When meal kits hit the scene, many people saw them as a charming — and, frankly, expensive — date night project. Meal kits have since become more affordable, with the top meal delivery brands like Blue Apron and HelloFresh angling to be less of a special event and more of a utilitarian service for busy families and home cooks with limited experience to make mealtime quick and easy.
By our measure, EveryPlate is the cheapest meal kit service, at around $5 or $6 per serving depending on the plan you pick. That got me wondering if EveryPlate was any more expensive than buying the same groceries.
Meal kit vs. grocery store
EveryPlate (meals for 2)
EveryPlate (meals for 4)
Groceries bought at the store
Cost per serving
$7.48
$6.50
$5.44
To find the cost difference between EveryPlate and cooking from scratch, I priced out the expense of two meals from the service against the cost of groceries needed to make the exact same two recipes. The difference was about a buck, and probably closer to even, if you factor in the gas needed to get to the store.
EveryPlate is my favorite budget-friendly meal kit service and will run you about $7 a serving when you factor in shipping.
EveryPlate
How much meal kits would cost if you bought the individual groceries
Below is a breakdown of what two EveryPlate recipes would cost if you bought the groceries yourself. These prices were calculated from FreshDirect in April 2022. I didn’t include the delivery fees for a grocery service or the cost of gas required to get yourself to and from the store. It’s also worth noting that the grocery prices listed below are significantly lower than what I find at my local markets in Brooklyn.
Smothered pork chops with home fries and carrots (2 servings)
Carrots (12 ounces): $1.50
Five Yukon gold potatoes: $1.50
One yellow onion: $0.90
Two scallions: $0.50
Two 5-ounce pork chops: $4.93
One packet of chicken stock concentrate: $0.60
Cayenne pepper: $0.20
Sour cream (4 ounces): $1.50
Total: $11.13
Cost per serving: $5.56
I liked all the meals I tried when I tested EveryPlate, but the hoisin meatloaf was my favorite of the bunch.
David Watsky/CNET
How much more is a meal kit than buying groceries?
When compared to the cost of buying all the necessary groceries at the store, EveryPlate clocks in at around $2 more per serving. If you were to pick one of the plans with servings for four, it would be more like $1 more. So, it’s pretty much a wash.
At the end of the day, it’s the convenience you’re paying a little extra for. But if you choose a budget-friendly service such as EveryPlate or Dinnerly, that little extra turns out to be barely anything at all.
What about the environmental cost, packaging and waste?
There’s no doubt that meal kit services use more plastic than if you buy your own groceries. That said, the cheaper services have found ways to cut costs. In many cases, that means using less packaging.
