Factor Review: Are These Prepared Meals Right For You?

This meal delivery company scored highly for convenience and taste — but it doesn’t provide a dedicated low-sodium menu

Taylor Leamey,

AARP

Medically reviewed by

Morgan Pearson, RDN

Comments

Published June 03, 2026

The products and services discussed on this page have been independently tested and researched. AARP may earn a commission through affiliate links, but this does not influence our objective reviews. Proceeds earned go toward supporting our mission.

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It can be easy to cook the same things week after week — they’re your tried and true recipes for a reason. But it can also get old. So if you’re looking for a jolt out of your regular recipe rotation, a meal delivery service could help.

Meal delivery services work by allowing you to order a set of meals and have them delivered directly to you to prepare and enjoy. Many of these services provide meal kits, or boxes filled with the necessary ingredients to make a given meal. Some services offer prepared or pre-made meals, which usually only require you to reheat them.

To help older adults decide what the best meal delivery service is for them, our AARP Smart Picks team worked with a group of nine testers ages 50 and older, including four people who are part of AARP’s The Ethel community, to assess 15 different meal delivery services. The Ethel is a free weekly newsletter, website and online community that’s named in honor of AARP founder Ethel Percy Andrus. Based on tester feedback, Factor — a meal delivery company that offers prepared meals — earned the best overall designation for its high taste scores, easy-to-cancel subscription and quality foods that only require reheating.

During testing, we learned that Factor offers a selection of fresh and never-frozen foods. It also offers dietitian-approved recipes for people who want convenient meals, such as older adults who may not have easy access to grocery stores or who can’t cook every day. And while testers said they appreciated that Factor provided tasty, convenient meals, they also encountered delivery issues and noted that the company’s offerings are high in sodium.

So, could Factor be a fit for you? Read on to learn how it performed in our testing.

What we like about Factor

As we observed during our testing, Factor offers customizable and convenient pre-made meals. We like that these meals require no cooking — only heating in a microwave or oven, if necessary.

Another plus? Testers rated the portion sizes and taste near-perfect. They also appreciated how the company caters to meal preferences by offering the following types of meal options.

High protein: Meals with at least 30 grams of protein
Calorie-smart: Dishes with 550 calories or less
Fiber-filled: Meals with at least six grams of fiber
Vegetarian: Meat-free dishes prioritizing vegetables
Vegan: Meat-free and dairy-free dishes prioritizing vegetables
Keto: Low-carb, high-fat foods

In addition, Factor offers a subscription-based service, like most meal delivery companies. That means you pay a set amount every week for whatever plan size you choose. For example, if you subscribe to receive six meals each week, you’ll be charged weekly and receive those six meals. There is no trial period, but you can skip, pause or cancel your delivery at any time. You must initiate any changes like these before midnight five days before your delivery, otherwise you’ll be charged.

This company also offers an app to help you manage your subscription if you’re not using a desktop computer. You can plan meals, see your upcoming delivery schedule and skip shipments as needed. You can also view detailed nutrition information and see whether the ingredients align with your dietary needs. For example, some older adults with high blood pressure may want to check salt content, while others may need to watch out for allergens.

For these reasons, among others, this company is one of the highest performing meal delivery services we’ve tested. To see how Factor compares to other companies in our testing, feel free to check out our best meal delivery services review.

Our experience testing Factor meals

A Factor meal in a black container with a fork and emitting steam

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Score: 9.5 out of 10

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Pros and cons

Pros

Simple to unpack and serve
True to stated cook time
Solid taste and portion sizes

Cons

Limited low-sodium dishes
One tester’s meals arrived two days late

Features

Type: Prepared meals
Plan options: Six to 26 meals per week (one serving each)
Vegetarian/vegan friendly: Yes
Other diets available: Keto, calorie-smart, high protein or carb-conscious

Key takeaways from our testing

Quick and easy to make. Factor meals are not frozen and arrive pre-made and chilled in their containers, so preparation requires minimal steps. Will, a 65-year-old tester, received a spiced chickpea chaat salad for one of his orders. “This meal was so easy. I just had to mix all the ingredients together. They kept [the food components] apart so the lettuce didn’t get soggy from the sauces,” he said. Another tester, 60-year-old Donna, requested Thai yellow curry with chicken. “All I had to do was poke holes in the plastic film and microwave,” she said. Donna also said she was impressed by the short cooking time — two minutes — for the food to cook all the way through.

A man in a red apron in a kitchen holding a dressing package with a salad and two food bowls in front of him

Tester Will said his Factor meal was “the easiest prepared meal ever” because it was a salad that didn’t require reheating.

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Delicious and sufficient food. All testers who tried Factor meals said they enjoyed the taste and portion sizes. They said the ingredients complemented each other well, and the meats were tender. Lynn, a 72-year-old Ethel tester who ordered roasted garlic chicken with gravy, said her low-calorie, high-protein meal had the “perfect” amount of food. “The vegetables were cooked nicely, and the chicken was delicious with a generous amount of sauce,” she said. Will and Donna made similar remarks, stating that their dishes were “balanced” and that the ingredients complemented each other.

Generally salty meals. Like other microwaveable meals you might buy at the store, Factor meals contain high levels of sodium (salt). Will and Donna’s salad and curry dishes each contained 900 mg of sodium, about one-third of the recommended daily limit of 2,300 mg for people ages 14 and older. This meal delivery service offers many ways to narrow your food preferences, such as by protein or carbohydrate content, but our team didn’t find many low-sodium options, and there was no ability to filter for them. Vielka, a 72-year-old Ethel tester, said the limited low-sodium options made it difficult to find suitable dishes that fit her diet while managing kidney disease. Another knock? Donna had a two-day delay with her order, which was delivered through a third-party service called Veho. However, she noted that Veho’s customer service provided her with regular updates via email and text after she reached out.

How we tested Factor meals

To identify Factor’s strengths and weaknesses, we recruited a group of nine testers ages 50-plus — including members from AARP’s The Ethel community — to test this meal delivery service and share their unbiased feedback. Testers then ordered and cooked their meals in their homes or in our AARP Smart Picks test kitchen and shared their honest thoughts on key factors such as food quality, portion size, taste, customization options and ease of preparation.

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In addition, we paid close attention to the delivery process, including the number of updates the company provided for delivery and the quality of the packaging. We also reviewed the cancellation process for each service to determine how long it takes and whether any challenges arise before pausing or ending your subscription.

For more details, see our meal delivery service testing methodology page.

How much does Factor cost?

Factor’s standard price per serving ranges from $11.49 to $15.99 before any modifications or add-ons. If you decide to order from this company, shipping costs an additional $10.99 to $13.99 per box. Your total cost would depend on the number of meals you choose, customizations and your subscription length. You can see a breakdown of some of these costs in the chart below.

Who is Factor right for?

Wondering if Factor may be a fit for you? In general, Jenn Scherer, registered dietitian and personal trainer who owns Fredericksburg Fitness Studio in Fredericksburg, Virginia, says that meal delivery services can significantly reduce the mental and physical burden of food preparation, especially for older adults dealing with joint pain, fatigue or mobility limitations. “They also provide built-in structure and portion control, which can be helpful for weight management,” she says.

So, if you’re wondering whether this company’s offerings could be helpful to you, you may want to ask yourself the following questions.

Am I unable to cook for myself or my household?

If you have limited mobility or don’t feel comfortable cooking — and you’re okay with this company’s price point and structure — Factor’s prepared offerings may be a good option. If you’d value a more hands-on experience with a meal kit, or need a different price point, other options like Hungryroot or HelloFresh may better fit your needs.

In general, meal kits require a certain level of preparation, says Scherer. “Chopping, standing and following instructions may not be appropriate for those with significant physical limitations, cognitive decline or advanced fatigue,” she says. In these cases, she says that she finds pre-made meals are more appropriate.

Do I have limited time for food prep?

If extensive prep isn’t your thing, but you’d still like to try a meal delivery service, Factor might be a fit. As noted, unlike meal kits that may require tasks like chopping and standing for long periods, the company's offerings were simple to prepare in our testing — taking just two to three minutes in some cases. So if you don’t want to go through the steps that cooking can require, or if you want the occasional break from lengthy food prep, this company’s offerings could be a fit.

By the way, if you decide a prepared meal service like this one would be best for you, you’d have some company. For instance, in April 2026, we surveyed 300 adults ages 50 and older who currently use or have used a meal delivery service in the last 12 months. In general, 44 percent of respondents said they had opted for prepared or pre-made meals or a mix of pre-made meals and meal kits.

Do I need to limit salt intake?

If you need to — or want to — avoid salty foods, you may want to choose a different company.

Factor’s meals offer a wide variety of options for general preferences, including low-calorie and low-carb choices. However, pre-made meals are notoriously salty to help preserve food and control bacteria growth, per the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

In the United States, more than 94 percent of men and 72 percent of women ages 60 and older have an average sodium intake above the recommended 2,300 mg daily limit. Most of this sodium comes from prepackaged foods. Unfortunately, high-sodium diets pose a threat to our cardiovascular system, particularly in older adults who already have high blood pressure or kidney issues.

In general, Jenny Finke, a registered dietitian at The Metabolic Dietitian in Greenwich, Connecticut, recommends being mindful of sodium when choosing a meal delivery service, especially if you rely on the service for most of your meals. “Some companies have the ability to search ‘low-sodium [options],’ which can be helpful for those who are watching their sodium intake,” she says.

Factor does not have a dedicated filter for low-sodium options, and you’d have to carefully read through a meal’s nutrition label to find the lower-sodium options. Based on our testing, Hungryroot — another meal delivery service company — offers meals that may be suitable for people with a variety of dietary restrictions, including sodium restrictions. Keep details like these in mind when trying to decide on the best meal delivery service for your needs.

FAQs

How does Factor meal delivery work?

Factor meal delivery works as a subscription-based service. The company offers a weekly meal subscription plan that you can modify. If you decide to subscribe to the service and set up a profile, you can choose your meal preferences and how many meals you’d plan to order each week. Then, you can choose from a variety of meals and schedule them for delivery up to four weeks in advance.

How much does Factor meal delivery cost?

Factor meal delivery carries a cost for the meals and for shipping. The meals themselves cost between $11.49 to $15.99 per dinner serving, though this amount does not include any other foods you add to your order. Shipping costs an additional $10.99 to $13.99 per box.

What is the downside to Factor meals?

According to our testing, delivery efficiency could be one downside of Factor. A tester reported a two-day delivery delay, but the third-party delivery service, Veho, provided shipping updates after she contacted them. Another negative is that Factor’s meals are relatively high in sodium, which is common with prepared meals.

Questions or feedback? Email us at AARPSmartPicks@aarp.org.

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