The main meal kit services in Canada — HelloFresh, Chefs Plate, and Goodfood — charge between $9 and $13 per serving at regular prices. For a household of two eating three meals per week, that’s $54 to $78 per week, or $230 to $335 per month. A comparable home-cooked meal using grocery store ingredients costs roughly $3 to $5 per serving. The math is clear: meal kits cost 2–3x what cooking from groceries does.
The introductory offers are genuinely good deals. Most services offer 50 to 60 percent off your first box, and some extend discounts for the first three or four weeks. The smart play: use the intro offer to learn new recipes, save the recipe cards, then cancel before regular pricing kicks in. You get a cooking education for a fraction of the normal cost.
What you’re really paying for is convenience and variety, not savings. Pre-portioned ingredients eliminate food waste and remove the need to meal plan or grocery shop. If your honest alternative is ordering takeout at $15 to $25 per person three times a week, meal kits actually save you money compared to that. But if your alternative is cooking from groceries, meal kits will always cost more.
The environmental cost is worth considering too. Each meal kit box arrives with ice packs, insulation, individual plastic packaging for every ingredient, and a cardboard outer box. Even with recycling, the per-meal packaging waste is significantly higher than buying ingredients at a grocery store. If sustainability matters to you, this is a real downside.
Better alternatives exist for budget-conscious Canadians who want the convenience factor. Free meal planning apps like Mealime generate weekly plans with consolidated grocery lists. The Flipp app lets you browse every flyer in your area to find sales. Flashfood and Too Good To Go offer discounted groceries. Combining meal planning with sale shopping and discount apps can bring your per-serving cost down to $2 to $3 — a fraction of meal kit pricing, with minimal food waste.
Worth It If You...
- People who currently order takeout 3+ times per week (meal kits are cheaper than delivery)
- Absolute beginners who want to learn cooking techniques and build a recipe repertoire
- Those who hate meal planning and have the budget to pay for convenience
- Busy professionals with disposable income who value time over money on weeknights
Skip It If You...
- Budget-conscious shoppers — you’re paying 2–3x grocery prices for convenience
- Families with kids — portions are designed for 2 adults, not families
- Anyone willing to spend 20 minutes per week with a free meal planning app
- Environmentally conscious people concerned about excessive packaging waste
Pros
- +Eliminates meal planning and recipe research
- +Pre-portioned ingredients reduce food waste
- +Great intro offers (50–60% off first boxes)
- +Teaches new recipes and cooking techniques
- +Cheaper than regular takeout or restaurant meals
Cons
- −Regular pricing is 2–3x the cost of grocery shopping
- −Excessive packaging and waste per meal
- −Limited customization for dietary needs or picky eaters
- −Portions can be small for larger appetites
- −Delivery schedule requires planning around shipments
The Bottom Line
Not worth it for saving money. Use the intro discount to learn recipes, then switch to meal planning apps and grocery shopping.
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