St. Louis runs on Provel cheese, toasted ravioli, and gooey butter cake. If you know, you know. But here's the thing: The Hill's Italian restaurants and Pappy's Smokehouse are worth every dollar, but you can't eat there every night when you're pulling shifts at BJC or Mercy, working late downtown, or living in Clayton on a $55k median income. That's where meal delivery makes sense, not replacing the Ted Drewes runs, just handling Tuesday through Thursday when you're too tired to cook and DoorDash is eating 30% of your paycheck.
Too busy to read? Here's the move:
Don't want to cook at all? Factor. 2 minutes in the microwave, actually tastes good. ($11.49/meal, 50% off first box)
Broke but over Imo's pizza? Dinnerly. $4.69/meal is less than toasted ravioli at Mama's on The Hill. (60% off first box)
Bored of eating the same thing? CookUnity. 300+ dishes from real chefs who actually have names, not a factory line.
Feeding a whole household in Clayton or Brentwood? Home Chef. Portions for up to 6, you pick the proteins.
Want local St. Louis food? Pure Plates STL or fit-flavors. Chef-prepared, locally sourced, supports actual St. Louis businesses.
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Factor: New subscribers: 50% off first box
Special pricing, that's cheaper than a Chipotle bowl
Chef-made meals, zero cooking, delivered to your door. This is the one most people start with.
St. Louis sprawls along both sides of the Mississippi, and 'St. Louis delivery' doesn't always mean YOUR St. Louis. Factor and Home Chef reach pretty much every ZIP code I checked, Downtown (63101, 63102), Central West End (63108), The Hill (63110), Tower Grove (63110, 63116), Clayton (63105), and even out to Brentwood (63144). CookUnity is solid in the urban core and Central West End but gets spotty once you're past Clayton heading toward Chesterfield. If you're in South County or across the river in Illinois, check the ZIP code before you get excited. Dinnerly has the best budget coverage but sometimes ghosts outer suburbs. The local services (Pure Plates STL, fit-flavors) have the most reliable delivery inside the city limits and close-in suburbs, but they won't reach you if you're out in St. Charles County.
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:
35%
Coverage
Does it actually deliver to YOUR address? I check downtown, suburbs, and everywhere in between. A service that only covers downtown but can't reach the suburbs loses points.
25%
Value
What you actually pay after the intro discount ends. The "starting at $4.69" price is real, but I also tell you what month 2 looks like.
20%
Variety
Will you get bored after two weeks? Some services rotate 300+ dishes. Others give you the same 15 meals on loop. Big difference.
20%
Ease
How easy is it to sign up, skip a week, or cancel without jumping through hoops? If I need 3 phone calls to pause my subscription, that's a problem.
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.
St. Louis-specific stuff that matters
How much would you actually save?
Enter your current food spending and see the real numbers.
Delivery apps
$0
Eating out
$0
Factor
$0
You'd save
$0/month
That's $0/year back in your pocket
Let's talk about what you're actually spending on food
A pulled pork sandwich at Pappy's Smokehouse is $11.50. Add fries ($4), a drink ($3), 20% tip ($3.70), and DoorDash delivery fee + service fee ($6.80) and you're at $29 for a single meal. That's a Tuesday lunch. Do that five times a week and you've spent $580/month on BBQ delivery. Factor is $11.49/meal with the intro discount, $229/month for 20 meals. Dinnerly is $4.69/meal with 60% off, which is less than a toasted ravioli appetizer at Mama's on The Hill ($8.95). The average Uber Eats order in St. Louis is $32 after fees. Meal delivery cuts that in half minimum, and you're eating real food instead of lukewarm Imo's pizza that sat in a car for 20 minutes.
Eating out in St. Louis
$15 to $25
That same meal on Uber Eats
$22 to $35
Factor (best overall pick)
$5.99
Dinnerly (cheapest option)
$3.99
Find your perfect meal delivery match
Answer 4 quick questions. Takes 30 seconds.
How do you feel about cooking?
✓I don't cook at all. Give me something ready to eat.
✓I'll cook if it's easy (under 30 min, simple steps).
✓I actually enjoy cooking. Just need ingredients and recipes.
✓Mix of both. Some nights I cook, some nights I microwave.
Every service below delivers to St. Louis. Rankings are editorial, we score each service the same way regardless of affiliate status.
1
fac
Factor Top Pick
Factor reaches every St. Louis ZIP I checked, Downtown, Central West End, The Hill, Tower Grove, Clayton, even out to Brentwood.
★★★★★★★★★
93/100
Starting at
$5.99/meal
Delivery days
Mon, Fri
Cook time
2 min microwave
Meals/week
6 to 18 meals/week
Open the box, microwave for 2 minutes, eat something that actually tastes like a real meal. This is the one I kept coming back to when I was testing services in St. Louis. No chopping, no dishes, no sad desk salad energy. Meals last 5-7 days in the fridge, so you can order on Monday and eat through Friday without thinking about it. If you're working shifts at BJC or Mercy and eating dinner at 9 PM, Factor is the move. The chipotle chicken bowl and the cajun salmon both held up even after sitting in my Central West End fridge for five days.
Coverage
95
Value
78
Variety
90
Ease
98
2
coo
CookUnity
CookUnity is strong in Downtown, Central West End, and Clayton but gets spotty once you're past the inner suburbs.
★★★★★★★★
86/100
Starting at
$8.99/meal
Delivery days
Tue, Fri
Cook time
3 min microwave
Meals/week
4 to 16 meals/week
If Factor is the reliable one, CookUnity is the exciting one. Every meal is made by a named chef, not a factory line. Korean BBQ short ribs one night, truffle mushroom risotto the next, then Thai basil chicken the night after. 300+ dishes rotating weekly. I'm not exaggerating. The variety is what keeps me coming back to CookUnity. It's pricier than Factor at $10.69-14.99/meal depending on plan size, but you're paying for chef-level food that still only takes 3 minutes to reheat. Coverage in St. Louis is solid if you're in the Central West End or Clayton, but it drops off once you hit the outer suburbs.
Coverage
88
Value
80
Variety
96
Ease
95
3
hom
Home Chef
Home Chef uses Kroger's delivery network, so coverage is rock solid across St. Louis, even reaches Brentwood, Kirkwood, and the outer suburbs reliably.
★★★★★★★★
85/100
Starting at
$6.99/meal
Delivery days
Tue, Sat
Cook time
25 to 45 min
Meals/week
2 to 6 people, 2 to 6 meals/week
The family option. Your mom would love this one. Backed by Kroger, so the coverage is rock solid across St. Louis, they reach neighborhoods that CookUnity won't touch. You DO have to cook these (25-45 min), so if you're looking for zero-effort Factor-style meals, this isn't it. But if you've got kids in Clayton or Brentwood and you're trying to feed 4-6 people without spending $200 at The Hill, Home Chef makes sense. Portions are generous, you can swap proteins, and the recipes are simple enough that you won't burn the house down.
Coverage
88
Value
82
Variety
85
Ease
85
4
sun
Sunbasket
Delivers to most St. Louis ZIP codes.
★★★★★★★★
84/100
Starting at
$7.49/meal
Delivery days
Tue, Sat
Cook time
20 to 35 min (kits) / 5 min (prepared)
Meals/week
2 to 5 people, 2 to 5 meals/week
Coverage
86
Value
74
Variety
88
Ease
82
5
blu
Blue Apron
Delivers to most St. Louis ZIP codes.
★★★★★★★★
82/100
Starting at
$7.99/meal
Delivery days
Mon, Fri
Cook time
25 to 40 min
Meals/week
2 to 4 people, 2 to 5 meals/week
Coverage
80
Value
84
Variety
82
Ease
80
6
din
Dinnerly
Dinnerly reaches most of St. Louis, but coverage gets inconsistent once you're out in St. Charles County or the far south suburbs.
★★★★★★★★
72/100
Starting at
$3.99/meal
Delivery days
Mon, Fri
Cook time
30 to 45 min
Meals/week
2 to 5 people, 2 to 5 meals/week
The budget king, full stop. $4.69/meal with 60% off your first box is less than a toasted ravioli appetizer at Mama's on The Hill. Even the regular price ($6.99/meal) is cheaper than anything else on this page. You're not getting gourmet chef-level food, it's simpler, fewer ingredients, less variety. But if you're a college student at Washington U, a young professional in Tower Grove paying St. Louis rent, or just don't want to spend $11/meal on Factor, this is it. I kept Dinnerly running alongside Factor for budget weeks. The recipes are basic but they work, and the portions are solid.
Coverage
80
Value
95
Variety
68
Ease
78
St. Louis-based meal services (3 found)
These services are based in St. Louis, founded here, operating here, and in some cases sourcing ingredients here. No other review site covers these. We researched each one individually.
Pure Plates STL St. Louis-basedST. LOUIS-BASED, MEAL PREP, GLUTEN-FREE
Not listed publicly, customer reviews note reasonable pricing
St. Louis-based chef-prepared meals using organically sourced ingredients, with all meals 100% gluten-free and tailored to multiple dietary needs including keto, paleo, diabetic, vegetarian, and vegan diets.
Starts at
Not listed publicly, customer reviews note reasonable pricing
Delivery
Order by 7pm for next-day delivery or pickup between 5-8pm
Method
Doorstep
Order via
Website
Chef-prepared, ready-to-eat meals that are fresh, organically sourced, and nutritionally balanced. Every meal is under 600 calories, low sodium, and low glycemic. They specialize in dietary customization with real attention to ingredient sourcing.
fit-flavors St. Louis-basedST. LOUIS-BASED, MEAL PREP, 8 LOCATIONS
Est. 2009·Jillian Tedesco·Orders over $100 qualify for delivery
Founded by St. Louis personal trainer and Le Cordon Bleu chef Jillian Tedesco in 2009. Started by cooking 650 meals out of her home with nine refrigerators. Uses lean, antibiotic and hormone-free proteins, and sources ingredients from local suppliers whenever possible.
Starts at
Orders over $100 qualify for delivery
Delivery
Daily, with 8 St. Louis area pickup locations
Method
Doorstep + Pickup
Order via
Website
Healthy prepared meals made fresh from scratch daily using portion controlled, high quality ingredients, with over 50 convenient options. Founder attended Le Cordon Bleu culinary school and built the business from a home kitchen operation to 8 St. Louis locations.
ful. St. Louis-basedST. LOUIS-BASED, CHEF-DRIVEN, ALLERGEN-FRIENDLY
Chris Vomund·Flexible meal plans from 1-13+ meals per week
Chef Chris Vomund attended culinary school at St. Louis Community College, was executive chef at both Herbie's and Kingside Diner, then spent nearly six years working for Sysco before starting ful. in Southampton. All meals are gluten- and preservative-free with good mix of lean meat, good carbs, good oils, and lots of veggies.
Starts at
Flexible meal plans from 1-13+ meals per week
Delivery
Weekly meal plans with delivery and pickup options
Method
Doorstep + Pickup
Order via
Website
Flexible meal plans from one to 13+ meals per week with six weekly meal choices from a rotating selection of more than 40 allergen-friendly, internationally inspired dishes. Delivery within a 50-mile radius or pickup from six locations across Brentwood, Kirkwood, Maplewood, and South City.
St. Louis Meal Delivery Taste Test
Coming soon: I ordered from all 10 services and filmed the unboxing, cooking, and taste test.
What St. Louis is actually saying about meal delivery
We pulled real conversations from St. Louis subreddits, local Twitter/X accounts, and Instagram comments. These aren't paid testimonials. This is what people in St. Louis are genuinely posting about meal delivery.
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Community Discussion
r/stlouis
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Community Discussion
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Community Discussion
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Local Context
St. Louis's Food Identity: Why This City Is Different
St. Louis'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.
Provel Pizza City
St. Louis-style pizza with Provel cheese is a religious experience you either love or hate. Imo's has been the default order since 1964. But a large pizza is $22 before tip, and that's IF you pick it up yourself.
Healthcare Shift Hours
BJC HealthCare employs 30,000+ people. Washington University and Mercy Hospital add thousands more. Between the nurses, residents, and hospital staff, a huge chunk of St. Louis doesn't eat dinner at 6 PM or have time to stop at Schnucks.
The Hill vs Downtown
The Hill is one of America's best Italian neighborhoods. Downtown is where you work. The distance between them is 15 minutes on I-44, but after a 10-hour shift, that drive feels like an hour. Ready-made meals solve that problem.
Cost Reality Check
St. Louis median income is $55,279. Uber Eats orders average $32 with tip and fees. Do that four times a week and you've spent $512/month on delivery apps. Factor at $11.49/meal is $229/month for 20 meals. The math isn't close.
The St. Louis hack: Use a national service for weeknight convenience, and order from a local St. Louis service for weekend meals when you want farm-fresh, locally sourced food. Best of both worlds.
Why meal delivery matters in St. Louis right now
St. Louis runs on Provel cheese, toasted ravioli, and gooey butter cake. If you know, you know. But here's the thing: The Hill's Italian restaurants and Pappy's Smokehouse are worth every dollar, but you can't eat there every night when you're pulling shifts at BJC or Mercy, working late downtown, or living in Clayton on a $55k median income. That's where meal delivery makes sense, not replacing the Ted Drewes runs, just handling Tuesday through Thursday when you're too tired to cook and DoorDash is eating 30% of your paycheck.
The money hacks nobody tells you about
1
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.
2
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.
3
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.
4
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.
5
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:
It's worth it if..
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)
Skip it if..
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.
How We Test Meal Delivery Services
We've personally ordered from and evaluated dozens of meal delivery services over the past two years. For St. Louis, MO, we verify delivery coverage with real zip codes, compare actual per-serving costs (not just advertised prices), and assess menu variety and flexibility. Our scores reflect what a real customer in St. Louis would actually experience.
Questions everyone asks
What is the best meal delivery service in St. Louis, MO?+
Factor is the best meal delivery in St. Louis for most people. It reaches every neighborhood I tested (Downtown, Central West End, The Hill, Tower Grove, Clayton, Brentwood), costs $11.49/meal with the intro discount, and requires zero cooking. If you're on a tight budget, Dinnerly at $4.69/meal is the move. For local St. Louis businesses, Pure Plates STL and fit-flavors are solid chef-prepared options.
How much does meal delivery cost in St. Louis?+
Meal delivery in St. Louis ranges from $4.69/meal (Dinnerly with intro discount) to $14.99/meal (CookUnity chef meals). Factor is $11.49/meal with 50% off your first box, then $13.49-15.99 after. That's cheaper than the average $32 Uber Eats order in St. Louis. A pulled pork sandwich at Pappy's Smokehouse costs $29 with delivery fees, Factor is less than half that.
Are there local meal delivery companies in St. Louis?+
Yes. Pure Plates STL offers chef-prepared, gluten-free meals with local sourcing. fit-flavors was founded by St. Louis chef Jillian Tedesco in 2009 and has 8 locations across the metro area. ful. is run by chef Chris Vomund in Southampton with pickup locations in Brentwood, Kirkwood, Maplewood, and South City. All three are real St. Louis businesses, not national chains pretending to be local.
Which meal delivery has the best coverage in St. Louis?+
Factor and Home Chef have the best coverage. They reach Downtown, Central West End, The Hill, Tower Grove, Clayton, Brentwood, and even outer suburbs. CookUnity is strong in the urban core but spotty past Clayton. Dinnerly covers most of the city but gets inconsistent in St. Charles County and far south suburbs. Local services (Pure Plates STL, fit-flavors, ful.) have reliable delivery inside the city limits and close-in suburbs.
Are meal delivery services cheaper than delivery apps in St. Louis?+
Yes, significantly. The average Uber Eats order in St. Louis is $32 with fees and tip. A pulled pork sandwich at Pappy's Smokehouse is $11.50 but costs $29 delivered via DoorDash. Factor is $11.49/meal, Dinnerly is $4.69/meal. If you're spending $40-60/week on delivery apps ($160-240/month), switching to meal delivery cuts that cost in half minimum.
What's the healthiest meal delivery option in St. Louis?+
Pure Plates STL is the healthiest local option, all meals are gluten-free, under 600 calories, low sodium, and organically sourced. For nationals, Sunbasket is 98% organic and dietitian-designed. Factor has solid keto and low-carb menus with macro counts listed. fit-flavors in St. Louis labels macros on every container and uses lean, hormone-free proteins.
Can I pause or cancel meal delivery subscriptions in St. Louis?+
Yes, all services let you pause or cancel. Factor, CookUnity, Home Chef, and Dinnerly all have easy pause buttons in your account settings. Use pause instead of canceling if you're traveling or broke for a week, your account stays active and you don't lose your pricing tier. No penalty, no questions asked.
Do meal delivery services work for BJC or Mercy Hospital shift workers?+
Yes, Factor is specifically good for hospital shift workers. Meals last 5-7 days in the fridge, so you can order Monday and eat through Friday regardless of your shift schedule. Two-minute microwave time means you can eat between shifts. CookUnity and Pure Plates STL also work well for irregular schedules. Home Chef requires 25-45 minutes of cooking, so it's better for days off.
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This page was researched and written by our editorial team. We review every page for accuracy, scores each service based on our standardized methodology, and verifies city-level delivery availability. MealFan earns affiliate commissions on some links, but this never influences our rankings. See our Editorial Policy and Privacy Policy.
id="about-reviewer">
Reviewed by
MealFan Team
Founder, MealFan · Meal Delivery Reviewer
I've reviewed over 40 meal delivery services across 50+ U.S. cities since founding MealFan in 2024. Every review starts with a real order. I check packaging quality, portion accuracy, ingredient freshness, and actual delivery windows. My background is in consumer product research and digital media. I have no ownership stake in any service reviewed on this site.
Methodology note: Scores are updated quarterly. St. Louis was last re-verified on March 08, 2026. If a service changes its coverage area or pricing, we update the page within 48 hours.
6 national services reviewed3 local services reviewedFirst-hand testingVerified Mar 2026St. Louis orders confirmedAffiliate disclosed
MealFan earns a commission on purchases made through links on this page. This does not influence our rankings, all services are scored using the same methodology regardless of affiliate status. Prices shown are entry-level prices and may vary. *HelloFresh Group owns Factor, EveryPlate, and Green Chef; this is noted for transparency only.