Blue Apron or Dinnerly for busy families?
For busy families, Dinnerly is usually the better choice if your main goals are lower cost, simple recipes, and less time in the kitchen. Blue Apron is a stronger fit if you want more meal variety, faster meal options, and family-style choices. The better pick depends on whether your family values price and simplicity or flexibility and convenience.
Both services are built to reduce meal planning and grocery-store trips, but they approach family dinners differently. Dinnerly focuses heavily on affordable, simple meals, while Blue Apron now offers several ways to cut cooking time, including 20-minutes-or-less meals, Assemble & Bake dishes, ready-to-eat meals, and Family Style options.
Blue Apron vs. Dinnerly at a Glance
| Factor | Blue Apron | Dinnerly |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Busy families wanting flexibility | Families focused on saving money |
| Family options | Family Style for 2, 4, or 6 | 2-person and 4-person plans |
| Recipe selection | 100+ weekly options across formats | 100+ weekly recipes |
| Quick meals | Strong selection, including 20-minute meals | Many meals take 15–30 minutes |
| Cooking style | Meal kits, oven-ready, ready-to-eat, family-style | Simple meal kits |
| Price | Generally higher | Generally lower |
| Kid-friendly choices | Available | Many recipes marked kid-friendly |
| Best advantage | More ways to handle busy nights | Lower-cost, simple dinners |
Dinnerly currently lists more than 100 recipes each week, with many recipes in the 15–30-minute range and filters for fast, easy, and kid-friendly meals. Blue Apron also has more than 100 weekly choices across meal kits, quick meals, Assemble & Bake dishes, Family Style meals, and ready-to-eat options.
Which Is Better for Busy Families?
Dinnerly is the better overall choice for a family that needs affordable, easy weeknight dinners. Blue Apron is better for families whose schedules change often or who want more ways to avoid cooking from scratch.
The biggest difference is not simply the food. It is how much control you have over your dinner routine.
Dinnerly keeps things simple. Its current U.S. plans include 2-person and 4-person boxes, with 2–6 meals per week.
Blue Apron gives busy households more formats to choose from. You can select traditional meal kits, meals that take 20 minutes or less, Assemble & Bake options, Family Style meals, or prepared meals that only need heating.
That makes Blue Apron particularly useful when Monday night looks very different from Thursday night.
Choose Dinnerly if your family needs to save money
Dinnerly’s main selling point is affordability. Its website currently advertises meals starting at $5.99 per person, while its current U.S. help page lists family-plan pricing separately based on the number of meals and servings.
For example, Dinnerly’s current 4-person plan lists:
- 2 meals: $79.92
- 3 meals: $107.88
- 4 meals: $142.24
- 5 meals: $173.80
- 6 meals: $191.76
A $10.99 shipping fee is also listed for each order.
That makes Dinnerly easier to consider when your family wants meal-kit convenience without moving too far above a normal grocery budget.
Choose Blue Apron if schedules change often
Busy families often have a different problem: they may not know how much time they will have to cook.
One night, you may have 40 minutes. The next night, everyone may need dinner in 15 minutes.
Blue Apron’s current menu is designed for this kind of flexibility. It includes 20-minute-or-less meals, Assemble & Bake dishes, ready-to-eat meals, and Family Style options.
That range can be useful when your family’s schedule changes from day to day.
Which One Saves More Time?
Blue Apron has the edge if you want the most ways to shorten dinner preparation. Dinnerly is still a good time-saver if you are comfortable doing some basic cooking and cleanup.
Dinnerly says its recipes use five steps or fewer and take no more than 30 minutes from start to finish.
Its current menu includes many 15–20-minute and 20–30-minute recipes, such as chicken bowls, tacos, burgers, pasta, and stir-fries.
Blue Apron’s advantage is that you can go beyond a standard meal kit.
Its current offerings include:
- 20 Minutes or Less meals
- Assemble & Bake meals
- Family Style meals
- Ready-to-eat meals
- Traditional meal kits
Some prepared Blue Apron meals shown on the current menu require about five to six minutes of heating.
For a parent coming home late, that difference can matter more than the recipe price.
Family Size Matters More Than You Might Think
This is one area where the two services are not identical.
Dinnerly’s current U.S. plans are built around 2 or 4 servings per meal. The 4-person plan provides four servings of each selected meal.
Blue Apron now offers Family Style bundles for 2, 4, and 6 people. Its current menu lists Family Style bundles at $19.49 for two, $38.99 for four, and $58.49 for six.
For a family of four, both services can work.
For a family of six, Blue Apron’s Family Style option may be more convenient because the serving size is built around six people.
For larger households, however, you should check the current menu and plan details before ordering. Meal-kit availability and pricing can change.
What About Picky Kids?
Dinnerly may have an advantage for families with children who prefer familiar foods.
Its current menu labels many dishes as kid friendly, including burgers, tacos, chicken dishes, pasta, rice bowls, and other familiar meals.
That does not mean every child will like Dinnerly better. Kids have very different tastes.
A useful strategy is to check the weekly menu before choosing your box. Look for meals where the main ingredients can be served separately.
For example, a taco dinner can work well when one child wants chicken and tortillas, another wants cheese and vegetables, and adults want the complete recipe.
Which Has Better Meal Variety?
Blue Apron has the stronger advantage if variety means different types of meal formats. Dinnerly has plenty of recipe choice, but its core experience remains focused on simple meal-kit cooking.
Dinnerly currently advertises 100+ weekly recipes.
Its menu includes meat, seafood, and vegetarian dishes, along with filters for dietary preferences, cooking time, protein, allergens, and dish type.
Blue Apron also lists 100+ weekly options, but its variety extends across several product types.
That distinction is useful for busy households. You are not only choosing what to eat. You can sometimes choose how much work dinner requires.
Which Is Better for a Family on a Budget?
Dinnerly wins for budget-focused families.
The service is designed around affordable meal kits, and its current pricing is lower than many traditional meal-kit options. Its U.S. 4-person plan provides several weekly meal choices at different total prices depending on how many meals you order.
Blue Apron can still make sense if you value convenience enough to pay more for additional formats.
Think about it this way:
- Need the lowest meal-kit cost? Start with Dinnerly.
- Need the easiest possible dinner on some nights? Blue Apron may be worth the extra cost.
- Need meals for six? Look closely at Blue Apron’s Family Style options.
- Need simple cooking for four? Dinnerly is a strong fit.
- Want prepared meals mixed with cooking? Blue Apron has the clearer advantage.
Two Busy-Family Examples
Imagine a family of four with two school-age children. Both parents work, but most evenings are predictable. They want three home-cooked dinners each week and do not mind spending about 20–30 minutes cooking.
Dinnerly would probably make more sense. The family can choose a 4-person plan and focus on kid-friendly meals without paying for extra meal formats they may not use.
Now consider a different family. One parent works late twice a week, the children have sports practice, and dinner times change often.
Blue Apron may be the better fit. The family could use traditional meal kits on slower nights and choose quick or ready-to-eat options when time is tight.
These examples show why there is no single winner for every busy household.
Price per serving is not the only thing to consider.
A meal kit can reduce:
- Menu planning
- Grocery shopping
- Ingredient measuring
- Deciding what to cook
- Food waste from unused ingredients
But meal kits do not remove every task.
With a traditional kit, someone still has to:
- Unpack the ingredients.
- Read the recipe.
- Cook the meal.
- Clean the dishes and cooking tools.
This is why a slightly more expensive prepared or quick-cook option can sometimes make more sense for an especially busy evening.
Dinnerly’s simple recipes reduce the cooking burden. Blue Apron’s wider range of meal formats can reduce it even further when you select faster options.
What I Would Pick for Different Busy Families
| Family situation | Better pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Budget-conscious family of four | Dinnerly | Lower-cost focus |
| Family with picky kids | Dinnerly | Many familiar, kid-friendly choices |
| Family of six | Blue Apron | Family Style option for six |
| Parents with changing schedules | Blue Apron | More meal formats |
| Family that enjoys cooking | Blue Apron | More variety in meal styles |
| Family that wants simple recipes | Dinnerly | Straightforward 5-step recipes |
| Family needing very fast meals | Blue Apron | 20-minute and prepared options |
| Family wanting the lowest commitment | Blue Apron | Current site says no subscription is needed |
Blue Apron currently says customers can order without a subscription, while Dinnerly operates through its weekly meal-plan structure with the ability to skip or manage orders.
What Should You Check Before Ordering?
Before choosing either service, look at your family’s actual week instead of choosing based only on advertised prices.
Check these five things:
- Number of people: Make sure the plan matches your household.
- Cooking time: Count prep and cleanup, not just the advertised cook time.
- Kid preferences: Look at the actual weekly menu.
- Weekly budget: Include shipping and any extras.
- Schedule: Decide whether you need traditional meal kits or very fast meals.
Also check the menu before each order. Both services change their weekly selections, so today’s favorite family meals may not be available every week.
FAQ
Is Dinnerly cheaper than Blue Apron for families?
Dinnerly is generally the more budget-focused option, and its current U.S. 4-person plan prices are lower than many comparable meal-kit choices. Blue Apron may cost more, but it offers additional formats that can save more time on busy nights.
Is Blue Apron good for families with kids?
Yes. Blue Apron offers Family Style meals for two, four, and six people, plus quick and prepared meal options that can help on busy family nights. You should still check the weekly menu for dishes that match your children’s tastes.
Which is better for a very busy family, Blue Apron or Dinnerly?
If your biggest concern is keeping the weekly food bill down, choose Dinnerly. If your biggest concern is having different levels of cooking effort available during a hectic week, Blue Apron is the stronger choice.
The Bottom Line
For most budget-conscious busy families, Dinnerly is the simpler choice. It offers 100+ weekly recipes, many quick and kid-friendly meals, and lower-cost family plans.
For families with unpredictable schedules, Blue Apron has a meaningful advantage because you can choose from traditional meal kits, quick meals, Assemble & Bake dishes, Family Style options, and ready-to-eat meals.
My practical tip: Look at your family’s busiest three nights of the week. If you need cheap, simple cooking, lean toward Dinnerly. If you sometimes need dinner with almost no cooking, Blue Apron’s wider range of options may justify the higher cost.
