3 Most Affordable Meal Subscriptions That Don't Skimp on Quality

I'm guilty of defaulting to ordering out when there aren't many food options in the house -- and even when there are. But that's not always the best choice to eat as healthy as I want, and the cost of ordering out adds up quickly.

That's why meal subscriptions can be a good choice. You get easy access to a real meal (with vegetables!) and they are typically much faster to prepare because all of the ingredients and instructions are provided. While not exactly cheap, they can be a better choice for your personal finances than frequently ordering takeout.

Here are three meal subscriptions that have all received high marks from some reviewers and won't break the bank.

1. Dinnerly

Monthly price: Starting at $4.99 per person, plus shipping

Dinnerly offers more than 100 meals to choose from weekly and has an extensive selection of vegetarian dinners. Many of the meals listed on the company's website are designed to be prepared in 30 minutes or less, which is definitely a prep-time I can get on board with.

Dinnerly doesn't have printed recipes; instead, you'll use the company's app or website to follow cooking instructions. The cheapest you'll pay for a meal per person is $4.99, but I found a deal on Dinnerly's website that gives you the first 24 meals for just $2.99 each.

While the cost per serving is affordable, some reviews noted that you may have to add some of your own basic ingredients to complete the meal. Still, reviewers at Good Housekeeping put Dinnerly at the top of their list of best cheap meal delivery services.

2. EveryPlate

Monthly price: Starting at $4.99 per person, plus shipping

There are only 26 meal options to choose from at EveryPlate each week, but the company says it focuses on "tasty value and convenience, not make you a chef." So if simple, good food is your goal, then EveryPlate may be a good choice.

EveryPlate has meals starting at $4.99 per person, but the company also has one of the best sign-up deals. When I went to the website, I received a promo code to get the first 20 meals for just $1.49 each. One nice benefit of EveryPlate is that meals come with a printed recipe card, including pictures of the meal.

EveryPlate made it to the top of some online reviews, including receiving the Editor's Choice at CNET for best cheap meal kits.

3. Home Chef

Monthly price: Starting at $7.99 per person, plus shipping

I've used Home Chef in the past, and my family and I really enjoyed it. I'm not a great cook, and I found the recipes -- which are printed on cards you can put into a binder -- very easy to follow. While I'm not currently subscribed to the service, my family still references the recipe cards sometimes to recreate the meals.

Home Chef lets you pick from over 30 different meals every week, with prices that start at $7.99 per serving. While that's more expensive than Dinnerly and EveryPlate, I found a first-time sign-up deal that gives you 18 free meals, effectively bringing the initial cost to $3.77 per meal.

I have yet to try other meal subscription services besides Home Chef, so I can't compare them personally. But Food & Wine did a comprehensive review of the best meal kit services and said that Home Chef was best for families because of its affordable price and bigger serving sizes.

How to save money on food costs

If you sign up for a meal subscription service, you won't save money compared to buying ingredients at the grocery store. But you could balance your meal kit subscription costs by making a few tweaks to your shopping.

For example, my family doesn't shop exclusively at one grocery store. We switch up where we go each week to maximize discounts and weekly deals. It may not be as efficient as shopping at one store, but it helps keep the grocery bill lower while food prices are high.

We also have a Costco membership we use to buy some groceries in bulk. While Costco isn't always the cheapest option, buying in bulk makes the membership worth the annual price and we get to stock up on items that would cost more in smaller quantities.

All of this food talk has got me thinking about what's on the menu for dinner tonight. I better sign up for one of these subscriptions fast -- before I end up with another pizza at my door.