The unfortunate truth — it’s hard to be an adult, especially when that means cooking for yourself after a long day of classes and work. From meal planning to grocery shopping, it takes time and effort to prepare real meals for yourself. That’s why meal subscription services like Blue Apron have become so popular — they send you all the ingredients for a set number of dinners each week, so all you need to do is follow the instructions.
From Blue Apron to Green Chef, we’ve compared the 9 best meal subscription services so you can choose based on your personal preferences and price range.
1. Green Chef
Photo courtesy of Green Chef on facebook.com
What it costs: $10.49 to $14.99 per person per meal, depending on which box you choose.
What you get: A box of 3 recipes for 2 people (total of 6 servings). The box comes with recipe cards and 100% organic ingredients color-coded to each recipe. The menu changes weekly — you can check out this week’s here.
Who should get this: Those who care about having certified organic food. With boxes designed for paleo, gluten free, and vegetarian eaters, there’s something for all the various diets out there. There’s also omnivore and carnivore options for you regular eaters.
2. Plated
Photo courtesy of Plated on facebook.com
What it costs: $12 per person per meal.
What you get: Locally-sourced, antibiotic-free ingredients for 2 dinners for 2 people (minimum). You can look at their menu here.
Who should get this: Picky eaters or those trying to lose weight. You can opt in to low calorie or gluten free meals, which is more flexibility than many of the other boxes.
3. Blue Apron
Photo courtesy of Blue Apron on facebook.com
What it costs: $8.74 to $9.99 per person, depending on if you choose a 2-person or family-style (4-person) box.
What you get: 3 meals per week for 2 people (6 servings) with seasonal ingredients and accompanying recipe cards that have customer feedback on them. Check out the menu, which changes weekly, here.
Who should get this: Non-picky eaters or people without dietary restrictions. You don’t get much flexibility here, though you can swap out meals in your box for meals for those in different boxes. But the choices are limited and may not always be available.
4. Hello Fresh
Photo courtesy of Hello Fresh on facebook.com
What it costs: $8.75 to $9.90 per person, depending on the box you choose.
What you get: 3 meals per week for 2 people (6 servings). You can choose from a classic box, family box, or vegetarian box, with menus for all changing every week. You can browse the menus here.
Who should get it: Fans of Jamie Oliver. The famous chef has teamed up with Hello Fresh to provide subscribers with 1 special recipe per week.
5. PeachDish
Photo courtesy of PeachDish on facebook.com
What it costs: $11.25 to $12.50 per serving, depending on how many servings you get (a lower price for more servings). You also can purchase one box without actually subscribing to the service.
What you get: 2 servings of 2 vegetarian or 2 animal protein-based meals, or a combination of each, per week. Since PeachDish is based in the South, all of the recipes are Southern-inspired. Browse their menu here.
Who should get it: People with no dietary restrictions (for example, there’s no gluten free option, though you they’ve recently added a feature that lets you see which dishes have no added gluten), and people who either love Southern food or actually live in the South.
6. Gobble
Photo courtesy of Gobble on facebook.com
What it costs: $11.95 to $13.95 per meal, depending on the amount of meals ordered.
What you get: 3 dinner kits for 2 or 4 people, depending on your choice of box. All ingredients are par-cooked and vacuum-sealed to ensure freshness. Check out the menu here.
Who should get it: People who want fast, easy meals. While most of the other meal plans take 25-35 minutes, all Gobble meals take only 10 minutes and can be prepared in 3 steps and with only 1 pan.
7. SunBasket
Photo courtesy of SunBasket on facebook.com
What it costs: $11.49 per meal.
What you get: 3 recipes per week for 2, 4, or 6 people. All produce is GMO-free and comes from California farms. You can view next week’s meals here.
Who should get it: West Coasters who don’t have time to peruse farmers’ markets. All meals are carefully created by California chef Justine Kelly and use seasonal California produce. There’s options for paleo, vegetarian, and gluten free boxes in addition to the normal Chef’s Basket option.
8. Din
Photo courtesy of Din on facebook.com
What it costs: At least $15 per person per meal, depending on the menu item selected.
What you get: Already prepped ingredients for 1 meal from a San Francisco restaurant. Check out the menu here.
Who should get it: Bay-area people who like eating out at San Fran’s restaurants but want the healthy aspect of a home-cooked restaurant-quality meal. People who are spontaneous, because you can’t pre-order — you have to order the same day you want your meal.
9. Green Blender
Photo courtesy of Green Blender on facebook.com
What it costs: $4.90 per smoothie.
What you get: 5 recipes and organic ingredients for 10 12-oz smoothies per week. Check out some of their recipes here.
Who should get it: Smoothie enthusiasts who don’t want to think too hard about what they’re putting in their smoothie. People who drink smoothies on the reg for breakfast, because this makes mornings a lot less painful.
Please note that the prices above do not include shipping fees and that not all boxes deliver to the entirety of the United States.