“I like to cook and try new recipes,” says Christina McNichol, a full-time nanny. They reduce the time and energy needed to plan meals and shop for groceries, which can hold you back from getting creative in the kitchen. Meal kits can be cost-effective in less concrete ways. “It was definitely cheaper than buying groceries at the grocery store every week,” she says, noting that she didn’t cancel for cost-related reasons. Madisenne Berry, a massage therapist, subscribed to an ingredient-based meal kit to cook weeknight dinners for her three-person household. It could also be a more appealing option for a larger household: Most services offer a discount for a higher number of servings. She, too, took advantage of a popular meal kit’s promotional offer but chose to cancel the subscription after the first few weeks.īut if you’d otherwise be purchasing takeout or going to a restaurant, a meal kit could be a cheaper option. “I could spend the same amount at the grocery store for a week’s worth of groceries,” says Emily Bird, an administrator for a music distribution company, about the cost of a weekly meal kit package.

She enjoyed the convenience and variety her subscription offered, but she canceled after the promotional period due to the cost increase. “The intro offer pricing was equivalent to my usual weekly grocery budget, but a full-price box wasn’t,” says Nadia Russell, a health care analyst.

A subscription may cost more or less than you would typically spend on ingredients, depending on your budget for groceries and dining out, and household size. Here are some factors to consider when you’re deciding whether to start - or continue - a meal kit subscription.įor some customers, the most important factor in deciding whether to use a meal kit is the price. Whether the meal kits are worth the cost depends on what’s important to you and what you would be spending otherwise on food.

And with most meal kit subscriptions covering just four to six meals a week, customers still need to grocery shop for their other two daily meals. Excluding promotions, meals generally run between $6 to $12 per serving, putting the cost on par with some takeout options.

Blue apron cost per meal