Cheapest Meal Delivery Services

When comparing around four dozen meal delivery services in the American market, Dinnerly is the cheapest. 

Dinnerly was launched in 2017 by Martha Stewart & Marley Spoon and was created as a more affordable option for customers across the country. Meals are geared toward customers who do not have a lot of time to dedicate to meal prep, cooking, and cleaning. Most meals are ready to eat within 30 minutes or less and can be made in just five steps. Dinnerly is an environmentally conscious company, and therefore, does not include printed recipe cards in deliveries and tries to pare down on the number of ingredients needed in each recipe. Recipes and cooking instructions can be found on the website and on the Dinnerly app.

Upon signing up for the service, Dinnerly will ask customers for a few food preferences and then uses an algorithm to select dishes. Customers have an option to edit meal choices from the weekly rotation of recipes. Dinnerly utilizes several tags to make finding the right meal choices easier, such as no added gluten; under 30 minutes; kid-friendly; spicy; healthy; and one-pot meals.

Dinnerly offers a weekly meal plan for two or four servings a week with an option to select three to six meals each week. 

A meal option for two servings a week are as follows:

• 3 meals: $5.89 per serving
• 4 meals: $5.79 per serving
• 5 meals: $5.69 per serving
• 6 meals: $5.59 per serving

A meal option for four servings a week are as follows:

• 3 meals: $5.59 per portion
• 4 meals: $5.19 per portion
• 5 meals: $4.99 per portion
• 6 meals: $4.69 per portion

Shipping is a flat $8.99 per delivery and the company delivers to the Continental U.S. Customers can select from roughly 20 meal options a week with a few extras such as desserts or additional protein packs. As of June 2021, Dinnerly offers a meat and a vegetarian meal option and does not allow users to pay for additional add-ons.

Learn More: Read Our Dinnerly Review.

Coming in at $4.99 a serving, EveryPlate is a great option for singles or families who seeking affordable meal options. Founded by the national leading meal delivery service HelloFresh, EveryPlate launched in 2018 as a less expensive and less time-consuming option. 

Each week, customers can select from 16 dinner options with diets for meat and vegetarian preferences. EveryPlate even offers a family-friendly meal plan geared toward creating recipes that kids and adults will like and eases the challenge of meal planning and preparation. 

To keep costs down, EveryPlate creates simpler meals, such as a meat paired with a starch. Menus tend to be geared towards comfort foods as opposed to elaborate or exotic meals, and most meals are ready to eat and enjoy in about 30 minutes.

EveryPlate offers a plan for two or four servings a week with an option to select three to five recipes a week.

Meal options include a traditional meat “ClassicPlate” option, a vegetarian “VeggiePlate'' option, and a family-friendly “FamilyPlate” option at a flat $4.99 per serving for any plan or number of servings. Shipping is a flat $8.99 for delivery in the Continental U.S.

Learn More: Read Our EveryPlate Review.

Little Spoon was founded by parents in 2017 in an effort to create an easier solution to feeding babies and children in a healthy, approachable, and cost-effective manner. 

The company offers three types of meal plans: pureed foods, toddler/children’s meals, and booster and nutritional supplements. Meals arrive pre-cooked and sealed on colorful plates with thoughtful dividers for picky eaters (no worries about mixing foods here). The meals can be safely refrigerated for up to 14 days and are freezer safe for up to two months. Plates can be recycled and are BPA-free. Meals can be safely heated up in the microwave on the meal plate or heated in the oven or air fryer (but the food must obviously be removed from the plate).

Children and adults will have fun selecting from kid-favorites such as Mac and Three Cheese with “invisible butternut squash” or Chicken Super Nuggets with sweet potato mash and peas. Little Spoon pays a lot of attention to allergens and tries to label foods accordingly. A detailed FAQ section points to various egg-free or gluten-free dishes available on the menu.

Little Spoon offers a baby meal plan, called “BabyBlends” and a toddler/kids meal plan, “Plates.” Shipping is $6 and is available throughout the Continental U.S. Meals arrive vacuum-sealed and pre-cooked.

The breakdown of the Plates meal plan is as follows:

• Four meals a week (eight meals per delivery): $6.49 per meal
• Six meals a week (12 meals per delivery): $5.99 per meal
• Nine meals a week (18 meals per delivery): $5.49 per meal
• 12 meals a week (24 meals per delivery): $4.99 per meal

Learn More: Read Our Little Spoon Review.

Daily Harvest was founded in New York City in 2015 with a mission of offering nutritious and organic frozen, whole, plant-, and fruit-based foods. Foods and meals are frozen and arrive on dry ice. Some foods need basic assembly, such as the smoothies, which require a liquid when blending; informational videos are easily accessible on the website when ordering food. Other foods, such as the harvest bowls, forager bowls, oat bowls, chia bowls, flatbreads, and soups can be heated on the stovetop or in the microwave.

“Scoops” (healthy ice cream alternative) and “Bites” (little snacks) can be eaten directly out of the freezer. Customers can order weekly or monthly and can select up to 24 items, including healthy snacks, bowls, soups, flatbreads, and more.

Daily Harvest has more than 90 options for frozen meals and snacks, including smoothies, chia bowls, flatbreads, soups, and dairy- and gluten-free ice cream. Plans include a weekly or monthly subscription with options for a small box (nine items), medium box (14 items), and large box (24 items). Pricing per box depends on the cost of each item selected. For our first box, shipping was free. The company delivers to 49 states, leaving out Hawaii.

Here’s an example of pricing per item:

• Chia Bowls: $5.99 per bowl
• Oat Bowls: $5.99 per bowl
• Soup: $7.99 per bowl
• Harvest Bowls: $8.99 per bowl
• Bites (small snack bites): $7.99 for seven bites
• Scoops (healthy ice cream alternative): $8.99 per pint
• Smoothie: $7.99 per smoothie

Learn More: Read Our Daily Harvest Review.

Yumble offers fully-cooked meals for children. The company was founded by a mother from New Jersey in 2016, and it gained some notoriety after presenting on the TV show "Shark Tank" in 2018.

Meals are ready to eat as is or can be heated up in just 90 seconds. Customers have the option of choosing a plan from four, six, eight, and 16 meals a week. Yumble offers breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snack options and meals that are gluten-, egg-, milk-, soy-free, and vegetarian. Users can also sort meals by age groups: 1 to 3; 4 to 8; and 9 to 13 years old. Meals arrive sealed in plastic plates that can be microwaved and recycled. Yumble strives to use organic ingredients whenever possible and humanely-raised, antibiotic-free meat.

Yumble’s plans are straightforward. There are four meal plans a week to choose from, with an option for four, six, eight, and 16 meals each week. Shipping is always free, and the company delivers to 46 states.

Pricing breaks down as follows:

• Four meals a week: $9.99 per meal
• Six meals a week: $7.99 per meal
• Eight meals a week: $6.99 per meal
• 16 meals a week: $5.99 per meal

Learn More: Read Our Yumble Review.

Revive Superfoods is a family-operated business founded in 2016 in Toronto. The company creates pre-portioned frozen, plant-based foods, such as falafel snacks, oat bowls, smoothies, “SuperMeal” bowls, soups, and frozen desserts.

Some foods, like smoothies, soups, and oat bowls, require liquid during the preparation phase. Certain meals, such as the “SuperMeal” bowls and soups, can be heated on the stovetop or in a microwave-safe bowl. Foods can be kept in the freezer for up to two months. The meals are vegan and paleo-friendly as well as dairy-free.

Revive Superfoods has three meal plans each week with an option for nine, 12, or 24 meals a week in each delivery, and each item is priced at $6.99. Shipping is free, and delivery is available throughout the Continental U.S. and Canada.

Learn More: Read Our Revive Superfoods Review.

Mom’s Meals prides itself on being a company that believes in helping others in need, especially senior citizens, healthcare workers, those recovering from illness, as well as individuals, and caretakers. Mom’s Meals offers prepared, refrigerated meals that include comforting and nutritional foods that are ready to microwave and eat in 90 seconds. The service has breakfasts, lunches, and dinners.

Meals arrive pre-packaged and can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 14 days. Users have a plethora of dietary options to choose from, including pureed foods, renal-friendly, low-sodium, cancer support, and gluten-free. Customers can choose to select an auto-ship program, in which meals are delivered each week or they can order at their leisure.

Mom’s Meals has plans for Medicaid and Medicaid Advantage recipients and individual and self-pay plans. We sampled the individual plan, which has an option for 10, 14, or 21 meals per delivery. Users can also choose from an a la carte meal menu or have the chef-curated menu, in which the chef selects your order. Meals are priced at $6.99 or $7.99 and shipping is available throughout the Continental U.S.

Learn More: Read Our Mom's Meals Review.