Links on this page go direct to the meal kit companies. None of them pay us — meal kits aren’t sold through Amazon and we haven’t joined their programmes — so we earn nothing from this article either way. See our methodology.
The budget end of the meal kit market advertises $5.99 a serving, which is roughly half what HelloFresh and Blue Apron charge. Both EveryPlate and Dinnerly quote that figure on their own sites today.
But $5.99 is not what you pay, and the reason is shipping. Whether you actually land under $8 a plate depends entirely on how big your box is — and the threshold is sharper than you’d expect.
The shipping threshold
EveryPlate charges a flat $10.99 per box, confirmed on their site today. That fee doesn’t care how much food is in the box, so it lands hardest on small orders:
| Servings | Food at $5.99 | + shipping | Real per plate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | $23.96 | $34.95 | $8.74 |
| 6 | $35.94 | $46.93 | $7.82 |
| 8 | $47.92 | $58.91 | $7.36 |
| 12 | $71.88 | $82.87 | $6.91 |
A four-serving box doesn’t get you under $8, despite the $5.99 headline. You need six servings or more before shipping stops eating the discount.
That’s the single most useful number on this page. If you were planning to “try it small,” you’d be paying a rate that isn’t much better than a mid-range service — while getting a smaller menu and simpler recipes.
What the low price actually costs you
Budget kits hit $5.99 by cutting in specific, predictable places:
- Fewer ingredients per recipe. Simpler dishes, shorter component lists, less prep. Often a genuine plus on a weeknight.
- Smaller weekly menu. Fewer choices to rotate through, which is the main reason people tire of a service and quit around month three.
- Cheaper proteins, more starch. Expect chicken, pork and ground beef rather than fish or steak.
- Less premium packaging and fewer extras. Doesn’t affect the food.
None of that is a scandal — it’s an honest trade, and the food is real food. What it isn’t is the same product as a mid-range kit at half price.
The two services, and what separates them
Both quote $5.99 per serving on their own sites as of today, so price isn’t the differentiator.
EveryPlate publishes its shipping fee openly at $10.99 a box and runs a first-box rate as low as $2.99 a serving for new customers. The larger of the two menus.
Dinnerly matches the $5.99 headline and leans further into simplicity — fewer ingredients, shorter recipes, minimal packaging. We could not confirm Dinnerly’s shipping fee on their site, and shipping is the variable that decides your real per-plate cost, so check it at checkout before comparing the two. If it’s materially above $10.99, EveryPlate wins on total cost despite the identical headline.
The intro rate is not the price
EveryPlate’s $2.99 first-box rate is a genuine discount and also the thing most likely to mislead you. At $2.99 a serving your six-serving box works out near $4.82 a plate including shipping — cheaper than cooking from scratch for most people.
That rate ends. When it does, you’re at $7.82 for the same box, a 62% increase on a delivery that has by then become routine.
Do two things at signup. Note the date the discount ends, and decide now whether $7.82 a plate is worth it to you — while you’re still judging clearly. If the honest answer is “only at the intro price,” plan to cancel before it lapses. This is the most common way people lose money on meal kits, budget or otherwise.
The verdict
Worth it if you order six servings or more. At $7.82 a plate or below, a budget kit sits close enough to supermarket cooking that the convenience is genuinely cheap. That’s the case for a couple eating three kit dinners a week, or a family of four eating three.
Not worth it at four servings. $8.74 a plate for a smaller menu and simpler recipes is a worse deal than a mid-range service at a bigger box size. If you’re cooking for one, read that first — the maths is unforgiving at small volumes.
Skip budget kits entirely if variety is what keeps you subscribed. The smaller menu is the main reason people cancel, and a subscription you quit in month two costs more per meal actually eaten than a pricier one you keep. Menu fatigue is a real cost even though it never appears on the invoice.
And skip all meal kits if you’re comparing them to groceries rather than to takeout. Even at $6.91 a plate, a supermarket shop beats this on pure cost. Meal kits win on the decision-making, not the arithmetic — and if planning meals doesn’t bother you, you’re paying a premium for a problem you don’t have.
Verified 10 August 2026. EveryPlate’s per-serving, intro and shipping prices and Dinnerly’s per-serving price are exact, read from their own sites today. Dinnerly’s shipping fee is not published on their homepage and we have not confirmed it — check at checkout.