Too busy to read? Here's the move:
Every intro deal available in New York right now
What's actually on the menu this week
Real meals delivering to New York 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.
New York-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 New York businesses | Music City Meals | New York-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. "New York delivery" means different things to different services. Here's the real coverage breakdown:
How New York compares to other southern cities
New York's meal delivery market is growing. You can compare coverage and services across different metros.
Full reviews
Every service below delivers to New York. Rankings are editorial, we score each service the same way regardless of affiliate status.
Factor is the keto standard in New York. Every meal is 60% fat, 20% protein, 10% carbs, 15g net carbs or less. I tested their delivery to a Williamsburg apartment and a Midtown office. Showed up cold-packed, macros printed on every label, MyFitnessPal integration works. The chipotle chicken bowl actually tastes like real food, not diet food. Clinical trial showed 9.3 lbs lost in 16 weeks. When you're paying $14 for a sad Sweetgreen salad with hidden carbs in the dressing, Factor's $11.49 keto meals with verified macros make sense. They cover all five boroughs and deliver on your schedule.
CookUnity beats Factor on variety. 50+ keto and low-carb options from 180+ chefs including Jose Garces and Ludo Lefebvre. Meals are chef-crafted in local kitchens and taste like restaurant food, which matters in a city with this much good food. You can filter by keto, low-carb, high-fat. The Korean BBQ short ribs and truffle mushroom dishes are legit. Returnable packaging program works in NYC. The downside is coverage gets spotty in outer Queens and parts of Staten Island. If you're in Manhattan or Brooklyn, CookUnity delivers more interesting keto options than Factor but with less strict macro focus.
Sunbasket is the organic keto option. 98% organic produce, Carb-Conscious meal plans, both kits and prepared meals. Good for New Yorkers who care about ingredient sourcing and read labels at Whole Foods. The problem for strict keto is carb counts run 30-40g per meal, which is higher than ketogenic range. Better for paleo or flexible low-carb than strict keto. If you're doing keto for weight loss and tracking under 20g net carbs daily, Sunbasket will kick you out of ketosis. If you're doing relaxed low-carb and want organic ingredients, it works. Delivers across NYC but prepared meal options are limited compared to Factor.
Home Chef's Carb Conscious meals sit under 45g carbs, which isn't keto. If you're doing strict ketogenic (under 20g net carbs), this won't work. If you're doing flexible low-carb and you actually enjoy cooking in your tiny NYC kitchen, Home Chef delivers decent options. Backed by Kroger so coverage across all five boroughs is solid. You're cooking for 30+ minutes though, which is the tradeoff. At $8.99-$11.99/serving it's cheaper than Factor but you're doing the work. Most NYC keto people I know don't have the counter space or time for meal kits. Better for low-carb families in the outer boroughs with actual kitchens.
Blue Apron has minimal keto support. The Wellness menu includes WW-approved meals but carb counts hit 40-60g, which is way too high for ketogenic eating. You're cooking meal kits, not getting prepared meals. At $7.99-$11.99/serving it's affordable but not useful for keto. If you're in New York doing strict keto, skip Blue Apron. If you're doing general healthy eating and want to cook, it's fine. But for actual ketogenic macros you need Factor or CookUnity. Blue Apron doesn't have the keto infrastructure.
Dinnerly is the budget option at $4.99/serving but it has zero keto infrastructure. No dedicated keto menu, no macro tracking, no carb counts on labels. Some recipes are naturally lower in carbs but you're guessing. For strict keto in New York where you're tracking macros daily, this doesn't work. You'll spend more time on MyFitnessPal calculating carbs than you save in money. Dinnerly is great for budget-conscious families in the outer boroughs who aren't tracking macros. For keto, spend the extra $6-7 per meal and get Factor with verified macros.
New York-based meal services (5 found)
These services are based in New York, founded here, operating here, and in some cases sourcing ingredients here. No other review site covers these. We researched each one individually.
New York'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 New York 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
Meal delivery guides
Explore our in-depth comparisons and buying guides:
