apron on service only if the larger menu and Martha Stewart recipes outweigh a slightly slower refund window, since support parity is otherwise close.
Customer service: comparable. Blue Apron: Adequate, chat support is helpful but weekday-only. No phone option. Cancel flow is deliberately multi-step. Marley Spoon: Adequate, chat and email only, slower response than premium brands. Multi-step cancel flow. Consistent but not standout.
Dietary Options and Special Diets
Blue Apron offers a standard meal selection alongside a Wellness menu that includes WW (Weight Watchers)-approved meals and lower-calorie options. Ingredients are conventionally grown; there is no organic certification program. Vegetarians will find a consistent weekly selection within the roughly 16-recipe menu, though dedicated vegan meals are less common than in Marley Spoon's larger 40-plus lineup. Blue Apron publishes complete nutritional information for every dish. Choose Blue Apron over Marley Spoon on dietary fit when a structured WW-approved wellness track matters more than the sheer number of weekly vegetarian and flexible options.
Marley Spoon offers 40 or more recipes per week across vegetarian, family, and flexible plan options, with a low-calorie selection inside the broader catalog. There is no organic certification program. The recipe catalog prioritizes culinary variety, including international cuisines and technique-focused dishes developed under the Martha Stewart brand partnership, rather than strict dietary protocols. Against Blue Apron's roughly 16-recipe menu and its dedicated WW-approved wellness track, Marley Spoon trades a formal diet program for far more weekly choice. Choose Marley Spoon over Blue Apron when broad vegetarian and flexible variety matters more than a structured wellness menu.
Getting Started: Welcome Offers and First Box Experience
Blue Apron typically offers 50 percent or more off the first box, with reduced pricing on the second and third boxes. After the introductory period, prices run $9.99 to $15.49 per serving, topping out above Marley Spoon's $12.99 ceiling. The wine subscription add-on pairs curated bottles with that week's meals, a feature Marley Spoon does not offer. Week-by-week skipping is available in the account portal and cancellation is completed online with no fee. Start with Blue Apron over Marley Spoon when the optional wine pairing and a tighter roughly 16-recipe menu appeal more than a bigger catalog and lower top-end price.
Marley Spoon typically offers $100 or more off across the first four boxes, one of the more generous welcome offers in the mid-range segment and deeper than Blue Apron's first-box focused discount. After the introductory discount, prices run $9.99 to $12.99 per serving, below Blue Apron's $15.49 top end. Plans are available for two or four people, with two to five meals per week, drawn from a 40-plus recipe menu shaped by the Martha Stewart partnership. Skipping weeks and cancellation are handled in account settings with no fee. Start with Marley Spoon over Blue Apron when a larger welcome credit, lower per-serving price, and wider weekly menu outweigh Blue Apron's wine add-on.
Who Gets the Best Value Long-Term
Blue Apron and Marley Spoon price similarly ($9.99 to $13.49 per serving) and both appeal to cooking-focused households. Marley Spoon offers a larger weekly catalog (60 or more recipes) and variety through the Martha Stewart partnership. Blue Apron offers fewer but more ambitious weekly recipes and the wine subscription add-on. Long-term, the value depends on what keeps you engaged: Marley Spoon's recipe breadth reduces repetition better over a long subscription; Blue Apron's culinary depth and wine pairing are distinctive enough to maintain interest for households that treat cooking as entertainment.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Blue Apron or Marley Spoon cheaper?
Marley Spoon is generally cheaper. Marley Spoon ranges from $8.99 to $14.99/meal with $10.99 shipping. Blue Apron ranges from $9.99 to $15.99/meal with $10.99 shipping. For most plan sizes, Marley Spoon saves $25 to $50 per month.
What is the Martha Stewart connection with Marley Spoon?
Marley Spoon has an editorial partnership with Martha Stewart Living. The weekly recipe menu is co-developed with Martha Stewart’s team, meaning many recipes reflect her kitchen standards and culinary philosophy. It is a genuine collaboration, not just a branding arrangement.
Does Marley Spoon have more recipes than Blue Apron?
Yes. Marley Spoon offers 40+ recipes per week. Blue Apron curates about 16 recipes per week. Marley Spoon has a significant variety advantage for households that want broad weekly selection.
Is Marley Spoon good for beginners?
Yes. Marley Spoon recipe cards are clear, step-by-step, and beginner-friendly. Martha Stewart recipes are generally approachable for home cooks at most skill levels, though some dishes require more kitchen time.
2026 Pricing: Blue Apron vs. Marley Spoon
Two premium culinary meal kits, Blue Apron with its own recipe development team, Marley Spoon with Martha Stewart's culinary direction.
| Detail | Blue Apron | Marley Spoon |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price/serving | $9.99 | $9.99 |
| Recipe curator | In-house chefs | Martha Stewart |
| Recipes/week | 50+ | 80+ |
| Wine add-on | Yes | No |
| Shipping | $10.99 | $9.99-$11.99 |
At the same starting price, the key differentiator is recipe pedigree. Marley Spoon offers Martha Stewart's curated recipes, more variety (80+ vs 50+ weekly) and a more editorial cooking experience. Blue Apron counters with wine pairings and consistent recipe quality from its own culinary team. Both are excellent for serious home cooks; it comes down to whether you prefer Martha's classic American style or Blue Apron's more diverse, technique-focused approach.
Where to Order in Your City
Both services deliver nationwide. See how meal kit delivery options stack up in the largest U.S. markets:
- Meal delivery in Los Angeles
- Meal delivery in New York
- Meal delivery in Chicago
- Meal delivery in Houston
- Meal delivery in Phoenix
- Meal delivery in San Francisco
- Meal delivery in Seattle
- Meal delivery in Austin
See also: Blue Apron review, Marley Spoon review, and our best meal delivery services guide.
Cancel Guide Links
Need to cancel one of these services? Our step-by-step guides walk you through the process:
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See also: How to Cancel Marley Spoon Subscription in 2026
See also: Trifecta vs Marley Spoon: 2026 Comparison
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