The Best Meal Delivery Services for Effective Meal Planning and Healthy Eating
We tested the top meal delivery services to find the best options for all budgets, tastes, and dietary needs. After our writers and editors spent many weeks with 20 different meal kits, we found that some of them really can give your cooking routine a boost, saving you time on meal prep a few nights a week or getting you comfortable with new ingredients and techniques. Our picks for the best meal kit delivery services serve the needs of lots of different kinds of home cooks—beginner or more advanced cooks, those on keto or vegetarian diets, or people who simply don’t have time to go to the grocery store.
Comparison of Top Meal Delivery Services
Based on our reviews and testing, here is a breakdown of how the leading services compare in price and specialization:
| Service Name | Best For | Starting Price |
|---|---|---|
| Marley Spoon | Best meal delivery service overall | $8.69 per meal |
| EveryPlate | America's best value meal kit | $1.99 (first box) |
| Snap Kitchen | Best variety for older adults | $11.88 per serving |
| Magic Kitchen | Medical conditions (Renal, Diabetic) | $5.50+ per serving |
The Best Meal Delivery Service Overall: Marley Spoon
Berlin-based Marley Spoon hit America in 2016 after operating for two years in Europe and Australia. For its U.S. venture, the company partnered with Martha Stewart to offer carefully tested recipes from Martha’s archives. Marley Spoon is best for: Meal kit customers who want their meal kits to offer a real cooking experience. The quality of ingredients should match fairly closely with what you’d find at the grocery store, and the recipes regularly riff on standard comfort foods in fun, tasty ways. It’s really easy to select meals that involve little to no prep one night, and then jump back to more involved meals the next. The meals are clearly labeled by the effort required on the website.
- Pros: Marley Spoon meals got our testers cooking and eating a bit outside their comfort zone; add-ons from the market were very impressive.
- Cons: Packaging is efficient, but everything isn’t always packaged as carefully as it could be.
- Availability: Nationwide, except for Alaska and Hawaii.
Healthy Meal Delivery Options for Seniors
As you age, following a nutritious diet is essential for maintaining optimal health. However, many older adults may find it difficult to prepare nutrient-dense meals themselves, which can lead to poor calorie and nutrient intake. Healthy meal delivery services may help. These companies deliver prepared meals or meal kits straight to your door.
Snap Kitchen
Snap Kitchen offers fully prepared meals that are a great option for older adults. Registered dietitians review the service’s meals to ensure that each meal offers the necessary nutrients for optimal health. Unlike some other meal delivery services, Snap Kitchen offers a variety of breakfast, lunch, and dinner options, so it’s easy to create a nutritionally complete menu. All Snap Kitchen meals are gluten-free, and you can filter menu items by ingredient, sodium content, protein amount, and more.
Magic Kitchen
Magic Kitchen caters to older adults and is a great choice for those who want a variety of meal options. The company provides fully prepared frozen meals and offers two menus — A La Carte and Complete Meals. Notably, the Magic Kitchen menu accommodates specific diets, including low sodium, low carb, diabetes- and dialysis-friendly, vegetarian, and renal diets for those with kidney conditions. Dietitians review each meal to ensure that it’s nutritionally complete.
Best Value Meal Kit: EveryPlate
EveryPlate bills itself as “America's best value meal kit”—but it has more going for it than just a low price. It is designed for people who want simpler dishes—it calls its recipes “foolproof” and claims they can be prepared in under 30 minutes. EveryPlate, which is owned by HelloFresh, makes it easy to enjoy freshly cooked meals without having to commit hours to menu planning and grocery shopping. All recipes have six steps, which were clearly laid out on recipe cards that include a handy picture. As long as you feel comfortable with basic kitchen skills, like chopping and sautéing, you should be able to prepare these meals.
Key Testing Observations
- Marley Spoon: Included ingredients like tteok bokki or berbere spices that don’t show up in lots of other meal kits.
- EveryPlate: The ice packs were still 90% frozen and the raw protein was cold to the touch even after a delay in transit.
- Snap Kitchen: Meals can be refrigerated for 4 to 6 days or frozen for future use.
