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Prepared meal delivery services ship ready-to-eat meals directly to a person’s home. Our editors and freelance writers reviewed several services that offer quicker and easier meals.
- Best for a large menu: Factor | Skip to review
- Best for varied eating patterns: Fresh N Lean | Skip to review
- Best for weight loss: BistroMD | Skip to review
- Best for bowls and smoothies: Daily Harvest | Skip to review
- Best for freezer fillers: Mosaic Foods | Skip to review
- Best for oven-ready meals: Home Chef | Skip to review
- Best for portion control: Trifecta | Skip to review
- Best for plant-based meals: Veestro | Skip to review
- Best for paleo meals: Pete’s Real Food | Skip to review
- Best for global cuisines: Cook Unity | Skip to review
Meal delivery services are
These companies send ready-to-eat meals directly to a person’s home on a specified delivery day. Some companies may offer fresh meals, whereas others provide frozen food that people can heat in a microwave or oven.
Learn more about the best frozen meal delivery services.
Most companies offer a variety of menus to suit different dietary requirements. Customers can also specify the number of people in their household and the number of meals they need per week.
Prepared meal delivery services may be most suitable for people who do not have the time to source and cook nutritious meals.
These services may be less expensive than eating out or ordering takeout regularly. Most companies offer a variety of foods to accommodate different dietary requirements, and they may offer more choices than restaurant menus.
Please note that the writer of this article has not tried these products. All information presented is purely research-based and correct at the time of publication.
Medical News Today follows a strict product selection and vetting process. Learn more.
Best for a large menu: Factor
- Price per serving: from $11
- Meals per week: up to 18
- Dietary options: keto, vegetarian, vegan, protein plus, chef’s choice, calorie smart, paleo, low carb
- Regional availability: contiguous United States
Factor aims to provide chef-cooked, nutritious, fresh meals that people can simply heat in the microwave in minutes.
While the company offers food suitable for a range of dietary requirements, people who eat plant-based meals may wish to shop elsewhere, as Factor does not offer as many plant-based options as some of its competitors.
Factor delivers to all contiguous U.S. states. Depending on where a person lives, they can expect a delivery Monday through Wednesday. Each order has a flat shipping fee of $9.99.
People can skip or cancel their deliveries through Factor’s website until the Wednesday before their next delivery day.
Best for varied eating patterns: Fresh N Lean
- Price per serving: from $7.93
- Meals per week: up to 21
- Dietary options: keto, paleo, vegan, gluten-free, protein+, Mediterranean, and Whole30 approved
- Regional availability: all 50 U.S. states
Fresh N Lean offers meals to suit many dietary requirements, so it may be a good option for people who want to try different diets or need to feed people with varied requirements.
The company delivers meals each Friday, although people can choose to receive their food either weekly or biweekly. Fresh N Lean provides a tracking number for each order.
A person can skip a week or cancel their subscription through their account on the website, or they can do so by calling customer service by the Sunday before their next delivery.
Best for weight loss: BistroMD
- Price per serving: from $6.59
- Meals per week: up to 21
- Dietary options: signature, gluten-free, heart-healthy, keto flex, diabetic, and menopause
- Regional availability: contiguous U.S.
BistroMD offers breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and snacks. The company aims to promote weight loss and healthy eating without dangerously restricting a person’s diet.
People can choose from several programs, some of which aim to help with specific conditions, such as diabetes, menopause, or heart health. The company also offers plans specifically for males and females.
While BistroMD ships to most states – excluding Alaska and Hawaii – it charges $19.95 for shipping. People can skip a week or cancel their subscription via their account on the website.
Best for bowls and smoothies: Daily Harvest
- Price per serving: from $6.79
- Meals per week: up to 24
- Dietary options: plant-based
- Regional availability: contiguous U.S.
Daily Harvest is a plant-based delivery service that offers frozen smoothies, flatbreads, bowls, and more. All of its meals are gluten-free.
Read our review of Daily Harvest.
The company determines a person’s shipping date based on their location. Shipping is free.
Daily Harvest delivers throughout the contiguous U.S. People can enter their zip code when signing up to see whether the company delivers to their address.
People can skip or cancel weeks until the Sunday before their next delivery. They can also edit their plan through their account on the Daily Harvest website.
Best for freezer fillers: Mosaic Foods
- Price per serving: from $9.99
- Meals per week: up to 18
- Dietary options: plant-based
- Regional availability: major metro areas in the eastern and western U.S.
Mosaic Foods provides frozen plant-based whole-food meals such as pizzas, smoothies, soups, and oat bowls.
Frozen food may help reduce food waste, preserve nutrients, and provide a quicker and easier way to prepare more nutritious meals.
The company states that some of its meals are family-friendly, so it may be a good option for families with children or picky eaters.
Mosaic Foods delivers to most major metro areas in the eastern and western U.S. A person can check whether the company delivers in their area by entering their zip code when registering.
While the company offers free shipping on orders over $100, any orders under this amount will have a $7.99 shipping fee per order. People can skip a delivery by logging into their account or calling customer service.
Best for oven-ready meals: Home Chef
- Price per serving: from $9.95
- Meals per week: up to 6
- Dietary options: calorie-conscious, carb-conscious, pescatarian, and low sodium
- Regional availability: 49 U.S. states
Home Chef aims to deliver homestyle food to a person’s home. People can choose their preferences, such as which ingredients they wish to avoid, and then choose up to six meals per week.
In addition to meal kits, Home Chef offers oven-ready meals that take less than 30 minutes to cook in the oven.
While Home Chef delivers to 49 states, it does not specify which state it does not serve. People will need to enter their zip code when registering to find out whether they can use this service.
The company charges $13.99 for shipping on orders under $50. For orders over this amount, the shipping fee is $10.99. A person can cancel or skip weeks through their account on the company’s website.
Best for portion control: Trifecta
- Price per serving: from $10
- Meals per week: up to 21
- Dietary options: keto, paleo, clean, Whole30 approved, vegan, and vegetarian
- Regional availability: contiguous U.S.
Trifecta offers organic and gluten-free meal delivery services. The company says that it focuses on calorie and portion control.
The company offers customers community support to help them reach their weight loss targets and creates personalized plans to help people burn fat and build muscle.
Trifecta delivers throughout the contiguous U.S. for a flat shipping fee of $9.99.
To pause or cancel deliveries, a person must contact customer service or update their account on the website by the Friday before their next delivery.
Best for plant-based meals: Veestro
- Price per serving: from $11.93
- Meals per week: up to 30
- Dietary options: gluten-free, vegan, under 500 calories, nut-free, soy-free, and kosher
- Regional availability: contiguous U.S.
Veestro is a vegan-friendly plant-based brand, which may appeal to those who are looking to include more plant-based meals in their diet.
In addition, the company makes it easier for people to filter by calorie content than some other services, as people can choose meals above or below 500 calories per serving. This may suit those who are looking to lose or gain weight.
Veestro delivers within the contiguous U.S. The company uses UPS to deliver its meals, and shipping starts at $7.95. People can cancel or skip weeks through their account on the company’s website.
Best for paleo meals: Pete’s Real Food
- Price per serving: from $15.25
- Meals per week: up to 17
- Dietary options: paleo, vegan, keto, and AIP
- Regional availability: all 50 U.S. states
Pete’s Real Food offers paleo, vegan, and keto meals with optional add-ons such as bacon and broth.
Learn more about the best paleo meal delivery services.
It also caters to the autoimmune protocol (AIP) diet, which may appeal to those who wish to reduce inflammation and other symptoms of autoimmune disorders.
Pete’s Real Food may be an option for those with children, as it offers lunches for kids. These lunches are reportedly suitable for children who are picky eaters or follow a gluten-free, vegan, or vegetarian diet.
All meals that a person orders by Sunday will arrive the following Friday. Unlike some of its competitors, Pete’s Real Food delivers to all 50 states. However, residents of Alaska and Hawaii will need to pay a $25–45 shipping fee per order.
A person can skip or cancel orders through their account on the company’s website.
Best for global cuisines: Cook Unity
- Price per serving: from $11.09
- Meals per week: up to 16
- Dietary options: pescatarian, vegetarian, vegan, low carb, gluten-free, dairy-free, low sodium, keto, paleo, and low calorie
- Regional availability: 47 U.S. states
Cook Unity allows people to pick their protein preferences and recommends food from worldwide cuisines that meets their dietary requirements. It delivers fresh meals and recommends that people refrigerate them immediately.
Depending on a person’s location, FedEx or UPS will deliver the meals. People can skip or cancel their meals through their account on the website.
Cook Unity offers free shipping, unlike many of its competitors.
However, it does not deliver to North Dakota, South Dakota, Alaska, or some parts of Nebraska, Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana. People will need to check whether they can purchase from this company by entering their zip code when registering.
The following table compares the services in this article.
| Price per serving | Meals per week | Dietary options | Regional availability | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Factor | from $11 | up to 18 | • keto • vegetarian • vegan • protein plus • chef’s choice • calorie smart • paleo • low carb | contiguous U.S. |
| Fresh N Lean | from $7.93 | up to 21 | • keto • paleo • standard vegan • low carb • vegan • gluten-free • protein+ • Mediterranean • Whole30 approved | all 50 U.S. states |
| BistroMD | from $6.59 | up to 21 | • signature • gluten-free • heart-healthy • keto flex • diabetic • menopause | contiguous U.S. |
| Daily Harvest | from $6.79 | up to 24 | plant-based | contiguous U.S. |
| Mosaic Foods | from $9.99 | up to 18 | plant-based | major metro areas in eastern and western U.S. |
| Home Chef | from $9.99 | up to 6 | • calorie-conscious • carb-conscious • pescatarian • low sodium | 49 U.S. states |
| Trifecta | from $10 | up to 21 | • keto • paleo • clean • Whole30 approved • vegan • vegetarian | contiguous U.S. |
| Veestro | from $11.93 | up to 30 | • gluten-free • plant-based • under 500 calories • nut-free • soy-free • kosher | contiguous U.S. |
| Pete’s Real Food | from $15.25 | up to 17 | • paleo • vegan • keto • AIP | all 50 U.S. states |
| Cook Unity | from $11.09 | up to 16 | • vegetarian • vegan • pescatarian • low carb • gluten-free • dairy-free • low sodium • keto • paleo • low calorie | 47 U.S. states |
Medical News Today chooses meal delivery services that fit the following criteria:
- Nutritional value: MNT chooses meal delivery services that meet the average person’s nutritional needs and promote healthy eating habits.
- Ingredient quality: MNT chooses meal delivery services that use fresh, high quality ingredients. Some also use organic produce or sustainably sourced ingredients.
- Variety: MNT chooses meal delivery services that feature a range of flavors and ingredients to suit different taste preferences and diets.
- Price: MNT chooses meal delivery services with different price points to suit a range of budgets.
- Availability: MNT chooses meal delivery services available throughout most of the United States.
- Sustainability: MNT chooses meal delivery services that reduce their environmental impact by using recyclable packaging, carbon-neutral shipping, local ingredients, and other sustainable practices.
- Reputable: MNT chooses only brands that adhere to industry best practices and have passed our medical vetting process.
People may wish to consider the following when choosing a meal delivery service:
- Dietary requirements: People should ensure that the company they choose caters to their dietary requirements, including any allergies. Some companies allow people to filter menus by dietary needs.
- Family options: If a person shops for a menu for adults and children, they may wish to choose family-friendly meals. Several companies offer meals that children may be more likely to enjoy.
- Meal amount: People should ensure that the company offers enough meals for the people in the household.
- Subscriptions: People may wish to choose a company that allows them to cancel or skip deliveries if they need to. Additionally, people may wish to choose a company that makes it easy to cancel a subscription.
- Budget: Meal delivery company prices vary considerably. Often, the more a person orders, the less it costs per serving.
Meal delivery companies often market themselves as a more affordable option than grocery shopping. However, any savings a person may experience will depend on how much the company charges.
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Learn more about the cheapest meal delivery services.
Here we answer some common questions about prepared meal delivery services.
What is the difference between meal delivery services and frozen dinners?
There is no guarantee that frozen meals from grocery stores are nutritionally balanced or contain whole or minimally processed foods.
However, meal delivery services often claim that they use the freshest produce in meals and that nutritionists design their meals to be healthy and balanced.
Are prepared meal delivery services healthy?
All prepared meal delivery services offer foods that are healthy when eaten in moderation.
A person should check the nutritional facts of the meals they wish to try before making a purchase. This way, they can ensure that the meal they choose fits their nutritional needs.
How do prepared meal delivery services work?
Prepared meal delivery services send ready-to-eat meals directly to a person’s home. People can specify their dietary needs and the number of meals they want for the week and then choose their menu.
The company will deliver the entire order on a specific day. People can skip deliveries, update their account details, or cancel their subscriptions on the services’ websites.
Which prepared meal delivery service is best?
The best prepared meal delivery service for any individual is the one that suits their budget, dietary requirements, and weekly meal needs and delivers to their state.
Additionally, people can find customer reviews on third-party websites such as Trustpilot and the Better Business Bureau. These websites can provide useful information for those who are unsure which service best meets their needs.
Can I freeze prepared meal deliveries?
Yes, people can freeze some prepared meal deliveries. Most companies state that their meals are suitable for freezing for up to 6 months as long as people freeze the food by the use-by date on the packaging.
If a person is not sure whether they can freeze their food, they can contact the company they use.
Meal delivery services provide meals that fit a person’s dietary needs or preferences. A person can generally choose the meals they receive and specify how many they need for the week.
Most services deliver weekly or biweekly. Most also allow people to skip or cancel deliveries as long as they do this before the cutoff time the company dictates.