Home meal delivery services have been around for some time, but their popularity exploded during the pandemic. Now that people have discovered the convenience of these services, they aren’t going anywhere anytime soon. Thankfully, these services have helped millions of people feel more comfortable preparing home-cooked meals on their own.
The best thing about having so many options is that there is something out there for everyone, regardless of dietary restrictions, budget, or preference, including fully-prepared microwaveable meals or partially prepared meals. But which one is best for you?
RELATED: Best Meal Delivery for Weight Loss
Our team of certified personal trainers, nutrition coaches, athletes, and everyday people personally tested more than 60 of the best meal delivery services, including options for experienced cooks and non-cooks alike. Our experts assessed each service, according to our testing methodology, for factors such as:
- Ingredient quality: Are the ingredients fresh? We gave scores of 4 out of 5 or more to fresh meal ingredients that look and taste delicious.
- Variety: How many meals can you choose from? A 3 out of 5 goes to services with some repetition in entrees, albeit a tolerable amount.
- Prep time: Top scores went to prepared meals that were ready to heat and eat.
- Meal plans and customizations: Can the company cater to certain dietary restrictions? A 4 out of 5 went to brands with some level of customization and at least four meal plans to choose from.
In addition to rating these for factors like taste and cost, we also had them reviewed by two registered dietitians: Perry Nix, MS, R.D, and myself. Finally, we asked Dr. Jennie Stanford, with a degree in nutrition and dietetics, to medically review this content for accuracy and updated studies.
We’ve helped connect nearly 1.9 million fitness enthusiasts with quality nutrition products—and have tested more than 60 meal delivery services—so let’s help you find your ideal service.
Medical disclaimer: This article is intended for educational and informational purposes only. It is not intended as a substitute for medical advice. For health advice, contact a licensed healthcare provider.
10 Best Meal Delivery Services
- Best Overall Meal Delivery Service – Factor Meals
- Best Budget Meal Delivery Service – Home Chef
- Best Meal Delivery Service for Singles – Tempo Meals by Home Chef
- Best High-Protein Meal Delivery Service – Fuel Meals
- Best Meal Delivery for Prepared Meals – Trifecta
- Best Meal Kit Delivery Service – Hungryroot
- Best Healthy Meal Delivery Service – Forkful
- Best Meal Delivery Service for Families – HelloFresh
- Best Organic Meal Delivery Service – ModifyHealth
- Best Meal Delivery Service for Vegetarian and Vegan Meals – Purple Carrot
Best Black Friday & Cyber Monday Deals on Meal Delivery Services (2025)
- Factor Meals – Up to $130 off + 12 months of MyFitnessPal Premium+
- Home Chef – Get 18 free meals and free shipping on your first box
- Fuel Meals – 40% off, plus add a free meal before checkout
- ModifyHealth – 25% off your first order and free shipping with code “THRIVE25”
Editor’s Note
At Garage Gym Reviews, we are always testing new and upcoming meal deliveries and updating this page to reflect our favorite finds. Our team of certified nutrition coaches, elite athletes, and personal trainers has tested over 60 meal delivery services, including prepared meals, meal kits, and even meat subscription boxes. In November 2025, we reviewed our top picks to ensure we’re still recommending the best subscriptions of today and added further information regarding what to consider when choosing a meal delivery service for your dietary needs.
Best Overall Meal Delivery Service: Factor
Updated by: Caine Wilkes, OLY, CNC, USAW-L1
Factor75 is a heat-and-eat delivery service that works well for those on specialized diets. Boxes are delivered weekly, and you can mix and match from different menu plans to maximize your menu variety.
Best Budget Meal Delivery Service: Home Chef
Updated by: Caine Wilkes, OLY, CNC, USAW-L1
Home Chef is a meal delivery service that gives you options between meal kits, heat-and-eat meals, and grill-ready selections. It does require a subscription, but you can cancel any time or skip a week if you don’t want a shipment. Our testers appreciate the high-quality ingredients, easy ordering process, and variety of options.
Best Meal Delivery Service for Singles: Tempo
Updated by: Caine Wilkes, OLY, CNC, USAW-L1
Tempo by Home Chef is a microwavable meal subscription service. Every week you will get meals delivered to your door unless you remember to skip by the Friday before. The meals are designed by chefs with certain goals in mind, like protein packed or fiber rich, but you will have to select individual meals. There aren’t specific plans like weight loss or weight gain.
Best High-Protein Meal Delivery Service: Fuel Meals
Updated by: Caine Wilkes, OLY, CNC, USAW-L1
Fuel Meals offers two dedicated meals plans—muscle gain and weight loss—catered to both men and women. You can choose to have all daily meals delivered, or stick to just lunch and dinner, on a weekly or bi-weekly delivery cadence. One downside is that there’s no customization of the meals.
Best Meal Delivery for Prepared Meals: Trifecta
Updated by: Caine Wilkes, OLY, CNC, USAW-L1
Trifecta combines convenience with healthy eating. While all meals are pre-cooked and pre-portioned, the ingredients are high-quality and preservative-free. While you have a ton of options, keep in mind that this is a fairly expensive meal delivery service.
Best Meal Kit Delivery Service: Hungryroot
Updated by: Caine Wilkes, OLY, CNC, USAW-L1
Hungryroot offers a unique take on meal delivery, in that you find a recipe you like, and the company will send you all of the ingredients to make it. There are many options for types of food to choose from, and you can even order extra groceries that you might need as well. You do have to cook though, so if that’s not interesting to you, this won’t be the right plan.
Best Healthy Meal Delivery Service: Forkful
Updated by: Caine Wilkes, OLY, CNC, USAW-L1
Forkful is a strong pick for active individuals who want chef-prepared meals without the hassle of shopping or cooking. Prices start at around $12, but ordering more meals per week drops the price down to under $9, making it an affordable option for prepared meal deliveries.
Best Meal Delivery Service for Families: HelloFresh
Updated by: Caine Wilkes, OLY, CNC, USAW-L1
HelloFresh is a subscription meal delivery service that provides ingredients and recipes for weekly meals. They provide six different plans, including plant-based, pescatarian, and quick and easy meals. Additionally, 40 different recipes are available each week, and proteins and sides can be swapped out as needed. The subscription is flexible, as you can skip a week, pause, or cancel your account at any time.
Best Organic Meal Delivery Service: ModifyHealth
Updated by: Caine Wilkes, OLY, CNC, USAW-L1
If you adhere to a low-FODMAP diet, have diabetes, or a gluten allergy ModifyHealth could be the meal delivery service you’ve been waiting for. ModifyHealth processes all meals in a gluten-free facility and commits to using non-GMO ingredients. Your subscription gains you access to a weekly delivery of fresh, vacuum-sealed meals that are ready to reheat and enjoy. Plans start as little as 6 meals per week with the option to skip a week or pause your subscription.
Best Meal Delivery Service for Vegetarian and Vegan Meals: Purple Carrot
Updated by: Caine Wilkes, OLY, CNC, USAW-L1
Purple Carrot offers vegan meal kits and prepared meals. There are no specific meal plans, but you can choose from the full menu, which includes breakfasts, lunches, dinners and “plantry” items—add-on products like brownie bites and salad dressing. You can’t mix and match meal types, though.
Other Meal Delivery Services We Researched
After testing 60 meal delivery services (and counting), we had to narrow our top picks down. Still, a few options deserve an honorable mention:
- Daily Harvest: Daily Harvest is a plant-based frozen meal delivery service that provides wholesome, nutrient-dense meals and snacks. The menu is made up of low-calorie smoothies, grain bowls, flatbreads, and soups. If you’re looking for a meal delivery service that supports high-protein diets, this is not the subscription plan for you.
- CookUnity: CookUnity is a weekly meal delivery service that brings fresh meals prepared and cooked by professionally trained chefs directly to your door. As noted in our CookUnity review, it’s a pricier option, too.
- Blue Apron: Blue Apron is a meal kit delivery service that sends you everything you need for a fun, tasty meal right to your door. While there are many meal plans to choose from (including veggie, family-friendly, and wellness) this might not be the best option if you’re looking for a meal delivery service specific to weight loss. Learn more in our Blue Apron review.
- EveryPlate: EveryPlate is a low-cost meal kit delivery service that offers new meals weekly. If you don’t have dietary restrictions or need to follow a specialized diet, it could be a good option for you.
- Green Chef: With a ton of organic ingredients and quality meals, Green Chef is a solid option, but just know that the cost is more on the expensive side. See more in our Green Chef review.
RELATED: Blue Apron vs HelloFresh vs Home Chef
How We Picked and Tested the Best Meal Delivery Services
Like many of our best-of lists, our GGR expert testers actually tried out and tasted every meal delivery service featured in this roundup. Although some things like taste are subjective, each tester was tasked with rating over 10 categories on a 1-to-5-star rating using an in-depth testing methodology. Here is a sampling of testing categories and how scoring works:
- Price per serving: Meals can range from $5 to $15 per meal. For a meal delivery company to earn low scores in the price category, the price per meal was over $14. For high scores of 4 or 5 out of 5 in this category, the company averaged $8 per meal or less.
- Ordering: If a company scored low in this category, it means the website or app was hard to use, confusing, or difficult to cancel meal subscriptions. High scores in this category allow users to browse menu items, easily place orders, and skip shipments.
- Taste: The lowest scores were given to meal deliveries that were horrendous. The highest scores were reserved for meal services that tasted good and left the tester wanting to try it again. Since this is a subjective score, we also looked at customer reviews to learn of others’ experiences.
- Ingredient quality: Here, we looked at the freshness and quality of ingredients used in meal kits and prepared meals, giving top scores to fresh and crisp ingredients that were organic or humanely sourced.
- Portion size: Top scores of 4 or 5 were given to meals that were filling without being wasteful, while lower scores left our testers wanting more.
- Variety: Low scores were given to meal services with menus lacking either variety or abundance of options. Companies with rotating menus or the ability to choose from a wide selection of menu items earned the highest scores in this category.
- Meal plans and customization: Meal services lacking customization or a variety of meal plan options (that cater to dietary needs) received low scores in this category. High scores were given to companies offering customization, had at least four meal plans to choose from, and had common allergens called out.
- Sustainability efforts: Delivering food across the nation can create a pretty big carbon footprint, so we looked at the efforts companies took to combat this. An average score of 3 or 4 out of 5 were given to brands that had recyclable packaging and tried to source ingredients locally as well.
Benefits of Meal Delivery Services
If you’re worried about whether or not the cost of a meal delivery service is worth what you get, you’re not alone; even I’ve scoffed at the overload of HelloFresh and Factor ads on social media as something reserved for the elite. However, these services have plenty of benefits to make them worth the cost—and some may even save you money in the end.
Meal Prep
Whether you are trying to lose weight, go ketogenic, or gain muscle, meal planning and prep is the most efficient way to meet these goals, yet it’s also the most daunting for most people. Thus, having a meal prep service with pre-made meals that require little to no grocery shopping can be a lifesaver for some folks.

Eases Home Cooking
Registered dietitians love meal kits as they are something we often recommend to people who want to stop eating takeout so much for budget or health reasons (often both), but don’t know how to get started cooking from home. Meal kit delivery services can help one build their confidence in the kitchen and even provide them with a library of new recipe cards to try some meals on their own.
Great for Busy Adults and Parents
For busy parents with many children or just families with many members, having enough food to feed everyone delivered right to your door is an attractive way to keep the whole family nourished on weeknights without the usual hassle.
Convenient for Special Diets
No matter what the case is, seeing if a meal delivery service can accommodate the diet that’s best for you is half the battle. The other half is also making sure there’s enough variety within these options, as I’m sure those who are gluten-free would get tired of the same three cauliflower flatbread or chickpea pasta recipes pretty fast.

Reduces Food Waste
When you go grocery shopping, you normally end up spending a lot on ingredients for a single recipe, which could lead to food waste. Evidence suggests3 that meal kits cut food waste significantly with appropriate portion sizes and the right amount of ingredients. While there are some concerns with the packaging, the researchers say the emissions lowered by less food waste outweigh any packaging concerns.
Buying Guide: How To Shop for the Best Meal Delivery Service
With so many options available, here are some things to consider when comparison shopping:
High-Quality Ingredients
Many companies provide information about where their produce and protein are sourced from, but if organic and local ingredients are super important to you, a meal delivery service might not be the best option.

While not all services offer food sourcing information, we suggest choosing a company that at least provides nutritional information on the website and on the packaging. Plus, if you have dietary restrictions, you’ll have to pay special attention to be sure the ingredients suit your needs.
Pricing
Our team is always looking for the best bang for your buck—whether it’s for the best treadmill for home gyms or the best pre-workout on the market—and meal services are no different. With the price per meal ranging from $5 to $15 or more, there is some gray area on which service is right for you.
When shopping, we suggest creating a budget on what you’re willing to spend per week (or month) and sticking to it. Most of the services we reviewed don’t eliminate grocery store runs, so keep in mind that you’ll likely still have a grocery bill.
Also, take advantage of any first-time user deals you happen to see. Many meal kits give major discounts on your first box and waive shipping fees, and other meal deliveries will add free meals to your order.
Portion Sizes
While not all meal delivery services are crazy expensive, they’re not always exactly cheap, either. That’s why it’s important to consider how substantial the portions are for your chosen company, especially if you are an athlete or active individual who eats a lot and often. A good indicator of how filling these meals might be will be checking the calorie amount of each meal; meals that drop to 400 calories or lower might be a smaller portion for some people.
Preparation
You’ll be able to find frozen prepared meals, fresh prepared meals, meal kits that are partially prepared, and straight-up grocery delivery. We suggest making sure you know which style of meals and ingredients you’re getting so there are no surprises. There are some companies (like Sunbasket) that offer both meal kits and prepared meals.

Side note: If you don’t know your way around a kitchen, a meal kit can be a fun way to learn to cook for yourself with step-by-step instructions and the exact ingredients you need (save salt, pepper, and cooking oils).
Delivery Options
You may notice that most meal delivery services are subscription-based companies. While it’s not inherently bad, you’ll need to compare how often you want the meals to the frequency allowed with the meal service. Some deliver on a weekly cadence and let you skip deliveries manually while others let you space out deliveries up to three or four weeks apart.
Dietary Options and Variety Meal Options
If you plan on getting home-delivered meals long-term, it’s important to go with a company that gives you plenty to choose from on their full menu each week, so you aren’t sick of the recipes after just a couple of weeks. That said, some people love to eat all of the same things all the time for simplicity and reliability. In any case, we made sure to include services that suit both types of eating habits onto our list.

And if you follow a specialty diet or have dietary restrictions, make sure the meal plan you’re choosing is either customizable or offers a plan that fits your needs.
Sustainability Efforts
One of the most attractive features of meal kit delivery services is also its biggest point of scrutiny: packaging. People who have used these services will tell you how heavenly it is to go through their little recipe card and follow the instructions by simply opening up the package of their next ingredient and adding it to their meal in progress.
However, with frequent usage and deliveries, this can add up to a lot of waste, especially with plastic packaging. So, we like to support home food delivery services that are environmentally responsible, use recyclable and compostable materials, and offset carbon emissions. If you’re of the same mindset, make sure to research each service to see what kinds of things they’re doing to minimize their footprint on the environment.
Lifestyle and Usage Fits
It’s one thing for a meal delivery service to taste good—it also needs to fit your lifestyle and eating habits. Here are a few keys to look for when shopping for the right service:
- Number of people: Whether you’re cooking just for yourself or your whole family can determine which meal delivery service works best for your weekly consumption. Tempo Meals, for example, offers single, ready-to-eat meals in bulk, making it a perfect choice if you’re cooking for one. On the other hand, Home Chef meal kits can be suitable for a family of up to six—you just need to carve out some time to cook each ordered recipe.
- How often you’re cooking: Some companies sell plans for multiple ready-to-eat meals per day, which can be helpful if you spend most of your time on the go. You can also find services that offer just a handful of recipes per week for you to cook at home. This may be beneficial for busy parents who want to cook healthy dishes from scratch but don’t always have the time (or experience) to find the right recipes.
- Skill level: If you aren’t looking for a culinary education delivered to your door each week, it may be best to opt for a service like Factor, which provides heat-and-serve meals that can be ready in a matter of minutes. For people who want to sharpen their cooking skills, consider a brand like Hungryroot that specializes in simple, easy-to-follow recipes that you can comfortably make at home. Each recipe card can offer clear, insightful instructions to make the process of cooking less overwhelming.
Customer Service
Whether you’re missing just one ingredient or an entire meal, you may eventually run into an issue with your food delivery. That’s why you need to pick a company with top-notch customer service. We detail each brand’s customer service score in our reviews above, but it’s also important to do your own research. First, see if the brand’s customer service is easily visible (and easily reachable) on the website. Also, check if the brand has an FAQ page for helpful answers to any questions you may have. Customer reviews are also an excellent way to learn more about the quality of a subscription’s customer service center.
Other Meal Delivery Service Roundups
If you’re still looking for the ideal meal delivery service for your specific needs, you’re in luck: We’ve written and made dozens of lists of meal delivery services catered to specific needs and dietary restrictions. Here are some of our best-of lists that haven’t been mentioned yet:
- Best Meal Delivery Service for Singles
- Best Meal Delivery Service for Families
- Best Frozen Meal Delivery
- Best Low-Sodium Meal Delivery Service
- Best Gourmet Meal Delivery Service
- Best Dairy-Free Meal Delivery
- Best Whole30 Meal Delivery
- Best Low-Calorie Meal Delivery
- Best Oven-Ready Meal Delivery
- Best Bodybuilding Meal Delivery
FAQs About the Best Meal Delivery Services
What is the best meal delivery company?
The best meal delivery service will depend on your budget, the amount of variety you’re looking for, and any dietary preferences or restrictions you may have. That said, our top pick for most people will be Factor Meals, which is a prepared meal delivery that delivers fresh, microwaveable meals. It has a variety of meals, from Italian-style chicken pastas to taco bowls and more.
Is it cheaper to buy groceries or HelloFresh?
While there can be many factors as to which will ultimately be less expensive, in general, HelloFresh will be a more expensive option than local grocery shopping. However, many people will find the meal kit service worthwhile, as it will save them time in the form of fewer grocery trips. Along with that, it provides unique recipe cards that’ll help those new to cooking get their bearings in the kitchen.
What happens if I’m not home for delivery?
Don’t worry if you’re not home when your food arrives. Brands typically utilize insulated packaging and dry ice packs when delivering meals to customers, so it should be fine if the box sits on your porch for a few hours. Naturally, this isn’t an excuse to leave your order of fresh produce and goods to bake on your porch all week, but a brief or moderate period between arrival and refrigeration should be OK.
That said, the insulation method can vary from brand to brand, as does the delivery schedule. It’s also important to transfer the food to the refrigerator or freezer immediately after receiving your package, especially if your meal kit includes fresh produce or meat. If you feel like your food was warmed and/or spoiled during travel, be sure to contact your subscription’s respective customer service team.
Are meal kits or ready-to-eat meals better?
It really comes down to your preferences. If you’re always short on time and never feel like cooking, go for the ready-to-eat meal options. These pop right in the microwave or oven, and our testers have raved about many of the options we’ve tried here at GGR. That said, if you enjoy cooking and just want the convenience of having high-quality ingredients and simple recipes delivered to your doorstep, a meal kit could be the way to go.
These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any diseases.
References
- Wang, Y. B., Page, A. J., Gill, T. K., & Melaku, Y. A. (2023). The association between diet quality, plant-based diets, systemic inflammation, and mortality risk: findings from NHANES. European journal of nutrition, 62(7), 2723–2737. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00394-023-03191-z
- Almuntashiri, S. A., Alsubaie, F. F., & Alotaybi, M. (2025). Plant-Based Diets and Their Role in Preventive Medicine: A Systematic Review of Evidence-Based Insights for Reducing Disease Risk. Cureus, 17(2), e78629. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.78629
- Bernstein, A., & Hunnes, D. E. (2024). Food is medicine interventions and climate change. American journal of lifestyle medicine, 19(2), 314–319. https://doi.org/10.1177/15598276241275613
- Coelho-Júnior, H. J., Calvani, R., Picca, A., Tosato, M., Savera, G., Landi, F., & Marzetti, E. (2023). Protein intake is associated with blood pressure and cholesterol levels in Italian older adults: a cross-sectional study. Metabolites, 13(3), 431. https://doi.org/10.3390/metabo13030431
- Landry, M. J., & Ward, C. P. (2024). Health benefits of a plant-based dietary pattern and implementation in healthcare and clinical practice. American journal of lifestyle medicine, 18(5), 657–665. https://doi.org/10.1177/15598276241237766































