These are the yearly costs of a family meal kit

In 2023, a meal kit subscription for a family of 4 people with three meals costs an average of £2,877 per year.

In the price study, we considered a family of four who subscribe to a meal kit for 40 weeks per year, receiving three dishes per week. This is because meal kit deliveries are often paused during holidays and festive periods. Furthermore, we examined the overall cost of the meal kits, so all prices include delivery and exclude discounts. We looked at some of the most popular meal kit delivery brands in the UK,¹ like Gousto, HelloFresh, Mindful Chef and Green Chef.

From the data, the following findings emerge:

Families spend an average of £2.555 annually on a meal kit subscription with three meals per week.
This equates to an average of £639 per person per year.
Per person per meal, this amounts to £5.32.
The best value is at £3.90 per person per meal.
The average meal kit now costs £63,98 per week.
If you prioritize budget when choosing a meal kit, you can save up to £1,600 by comparing prices.
Vegetarian options for meal kits are sometimes cheaper.

The average cost for a meal from a meal kit is currently £5,32.

On average a family spends £2,555 per year on a meal kit subscription. This amounts to approximately £639 per family member per year, which is around £5.30 per meal. People often make conscious choices when selecting a specific meal kit based on price, healthy eating, dietary preferences, and conscious eating. There are premium meal kit options, such as Green Chef, and budget-friendly choices such as HelloFresh and Gousto. Customers also opt for meal kits for convenience, time savings, and culinary inspiration.

According to ONS the inflation rate for food was 12.2% in September,² and 22.4% over the past 5 years. It's noteworthy that the prices of meal box kits only rose by 14.8% in the past 5(!) years.

How can you save on a meal kit subscription?

You can easily save by regularly switching between providers taking advantage of generous welcome discounts. Additionally, if you refer friends or acquaintances using your code, they receive a discount, and you benefit from savings on your next order.

Switching meal kit providers occasionally is worthwhile, especially if you prioritize price. Most meal kit services like HelloFresh, Gousto and Green Chef offer welcome discounts and/or reactivation offers. By exploring different providers from time to time, you can discover which meal kit aligns best with your preferences.
Occasionally pausing your subscription and alternating between meal kits, the local market, or a budget-conscious week can also reduce costs. These are all flexible subscriptions that allow you to pause weekly and cancel at any time.
Having more meals per week often results in a lower cost per meal.
Consider whether the vegetarian version of the standard box is cheaper, as some providers offer a lower price for vegetarian meal kits.
Meal kit subscriptions are often cheaper than ready meals subscription services.

You can find and download the data here as well.

Elaboration. You could call it professional bias, but in our opinion, meal kits are generally worth the cost. In addition to saving time, meal kits often lead to healthier and more diverse eating for many people. Providers are actively working on improving how we eat and their impact on the food chain. Consider precisely measured portions to reduce food waste. Ingredients are sourced locally, organically, and sustainably, creating a more efficient and cost-effective food supply chain. Meal kit providers are consciously promoting good and sustainable eating practices, not only because it can reduce costs but also because it contributes to marketing efforts.

If you have a specific dietary requirement that makes it challenging to find ingredients and recipes, you're in luck with many of these providers. They offer a wide range of recipes and plenty of diet options. Whether you're pregnant, need a gluten-free diet, want to reduce your carbohydrate intake, or are simply vegetarian, meal kit providers offer a variety of choices.