The 11 Best Meal Delivery Services

Daily Harvest is a meal delivery subscription company that offers healthy smoothie, snack, and meal options.

Though the company is best known for its flavorful and nutrient-dense smoothies, it also offers oat bowls, chia bowls, flatbreads, harvest bowls, and energy bites.

Customers create their own “box” and choose weekly or monthly delivery.

Pros

• Daily Harvest uses whole, unprocessed ingredients, such as fresh fruit and veggies, whole grains, and nuts, in every recipe.
• Customers can cancel, skip, or change their order easily.
• Products are free of refined sugar, gluten, fillers, and preservatives, as well as vegan friendly.
• All meals are premade, frozen, and easy to prepare.

Cons

• Although the menu has some items that could be used for a light dinner option, Daily Harvest might not be the best choice for people looking for a delivery service that offers a variety of dinner options.
• A number of Daily Harvest meal products, including the oat, chia, and harvest bowls, contain enough calories for a meal. However, some dishes, like the Quinoa and Chipotle Harvest Bowl, are too low in calories to be considered a balanced meal and work better as a nutrient-dense side dish.

Price

Item prices range from $5.99–$8.99. Subscribers choose how many items they want to receive (9, 12, or 24 items) and how often (weekly or monthly) they want their box of items delivered.

Sun Basket is a popular healthy meal kit delivery service that offers breakfast, lunch, and dinner options prepared with whole, nutrient-dense ingredients.

It’s a certified organic handler and uses organic produce, wild-caught seafood, and organic eggs.

All recipes are approved by an in-house dietitian. Plus, the company offers meals that fit into a number of popular dietary patterns, including paleo, low carb, and vegan, and can be delivered weekly or monthly.

Pros

• Sun Basket offers a wide variety of meal choices that change weekly. Customers rave about the variety and great taste of Sun Basket meals.
• You can cancel your membership at any time and skip delivery weeks if you’re out of town.
• Most meals take under 30 minutes to prepare and come with premeasured ingredients to cut down on food waste.
• Meals are nutrient-dense and appropriate for a number of dietary patterns.
• In addition to its meals, Sun Basket offers snack foods and grocery items like hard-boiled eggs, bone broth, nut butter, granola, yogurt, and jerky.
• Sun Basket uses eco-friendly packaging, and some of its plastic packaging is recyclable.

Cons

• Sun Basket offers gluten-free and dairy-free options, but the company does not recommend its meals to anyone with severe food allergies.
• It’s a bit pricey when compared with other popular meal delivery services, but customers say that the quality of the food makes up for the price.
• The company does not ship to Alaska, Hawaii, and parts of Montana, New Mexico, and North Dakota.

Price

Dinners start at $10.99 per serving and are available in two- or four-serving packages.

Green Chef is a healthy, certified organic meal kit subscription service that provides ingredients and step-by-step instructions for creating nourishing meals.

It caters to those following specific dietary patterns, including keto, paleo, and plant-based, as well as those simply looking to improve the quality of their diet.

Customers can choose from weekly, biweekly, or monthly delivery services.

Pros

• Customers can cancel, skip, or change their order easily.
• Recipes are easy to make, and ingredients come preportioned. Plus, most ingredients are fully prepped, making cooking a breeze.
• Green Chef uses eco-friendly packaging.

Cons

• Depending on the plan you choose, meals can be pricey.

Price

Green Chef’s pricing depends on the plan you choose. For example, paleo meals are $12.99 per meal, while plant-based meals cost $10.99 per meal.

Purple Carrot is a plant-based meal kit subscription service that caters to vegan clientele.

The company provides customers with nutritious, plant-based ingredients to prepare breakfast, lunch, and dinner and sells premade snack foods.

Purple Carrot offers two- and four-serving meal plans, making it a good choice for couples and families.

Pros

• It’s easy to change orders and pause your subscription.
• Gluten-free and high protein meal options are available.
• Meals are easy to prepare and meal kits come with simple-to-follow directions on colorful recipe cards.

Cons

• The company only ships on specific days, which may not work for everyone.
• Purple Carrot plans only include vegan meals.
• Meal options are limited.

Price

Meals start at $4.49, $8.99, and $9.99 per serving for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, respectively.

Factor, formerly known as Factor 75, offers chef-created, dietitian-approved, fully prepared meals that can be heated and enjoyed within minutes.

Customers can choose meals based on their dietary preferences, including vegetarian, gluten-free, keto, low carb, paleo, and dairy-free eating patterns.

Pros

• No cooking is required, and the fully prepared meals can be enjoyed on the go.
• Factor is appropriate for many popular dietary patterns, including a vegetarian or paleo diet. Its registered dietitians also offer nutritional counseling.
• Customers can add items like brownie bites, wellness shots, cold-pressed juices, protein packs, and granola to their order.
• Meals can be frozen for future use.

Cons

• Plastic trays are not environmentally friendly. However, they can be recycled.
• Factor doesn’t offer many plant-based meal options, so it may not be the best choice for those who follow a vegetarian diet.
• Meals can be pricey, especially if you choose plans with fewer meals per week.

Price

Pricing depends on how many meals you order. The more meals you order, the cheaper the cost per meal.

For example, the 4-meals-per-week plan offers meals at $10.99 each, while the 18-meals-per-week plan offers meals at $9.89 each.

Like Factor, Snap Kitchen offers fully prepared meals that don’t require any prep.

Snap Kitchen dishes are made fresh daily, and its meal plans are created by chefs and dietitians, ensuring the meals are both tasty and nutritionally complete.

Customers can choose from a variety of meal plans, including paleo, high protein, Whole30, and vegetarian options.

Pros

• Snap Kitchen meals are gluten-free, and all meals are under 500 calories, making it a good choice for those who want to lose or maintain weight.
• Fully prepared meals can be enjoyed on the go.
• Snap Kitchen is a good choice for people who follow specific dietary patterns like keto and paleo. The Total Custom plan allows subscribers to choose meals from the entire menu.
• Customers can cancel, skip, or change their order easily.
• Meals can be frozen for future use.

Cons

• Snap Kitchen used to use compostable trays but switched to plastic in 2020.
• The company only delivers to certain states. Check the website for details.
• Meals can be pricey, especially if you choose plans with fewer meals per week.

Price

Customers can choose from plans with 6 or 12 meals per week, with meals starting at $11.67 and $9.98 each, respectively.

Pete’s Paleo is a meal delivery service that caters to those following the paleo diet, and all meals are gluten-, dairy-, and soy-free.

The company delivers fully prepared, fresh meals made with nutrient-dense ingredients.

Pete’s Paleo plans its weekly, chef-created menu based on what’s in season and uses sustainable ingredients.

Pros

• Pete’s Paleo meals are fully prepared and can be taken on the go.
• Meals are organic and paleo and made using seasonal ingredients.
• The meals are high in protein, healthy fats, and fiber and appropriate for those with certain food allergies.
• Customers can cancel, skip, or change their order easily.
• Meals contain generous portion sizes and can be frozen for future use.

Cons

• Meals are pricey, but this can be explained by the high quality ingredients that the company uses, including pastured meat and organic produce.
• Customers are unable to choose what meals they would like on most plans. However, the company launched an “Eat What You Love” plan that allows customers to pick any combo of five frozen meals.
• Plastic trays are not environmentally friendly. However, they can be recycled.

Price

Pricing ranges from $12.90 per meal to $15.90 per meal, depending on the number of meals you order and plan you choose.

The Good Kitchen makes eating healthy easy by delivering nutrient-dense, fully prepared frozen meals right to your door.

The company works with local farms to ensure that the ingredients used in its products are high quality and sustainable.

Pros

• The Good Kitchen offers meals that are suitable for many dietary patterns, including keto, paleo, gluten-free, and Whole30.
• Meals are fully prepared and can be taken on the go.
• The meals can be stored up to 6 months in the freezer.
• Customers can cancel, skip, or change their order easily.
• The Good Kitchen facility is 100% gluten-, soy-, and peanut-free, so it’s safe for those with certain food allergies.

Cons

• Meals are pricey, but this can be explained by the high quality ingredients that the company uses, including grass-fed meat and pastured chicken.
• Although The Good Kitchen offers vegetarian options, they’re limited. Therefore, this meal plan might not be the best choice for those who follow a plant-based diet.
• Customers can’t choose a delivery date, as all meals are shipped on Mondays.
• Plastic trays are not environmentally friendly. However, they can be recycled.

Price

Pricing ranges from $10.99–$14.00 per meal, depending on the number of meals you order and plan you choose.

Home Chef is a meal kit delivery service that provides subscribers with the ingredients and directions needed to make healthy meals.

The company also sells oven-ready meal choices and entrée salads that do not require prep work.

Home Chef offers a mix of healthy choices and classic comfort foods, making it a good choice for families with young children or picky eaters.

Pros

• Green Chef offers meals that are suitable for some common dietary patterns, including low carb and vegetarian diets.
• Meals are fully customizable and subscribers can make changes to meals, such as doubling the portion of protein.
• All meals are easy to prepare and can be made in under 30 minutes.
• Customers can cancel, skip, or change their order easily.

Cons

• Home Chef is not appropriate for those with some food allergies, as the facility processes eggs, milk, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, and soy.
• Some meals tend to be high in calories and salt.
• Plastic containers are not environmentally friendly. However, they can be recycled.

Price

Home Chef meals start at $6.99 per serving but can get much pricier depending on the number of meals you order, add-ons, and plan you choose.

Real Eats was created by a single father who was fed up with feeding his kids unhealthy yet convenient food.

The company offers fully prepared meals packed in vacuum-sealed bags that can be quickly reheated and enjoyed.

Customers can choose from a variety of dishes and add soups, drinks, and snacks to their meal plan.

Pros

• Real Eats uses local, organic ingredients whenever possible.
• The meals are created by a Michelin-star chef and approved by dietitians.
• A variety of dinners and breakfasts are available to choose from each week.
• All meals are fully prepared and only require reheating by boiling.
• Customers can cancel, skip, or change their order easily.
• Meals serve one person, so Real Eats is a good choice for single people.

Cons

• It’s not appropriate for those with some food allergies, as cross contamination may occur at the production facility.
• Meals are on the pricey side.
• Currently, Real Eats only delivers to 21 states.
• All meals are shipped on Mondays. Customers can’t choose a specific delivery date.

Price

Real Eats meals range from $8.75–$15.99 per meal depending on the plan you choose.

Freshly is a meal delivery service that offers healthy, fully prepared meals that only require heating for 3 minutes in the microwave before they can be enjoyed.

The service is favored by single people because its meals serve one person, unlike many other meal delivery services that are designed for couples and families.

Subscribers can choose from a variety of chef-created meals each week.

Pros

• Freshly offers a variety of meals each week that are suitable for some common dietary patterns, including low carb and dairy-free diets. Plus, all meals are certified gluten-free.
• Meals can be frozen for future use.
• All meals are fully prepared and can be enjoyed on the go.
• Subscribers can order as few as 4 meals per week.

Cons

• Freshly meals are largely meat- and poultry-based, so it’s not a good choice for those who follow plant-based diets.
• Since meals are single-serving sizes, they’re not a good choice for larger families.
• The plastic trays and packaging are not environmentally friendly. However, they can be recycled.

Price

Freshly meal prices range from $7.99–$11.50 per meal depending on the plan you choose.

When choosing a meal delivery service, it’s important to consider several factors.

If you like to cook and don’t mind prep work, a meal kit delivery service like Sun Basket or Green Chef is a smart choice. Contrarily, if you don’t like to cook, a fully prepared meal delivery service like Snap Kitchen or Real Eats would be a better option.

Remember, fully prepped meals can be taken on the go and may make a better choice than meal kits for those who need work-friendly lunch options.

Additionally, it’s important to pick a meal delivery service that caters to your nutritional needs.

If you follow a specific dietary pattern, such as a vegetarian, vegan, keto, or paleo diet, it’s important to research companies so that you can narrow down which ones offer foods that are appropriate for you.

What’s more, having a weekly or monthly food budget in mind can help you make the best, most cost-effective choice when searching for food delivery services.

Finally, it’s important to choose meal delivery services based on the number of people in your household, as many food delivery services only offer meals that feed 2 or more people.

Although a large number of meal delivery services are available, only some offer nutritious options.

The meal delivery services listed above offer healthy and tasty meals, and many also offer dishes that are suitable for popular dietary patterns and those with food allergies.

Use the list above to choose the best meal delivery service based on your lifestyle and nutritional needs.