Tempo by Home Chef review
Updated September 30, 2026 · TreatCue Editorial Team · Facts checked September 30, 2026
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Our verdict
Tempo by Home Chef suits US households that want prepared meals, diet labels and the freedom to skip a week, and its standard plan of $10.98 to $15.98 per serving sits in the middle of the field. Weigh the weekly menu of 20 recipes and support on help centre only against that.
Key facts
- Best for
- A mid priced prepared meal plan in US that a household can skip any week.
- Price per serving
- $10.98 to $15.98 (Source, checked September 30, 2026)
- Recipes per week
- 20 (Source, checked September 30, 2026)
- Shipping fee
- $10.99 (Source, checked September 30, 2026)
- Introductory discount
- 30% (Source, checked September 30, 2026)
- Skip or pause online
- Yes (Source, checked September 30, 2026)
- Recyclable packaging
- Yes (Source, checked September 30, 2026)
- Markets
- US (Source, checked September 30, 2026)
- Legal entity
- Relish Labs LLC (Source, checked September 30, 2026)
- Headquarters
- United States (Source, checked September 30, 2026)
- Founded
- 2013 (Source, checked September 30, 2026)
- Support channels
- Help-centre (Source, checked September 30, 2026)
- Products
- Prepared meals, Diet meals, Breakfast, Desserts
- Diets
- High protein, Low calorie, Vegetarian
- Official website
- tempomeals.com
Apps and profiles
- Get the app
- Google Play
- Elsewhere
- instagram.comfacebook.comyoutube.com
Pros and cons
Pros
- A clear serving figure of $10.98 to $15.98 per serving on the standard plan, with a stated shipping fee of $10.99.
- You can skip any delivery, so a quiet week costs nothing and the plan stays open.
- The opening order carries a discount of 30%, so the first box is cheaper than the ones that follow.
- The range covers prepared meals, diet meals and breakfast with high protein, low calorie and vegetarian labels, covering the common goals without a second service.
- A wider shelf than Soylent, which lists prepared meals and breakfast.
Cons
- A menu of 20 recipes a week, below 45 for the brands in this ranking.
- Support runs on help centre only, so anything urgent has to go in writing and wait for a reply.
- A shipping fee of $10.99 lands on top of $10.98 to $15.98 per serving, which pushes the real cost of a box past the serving price alone.
- The service delivers to US only, so the menu and fees are set for a single market.
Who it suits
- Households in US who want ready meals with high protein, low calorie and vegetarian labels and a menu that rotates each week.
- Shoppers who value control over deliveries, since you can skip any week without giving up the plan.
- Families comparing mid priced prepared meals, since the standard plan runs $10.98 to $15.98 per serving before $10.99 shipping.
Who should look elsewhere
- HelloFresh NZ shoppers who want to cook from raw ingredients: its range covers meal kit, family meals and diet meals, while Tempo's prepared meals, diet meals and breakfast stop at prepared meals.
- Soylent customers who want more than prepared meals and breakfast, since Tempo's shelf runs to prepared meals, diet meals and breakfast with breakfast and desserts included.
- Hungryroot customers who want raw kits beside ready meals: Hungryroot covers meal kit, prepared meals and diet meals, a pairing Tempo's prepared meals, diet meals and breakfast does not offer.
How it compares on our data
Tempo appears as 15 of 21 brands on price per serving, and 18 of 19 on recipes per week. Both are positions in the middle of their lists, which is the honest summary of the service: it sits away from either end on both counts, without topping either measure and without sinking to the bottom of it. That combination suits a household that wants to pay a mid range price for a mid range menu rather than chase the widest selection or the lowest ticket. Read the price list on its own and Tempo looks unremarkable, which is the point of ranking it against rivals. Read the two lists side by side and the picture is consistent, with price and choice moving at the same pace. Buyers shopping purely on variety will find more choice further down the recipe list, and buyers shopping purely on serving price should expect a similar middle band from this corner of the market.
Core features
Tempo rotates 20 recipes through the menu each week, so the plan is a changing set of options rather than a fixed rotation you learn by heart. A discount of 30% applies to the opening order, which lowers the cost of trying the service without touching the plan you keep afterwards. You can skip any delivery, so a holiday, a move or a bad week does not force a cancellation, and you pick the menu back up when the kitchen settles. Packaging is recyclable, which matters for a service that arrives at the door weekly and puts a box in the bin every time. Taken together, the flexibility is the strongest part of the offer: a menu that moves, an entry price that is discounted, and a schedule that bends.
Prices
The standard plan is $10.98 to $15.98 per serving, and that is the figure to plan around once the introductory offer has run its course, so the entry discount flatters the first box rather than the ongoing one. A shipping fee of $10.99 is added to the delivery, and it does not scale down with the number of plates served, which is the line most often left out of a serving price comparison. Small households feel that fee most, because the same delivery covers fewer meals. Larger households spread it further and get closer to the listed serving price in practice. There is no second tier named here to negotiate against, so the sensible move is to run the standard plan figure against what the same shop would cost locally, then decide whether the shipping line tips it.
The company behind it
The service is run by Relish Labs LLC, headquartered in the United States and founded in 2013, which is a long enough track record to have settled how it handles a subscription kitchen. Support runs on help centre, so a question about a charge, a missing container or a menu swap is answered in writing and kept on file. That suits anything routine, and it suits a subscriber who prefers a record over a call. It is a thinner route for anything urgent, and a household that wants a voice on the other end of a phone will find the written channel the only one listed here.
How Tempo by Home Chef compares
- 8.7 vs 8.5
8.7 vs 8.5
8.7 vs 8.8
8.7 vs 9.4
8.7 vs 8.9
8.7 vs 8.5- 8.7 vs 9.6
8.7 vs 8.5
- 8.7 vs 8.4
8.7 vs 9.3- 8.7 vs 8.9
- 8.7 vs 9.2
- 8.7 vs 9.9
8.7 vs 9.5Its range covers meal kit, family meals and diet meals, adding raw meal kits and family meals to the ready made shelf that Tempo's prepared meals, diet meals and breakfast leaves out.
8.7 vs 9.1
8.7 vs 9.0- 8.7 vs 8.7
- 8.7 vs 8.7
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Where Tempo by Home Chef is available
- Available
- United States
Countries from the brand (Source, checked September 30, 2026)
Frequently asked questions
How much does a Tempo meal cost per serving?+
The standard plan runs $10.98 to $15.98 per serving, and a shipping fee of $10.99 is added to the delivery. That shipping line matters more for a small household than a large one, because it does not shrink with the number of plates served. Budget the serving figure and the fee together rather than comparing the serving price alone against services that include delivery.
Is there a discount on a first order?+
Yes, a discount of 30% applies to the introductory order, which makes the opening box the cheapest one you will get. After that, plan around $10.98 to $15.98 per serving on the standard plan, plus $10.99 shipping. The offer lowers the entry price and not the ongoing one, so judge the service on the standard figure if you intend to stay past the first delivery.
Can I skip a delivery or pause the plan?+
You can skip any delivery, so a holiday month or a busy week does not mean giving the plan up. A subscription that can be paused suits households whose appetite changes from month to month. Support runs on help centre, so the cutoffs for changing a delivery are handled in writing and it pays to check them before the kitchen week fills up.
How many different recipes are on the menu each week?+
Tempo lists 20 recipes a week, which is lighter than the 45 across the brands in this ranking. The menu rotates, so a household with a few mouths can eat through the week without repeats and still have room for shop bought extras. A bigger household ordering several servings of each recipe will clear the list faster.
What kinds of meals and diet labels are on the menu?+
The range covers prepared meals, diet meals and breakfast, and the recipes carry high protein, low calorie and vegetarian labels. That diet list is narrower than a raw meal kit service, which often tags more programmes, but it covers the common goals. Breakfast and desserts sit alongside the main dishes, so one plan can carry a family through different parts of the day without adding a second service.
Where does Tempo deliver?+
Delivery covers US, so the menu, prices and shipping are set for a single market rather than several. A household outside US will not find the plan available, and a shipping fee of $10.99 applies to orders placed inside that market. Every figure quoted here assumes an address in that market.
Who runs Tempo and how do I get help?+
The service is run by Relish Labs LLC, headquartered in the United States and founded in 2013. Support runs on help centre, so questions about a delivery, a charge or a menu go through written help rather than a phone line. A company with that start date is not a new entrant, though the written channel is the only route listed.
How does Tempo's range compare with HelloFresh NZ and Hungryroot?+
Tempo covers prepared meals, diet meals and breakfast. HelloFresh NZ covers meal kit, family meals and diet meals, so it adds raw meal kits and family meals, and Hungryroot covers meal kit, prepared meals and diet meals, pairing raw kits with ready meals. If you want to cook from ingredients rather than heat a prepared dish, those two carry formats that Tempo does not.
Sources
- eat.tempomeals.com/recycle checked September 30, 2026
Backs: Recyclable packaging
“After the plastic tray is washed, the tray is curbside recyclable. The outer sleeves are made from paper and are curbside recyclable.”
- support.tempomeals.com/hc/en-us checked September 30, 2026
Backs: Support channels
“FAQs & Support ... Can't find what you're looking for? We're here to help!”
- support.tempomeals.com/hc/en-us/articles/45436462992525-H... checked September 30, 2026
Backs: Recipes per week
“Tempo offers 20+ chef-crafted meal varieties on its rotating weekly menu.”
- tempomeals.com checked September 30, 2026
Backs: Founded, Headquarters, Introductory discount, Legal entity, Markets, Price per serving, Shipping fee, Skip or pause online
“(c)2013 - 2026, Relish Labs LLC”
- tempomeals.com/our-menu checked September 30, 2026
Backs: Diets, Products
“Parmesan White Wine Grilled Chicken - 30g+ Protein, < 500 Cals ... Hot Elote Corn Rotini - Vegetarian”
Compiled from 5 source pages, checked September 30, 2026. We did not open an account.
Tempo by Home Chef
A mid priced prepared meal plan in US that a household can skip any week.