Top 13 Meal Delivery Services 2023

Our recommendation

Hello Fresh is our top-scoring pick in Meal Delivery Services, at 10.0/10 (50+ weekly menu and market items: keto, vegeterian, vegan, gluten free and more).

Factor sits just 0.1 behind at 9.9, close enough that the deciding factor is usually which specification matters more to you — it highlights “29+ dietitian designed and chef crafted options on a rotating menu”.

Both scores are our editors’ assessment of published specifications, pricing and terms against the criteria in our rating methodology — they are not aggregated customer reviews.

Three different products, very different value

The phrase covers services that solve different problems, and picking the wrong category is why people cancel in month two.

• Meal kits — pre-portioned raw ingredients with a recipe card. You still cook, typically twenty to forty minutes. Cheapest per serving of the three, and the best fit if you want to cook but hate planning and shopping.
• Prepared meals — fully cooked, chilled or frozen, needing only reheating. More expensive per serving, and the only category that genuinely saves time on a weeknight.
• Grocery and staple boxes — bulk or curated ingredients with no recipes attached. Cheapest, and requires you to do the planning yourself.

Be honest about which problem you have. People who buy meal kits hoping to save time are usually disappointed, because the time saved is shopping and planning, not cooking.

Work out the real per-serving price

Advertised pricing is close to meaningless without three adjustments, and doing this arithmetic before signing up prevents most complaints about these services.

First, the headline figure is nearly always a first-box promotional price, sometimes discounted heavily across several boxes. Find the standard rate — it is usually further down the page or in the FAQ — and budget on that, because that is what you will pay from week three onward.

Second, add shipping, which is frequently quoted separately and can add meaningfully to a small box. Larger boxes usually carry free or reduced shipping, which is why the per-serving price falls as you order more servings.

Third, note that premium recipes carry surcharges. Steak, seafood and speciality dishes are commonly marked up per serving, so a menu chosen entirely from the appealing options costs noticeably more than the base rate.

Then compare honestly against the alternative, which for most households is not restaurant food but a supermarket shop. Meal kits generally cost more per meal than cooking the same dish from supermarket ingredients, and less than takeaway. The value is in reduced decision-making and reduced food waste from unused half-packets, not in beating grocery prices.

The subscription mechanics that cause the complaints

Almost all of these services are auto-renewing subscriptions, and that is the source of most consumer grievances in the category. Before signing up, find out four things and note where they live in the interface:

• The skip deadline. You can normally skip weeks free, but there is a cut-off — often five to seven days before delivery — after which the box is locked, charged and shipped whether you want it or not. Missing that deadline while on holiday is the classic way to be billed for food you cannot receive.
• How many weeks you can skip consecutively before the account is treated as inactive.
• How to pause versus cancel, and whether cancellation is self-service in the account or requires a chat or phone call.
• Whether the promotional price commits you to a minimum number of boxes.

Set a recurring calendar reminder a day before your skip deadline. It is the single most effective habit for using these services without waste.

Dietary needs and allergens

Menu filters for vegetarian, low-carb, calorie-controlled or high-protein plans work reasonably well. Allergens need more care. Most services prepare and pack in shared facilities and state that they cannot guarantee against cross-contact, which means a filter that hides recipes containing nuts is not the same as a nut-free product. If someone in the household has a serious allergy, read the allergen statement itself rather than relying on menu tags, and treat these services cautiously.

Check also whether nutrition information is published per serving, and whether the stated servings match your household's actual appetites — "serves two" portions vary considerably between providers and are often modest.

Delivery, cold chain and packaging

Boxes arrive with insulation and ice packs and are designed to sit for some hours, but the practical questions are whether you can receive deliveries on your assigned day, whether the box can be left safely, and what the policy is if something arrives warm or damaged. Reputable services credit or replace promptly with a photograph; check that the window for reporting is not very short. If you live somewhere hot, or cannot bring a box in within a few hours, frozen prepared meals travel more robustly than chilled kits.

Packaging volume is a legitimate objection to this whole category — insulation liners, ice packs and individually wrapped portions add up weekly. Some providers use recyclable or curbside-friendly materials and offer take-back schemes; if that matters to you, check specifics rather than general environmental language.

Trialling sensibly

Order the smallest viable box first, choose recipes that reflect what you would genuinely cook on a normal week rather than the most exciting options, and note honestly how long each meal actually took against the stated time. Two or three weeks tells you whether the service fits your routine; the promotional first box on its own tells you very little.

Pricing, surcharges, skip deadlines, allergen practices and delivery areas vary by provider and change often. Confirm current terms and the standard post-promotional price on the provider's own site before subscribing.