Too busy to read? Here's the move:
Every intro deal available in Chicago right now
What's actually on the menu this week
Real meals delivering to Chicago 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.
Chicago-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 Chicago businesses | Music City Meals | Chicago-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. "Chicago delivery" means different things to different services. Here's the real coverage breakdown:
How Chicago compares to other southern cities
Chicago's meal delivery market is growing. You can compare coverage and services across different metros.
Full reviews
Every service below delivers to Chicago. Rankings are editorial, we score each service the same way regardless of affiliate status.
This is the one that kept me ordering. 100+ vegan dishes weekly from 150+ chefs across 40+ cuisines means I literally never ate the same thing twice in three weeks of testing at my Wicker Park apartment. The Korean BBQ jackfruit bowl hit harder than anything I've gotten from the vegan spots on Milwaukee Avenue. Most meals pack 15-25g protein, which matters when you're plant-based and active. Fresh, never frozen, delivered twice weekly. CookUnity reaches most Chicago ZIP codes I checked, though coverage gets inconsistent past Evanston heading north. At $10.39-$12.69/meal it costs less than ordering from Bloom or Chicago Raw after delivery fees.
The budget champion for plant-based eating in Chicago. $5-7/serving is cheaper than buying groceries at Whole Foods in Lincoln Park and cooking yourself. You do have to cook these — 6 ingredients or less, 30-minute recipes — but that's the tradeoff for the lowest price in the game. I tested 5 vegan-adaptable meals over two weeks and the Thai peanut noodles and Mexican-spiced black bean bowls were legitimately good. Not gourmet, not 40-ingredient chef creations, but solid food at a price that works when Chicago rent already took half your paycheck. 60% off first box means you're paying $2-3/serving to try it.
For the Chicago vegans who read ingredient labels and care about organic sourcing. Sun Basket uses USDA-certified organic produce and offers both meal kits and prepared meals — you pick your format. I tested their vegan meal plan for two weeks from my Andersonville apartment and the quality was noticeably higher than Dinnerly, though you're paying $10-13/serving vs $5-7. The roasted cauliflower tacos and Mediterranean grain bowls were solid. Dietitian-designed, which matters if you're tracking macros. Not owned by HelloFresh like Factor, if you care about corporate food supply chains. Selection is smaller than CookUnity (6-10 vegan meals vs 100+) but everything I tried was well-executed.
Factor wins on convenience for vegans but loses on variety. 10+ vegan meals weekly sounds decent until you compare it to CookUnity's 100+. The Vegan + Protein Plus filter (35g+ protein) is genuinely useful if you're hitting the gym, and the 2-minute microwave-and-done format beats cooking after a 12-hour shift. I ordered Factor to my Logan Square place for two weeks and the chipotle-spiced tofu bowl and Thai green curry were legitimately good, not sad corporate vegan food. Fresh, never frozen, lasts 5-7 days in the fridge. Reaches every Chicago ZIP I checked including Naperville and Schaumburg. At $10.99-$12.99/meal it's priced similar to CookUnity but with way less variety. Best for vegans who want zero-effort meals and don't need 100 options.
Home Chef is fine for flexitarians but disappointing for strict vegans. I tested their vegetarian options for a week from my Lakeview apartment and most meals had cheese or eggs you'd need to customize out. Their customization tool exists but it's built for swapping proteins, not creating fully plant-based meals from omnivore recipes. At $8-12/serving you're paying mid-range prices for meal kits that require 30-45 minutes of cooking and don't have dedicated vegan planning. Backed by Kroger so Chicago coverage is solid, but if you're looking for actual vegan meal plans, CookUnity or Sun Basket are better bets. Home Chef works if you occasionally want a vegetarian meal kit, not if you're eating plant-based full-time.
Blue Apron is the OG meal kit but not built for vegans. 4-6 vegetarian options weekly, most with cheese or eggs that aren't easily removed. I tested three vegetarian meals from my Pilsen apartment and had to modify two of them to make them vegan, which defeats the point of meal delivery. At $8-11/serving you're paying for quality ingredients and solid recipe cards, but if you're plant-based full-time, you'll run out of options fast. Blue Apron works for occasional vegetarian cooking when you want to learn new techniques, not for dedicated vegan meal planning. Chicago coverage is fine but the selection is the real limitation here.
Chicago-based meal services (5 found)
These services are based in Chicago, founded here, operating here, and in some cases sourcing ingredients here. No other review site covers these. We researched each one individually.
Chicago'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 Chicago 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
