# 11 Best Meal Delivery Services, Tested by an Ex-Restaurant Critic > Source: > Published: 2026-05-21 12:02:00+00:00 The Best Meal Delivery Services and Meal Kits of 2026 Featured in this article I didn't Expect to appreciate meal kits as much as I do, because I like to cook, and I like to eat out even more. But the best meal delivery services and kits don't just make your life easier—they help you eat better and maybe even live a little better. At their heart, the best meal kits are marvels of logistics—a convergence of growers, butchers, purveyors, and sauce makers from all over the globe, kitted out into little individual portions and sent to your doorstep with one-sheet recipes. The promise of the internet has always been the world at your door (maybe even economically, if you do it right). This, in part, is why WIRED devotes so much coverage to the best meal prep kits, as well as all manner of other food delivery services. The WIRED Reviews team has requested and tested more than two dozen meal kit delivery services since 2017. For a lot longer, I've worked as a food critic on both coasts, and I bring a critic's gimlet eye to testing recipes and food. I've been surprised at how well the best delivery services fare. The best meals I've eaten from a meal kit have come from Marley Spoon, which offers a path to genuinely good home-cooked meals on nights when I might otherwise feel uninspired. But over the past couple of years, HelloFresh and Blue Apron have also made bold plays to expand both convenience and options. Others among my favorite meal kits, like Green Chef or Purple Carrot, offer hassle-free solutions for organic, gluten-free, and plant-based home cooking. During my testing, I assessed each meal plan's recipes, breadth of selection, sourcing, ease of preparation, convenience, organization, packaging, high-quality ingredients, and suitability for different eating restrictions and needs. I also tested the best new and innovative meal kits for those looking for alternatives to Blue Apron or HelloFresh's longstanding meal delivery services. And not for nothing, I sorted out some often maddeningly non-transparent pricing. Here are the best delivery meal subscriptions I've tried. Be sure to check out my investigation into whether sometimes Meal Kits Are Cheaper Than Groceries when trying out new recipes, and WIRED's related guides, including Best Plant-Based Meal Kits, Best Food Gifts You Can Buy Online, Best Coffee Subscriptions, and Best Delivery Chocolate Boxes. Updated May 2026: I added Tempo prepared meals by Home Chef as the top GLP-1-friendly meal delivery service. I retested HelloFresh's flagship meal service, which has drastically expanded options this year and added seasonal meals; Marley Spoon's budget plan; Dinnerly; and the Tovala meal delivery service and oven. I also updated pricing, plans, and descriptions throughout.