Everyone needs to eat, but unless you’re fortunate enough to have a personal chef, making food takes time and energy. Consider how much effort goes into shopping for, cooking, and eating food. Subscribing to a meal kit delivery service may help you cut down on lengthy grocery trips, but if you want even less work, feast your eyes on the top prepared meal delivery services we’ve tested.
Deeper Dive: Our Top Tested Picks
Fresh N Lean Meal Delivery Service
Best Variety
Why We Picked It
Fresh N Lean is a prepared meal-kit delivery service, which means that the food arrives fully cooked, ready for you to heat and eat. Its well-rounded menu appeals to all diet types. Other prepared meal services target particular groups with specific dietary needs, but Fresh N Lean is an excellent option for everyone thanks to its varied, high-quality menu.
Who It’s For
Fresh N Lean is for everyone curious about prepared meals, regardless of diet. It’s one of the best gateways to this particular meal-kit category. What you lose in freshness, you gain in sheer convenience. Fresh N Lean also lets you create custom subscriptions with a la carte items, which is a nice touch.
PROS
- Meals delivered fresh
- Varied menus for vegan and paleo diets
- Low price for prepared meals
- Lets you create custom subscriptions
CONS
- Limited control over the meal plans you receive
- Generic à la carte meals
SPECS
| Name | Value |
|---|---|
| Price Per Serving | $10.49-$15.99 |
| Shipping Fee | $9.99 |
| Vegan Options | |
| Vegetarian Options | |
| Paleo Options | |
| Pescetarian Options | |
| Gluten-free Options | |
| Dairy-free Options |
Learn More
CookUnity Meal Delivery Service
Best for Meals From Famous Chefs
Why We Picked It
CookUnity lets you choose between hundreds of tasty, fully prepared meals designed by its chef collective, including some notable celebrity chefs. You’ll find plenty to eat, no matter your cuisine preferences or dietary needs.
Who It’s For
CookUnity is for anyone who wants a convenient and comprehensive prepared meal service without sacrificing choice. The service has annoying packaging, inconsistent portions, and gaps in its delivery map, but it’s an overall excellent prepared meal option.
PROS
- Many tasty options
- Easy preparation
- Accommodates a wide range of dietary needs
- Flexible scheduling and meal selection
CONS
- Inconsistent portions
- Annoying packaging
- Some gaps in delivery coverage
SPECS
| Name | Value |
|---|---|
| Price Per Serving | $11.09 |
| Shipping Fee | $9.99 |
| Vegan Options | |
| Vegetarian Options | |
| Paleo Options | |
| Pescetarian Options | |
| Gluten-free Options | |
| Dairy-free Options |
Learn More
Factor Meal Delivery Service
Best for Hello Fresh Fans
Why We Picked It
Factor is a prepared meal-kit delivery service owned by HelloFresh, an Editors’ Choice pick for traditional meal kits. Factor is similarly excellent, selling delicious rotating dishes that are incredibly convenient to prepare.
Who It’s For
If you want more variety in your prepared meals, Factor is a great overall option. You must subscribe to the service (it lacks an a la carte option), but the menu is varied enough to accommodate all diets. Plus, you can purchase add-ons for your weekly meals to round out your deliveries.
PROS
- Many high-quality prepared meals
- You can pick meals from a rotating menu
- Optional add-ons
- Subscriptions include a 20-minute dietitian consultation
CONS
- Requires a subscription
- Seasoning is occasionally off-balance
SPECS
| Name | Value |
|---|---|
| Price Per Serving | $10.49-$12.99 |
| Shipping Fee | $9.99 |
| Vegan Options | |
| Vegetarian Options | |
| Paleo Options | |
| Pescetarian Options | |
| Gluten-free Options | |
| Dairy-free Options |
Learn More
Mosaic Meal Delivery Service
Best for Vegan and Vegetarian Diets
Why We Picked It
Mosaic offers surprising variety despite focusing on vegetarian diets. Its prepared meals include soups and bowls for individuals, as well as pies designed to feed an entire family.
Who It’s For
Mosaic is for people who want choice in their healthy, prepared vegetarian meals. This flexibility also extends to the service; it lets you choose between cheaper, smaller items and larger, more expensive ones as you craft your subscription.
PROS
- Tasty vegan and vegetarian meals
- Many sizes and prices for individuals and families
- Flexible subscription
CONS
- Soups could use more substance
- Larger meals have lengthy cook times
SPECS
| Name | Value |
|---|---|
| Price Per Serving | $5.99 to $23.95 |
| Shipping Fee | $9.99 |
| Vegan Options | |
| Vegetarian Options | |
| Paleo Options | |
| Pescetarian Options | |
| Gluten-free Options | |
| Dairy-free Options |
Learn More
Veestro Meal Delivery Service
Most Flexible Purchase Options
Why We Picked It
Prepared meals are especially useful for vegan and vegetarian diets, as they remove the hassle that makes it so hard to form healthier eating habits. Veestro offers many vegan meals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner that taste great and don’t require much prep time.
Who It’s For
Veestro is for people who want to really commit to eating vegan. You must buy many meals upfront, but they last a while in the freezer. A la carte and subscription plans give you plenty of flexibility when choosing meals.
PROS
- A la carte and subscription plans
- Easy prep with premade meals
- Healthy, without sacrificing taste
- Lunch and entrée options
CONS
- Meals aren’t always filling
SPECS
| Name | Value |
|---|---|
| Price Per Serving | $11.99 to $22.99 |
| Shipping Fee | $7.95-$12.95 |
| Vegan Options | |
| Vegetarian Options | |
| Paleo Options | |
| Pescetarian Options | |
| Gluten-free Options | |
| Dairy-free Options |
Learn More
Balanced Bites Meal Delivery Service
Best for Keto and Paleo Diets
Why We Picked It
Balanced Bites carefully crafts high-protein meals that are so good you would never believe they come fully prepared. Boxes are more expensive than many competing services, but you have many options for customizing your food deliveries.
Who It’s For
Balanced Bites is for people who want weekly keto and paleo boxes (each meal contains meat, so it’s not for vegetarians). If you’re on board with the company’s focus, you’ll find a lot to like with this low-carb meal-kit delivery service.
PROS
- Hearty, tasty, premade meals
- Prepared, frozen, and shipped within days to maintain quality
- Convenient for keto and paleo diets
- Build your own a la carte box or choose a subscription plan
CONS
- Expensive
- No vegan or vegetarian options
SPECS
| Name | Value |
|---|---|
| Price Per Serving | $19.99 |
| Shipping Fee | $9.99-$13.95 |
| Vegan Options | |
| Vegetarian Options | |
| Paleo Options | |
| Pescetarian Options | |
| Gluten-free Options | |
| Dairy-free Options |
Learn More
Daily Harvest Meal Delivery Service
Best for Unusual Ingredients
Why We Picked It
Daily Harvest helps you eat more vegetables throughout the day thanks to its breakfast and lunch options, along with soups and smoothies. Even the packaging is good for the planet. Note, though, that the company has recently recalled some menu items that caused sickness.
Who It’s For
Even if you aren’t vegan, adopting a more plant-based diet improves your health. And who doesn’t want faster cook times? Daily Harvest is an especially good choice if you want a variety of vegetables in your prepared meals.
PROS
- Minimal to no cooking required
- Diverse ingredients
- Heavily plant-focused and all vegan
- Compostable packaging
CONS
- Must supply your own liquids for smoothies and soups
- Some unusual ingredients and flavor combinations
- Purported wellness benefits may be a turnoff
SPECS
| Name | Value |
|---|---|
| Price Per Serving | $6.99-$7.75 |
| Shipping Fee | Free |
| Vegan Options | |
| Vegetarian Options | |
| Paleo Options | |
| Pescetarian Options | |
| Gluten-free Options | |
| Dairy-free Options |
Learn More
NutriFit Meal Delivery Service
Best for Comprehensive Meal Planning
Why We Picked It
NutriFit doesn’t just prepare meals for convenience. It prepares meals to help you lose weight, recover from a pregnancy, get ready for a sport, or achieve some other body-related goal. The system tailors its menus to the health data that you put input into the site.
Who It’s For
NutriFit is explicitly designed for people looking to accomplish health goals. The company’s offerings are meant to replace your non-NutriFit meals, which is why it’s so expensive. In short, it’s for customers willing to fully buy into the system.
PROS
- A wide variety of healthy meals for breakfast, lunch, or dinner
- Many ways to customize plans to meet your nutritional goals
- Numerous a la carte options
- Free shipping
CONS
- Expensive commitment
- Occasionally overwhelming sign-up process
- Food quantity doesn’t always equal quality
SPECS
| Name | Value |
|---|---|
| Price Per Serving | $18 |
| Shipping Fee | Free |
| Vegan Options | |
| Vegetarian Options | |
| Paleo Options | |
| Pescetarian Options | |
| Gluten-free Options | |
| Dairy-free Options |
Learn More
Splendid Spoon Meal Delivery Service
Best for Soups and Smoothies
Why We Picked It
We already enjoyed Splendid Spoon’s healthy breakfast and lunch menu items, especially the tasty soups. The recently added high-protein meals make it an even more appealing prepared meal-kit option.
Who It’s For
Splendid Spoon reminds you that healthy, prepared meals don’t have to sacrifice flavor. Some meals are better than others, but overall we enjoy the company’s fun and interesting meal selection.
PROS
- Convenient
- Packed with plant-based foods
- Fun flavors
- Surprisingly delicious soups
- Good packaging
- New, high-protein options
CONS
- Expensive smoothies
- Grain bowls need more texture contrast
- Some offerings too bland in testing
SPECS
| Name | Value |
|---|---|
| Price Per Serving | $9.50-$13 |
| Shipping Fee | Free |
| Vegan Options | |
| Vegetarian Options | |
| Paleo Options | |
| Pescetarian Options | |
| Gluten-free Options | |
| Dairy-free Options |
Learn More
Sprinly Meal Delivery Service
Best for Fresh Flavors
Why We Picked It
Some prepared meal kits struggle with the logistics of providing fresh meals. The timing is too tricky. That’s not the case with Sprinly. Its plant-based meals arrive fresh, and you can absolutely taste the difference.
Who It’s For
Anyone looking to add more veggies to their diet. Sprinly is an excellent example of a plant-based, prepared meal delivery service. The food is not only flavorful, but quite filling. You don’t always have many options to choose from, but the available options won’t disappoint you.
PROS
- Fresh, filling, and flavorful meals
- 100 percent, plant-based food
- No cooking required
- Free delivery
CONS
- Limited menu options per week
- No a la carte options
- Doesn’t deliver everywhere in the United States
SPECS
| Name | Value |
|---|---|
| Price Per Serving | $18 |
| Shipping Fee | Free |
| Vegan Options | |
| Vegetarian Options | |
| Paleo Options | |
| Pescetarian Options | |
| Gluten-free Options | |
| Dairy-free Options |
Learn More
Trifecta Meal Delivery Service
Best for Fitness-Focused Meal Prep
Why We Picked It
Getting in shape requires a proper diet and regular exercise. Trifecta helps you achieve both. Its meal plans ensure you put the right food in your body, while its fitness app encourages you to move your body.
Who It’s For
Trifecta is for people who want to incorporate meal planning into their overall fitness routine. The food could use more flavor, but you have many customization options. And even without the meals, the free app is an excellent fitness tool.
PROS
- Meal plans cover a variety of diets
- Grocery and à la carte options
- Helpful fitness app
CONS
- Meals could use more flavor
- Little control over what exact meals you receive
SPECS
| Name | Value |
|---|---|
| Price Per Serving | $15.49 |
| Shipping Fee | No |
| Vegan Options | |
| Vegetarian Options | |
| Paleo Options | |
| Pescetarian Options | |
| Gluten-free Options | |
| Dairy-free Options |
Learn More
Buying Guide: The Best Prepared Meal Delivery Services for 2024
What Is a Prepared Meal Delivery Service?
A traditional meal kit delivery service sends you a box full of ingredients. When you sign up for Editors’ Choice picks, such as Blue Apron, Green Chef, HelloFresh, or Hungryroot, you’ll get everything from raw meat to whole produce to spice packets. Using the included instructions, it’s up to you to assemble and cook those separate ingredients into a complete meal.
Prepared meal delivery services, however, send you complete meals. You must reheat them, whether it’s in a microwave, in an oven, or on a stovetop. Still, the work is mostly done before the box arrives at our doorstep. You can spend less time planning and more time eating, the true appeal of food in the mail.
(Credit: PCMag)
Fortunately, this doesn’t limit the types of food you’ll find with these services. If anything, chefs get more creative with their meals since they aren’t asking you to cook. Our top picks offer everything from BBQ beef with mashed parsnips, tomato flatbreads, breakfast frittatas, healthy smoothies, and complex soups. Sometimes, you don’t need to heat the food; you can eat the cool salad or frozen dessert straight from the box.
These meals come already prepared, so they tend to last longer in the fridge or freezer compared to raw ingredients. These services also pack far more meals into a single package. A traditional meal kit box may have three meals at max, while a prepared meal box has ten.
Are There Any Vegan Prepared Meal Delivery Services?
You can find prepared meal delivery services to suit all kinds of tastes and diets. Balanced Bites and Trifecta offer meaty, protein-heavy cuisine perfect for keto. NutriFit tailors its meals to help reach specific health goals. Mosaic, Sprinly, and Veestro make it easier than ever to go vegan. CookUnity’s and Factor’s menus have a little something for everyone, as does our Editors’ Choice pick Fresh N Lean.
Is It Cheaper to Get Meal Kits Than Prepared Meals?
There are a few reasons why prepared meal services may not be best for you. These services go through the extra work of cooking the food beforehand, so each prepared meal tends to cost more compared to a traditional meal kit box. For example, HelloFresh costs about $10 per meal, whereas Balanced Bites costs $20 per meal. You’re paying for that chef’s labor.
Traditional meal kit delivery services also provide culinary education you won’t receive with prepared meals. Even if you’re simply following instructions, you’ll learn to cook. With prepared meals, you have far less room to customize.
Recommended by Our Editors
Flavor can also suffer compared to truly home-cooked meals. The least appetizing meals we ate through meal services, such as bistroMD, Daily Harvest, and Splendid Spoon, reminded us that these are pretty much rebranded frozen TV dinners. The best services prepare fresh meals just days before they arrive on your doorstep.
Best Meal Delivery Services for 2020
Fast Food That’s Good Food
There’s nothing stopping you from mixing and matching meal kit delivery services. Get a traditional one when you have time to cook, get a prepared one when you don’t. Sunbasket and a few other services offer both options with one subscription. Think of these services as big, online buffets, so dig in.
If you’re looking for some more ways to get healthier, check out our Ultimate Guide to Health and Fitness Tech. For more on improving your culinary life through tech, check out the best meal planning apps and best grocery delivery services.
