Our comparison method
How we compare the cost of a weekly shop
The price of ingredients used in a recipe is different from the amount paid at the checkout. We compare the same number of meals and portions, count whole packs and show extra charges separately. The result is a method you can repeat with current prices in your area, not a live quote from a supermarket.
Compare meal kits and a planned shopThe comparison, step by step
Each figure has a different purpose. A low recipe cost is not automatically a low basket total.
1. Match meals and portions
Decide which dinners you are comparing and how many portions each must provide. If one option covers three dinners for two people, compare it with another option providing six dinner portions. Include ingredients that a meal kit expects you to supply yourself.
2. Count the packs you buy
Add the quantities required by all chosen meals. If the shop sells an ingredient only in packs, round the purchase up to enough whole packs. Use the price of those packs for checkout spend. The amount used in the recipes can be allocated separately, but an unused remainder is still food you paid for.
3. Add the terms around the basket
Record delivery, service charges and any minimum order separately. Check whether a price needs a membership, loyalty card, introductory offer or particular delivery slot. Compare equivalent terms: an introductory meal-kit box and an ordinary supermarket basket do not show a normal ongoing price difference.
4. Check the current local offer
Prices, pack sizes, stock and delivery availability can differ by postcode, store and date. Use the retailer’s current listing as a starting point, then check substitutions and the final basket at checkout. Our editorial examples are never a promise that a particular item or price will be available to you.
A made-up pack example
Imagine two meals together require 600 g of one ingredient. For illustration only, suppose it is sold in 500 g packs at £2.40 each. You need two packs, so the checkout cost for that ingredient is £4.80. You use 600 g of the 1,000 g bought; its proportional ingredient cost is £2.88. The remaining 400 g represents £1.92 of the amount paid. It is not a cash saving, and its future use depends on safe storage and your next meals. These are invented figures, not a current price at any UK retailer.