Grocery Delivery vs. Meal Kits: Which Saves More?
Grocery delivery and meal kits both promise convenience, but they save money in very different ways. How to tell which one fits your kitchen and budget.
Both grocery delivery and meal kits promise to make feeding yourself easier. They solve different problems, though, and they cost money in different places. The right pick depends on how you cook, how much food you waste, and what your time is worth. Here's how to decide.
A quick note: some links below are affiliate links, so if you buy through one we might make a small commission. It costs you nothing extra and helps pay for the site. We only point you toward things we actually think are worth it. More on that here.
What each one really is
Grocery delivery brings the store to your door. You still plan and cook, you just skip the trip. Meal kits send pre-portioned ingredients with recipes, so you cook but skip the planning and shopping. One saves a trip. The other saves decisions.
Where the costs hide
| Grocery delivery | Meal kits | |
|---|---|---|
| You pay extra for | Delivery fee, tip, sometimes markups | Convenience and portioning, per serving |
| Per-meal cost | Close to normal grocery prices | Usually higher per serving |
| Food waste | Depends on your planning | Low, portions are exact |
| Effort | Plan and cook | Cook only |
| Best for | Stocking a household | One or two people, variety, no waste |
The honest math
Per serving, meal kits usually cost more than buying the same ingredients yourself. That's not the whole story, though. If you tend to buy fresh food and throw a lot of it out, the exact portions in a meal kit can cut enough waste to close the gap, especially for one or two people, where a head of lettuce or a bunch of herbs often goes bad before you finish it.
Grocery delivery is usually cheaper, since you're paying close to normal prices plus a fee. The trap is impulse shopping online and markups on some platforms. Used with a list, it lands close to shopping yourself, minus the gas, the parking, and the trip.
How to choose
Go with grocery delivery if you like to cook, want to control cost, and mostly want to skip the trip. Go with meal kits if planning and shopping are the parts you dread, you waste a lot of fresh food, or you want built-in variety without thinking about it. Plenty of people do both: kits for weeknight variety, delivery for staples.
Make either one cheaper
For delivery, shop with a list, check the per-unit price, and use the store's loyalty program and senior day. For meal kits, nearly all run big first-box discounts, so rotate the intro offers, and pause rather than cancel when you'll be away so you're never charged for food you won't use.
The quiet third option
Don't overlook your store's own pickup service. You order online and grab it curbside, often with no markup and a lower fee than delivery. It captures most of the convenience for less money. For more ways to trim recurring costs, see our bill checklist.
Common questions
Are meal kits cheaper than groceries?
Per serving, usually not. You pay extra for the convenience and portioning. But if you waste a lot of fresh food now, the exact portions can offset some of that, especially for one or two people.
What's the cheapest way to get groceries without going to the store?
Store curbside pickup is often the best value. You order online and collect it yourself, usually without the markups or higher fees of full delivery.
Keep reading
Small Kitchen Upgrades That Pay for Themselves
No renovation required. A handful of cheap kitchen upgrades make cooking easier, safer, and less expensive, and quietly earn back what you spend.
27 Senior Discounts People Over 50 Forget to Ask For
Real senior discounts hiding in plain sight, from AARP at 50 to an $80 lifetime national-parks pass. Most cashiers won't offer them. So ask.
How to Lower Every Monthly Bill: A Room-by-Room Checklist
A simple checklist for trimming recurring bills, from phone and insurance to utilities and subscriptions, without giving up anything you actually use.