Blue Apron at $9–$12/serving vs Dinnerly at $4.99–$7.49/serving. Blue Apron started the entire meal kit category in 2012. Dinnerly came along as an answer to the question: "What if you just stripped everything down to the bare minimum and made it as cheap as possible?"
These are two very different philosophies. Blue Apron bets on quality, chef partnerships, and culinary education. Dinnerly bets on price accessibility and simplicity. Both are legitimate — the right choice depends on what you want from a meal kit.
Quick Comparison
| Category | Blue Apron | Dinnerly | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price per serving | $9–$12 | $4.99–$7.49 | Dinnerly |
| Shipping | $9.99/box | $8.99/box | Dinnerly |
| Weekly menu size | ~20–25 recipes | 50–60+ recipes | Dinnerly |
| Chef partnerships | ✅ Yes — award-winning chefs | ❌ No | Blue Apron |
| Recipe complexity | High — multi-step, restaurant technique | Simple, beginner-friendly | Blue Apron |
| Ingredient sourcing | Sustainable, premium-sourced | Standard, budget-appropriate | Blue Apron |
| Wine pairing option | ✅ Yes — curated wine add-on | ❌ No | Blue Apron |
| Cooking time | 35–55 minutes | 25–40 minutes | Dinnerly |
| Best for families | Small household plans (2–4) | ✅ Strong family value | Dinnerly |
| Cancel anytime | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | Tie |
Price: How Big Is the Gap?
For a household of 2 ordering 3 dinners per week, the weekly cost difference is substantial:
| Scenario | Blue Apron | Dinnerly |
|---|---|---|
| 2 people, 3 recipes/week | ~$64–$80 + $9.99 = ~$74–$90 | ~$36–$52 + $8.99 = ~$45–$61 |
| 4 people, 4 recipes/week | ~$140–$175 + $9.99 = ~$150–$185 | ~$80–$120 + $8.99 = ~$89–$129 |
| Monthly savings with Dinnerly | ~$100–$200/month for a couple · ~$200–$400/month for a family | |
Dinnerly's price advantage is significant and real. For budget-focused households, that monthly savings number is hard to argue with.
Blue Apron: The Case for Premium
Blue Apron is the meal kit that invented the category. Its core differentiator is recipe quality — developed with professional chefs, using sustainably sourced ingredients, with proper culinary technique built into every recipe card. If you want to genuinely improve your cooking while having dinner taken care of, Blue Apron is hard to beat.
Blue Apron is best for:
- Cooking enthusiasts who want restaurant-quality recipes and technique instruction
- Subscribers who care about sustainable, responsibly sourced proteins and produce
- Couples or small households who enjoy the cooking process
- Anyone who wants optional wine pairings curated to their meals
Dinnerly: The Case for Budget
Dinnerly is the straightforward answer to meal kit sticker shock. At $4.99/serving, it removes everything that makes other services expensive: complex recipes, premium ingredient sourcing, elaborate packaging, and extensive recipe development. What remains is exactly what it promises — affordable, wholesome home-cooked dinners with no grocery planning required.
Dinnerly is best for:
- Price-sensitive households where the $5/serving price point is genuinely important
- Families feeding 3–5+ people who want structured home cooking affordably
- Subscribers who want simple, reliable weeknight dinners without culinary ambition
- Anyone who tried premium meal kits and found the price-to-value ratio disappointing
The Recipe Experience: A Real Difference
This is where Blue Apron earns its premium. Recipes are developed by professionally trained chefs with technique in mind — proper sauté temperatures, sauce reduction techniques, layering flavors in sequence. You're not just following instructions; you're learning real cooking methods.
Dinnerly's recipes are functional. They work, they taste decent, and they're fast to complete. But they don't have the culinary sophistication of Blue Apron. Some components arrive pre-packaged (sauces, seasonings) rather than built from fresh ingredients, which simplifies prep but reduces the cooking education value.
Verdict: When to Choose Each
Choose Blue Apron if:
Recipe quality and culinary education matter to you. You want sustainably sourced ingredients, chef-developed technique, and don't mind paying $4–6 more per serving for that experience. You cook for pleasure, not just convenience.
Best for: cooking enthusiasts, subscribers who enjoy learning technique, quality-first households, wine-pairing fans.
Choose Dinnerly if:
Price is your primary driver. You want affordable, structured home cooking without the premium. You cook for sustenance and efficiency, not culinary exploration. Feeding a larger family on a budget is the goal.
Best for: budget families, price-sensitive subscribers, simple taste preferences, casual cooks.
Overall Best for Quality-Focused Subscribers
For subscribers who want the best cooking experience and recipe quality, Blue Apron wins. For price-first households, Dinnerly's $4.99 starting price is genuinely hard to beat — and it delivers adequate quality for its cost.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Blue Apron still relevant in 2026?
Yes — for cooking enthusiasts who value chef-developed recipes and quality ingredient sourcing, Blue Apron remains one of the best meal kit options. It has faced competition from HelloFresh, but its recipe quality and culinary partnerships still differentiate it. For subscribers who just want convenience and don't want to cook, CookUnity or Factor are better choices.
How does Dinnerly compare to EveryPlate?
Both are budget meal kits in the $4.99–$7.49/serving range. EveryPlate is owned by HelloFresh, which gives it a slight quality edge from the HelloFresh recipe development infrastructure. Dinnerly has a slightly wider menu. They're very comparable — see our full Dinnerly vs EveryPlate breakdown for details.
Which is better for someone new to meal kits?
Dinnerly is better for total beginners — simpler recipes, less cooking time, lower cost if the experiment doesn't work out. Blue Apron is better for beginners who want to genuinely learn to cook, as its technique-focused recipe cards are educational. Both include step-by-step instructions with photos.
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