Americans spend $11.6 billion on meal kit subscriptions annually. The average meal kit costs 2-3x what the same meal costs from the grocery store. Here's every major service compared.
HelloFresh: Mid tier ($9-12/serving) — wider variety, more complex recipes
Green Chef: Premium tier ($11-13/serving) — organic, keto/paleo options
Factor: Premade tier ($11-13/serving) — heat-and-eat, no cooking
They're all from the same company, using the same supply chain, at different markups.
When Meal Kits Are Worth It
Replacing takeout ($15-25/meal): Every meal kit is cheaper than DoorDash
Learning to cook: Structured recipes with pre-measured ingredients are excellent training wheels
Single households: Pre-portioned ingredients reduce grocery waste (a real $30-50/month savings)
Temporary situations: New baby, injury recovery, extreme work crunch — convenience has legitimate value
When to Cancel
You're replacing home cooking: You're literally paying 2-3x for the same groceries, pre-portioned
You forget to skip weeks: The #1 meal kit complaint — surprise charges for boxes you didn't want
Recipes feel repetitive: After 3-6 months, most services start cycling the same 50-60 recipes
You can cook the recipes from memory: Congratulations — you've graduated. Save the money.
Food waste: Ironically, many people report meal kit ingredients going bad before they cook them
Free Alternatives to Meal Kits
Budget Bytes: Every recipe has cost-per-serving calculated
Mealime app: Free meal planning with auto-generated grocery lists
Supercook: Enter what you have, get recipes
$5 Meal Plan: Weekly meal plans + shopping lists for $5/month (vs $200+/month for kits)
YouTube: Joshua Weissman, Ethan Chlebowski, Pro Home Cooks — learn from the best for free
📊 Find All Your Food Subscriptions Upload your bank statement to JustCancel — we'll find every recurring charge including meal kits, food delivery, and grocery subscriptions.