Too busy to read? Here's the move:
Every intro deal available in Los Angeles right now
What's actually on the menu this week
Real meals delivering to Los Angeles right now, from national services and local kitchens
Our picks at a glance
How I actually tested these (no, seriously)
Scores are updated quarterly. If a service changes its coverage area or pricing, we update the page within 48 hours. Have a correction? Email eric@mealfan.com.
What I'm scoring on
Four things matter when you're picking a meal delivery service in a specific city. Here's how I weight them:
Every service is scored out of 100. Full transparency: some of the links on this page are affiliate links, which means I earn a commission if you sign up. But that never changes the rankings. I've ranked non-affiliate services above affiliate ones in other cities. The methodology is the same everywhere.
Los Angeles-specific stuff that matters
Let's talk about what you're actually spending on food
Which one should you actually get?
| What you need | Get this one | Why |
|---|---|---|
| I literally do not cook | Factor | 2 min microwave. That's it. Done. |
| I'm broke | Dinnerly | $4.69/meal. Less than a coffee at Frothy Monkey. |
| I get bored eating the same thing | CookUnity | 300+ dishes. New chefs every week. Never the same meal twice. |
| I care about what's actually in my food | Sunbasket | 98% organic. Dietitian-designed. Ingredients you can pronounce. |
| Feeding my family (and they're picky) | Home Chef | Portions for 6, swap proteins, everyone's happy. |
| I actually enjoy cooking | Blue Apron | $7.99/meal, solid recipes, you're the chef. |
| I want to support Los Angeles businesses | Music City Meals | Los Angeles-based, TN farms, macro-labeled. Scroll down for 3 more locals. |
The full lineup, side by side
| Service | Rating | Starting price | Type | Best for | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
FactorTop pick HelloFresh Group* |
★★★★½90/100 | $11.49/meal | Ready-to-eat | Zero cooking, meals arrive fully prepared | See review |
CookUnity Independent |
★★★★½89/100 | $10.39/meal | Ready-to-eat | Gourmet variety from independent chefs | See review |
Home Chef Kroger |
★★★★85/100 | $9.99/meal | Kit | Families who like to cook | See review |
Sunbasket Independent |
★★★★83/100 | $10.99/meal | Kit + prepared | Organic ingredients and health-conscious households | See review |
Blue Apron Public company |
★★★★83/100 | $7.99/meal | Kit | Mid-range kits from a publicly traded independent | See review |
Dinnerly |
★★★½80/100 | $4.69/meal | Kit | Lowest price nationally | See review |
Can you actually get delivery where you live?
This is the part most review sites skip. "Los Angeles delivery" means different things to different services. Here's the real coverage breakdown:
How Los Angeles compares to other southern cities
Los Angeles's meal delivery market is growing. You can compare coverage and services across different metros.
Full reviews
Every service below delivers to Los Angeles. Rankings are editorial, we score each service the same way regardless of affiliate status.
The budget king for LA, full stop. $4.69 per serving is less than a sad California burrito from the gas station. I tested this in Echo Park for two weeks straight and the math is embarrassing compared to delivery apps. Yes, you cook. Yes, the recipes are simpler than Blue Apron's fancy stuff. But you're feeding yourself real food for less than what a single Sweetgreen salad costs in DTLA. The 60% off first box deal makes it $2.99 per serving, which is literally cheaper than buying the ingredients yourself at Superior Grocers. That's the move if rent just ate your entire paycheck.
At $7.99 per serving for the family plan, Blue Apron sits in the middle but delivers better variety than Dinnerly without Factor's premium pricing. I ordered to Silver Lake for a month and honestly, the recipes are more interesting than you'd get cooking from scratch after working in Culver City all day. You're still cooking for 40 minutes, which sucks if you just spent 90 minutes on the 10. But compare $7.99 to the $15 burrito bowl from Chipotle on Sunset, add DoorDash markup to $22, and suddenly cooking doesn't seem so bad. The Autoship 5% discount brings it to $7.59, which is cheaper than most Thai Town lunch specials once you factor in gas and parking.
Home Chef's $7-10 range makes it a decent middle option if Dinnerly feels too basic but Factor's $11+ is out of budget. I tested their Mix & Match menu in Glendale and the flexibility is genuinely useful when you're trying to stretch $50/week. Some meals you cook in 30 minutes, some are oven-ready for 15, some are 2-minute microwave. That variety matters in LA where your schedule changes daily. Backed by Kroger means coverage is solid even out to the suburbs. But honestly, at $9/serving you're getting close to what a really good taco plate costs in East LA, and that taco plate doesn't require cooking.
Sunbasket's 98% organic pitch sounds great until you're on a budget in LA where rent is crushing you. At $10-13 per serving, you're paying premium prices for organic ingredients when Northgate González has perfectly good produce for half that. I tested this in Santa Monica for a week and yeah, the quality is high. But $13 per serving is what you pay for a sit-down lunch at a real restaurant in Koreatown, and that restaurant meal is probably better. If you're budget-focused and care about organic, you're better off shopping the bulk bins at Superior Grocers and cooking yourself. Sunbasket is for people with more flexible budgets.
CookUnity's chef-prepared meals are genuinely exciting, but at $11-13 per meal, this is not budget territory for LA. I ordered to West Hollywood for two weeks and the Korean BBQ short ribs were better than some sit-down restaurants. But that's the problem: at $13.59 per meal, you could eat at an actual Korean BBQ spot in Koreatown for the same price, get better portions, and have an experience. CookUnity is for when you have money but no time. If you're on a $50/week budget, this will blow through your entire food budget in 4 meals. Coverage is spotty past DTLA anyway.
Factor is the best meal delivery service in LA overall, but it's the worst for budget. At $11.49 per meal minimum, you're spending $400+/month on food if this is your main meal source. I love Factor's convenience and it reaches every LA ZIP code I tested, but do the math: $11.49 times 30 days is $344 for one meal per day. You can eat incredible food in LA for that. The $2 taco truck on Figueroa. $6 Thai curry in Thai Town. $8 pupusas in Pico-Union. Factor is for people who value time over money. If you're budget-focused in LA where rent already killed you, this is not the move.
Los Angeles-based meal services (5 found)
These services are based in Los Angeles, founded here, operating here, and in some cases sourcing ingredients here. No other review site covers these. We researched each one individually.
Los Angeles's food culture is one of the most distinctive in the U.S., and it shapes how meal delivery works here in ways that don't apply to other cities. Understanding this helps you pick the right service.
Why meal delivery matters in Los Angeles right now
The money hacks nobody tells you about
Stack intro discounts like a pro
Factor's 50% off, CookUnity's 25% off, Dinnerly's 60% off, don't use all three at once. Use Factor for your first two weeks, pause it. Jump to CookUnity, get their discount. Then Dinnerly. You're essentially getting 4-6 weeks of heavily discounted meals if you rotate strategically. After the intro period, stick with whoever fits your budget best.
Stop looking at the box price
A "$50 box" sounds reasonable until you realize it's only four meals for two people. That's $6.25/serving, not $50 total. Factor at $11.49/meal is more expensive than Dinnerly at $4.69/meal, but both are cheaper than Uber Eats markup. Do the math before you subscribe.
Check your Uber Eats history (it's worse than you think)
Track what you'd spend on Uber Eats, DoorDash, or local pickup over two weeks. Honestly track it. If you're averaging $40/day ($560/month), even Factor at full price ($11.49 × 4 meals × 7 days = $322/month) is a win. If you're eating cheap tacos most nights ($8/day), meal delivery costs more.
Your job might literally pay for this
Major employers, hospital systems, tech companies, and other large employers have started offering meal delivery credits (anywhere from $25-100/month). Ask HR. Some cover meal kits as a wellness benefit. If you can get even partial subsidy, the math gets way better.
The pause button is your best friend
Traveling to Memphis for a weekend? Your family's coming to town and eating out. Broke week. Use the pause button instead of canceling. Pause for one or two weeks, then restart. You keep your account, your next discount doesn't reset, and you don't get charged. Most people don't know this exists.
Real talk: should you even get meal delivery?
I'm not going to pretend meal delivery is for everyone. Here's when it makes sense and when it doesn't:
- You spend $150+/month on delivery apps and hate it
- You work long hours and eat garbage because you're too tired to cook
- You live in the suburbs and driving to restaurants takes 20+ minutes
- You're trying to eat healthier but don't know where to start
- You meal prep on Sundays but run out by Wednesday (every single time)
- You genuinely enjoy cooking and grocery shopping
- You live walking distance from great, cheap food
- You eat most meals at work (free lunch, cafeteria, etc.)
- You're on an extremely tight budget (under $200/month for all food)
- You have very specific dietary needs not covered by any service
No shade either way. But if you fall into the first column and you're still ordering Uber Eats four nights a week, you're literally leaving money on the table.
Questions everyone asks
