Meal Delivery alternative
Meal delivery sends food to your door. A personal chef cooks it in your kitchen.
4.9 ★ · 35K+ dinners cooked
Two ways to handle dinner
Meal delivery means a kit you cook or a tray you reheat, shipped to your door, around $9 to $14 a meal. A personal chef is different. With Livin, a vetted chef shops, cooks a full week of meals fresh in your kitchen, and cleans up, from dishes you choose and around your dietary needs.
| What we compared | Livin | Meal Delivery |
|---|---|---|
| Who's cooking | ||
| Who cooks | LivinA vetted chef cooks in your kitchen | Meal DeliveryA facility, or you, from a kit |
| What you eat | ||
| Freshness | LivinCooked fresh, eaten that week | Meal DeliveryShipped chilled, or cooked by you |
| Variety | LivinHundreds of dishes you choose from | Meal DeliveryA set weekly menu |
| Nutrition data | LivinMacros computed from USDA data, per dish | Meal DeliveryCalories on the label, or per recipe |
| What it asks of you | ||
| Customization | LivinCooked around your allergies, dietary needs, and hard-nos | Meal DeliveryPick from the menu, limited swaps |
| Effort | LivinShopping, cooking, and cleanup handled | Meal DeliveryYou cook and clean, or reheat and toss |
| Coverage | LivinAtlanta and Los Angeles | Meal DeliveryMost ship nationwide |
| What it costs | ||
| Per plate | LivinAround $26 a plate. | Meal Deliveryaround $9 to $14 a meal shipping or delivery fees added, usually $8 to $11 a box |
Meal Delivery details verified July 2026.
Now, the easiest part of your day: dinner.
Fresh, not frozen.
Your chef shops for fresh ingredients, with your household's preferences and needs as their guide.
Cooked in your kitchen.
No commissary. No ghost kitchen. No meal kit box. Your stove, your standards, your table.
This month, your chef is making
Real dishes from the current menu. Customizable, with USDA-verified nutrition on every plate.
“For the first Sunday in like a year, I don't feel exhausted. I actually went outside and played with my boys. It was awesome! This is truly the best thing I've spent money on in a long time! Best. Service. Ever!”
— Crystal, Executive and Mom of Twins
Be honest with yourself
Stay with Meal Delivery if
Meal delivery is the better fit if you want the lowest cost, national availability, or you are cooking for one, and you do not mind cooking or reheating. It does cheap and convenient well.
Switch to Livin if
A personal chef is the better fit if you are done cooking and reheating. You want a chef to cook a week of meals fresh in your kitchen, chosen by you and cooked around your household's needs, with the shopping and cleanup handled.
It gets better every week
A box is the same on week one and week fifty. Livin learns. You give feedback, your profile updates, next week is sharper. Same chef or a new one.
- 01
We learn your household.
Allergies, picky eaters, the way your Tuesdays go. We build your profile before anyone steps in your kitchen.
- 02
We propose your menu
Each week, dinners built for your household. Keep what we send, swap a dish, or send us a request.
- 03
Your chef handles the kitchen
Shopping, cooking, cleanup. Plus heating notes so the rest of the week is easy.
- 04
We keep tuning
You give feedback. We update your profile. Sometimes a new dish. Sometimes a new chef. Either way, next week is sharper.
Who's behind it
“I built Livin so dinner could feel like an actual part of life again, not a thing to survive.”
Erica
Founder of Livin
A chef who learns your household. Not a box from a menu.
Get StartedFrequently asked questions
- Meal delivery ships a kit you cook or a tray you reheat. A personal chef cooks for you. With a personal chef like Livin, a vetted chef shops, cooks a full week of meals fresh in your kitchen, and cleans up, from dishes you choose and around your dietary needs. Meal delivery is cheaper. A personal chef is the one where the cooking is done for you.
- It depends on what you are buying. Meal delivery is the lowest cost and ships nationwide, but you still cook or reheat, and the menu is set. A personal chef costs more and serves select markets, but a chef cooks a week of fresh meals in your kitchen, chosen by you and cooked around your household's needs, with cleanup included.
- Meal delivery runs roughly $9 to $14 a meal plus shipping. Livin runs around $26 a plate, and the total depends on household size and frequency. That buys a full week of meals cooked fresh in your kitchen from dishes you choose, with the shopping and cleanup handled.
- Both can be healthy. The difference is control and transparency. With Livin you choose from hundreds of dishes, filter for needs like high-protein or anti-inflammatory, and every dish shows macros computed from USDA data, while your chef cooks around your allergies and dietary needs. Meal delivery lists nutrition per meal or recipe, but you take the dish as built.