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Trying to Pick a Meal Kit Service? These 2 Are the Best Value, According to Our Math

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Why This Matters

This analysis highlights the best value meal kit services in 2026, emphasizing how they compare to grocery shopping in terms of cost savings and convenience. For consumers and the industry, understanding these value propositions can guide smarter choices, balancing affordability with time-saving benefits. It also underscores the importance of transparency in pricing and the potential for meal kits to reduce food waste.

Key Takeaways

Meal kits are about convenience, which means you'll typically pay more per pound for these recipe bundles than you would if you did the list-making and grocery shopping yourself. Meal kits offer hidden value beyond saving time and energy since there's often less food waste with meal kits, given they only send you what you need for that night's meal, and nothing more.

CNET

Within the sprawling meal kit categories, you'll find a number of options priced between $6 and $15 per serving. The premium services offer higher-end cuts of meat and more complex recipes with gourmet ingredients. The budget services keep it simple with recipes that typically include just four or five ingredients.

Among the choices, you may be wondering which meal kit services offer the best overall value in 2026. Well, so were we.

To find out, we've calculated how meal kit delivery services compare with grocery prices. Here's what the math says about meal kits and value in 2026.

And while these represent the best-value meal kits, we've also dug into them to find the absolute cheapest meal kits available in 2026.

Meal kits, ranked by value Meal kit service % savings to make the same meals yourself Home Chef 35% HelloFresh 35% Blue Apron 37% EveryPlate 40% Marley Spoon 42% Green Chef 45% Sunbasket 48%

Home Chef scored top marks in our meal kit value ranking. David Watsky/CNET

Home Chef

Home Chef cost (2 servings) DIY cost DIY savings Idiot Proof Crispy Chicken Sandwich $23.98 $12.14 49% Arrabbiata Cream Shrimp and Feta Peppers $23.98 $16.55 31%

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