Soylent: 21 meals, 85 bucks = $4.05/meal

Metagenics Ultrameal Whey: 14 meals, 42 bucks = $3/meal

Just to pick one out of the sky, really - my wife does lots of meal replacement shit for her clients and this is the one I'll often have for breakfast 'cuz it's filling and actually damn good

Soylent nutrition facts:

Ultrameal nutrition facts: not in handy graphic format

The highlights:

Soylent lists itself as a meal replacement for maintenance, while Ultrameal lists itself as a meal replacement for weight loss. Right off the bat, Soylent clocks in at 670 calories per serving while Ultrameal comes in at 140. So that's 1500 calories you'll need to find elsewhere if you're going with the Ultrameal but hey - you've got $3 a day to do it.

Soylent:

- Has double the sodium (bad)

- Has double the potassium (good)

- Has double the protein (good)

- Has the same Vit A

- Has 1/3rd the Vit C

- Has double the iron

- Has double the Vitamin D

- Has less than half of every other nutrient except Manganese

So from a nutrition standpoint, you get more minerals with the UltraMeal but less protein and carbs. But from an economic standpoint, you have enough money left over for a Luna bar, a banana and three Snickers which pretty much brings you up to par.

Here's the thing: Most people going for "meal replacements" aren't aiming for tastelessness. Soylent is basically doing the same thing every nutraceutical on the planet has been doing lo these many decades, only without any of that "flavor pandering" necessary to get someone who isn't interested in self-torture to bite. Soylent is marginally better than Carnation Instant Breakast but not by much. Pour a quarter cup of palm oil into your breakfast shake and you'll push it up over your calories. Or, fuck. Add peanut butter.

Put another way: 3 Metagenics shakes + one Cold Stone Creamery PB&C shake = less money than Soylent, more calories, and a shit ton more flavor. Their entire sales slogan seems to be "do you hate eating? Well here's some food that hates you back!" and I just don't think it's a growth strategy.