Dinner on a Dime: Our 5 Favorite Cheap Meal Delivery Services
Cost
After choosing between meal kits or meal delivery, you’ll want to find a service that fits your budget. Meal kits with recipes can cost as little as $6 per serving and include basic menus and no-frills recipes. More expensive services include recipes with more exotic ingredients, premium cuts of meat and organic produce, but they can cost up to $15 or $20 per serving.
Delivery of meal kits or prepared meals
The first big decision you’ll make is whether you want meal kits, which require a little prep and cooking work, or a meal prep service that sends fully cooked meals ready to reheat and eat. Meal kits will require more time and energy, but they will also cost a little less per serving. Prepared meals require almost no time or energy, aside from what it takes to actually eat the food, but usually cost a few dollars more per serving.
Blue Apron is budget-friendly and includes steak and seafood options.
Health
Although most meal delivery services offer healthy options, some are healthier. Specific meal kits and delivery services are better than others if you want to eat low-calorie, low-carb, plant-based, or pescatarian foods. This list of the healthiest meal delivery services for 2025 is a good place to find the most nutritious options.
A range of Mosaic’d plant-based prepared meals.
Number of meals per week
With almost all services, the more meals or portions you order per delivery, the less it costs per meal. Ideally, you will want to determine exactly how much food is suitable for your household. If you can’t imagine cooking more than twice a week, don’t order more than two meal kits because they generally won’t last more than a week in the refrigerator.
Most prepared meals arrive frozen or can be frozen after unpacking. This means it’s less of an issue if you order too many meals on your first go-around. Most services allow you to change the number of meals or servings on your plan even after you start.
