Meal kits compared: HelloFresh vs Home Chef vs EveryPlate vs Factor, from $5.99 a serving

November is when meal kit companies push their biggest intro offers, with half-price first boxes, free breakfast items and discounts that run for weeks. But the headline price per serving is only part of the cost. Most kits add a shipping fee of around $10 to $13 a box, and the intro discount usually ends after one box, or a few.

We've compared the main US meal kits: HelloFresh, EveryPlate, Home Chef, Green Chef, Factor, Hungryroot and Blue Apron, with Sunbasket and Purple Carrot for comparison. Intro offers and plan details come from the companies' own websites as we found them on October 27, 2026. Several plans pages wouldn't show prices to us, so where a company's own site didn't give a price, we've used a recent dated review and said which. Prices change often, so check the final total at checkout.

At a glance

• Cheapest kits: EveryPlate and Dinnerly, both from $5.99 a serving, according to their own sites.
• Cheapest mainstream kit: Home Chef, at about $9.99 a serving.
• Biggest first-box discount: EveryPlate, at $2.99 a meal on a first box for two.
• Ready-made meals: Factor sends heat-and-eat meals rather than ingredients, with 50% off the first box.
• No subscription: Blue Apron now sells meals one order at a time, with a $9.99 monthly membership for free shipping.

Meal kits compared

*From Yahoo's meal kit review, updated October 21, 2026 (Green Chef from AARP's review, updated September 25, 2026). Other figures are from the companies' own sites.

HelloFresh

HelloFresh is the biggest name, with plans for 2, 3, 4 or 6 people and 2 to 6 meals a week. Yahoo's review put it at $11.99 to $14.99 a serving, with $12.99 shipping. HelloFresh's own site says shipping applies to every box after the first.

Its current offer is "10 free meals" plus a free breakfast item in every box for as long as you stay subscribed. Read the small print: the 10 meals are worked out from the first-box discount on a 4-person, 5-recipe plan, so on a smaller plan you'll save less. The free breakfast stops if you cancel. To skip or cancel, you need to do it by 11:59 p.m. Pacific time five days before your next delivery, or you'll be charged. HelloFresh doesn't deliver to Alaska or Hawaii.

EveryPlate and Dinnerly

EveryPlate, owned by HelloFresh, is the budget option. Its own site says plans start at $5.99 a serving, with a flat $10.99 shipping fee per box, for 2, 4 or 6 people and 3 to 5 meals a week. The intro offer is $2.99 a meal on your first box, which EveryPlate says is 57% off a 2-person, 3-recipe plan, then 10% off boxes 2 to 5. It isn't available on 6-person plans. You can pause or cancel anytime, with changes due by the Wednesday of the week before delivery.

Dinnerly, owned by Marley Spoon, also says it starts at $5.99 a serving. Its plans page wouldn't load for us, so we couldn't confirm the shipping fee or current offer.

Home Chef

Home Chef, owned by Kroger, wouldn't load for us. Yahoo's review lists it at $9.99 a serving with $10.99 shipping, for 2, 4 or 6 servings and 2 to 6 meals a week. That makes it the cheapest of the full-price cook kits we looked at.

Green Chef

Green Chef, another HelloFresh company, specializes in organic ingredients and diet plans. Its own site offers 50% off the first box and 20% off boxes 2 to 9, the longest-running discount here, and says you can skip, pause or cancel anytime before your weekly cutoff. AARP's review puts it at about $12.99 a serving, with $10.99 shipping.

Factor

Factor is different: it sends fully cooked meals that you heat in the microwave or oven, so there's no prep. It's offering 50% off the first box, 20% off boxes 2 to 5, and a free breakfast item in every box for a year. Factor says shipping applies on all deliveries, but its plans page wouldn't show us the per-meal price or the fee, so check both before you order.

Hungryroot

Hungryroot mixes groceries, ready-to-eat items and simple recipes, chosen around your preferences. Its own site lists breakfasts from $3.99 a serving, lunches from $5.99 and dinners from $8.99, with free shipping on orders over $70. New customers get 30% off the first delivery, and you can pause or cancel anytime.

Blue Apron

Blue Apron, now owned by Wonder, dropped its subscription model in 2025. You order meal kits and ready-made meals one order at a time. Yahoo lists meals at $9.49 to $14.99 a serving, with $9.99 shipping, or free shipping with its $9.99 a month Blue Apron+ membership. In 2026 trade press reported late deliveries and missing ingredients after its fulfilment partner went into bankruptcy, and Blue Apron temporarily cut its menu. Check recent reviews before you order for a special meal.

Where each wins and falls short

• EveryPlate is the cheapest per serving and has the biggest first-box discount, but its menus are simpler, and the 6-person plan doesn't get the offer.
• Home Chef is the cheapest full-price cook kit, though we couldn't check its current offer.
• HelloFresh has the widest choice of plan sizes, but it's one of the dearest per serving, and the "10 free meals" depends on a large plan.
• Green Chef has the longest-running intro discount and organic ingredients, at a higher price.
• Factor saves the most time, but you'll need to check the price per meal yourself.
• Hungryroot gives free shipping over $70 and the most flexible mix of meals.
• Blue Apron needs no subscription, but has had delivery problems this year.

How to get the most from an intro offer

1. Price the whole box. Add shipping and any premium meals, which most offers exclude.
2. Note the cutoff. Put your skip or cancel deadline in your calendar as soon as you order.
3. Try one at a time. Signing up for several offers at once makes it easy to miss a cutoff and pay full price.
4. Skip the weeks you're away. Most kits let you skip a week for free, which is useful over Thanksgiving.

Your questions answered

Can I cancel after the first box?

Yes. HelloFresh, EveryPlate, Green Chef, Factor and Hungryroot all say you can pause or cancel anytime, as long as you do it before the weekly cutoff. If you miss it, the next box is usually charged and sent.

Are meal kits cheaper than groceries?

Usually not. At $8 to $15 a serving with shipping, a kit costs more than cooking the same meal from the grocery store. What you pay for is planning, exact portions and less food waste.

Sources: HelloFresh, HelloFresh: payment and billing FAQ, HelloFresh: food delivery, EveryPlate, Dinnerly, Green Chef, Factor, Hungryroot, Yahoo: best meal delivery services (October 21, 2026), AARP: Green Chef review, Supermarket News: Blue Apron's new model, Subscription Insider: Blue Apron fulfilment problems