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Comment by ph0rque | Hacker News Reader

Having tried soylent in powder form before, I came to the conclusion that on the 3D scales of convenience, taste, and price, it just wasn't far enough in the desirable region (low price, high convenience, and good taste) that I was ready to buy any more of it.

With Soylent 2.0, that seems to have changed: it's more convenient (no more mixing needed) EDIT: but higher-priced. I'm looking forward to trying it again (not until it's generally available, though). Hopefully the taste has improved, as well.

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> Hopefully the taste has improved

Yeah, to me the powder is absolutely wretched tasting on its own without adding stuff. I've heard people say they like it plain, but I gag just thinking about it.

I didn't have any negative feelings toward the taste of soylent 1.x. However, I did realize just how much I enjoy the taste of real, good food.

How do you figure this is lower priced? Seems like a massive price increase to me.

Wasn't it $3+ per meal before?

EDIT: You're right, you need 1 and 2/3 of a bottle to drink the equivalent of a meal... sneaky sneaky, Soylent!

The powder was $9.11 per 2000 calories on subscription. The drinks are $12.10 per 2000 calories.

That's...significantly more expensive than I thought it would be per day.

Some quick comparisons:

2000 calories in Big Macs: $17.87 at a US McDonalds

2000 calories in SlimFast meal replacement shakes: $13.13 at Wal-Mart

2000 calories in SlimFast powder: $8.94 at Wal-Mart

> 2000 calories in Big Macs: $17.87 at a US McDonalds

How did you get that?

According to McDonald's own nutritional information [1], you'd consume 1,070 calories per medium meal. Via:

Big Mac: 530 calories

Medium Fries: 340 calories

Medium Drink: 200 Calories

In order for your maths to work each meal has to cost $8.94. The most expensive medium big mac meal I can find is $8.03 in DC, or $16 for your 2K calories.

[0] http://www.fastfoodmenuprices.com/mcdonalds-prices/

[1] http://www.mcdonalds.com/us/en/food/full_menu/full_menu_expl...

I divided 2000 calories by the calories in a Big Mac and multiplied by the average price of a Big Mac in the US in July 2015. This calculation does not depend on the cost of foods that aren't Big Macs.

Or – for a more traditional comparison – cooking.

I live in a house of 8 where we order food communally, last month my food bill was £93.35 ($145.50), so $4.85/day for three (subjectively very healthy) meals.

Not your typical setup, but still perhaps of interest.

I just looked at their $ per kCal that they displayed under your currently selected order option and compared it to the same number for the powder. I do dislike swapping around serving sizes and stuff though since it's mostly arbitrary.

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