Are Meal Kits Cheaper than Groceries in 2025? We Break It Down

The standard knock, of course, is that meal kits are expensive: anywhere from $7 to $14 a portion, less than a restaurant meal but more than most food budgets. So I set an experiment for myself. Armed only with meal kit recipe cards, I went to my local grocery store to see if I could make the meals for less. Reader, it wasn't easy. In fact, I mostly failed. For the sake of science, I bought everything at the store that the meal kit provided in the box, including rice or “Italian herb seasoning,” even if I otherwise already had it at home—but tried to buy it in as small a portion as I could. Where quality was credibly equivalent to the meal kit, I bought the lowest-cost option. Portions were for two, not for a family. And I only went to one store for each meal, meaning if I had to improvise substitutes to make the meal happen, that's what I did. No one's going to three stores for a Tuesday dinner, and so I did what people do when they're shopping for themselves on a weeknight: I bough ... Read full article.