Carby vs eMeals: budget on the plan, or the list in a cart?
eMeals wins if you will actually send dinners to Walmart, Kroger, Amazon or Instacart. Carby wins if you want the week built around a grocery budget with estimated costs before you shop. Neither promises your receipt.
Side by side
| Criterion | Carby | eMeals |
|---|---|---|
| What it plans | Weekly dinners built around a named US grocery store and a budget you type first, with estimated ingredient costs and one aisle-grouped list. | Pick dinners from weekly food-style plans, then shop the list or send it to supported pickup and delivery. |
| Starter price | $39.99/year after a 3-day trial on web yearly checkout | As low as $4.99 a month on a 12-month term, or $37.50 for 3 months |
| Cost if you stay a year | $39.99 if you stay on the web yearly plan after the 3-day trial | $59.88 if you stay 12 months at the advertised $4.99/month 12-month rate. Repeating the $37.50 3-month plan four times is $150. Grocery is extra. |
| Trial | 3-day trial on the web yearly offer visitors actually see. Monthly ($9.99) and weekly ($4.99) plans also exist. Read the checkout. | 14-day free trial. Terms say the card is collected at signup and charged when the trial ends unless you cancel. |
| Refunds | Web Stripe charges: email within 30 days of the charge for a refund. App Store charges go through Apple. Cancel during the trial and you are not charged. | Cancel during the trial: no payment. Cancel after the trial: eMeals says you do not get a refund of subscription payments. Cancel at least 48 hours before renewal. App Store purchases follow Apple's terms. |
| Grocery list | One shopping list for the week, grouped by aisle. You shop it yourself. | Automatic list from the meals you select. Optional send to Walmart, Kroger, Amazon and Instacart. |
| Store cost estimates | Yes | No |
| Retailer cart | No. Carby does not send items to Walmart, Instacart or another retailer cart. | Yes, to supported grocers listed on emeals.com (Walmart, Amazon, Kroger, Instacart). |
| App Store rating | 4.0 from 29 ratings | 4.6 from 52,728 ratings |
Cost if you actually stay
Carby: $39.99 if you stay on the web yearly plan after the 3-day trial
eMeals: $59.88 if you stay 12 months at the advertised $4.99/month 12-month rate. Repeating the $37.50 3-month plan four times is $150. Grocery is extra.
eMeals’ $2,000-a-year grocery-savings claim is their own FAQ statement and is not used here. Carby does not claim a dollar amount of grocery savings. eMeals auto-renews; cancel at least 48 hours before the cycle ends. Carby web refunds: email within 30 days of the Stripe charge. App Store purchases on either side follow Apple.
Where they win
- Cart hand-off to Walmart, Kroger, Amazon and Instacart.
- A large App Store rating sample (52,728 vs Carby’s 29).
- You can add personal and web recipes on top of weekly food styles, including Kid Friendly and Budget Friendly.
Where we win
- You type the weekly dinner budget first.
- The plan shows store-specific catalog cost estimates.
- Yearly web price is $39.99 vs $59.88 at eMeals’ advertised $4.99/month 12-month rate, and Carby’s web refund window is 30 days after a charge.
Choose us if / pick them if
Choose Carby if: Choose Carby if pickup is optional and a spending limit with estimated costs is not.
Pick eMeals if: Pick eMeals if skipping the store via a supported grocer is the feature you will use this week.
How to plan a week of dinners on a grocery budgetSources checked October 20, 2026: App Store listing · iTunes Lookup id 6779585429 · Carby billing policy · Carby refund help · eMeals homepage FAQ · eMeals terms of use · App Store listing · iTunes Lookup id 575756462. Competitor facts come from those public pages and US iTunes Lookup. Missing cells were omitted, not guessed.