The best meal delivery service is the one that sends the format you'll use. Some send meal kits you cook, some send prepared meals you heat, some send frozen meals, and some fill a grocery order with recipes picked for you. Decide how much cooking you want to do each week, then compare services in that format.
Meal delivery sounds like one thing until the first box turns up. You might open it to find raw ingredients and a recipe card, a stack of meals to reheat, or a freezer load.
This list covers nine meal delivery services, using only what each one's own website says, read on 2 Nov 2026 (as of Nov 2026). It's alphabetical and in no particular order. It's about the format each service sends and the plans or menus it names. You won't find nutrition, diet results, reviews or deals here, so check the service's own site for ingredients and terms.
Meal delivery services and what arrives
| Tool | Type | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| CookUnity | Prepared meals from chefs on a weekly plan | Browsing by diet, protein, cuisine or chef |
| Dinnerly | Meal kits, with ready-to-heat meals on a Market page | A weekly meal kit with Market extras |
| Gobble | 15-minute meal kits in three plans | Classic, Lean & Clean and Vegetarian plans |
| Hungryroot | Grocery fill with recipes picked for you | Groceries and recipes picked to your preferences |
| Magic Kitchen | Frozen meals delivered to your door | No contracts on frozen meal delivery |
| Marley Spoon | Meal kits, prepared meals and a Market | Big batch recipes and crowd-serving plans |
| Mosaic Foods | Frozen meals, no subscription required | Veggie bowls, family meals, pizzas and soups |
| Sunbasket | Meal kits and pre-made meals | Cooking some nights and heating others |
| Veestro | Plant-based prepared meals | Fully prepared meals you heat |
Nine meal delivery services, box by box
CookUnity
Best for: Picking a weekly plan of fresh, fully prepped meals from named chefs, browsed by diets, proteins, cuisines, chefs and lifestyles, with no prep or cleanup.
Dinnerly
Best for: Choosing a meal kit from an expanded weekly menu, then adding ready-to-heat meals from the Market page.
Gobble
Best for: Cooking from prepped, pre-portioned kits in a Classic, Lean & Clean or Vegetarian plan, with no long-term commitment named on its page.
Hungryroot
Best for: Answering a few questions so the service fills your cart with grocery items and recipes picked to fit your preferences.
Magic Kitchen
Best for: Ordering frozen meals from an A La Carte menu or a Complete Meals menu, sent to your door.
Marley Spoon
Best for: Feeding a crowd with big batch recipes, easy prep meals and crowd-serving plans, with a Market page for extras.
Mosaic Foods
Best for: Stocking the freezer with veggie bowls, family meals, pizzas, smoothies and soups, with zero-step prep and no subscription required, by its own page.
Sunbasket
Best for: Switching between kits ready in 30 minutes or less and pre-made meals ready in less than 5 minutes, with diet pages such as Paleo and Vegetarian.
Veestro
Best for: Getting fully prepared meals to heat and enjoy, with skip or cancel anytime named on its page.
Kit, heat-up meal, frozen order or grocery fill?
Here's the split you won't see on a delivery advert: a meal delivery service can be a kit you cook, a meal you heat, a frozen order or a grocery fill, so the format matters more than the brand. Sunbasket offers 'meal kits for when you want to get hands-on, pre-made meals when you don't'. Hungryroot calls itself 'meal-kit convenience. grocery-store variety.' Veestro is a 'plant-based prepared meal delivery service'.
- Meal kits: prepped ingredients and recipes you cook yourself, from 15-minute kits to weekly recipe menus.
- Prepared meals: meals that arrive made, so you heat and eat. One service here names a chef for each dish.
- Frozen meals: orders for the freezer, from single dishes to family meals.
- Grocery fills: a cart of groceries and recipes picked to your preferences.
Weekly plans, Market extras and contracts
Next, look at how you order. Magic Kitchen sends 'frozen meals delivered to your door' and says it doesn't have contracts for its frozen meal delivery. Others work on a weekly plan where you choose how many meals you want, or let you skip or cancel anytime. Read the ordering terms on the service's own site before your first box.
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Some services mix formats. Marley Spoon mixes recipes, prepared meals and a Market, and Gobble sells '15-minute meal kits'. Another kit service lists ready-to-heat meals on its Market page beside its meal kits, so you're not locked into cooking every night.
What to ask before your first meal delivery box
- Do I want to cook, heat, freeze or shop?
- How many meals do I want each week, and can I pick the dishes?
- Is there a contract or a subscription, or can I order as I go?
- Can I skip or cancel, and how does the service say to do it?
- Does the menu name the diets or plans I'd look for?
- Do I need meals for one, for two or for a crowd?
Do you make a meal delivery service? Tool makers can ask to be considered for a featured place on this list.
My advice on choosing a meal delivery service
Be honest about your week. If you like cooking but hate planning, a meal kit's the format to compare. If you don't want to cook at all, look at prepared or frozen meals. If you'd rather keep your groceries coming but skip the list-making, a grocery fill might suit you. Then check the ordering terms, and read ingredient and allergen details on the service's own site.
If you'd rather plan your own week, my roundup of the best meal planner apps is a good place to start, and these ChatGPT prompts for meal prep and a weekly shopping list take the thinking out of the weekly shop.
Want your tool on this list? Featured spots and reviews here are paid partnerships. Here's how to partner with me.
Frequently asked questions
What's the difference between a meal kit and a prepared meal?
A meal kit arrives as prepped ingredients and a recipe you cook, and a prepared meal arrives made, ready to heat. One service on this list sells both: meal kits for when you want to get hands-on, and pre-made meals when you don't.
Which of these services send frozen meals?
On this list, one sends frozen meals to your door from an A La Carte or a Complete Meals menu, and another sells frozen veggie bowls, family meals, pizzas, smoothies and soups. Check each service's page for what's in stock.
Do I need a subscription?
Not with every service. One says it doesn't have contracts for its frozen meal delivery, one says no subscription is required, and one says you can skip or cancel anytime. Others run on a weekly plan, so check each service's terms.
Which service fills a grocery order for me?
One service on this list starts with a few questions, then fills your cart with grocery items and recipes picked to fit your preferences. It calls itself meal-kit convenience with grocery-store variety.
How long do these meals take to make?
It depends on the format and the service's own wording. One sells 15-minute meal kits, one says its kits are ready in 30 minutes or less and its pre-made meals in less than 5 minutes, and one says its meals need zero-step prep.
Is there a meal delivery service for a crowd?
One service here lists big batch recipes and crowd-serving plans, beside easy prep meals and a Market page.
