Checked 2026-09-07
What Meal Kits Actually Cost Per Serving
HelloFresh, the largest meal kit service in the US, publishes no price anywhere on its website. Neither does Hungryroot. Of the five that do, Factor runs $13.49 to $10.99 a serving, Blue Apron $10.49 to $14.99, Dinnerly $9.99, Home Chef from $7.99 and EveryPlate $6.99. Shipping is extra almost everywhere, and three companies confirm a fee exists without saying what it is.
Every figure below is quoted from the company's own site or help centre, with the link, on 2026-09-07. Where a company does not publish something, this page says so rather than repeating a number from a review blog. That matters more than it sounds: three review sites checked on the same day gave three different price ranges for HelloFresh, and none of them can be traced to HelloFresh.
The advertised price is one box
This is why people search for what these services “actually” cost. The headline number is an introductory discount, and EveryPlate spells out what happens next in their own FAQ:
“Coupons may discount your initial delivery, but your plan will automatically continue and charge your account at full price on a weekly basis, unless you choose to skip or cancel deliveries.”
Their $2.99 a meal headline is 57% off a single box. Home Chef gives 30% off three boxes and then 45% off two more, capped, expiring after ten weeks. HelloFresh and Home Chef both state that shipping applies to every delivery after the first. So the price to plan around is the undiscounted one, plus shipping, times the number of weeks you do not remember to skip.
The 2 that will not tell you before you sign up
Worth knowing separately, because no amount of comparison shopping works on a price you cannot see. Both of these require a zip code or a completed signup quiz first.
HelloFresh
Meal kits: raw pre-portioned ingredients plus a recipe card, on an auto-renewing weekly subscription.
Price per servingnot published
Not published
“Just enter your zip code so we know where to send your next delicious meals.”
Source: hellofresh.com
Shippingnot published
Not published. Stated to exist, amount shown only at checkout
“there is a shipping cost associated to the deliveries. You'll see the shipping fee that applies to you when you select your plan and check out.”
Source: hellofresh.com
Introductory offer
Free Breakfast for Life plus 10 Free Meals, priced against a 4-person 5-recipe plan, expiring 21 days after purchase
“Shipping fee applies on all deliveries after the first box.”
Source: hellofresh.com
Cancellation deadline
11:59 pm PST, five days before your next delivery. Self-serve, no phone call
“Note that you will be charged on all orders that you failed to cancel before the cut-off date.”
Source: hellofresh.com
- This is the largest meal kit service in the US and the only one of the seven here that publishes no price of any kind. The figure is visible only after entering a zip code and starting a plan.
- Factor is in the same corporate group and publishes its full price ladder. So the absence is a choice, not a technical limit.
- Their sitemap.xml returned a 404 on the day this was checked, which is unrelated to price but worth noting if you are trying to find their own pages.
Hungryroot
Groceries plus recipes, assembled by their algorithm rather than a fixed menu.
Price per servingnot published
Not published. Your plan price only exists after the signup quiz
“Your plan is customized just for you! After you sign up, SmartCart creates a plan based on how many people you're feeding and the groceries you choose each week.”
Source: support.hungryroot.com
Shipping
$6.99 if the plan is under $70, free at $70 or more
“If your plan costs less than $70, shipping is $6.99. If it's $70 or more, shipping is free!”
Source: support.hungryroot.com
Introductory offer
30% off the first order, applied only to plans of $99 or more
“will automatically apply to the first order with a plan size of $99 or more (discount applied to plan cost only).”
Source: support.hungryroot.com
Cancellation deadline
Before your shopping window closes. New customers have to text 855-222-5704 instead
“New customer? Contact us via text at 855-222-5704 before your shopping window closes.”
Source: support.hungryroot.com
- They publish per-serving floors of $3.99 breakfast, $5.99 lunch, $8.99 dinner, $1.99 snacks and sweets, $3.99 drinks. Their help centre frames these as "as low as" figures unlocked by larger plans, not typical prices, so they are not comparable to a meal kit per-serving rate.
- A brand new customer cannot cancel from the website. That is their own documented instruction, and it is the only one of the seven that requires a text message.
The 5 that publish a figure
Cheapest per serving first. Read the shipping row with the price row: a flat $11.99 on a $59.94 box is another two dollars a serving.
EveryPlate
Meal kits, positioned as the budget option. Same corporate group as HelloFresh.
Price per serving
$6.99 at 3 recipes for 4 people. Their stated floor is $5.99
“Plans start at just $5.99 per serving”
Source: everyplate.com
Shipping
$10.99 flat, charged once a week whatever the plan size
“This fee applies only once per week, whether you are on a plan for 2, 4, or for 6.”
Source: everyplate.com
Commitment
Weekly subscription. Charged 4 days before delivery
Source: everyplate.com
Introductory offer
$2.99 a meal on the first box, which is 57% off, then 10% off boxes 2 to 5
“Coupons may discount your initial delivery, but your plan will automatically continue and charge your account at full price on a weekly basis, unless you choose to skip or cancel deliveries.”
Source: everyplate.com
- The clearest intro-versus-ongoing contrast of the seven, and they state it themselves: $2.99 a meal is 57% off one box, and the plan then bills at full price.
- Unlike HelloFresh and Home Chef, shipping is charged on the first box too.
- A footer promo block advertising "$1.99/meal" contradicts their own homepage and reads as stale creative. It is not used here.
Dinnerly
Meal kits, fewer ingredients and shorter recipes to hold the price down.
Price per serving
$9.99 at 3 meals for 2 people. Their homepage claims a $5.99 floor at the largest plan
Source: dinnerly.com
Shipping
$11.99 per order
“The shipping fee we charge is not more than $11.99 per order.”
Source: dinnerly.com
Commitment
No subscription required. $35 minimum order
“You can now explore our delicious meals and Market items without any obligation to order a minimum number of recipes or maintain a subscription.”
Source: dinnerly.com
Introductory offer
Up to $180 off the first 5 boxes. The split per box is not published
Source: dinnerly.com
Cancellation deadline
11:59 pm the day before billing, and billing runs 5 to 6 days ahead of delivery. Skipping needs 6 to 7 days
Source: dinnerly.com
- The smallest box works out at $59.94 plus $11.99 shipping, so $71.93 delivered for 6 servings.
- Their own help centre publishes a plan table that looks like box prices and is actually totals including shipping, while the same article says shipping is added on top. Reading it as box prices overstates every plan by $11.99. Only the 3-meals-for-2 row is confirmed here from the live funnel.
- If the next order has already passed its cutoff, cancelling does not stop that box.
Factor
Prepared single-serving meals, heated rather than cooked. Same corporate group as HelloFresh.
Price per serving
$13.49 at 6 meals a week, falling to $10.99 at 18
“Our meals start at just $11 per serving.”
Source: factor75.com
Shippingnot published
Not published anywhere on their site
Commitment
Weekly subscription, 6 plan sizes from 6 to 18 meals
Source: factor75.com
Introductory offernot published
Not published. The plans page is gated behind a zip code
Cancellation deadline
11:59 pm CT on a day that depends on your account, shown on your own menu page
Source: factor75.com
- The full price ladder is published, which makes it the most transparent of the seven: $13.49 for 6 meals, $12.99 for 8, $12.49 for 10, $11.99 for 12, $11.49 for 14, $10.99 for 18.
- These are prepared meals, so a serving is a meal. That is not the same unit as a meal kit serving, which you still have to cook.
- Cancelling the very first box needs a message to customer care rather than the account page.
Blue Apron
Meal kits plus oven-ready and ready-to-eat meals, sold a la carte. No longer subscription-first.
Price per serving
$10.49 to $14.99 depending on the recipe, with most of the menu at $11.49 to $12.99
Source: blueapron.com
Shipping
$11.49 per delivery, or free with Blue Apron+ at $9.99 a month
“free shipping (regularly $11.49 per delivery)... At $9.99/month, Blue Apron+ pays for itself in just one order.”
Source: blueapronsupport.zendesk.com
Commitment
None. $25 minimum on a Subscribe and Save order, $10 a la carte
“Does Blue Apron require a minimum commitment period for ordering? No, there's no minimum commitment period!”
Source: blueapronsupport.zendesk.com
Introductory offer
$25 off each of the first 2 orders plus free shipping, with code WELCOME25
Source: blueapron.com
- Their own page title now reads "No Subscription", and the homepage says "No commitment". Any comparison written from remembered Blue Apron facts will describe a business that no longer exists.
- Blue Apron+ is $9.99 a month or $99 a year, which is $8.25 a month, with a 30-day free trial. Subscribe and Save is free to join and takes 5% off.
- There is no pause on Subscribe and Save. You skip instead.
Home Chef
Meal kits plus oven-ready and 15-minute options.
Price per serving
Starting at $7.99, though their own pages give four different figures
“meal kits starting at $7.99 per serving”
Source: homechef.com
Shippingnot published
Not published. A flat rate is confirmed to exist with no amount given
“Generally, no, we do not offer free shipping as a permanent feature... We maintain a flat, competitive shipping rate”
Source: homechef.com
Commitment
Weekly. $50.95 minimum on the Home Chef Plan, including shipping
Source: homechef.com
Introductory offer
30% off the first 3 boxes capped at $30 each, then 45% off the next 2 capped at $45 each. Unused discounts expire after 10 weeks
“Shipping fee applies on deliveries after first box.”
Source: homechef.com
Cancellation deadline
12:00 pm CST on the Friday before delivery, or the Wednesday for Tempo meals
“If you pause, skip, or cancel after the Deadline, you will receive the next Delivery and will not be refunded.”
Source: homechef.com
- Four official per-serving claims, and they disagree. The plans page hero says "starting at $7.99". Its budget panel lists dinner at $7.99. Its own FAQ says standard meals "average at $9.99". The help centre says they "start at $9.99". Two of those give the same number opposite meanings.
- Cancelling is done through a button labelled "Pause My Account". Their help centre confirms pausing is how you cancel.
- The first order can only be cancelled by contacting support, not from the account page.
- Their site and help centre also disagree on the Family Plan minimum, giving $82.91 and $90.81. Neither is used here.
Questions people actually ask
How much does HelloFresh actually cost?
HelloFresh does not publish a price. Checked on 2026-09-07 across their plans page, their menus, every FAQ category and their full terms and conditions, there is no per-serving figure anywhere on their US site, and their own FAQ says the shipping fee is shown "when you select your plan and check out". The number you see quoted on review sites is not from HelloFresh: three of them checked the same day gave three different ranges. To get the real figure you have to enter a zip code and start a plan.
Which meal kit publishes its actual price?
Factor publishes its full ladder: $13.49 per serving at 6 meals a week down to $10.99 at 18. EveryPlate shows $6.99 per serving for 3 recipes for 4 people. Dinnerly shows $9.99 per serving on the smallest plan. Blue Apron prices each recipe on the menu, from $10.49 to $14.99. Home Chef says "starting at $7.99" but gives four inconsistent figures across its own pages. HelloFresh and Hungryroot publish nothing until you sign up.
How much does a meal kit cost per month for 2 people?
No company publishes a monthly price, so this is arithmetic on their weekly figures and it excludes any introductory discount. Dinnerly at 3 meals for 2 people is $59.94 plus $11.99 shipping, so $71.93 a week and roughly $312 over four weeks. EveryPlate at 3 recipes for 2 people, using their published $6.99 per serving, is about $41.94 plus $10.99 shipping, so roughly $212 a month. Both assume you order every week and skip nothing.
Is the advertised meal kit price the price you keep paying?
No, and EveryPlate states it plainly in their own FAQ: "Coupons may discount your initial delivery, but your plan will automatically continue and charge your account at full price on a weekly basis, unless you choose to skip or cancel deliveries." Their $2.99 a meal headline is 57% off one box. Home Chef gives 30% off three boxes then 45% off two more, and both HelloFresh and Home Chef say shipping applies on every delivery after the first.
Does meal kit delivery cost extra?
Almost always. Blue Apron charges $11.49 a delivery, Dinnerly $11.99, EveryPlate a flat $10.99 once a week regardless of plan size, and Hungryroot $6.99 below a $70 plan and nothing above it. HelloFresh, Factor and Home Chef all confirm a shipping fee exists and none of the three publish the amount.
What is the deadline to cancel a meal kit before being charged?
HelloFresh is 11:59 pm PST five days before your next delivery. Home Chef is 12:00 pm CST on the Friday before delivery, or the Wednesday for Tempo meals. EveryPlate is 5 days before delivery. Dinnerly is 11:59 pm the day before billing, and billing runs 5 to 6 days ahead of delivery. Factor and Blue Apron set the cutoff per account or per order and show it in your account. Miss it and the box ships and is not refunded, which every one of them states.
Can you cancel a meal kit without phoning anyone?
Mostly yes. HelloFresh, EveryPlate, Dinnerly and Blue Apron are all self-serve from account settings. Three have a catch worth knowing before you sign up: Factor and Home Chef both require you to contact support to cancel the very first box, and Hungryroot requires new customers to text 855-222-5704 rather than use the website.
Are meal kits cheaper than groceries?
That depends on what you throw away, which is the part the price comparison misses. A kit sends exact quantities, so nothing is wasted from the box, and roughly $10 to $13 a serving is well above what the same dinner costs from a supermarket. Cooking from what you already own has no per-serving price at all, but only pays off if you actually use what you bought. If half a bag of spinach goes in the bin every week, the grocery route is quietly more expensive than it looks.
Where we come into this
Riff.kitchen is the other option, and it solves a different problem, so it is worth being straight about which one you have. A meal kit removes every decision and delivers exact quantities. If your problem is time and decision fatigue rather than money, that is genuinely worth $10 a serving and nothing here beats it.
If the reason you are reading a price comparison is that the bill got bigger than you expected, the cheaper answer is the food already in your kitchen. Tell Riff what you have and it writes a recipe around it, starting with whatever goes off first. It is free to use, there is no box and no delivery window, and nothing renews.
Prices change. Everything here was read from the companies' own pages on 2026-09-07 and each figure links to where it came from, so check the source before you order. We are not affiliated with any service on this page and there are no affiliate links on it. Related: how long food actually keeps, what you can freeze.