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When it comes to flavor, variety, and nutritional punch, Factor delivers on its promise. For one person, it’s well worth consideration.

Factor meals we cooked and platedShare on Pinterest
Factor meals. Photos by Kelli Mcgrane, RD

There are a lot of meal delivery services vying for your business. But it’s often a toss up whether the taste of the food will match what a service promises.

With Factor, which boasts meals designed by nutritionists to make healthy eating easier, it does.

Read on to learn about my experience eating Factor meals for two weeks, and why I’d recommend this meal delivery service, especially for solo meal planning.

Meal Delivery Scorecard

I judged Factor across 9 categories, allotting points from 0–5. The scores below reflect the average rating for each category.

  • Overall: 4.3
  • Sign-up, delivery, and cancellation: 4.5
  • Meal variety: 4.5
  • Nutrition: 5
  • Ingredient quality and freshness: 5
  • Ease of preparation: 5
  • Sustainability: 3
  • Taste: 4.5
  • Affordability: 3

Learn more about how we test meal kits.

Pros

  • fully prepared meals
  • options available for several dietary restrictions
  • nutritionally balanced
  • add-ons available, including snacks, shakes, and juices
  • high quality, sustainably sourced ingredients
  • fresh, flavor-packed entrees
  • not mushy, even though meals are premade and microwaved

Cons

  • can be expensive over time
  • risk of cross-contamination for those with severe food allergies
  • not a great option for families
  • some meals high in saturated fat or sodium
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  • Name: Kelli McGrane, MS, RD
  • Role: Healthline nutrition editor, registered dietitian, cookbook author
  • Dietary needs and preferences: flexitarian
  • Meal-time preferences: make-ahead, one-pan, and 30-minute weeknight meals and recipes that are toddler-friendly

I’ve been using meal delivery services for more than 10 years, testing 25 services just within the past 3 years. I tried Factor for 2 weeks to determine whether the service is something I can recommend. Here is my experience.

Sign-up, delivery, and cancellation processes

Score: 4.5 out of 5

Getting started with Factor was a breeze. As with most meal delivery services, you first choose from one of several meal plans, which include:

  • Chef’s Choice
  • Keto
  • Calorie Smart
  • Flexitarian
  • Protein Plus
  • Vegan & Veggie

You can also pick how many single-serve meals you want to receive each week, ranging from 6 up to 18. Choosing more meals each week can help lower the average cost per meal.

Next, you create an account by inputting details like your name and address. While you can choose which delivery day you want, the delivery day options are somewhat limited based on your location.

After you’ve input your payment information, you can browse the offerings for the week and start choosing your meals to curate your custom menu.

Choosing my meals was intuitive. While I don’t follow a specific diet, I appreciated that you can easily filter meals by dietary need and ingredient to find meals that fit your dietary needs and preferences.

If you want to modify your menu or make changes to your subscription, be sure to do so by the weekly cut-off date, which is listed online in your account information. If you wish to cancel your subscription, you can do so either by deactivating your account on the company’s website or by emailing customer service.

Meal variety

Score: 4.5 out of 5

Many prepared meal delivery services have large menus that rarely change or rotating menus of just a few options. I was happy to discover that Factor’s menu changes weekly and there’s a good variety of meals to choose from. In fact, I had a hard time narrowing down which ones to try.

I ultimately ordered the following items over the course of 2 weeks:

  • Herbed Quinoa Pesto Bowl
  • Tomato & Roasted Vegetable Risotto with Toasted Pine Nuts
  • Pesto Salmon with Creamed Spinach & Tomato Butter Haricot Verts
  • Sun-Dried Tomato Chicken with Zucchini Noodles
  • Smoky BBQ Chicken Breast with Mashed Potatoes, Creamed Corn, and Green Bean Casserole
  • Creamy Parmesan Chicken with Roasted Broccoli and Tomatoes
  • Chickpea Curry
  • Roasted Garlic Braised Beef
  • Roasted Tomato & Feta Cavatappi
  • Caribbean-Style Chicken Breast

A note on allergens

Factor labels potential allergens in each of its meals and provides a full breakdown of the nutrients in every dish. However, keep in mind that meals are processed in a facility that also handles major allergens like eggs, nuts, fish, and wheat, so it may not be a great fit if you have severe food allergies.

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Delivery

Factor meals are delivered fresh once per week in preportioned plastic containers packed into insulated boxes with gel packs to help them stay cool.

Both weeks, my deliveries arrived smoothly, right on time and at the proper temperature. And while the containers were stackable and not particularly bulky, they did take up a good amount of space in my refrigerator.

According to Factor, meals can be enjoyed for up to 7 days. Because I only ordered 5 entrees each week, I didn’t have any meals left by the 7-day mark. However, on day 5, my last entree was just as flavorful and fresh-tasting as the entree I tried on day 1.

Nutritional quality

Score: 5 out of 5

As a registered dietitian, I was impressed by the nutritional quality of each entree. The entrees I tried were nutritionally balanced, meaning that they each contained a lean protein, a healthy source of fat, and a generous serving of vegetables.

With that said, some of the entrees are high in sodium, and some dishes, especially those on the Keto plan, are high in saturated fat.

Ingredient quality and freshness

Score: 5 out of 5

Factor prides itself on featuring high quality ingredients, including sustainably sourced seafood and antibiotic-free poultry.

While I only tried the service for 2 weeks, I didn’t experience any issues with damaged or spoiled ingredients.

In fact, unlike many other prepared meal delivery services, Factor’s ingredients — especially the vegetables and proteins — tasted fresh and didn’t get mushy, dry, or rubbery after microwaving.

Ease of prep

Score: 5 out of 5

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Factor Creamy Parmesan Chicken with Roasted Broccoli and Tomatoes

Every Factor meal I tried was easy to reheat. All I had to do was remove the paper sleeve, puncture the plastic film once or twice, and microwave the meal on high for 2 minutes.

For those who prefer not to use a microwave, Factor meals also include reheating instructions for the oven.

Taste

Score: 4.5 out of 5

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Factor’s Roasted Tomato & Feta Cavatappi

I found the ingredient quality continued to be excellent after reheating and didn’t experience any mushy vegetables or dry proteins — a major win for microwavable meals.

I also found the meals to be flavorful without being overseasoned, and I loved that each meal had a generous serving of vegetables.

The Herbed Quinoa Pesto Bowl stood out as my favorite. The quinoa was perfectly chewy, the sweet potatoes were soft but not mushy, and the pesto was zesty and flavorful without being overpowering.

The Roasted Tomato & Feta Cavatappi was another winner. It featured a sauce with a slight spiciness that was nice, along with juicy tomatoes, hearty noodles, and broccoli, which was soft without being mushy.

The only reason I didn’t award Factor a 5 out 5 for taste is because while the meals were satisfying, I can’t say that the flavor combinations were unique or differed greatly from what I’d typically make on my own.

Sustainability

Score: 3 out of 5

Factor’s delivery boxes, food containers, and laminated insulation are all recyclable. Additionally, the gel packs used to keep the food cold during transit are nontoxic and reusable.

However, some items, like the PET and cotton insulation layers are not recyclable. I also found it a bit tricky to understand which materials could be recycled without searching for that information on the company’s website.

Another way in which Factor strives to be more sustainable is by using high quality, sustainably sourced ingredients in all its meals. All meals are free of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). The service also uses sustainably sourced proteins, including antibiotic-free poultry and pasture-raised pork.

However, Factor currently only uses conventional ingredients in its meals, which might not be ideal if you prefer eating organic. If organic ingredients are important to you, you might consider Green Chef.

Cost

Score: 3 out of 5

While Factor isn’t the most expensive meal delivery service, and its per-meal pricing goes down the more you order, when you include shipping, the cost adds up. Here is Factor’s pricing*:

  • 6 meals per week: $13.49 per meal
  • 8 meals per week: $12.99 per meal
  • 10 meals per week: $12.49 per meal
  • 12 meals per week: $11.99 per meal
  • 14 meals per week: $11.49 per meal
  • 18 meals per week: $10.99 per meal

*as of March 2024

Shipping is available within the contiguous United States and costs $10.99 per delivery.

Also keep in mind that Factor frequently offers discounts for new customers.

Score: 4.5 out of 5

As a dietitian and an avid cook, I had some doubts about whether or not Factor would measure up. But I was ultimately impressed by the flavor, texture, and nutritional quality of the meals. I would highly recommend Factor for people who prioritize fresh and nutritious single-serve entrees but don’t want to spend time preparing meals from scratch

The biggest downside is the price. Because I’m pretty good about meal planning and prepping lunches for the week, it would be hard for my household to justify the cost of subscribing to Factor. Plus, I’d still need to grocery shop and prepare meals for the rest of my family.

However, I still think Factor is one of the best prepared meal delivery services and is worth trying if it fits your budget and you value the convenience that the service offers.

Factor is a great meal delivery service for having convenient, delicious, and nutritious meals on hand. It’s worth trying if it fits your budget.

For nutritious, delicious, convenient meals for one person, Factor is a great option. It may also appeal to people with specific dietary preferences, including ketogenic (keto), vegan, vegetarian, high protein and low-calorie diets.

But it’s not cheap. If budget is a primary concern, you might check out our recommendations for more affordable meal delivery services.

Among the many prepared meal delivery services on the market, Trifecta and Snap Kitchen are Factor’s closest competitors. Here’s a closer look at how these subscription services compare:

FactorTrifecta NutritionSnap Kitchen
Healthline score4.34.23.6
Price per serving$10.49–$13.49$13.79–$15.85$11.88–$14.67
Shipping$10.99$9.99free
Menus• Chef’s Choice
• Keto
• Calorie Smart
• Vegan & Veggie
• Protein Plus
• Flexitarian
• Clean
• Paleo Whole30
• Keto
• Plant Based
• High Protein
• Low Carb
• Keto
• Paleo
• Vegan
• Vegetarian
Notable features• weekly rotating menu
• free of GMOs
• optional add-ons, including snacks
• breakfast, lunch, and dinner options
• features organic, sustainably sourced ingredients
• offers breakfast, lunch, dinner, and sides
• free of artificial ingredients and preservatives
• all meals gluten-free

Yes. Factor is a prepared-foods meal delivery service specializing in nutritionally balanced meals. It’s popular for its specialty menus that support dietary preferences including keto, low carb, and high protein. It also has a variety of other meal plans that will appeal to a broad spectrum of eaters.

Factor offers high protein, low card, and low calorie meal plans, any of which could be good options if you’re looking to lose weight.

But whether or not you lose weight with Factor meals also depends on things like your exercise routine, lifestyle, and what else you’re putting on your plate.

No. Factor meals are made from freshly cooked ingredients.  To preserve freshness, they are then “deep chilled” and immediately packed in insulated cold boxes for delivery.

The meals are meant to be kept refrigerated and eaten within 7 days.

Factor is a meal delivery service that delivers on its promise to provide fully prepared meals that are nutritionally balanced and flavorful.

I liked that there’s a good variety of options to choose from each week and that the ingredients don’t get mushy or lose their flavor after being reheated.

However, the service isn’t cheap and only offers single-serve meals, so it might not be the right fit for everyone, especially those on tight budgets or with multiple people to feed.