Best Survival Food Kits

The comparison table

All figures below come from each seller's own product pages, read on 2026-10-14. Cost per 1,000 calories is the listed price divided by the calories in thousands. Shelf life and returns are what each seller states, not something this guide has verified.

Two things stand out. First, My Patriot Supply's pages label these kits "Ready Hour" kits, and the names, calories, servings and prices of the 4-week and 3-month kits match on both sites. The pages do not say how the two businesses are related, so this guide does not either. Second, the one price difference found between them is the 1-Year kit: $2,977.95 on Ready Hour versus $3,191.80 on My Patriot Supply, a gap of $213.85 for the same 727,840 calories and 3,384 servings. Ready Hour also lists the $3,191.80 version, so check which one is in your cart.

4Patriots lists a Buy 1, Get 1 Free offer on its 4-Week kit, seen on 2026-10-14. This guide does not compute a per-calorie figure for it.

How "best" is decided: five criteria

"Best" on this page is not a ranking by taste or brand. It is a scorecard on five checks, each of which can be read from a seller's page:

1. Price per 1,000 calories. Price divided by calories, so kits of different sizes can be compared.
2. Calories per day as stated. What the seller says one day of the kit provides.
3. Shelf life stated, and under what condition. Who says it, and what storage it assumes.
4. Returns stated. The window, the condition of the goods and who pays shipping.
5. What is needed to prepare it. Water and heat.

Each cell on the scorecard is one of four values: STATED, NOT STATED, MIXED or CAN'T BE CHECKED.

The math, worked in full for one kit

Take the 3-month kit sold by My Patriot Supply, listed at $797.95 for 181,960 calories.

• 181,960 calories divided by 1,000 is 181.96 thousand calories.
• $797.95 divided by 181.96 is about $4.39 per 1,000 calories.
• A 2,000-calorie day is 2 thousand calories, so one day costs about 2 x $4.39, which is $8.77 when the unrounded figure is used.
• 181,960 divided by 2,000 is 90.98, so the kit covers about 91 days of one person at 2,000 calories.

Now the same steps for 4Patriots' 3-month kit: $799 divided by 139.6 is about $5.72 per 1,000 calories. Its page states about 1,551 calories per day, so at 2,000 calories a day the kit covers 139,600 divided by 2,000, which is about 70 days rather than 91. That is about 30 percent more per 1,000 calories, for fewer calories per day. Its cooking path ("boil, simmer and serve", about 15 minutes) and longer return window sit on other scorecard rows.

The three sellers

My Patriot Supply

My Patriot Supply sells 72-hour packs, 2-week, 4-week, 3-month, 6-month and 1-year kits, family starter packs and larger "MEGA" kits. Its 3-month kit is $797.95 for 846 servings and 181,960 calories. The company says up to 25 years when stored properly, offers 30-day returns on unopened goods with the buyer paying return shipping, and lists a Disaster Replacement Warranty that has to be activated. Its page lists 36.12 gallons of water to prepare the 3-month kit. It fits a buyer who wants a larger menu of sizes, including the Family Starter Packs. It is a weaker fit if the 1-Year kit is the target. Full details are in the My Patriot Supply review.

Ready Hour

Ready Hour lists the same 4-week, 3-month and 1-year kits at the same prices as My Patriot Supply, except a 1-Year kit listed at $2,977.95. It also lists a 72-Hour Kit Sample Pack at $34.95 and freeze-dried meat kits. Ready Hour states up to 25 years of shelf life, 30-day returns on unopened goods and free shipping over $149 to the lower 48. It says it is part of a family of companies and names none. It fits a buyer who wants the 1-Year kit at the lower of the two listed prices. It is less suited to someone who wants the starter packs, which were found only on My Patriot Supply. See the Ready Hour review.

4Patriots

4Patriots, sold at 4patriots.com, lists a 3-month kit at $799 for 712 servings and 139,600 calories, and a 1-Year kit at $2,799 against a listed $3,199. The company says its food is designed to last 25 years under proper storage, backs it with a 90-day satisfaction guarantee (the buyer pays to send it back) and a 365-day limited warranty for defects. It fits a buyer who values the longer return window. It is a weaker fit if cost per calorie is the main check. This site has no affiliate link to 4Patriots and reviews it on the same five checks. Read the 4Patriots food kit review.

Pick by situation

• A grab-and-go bag for about three days. Look at the small packs first: Ready Hour's 72-Hour Kit Sample Pack is $34.95 for 20 servings, My Patriot Supply's is $34.99. The family sizing guide shows how many it takes.
• A family of four. At 4 x 2,000 calories, the household needs about 8,000 calories a day. The 4-week kit's 56,460 calories is about 7 days of that, and the 3-month kit's 181,960 is about 23 days. The sizing is worked in the guide to kits for a family.
• Thirty days for one person. The 4-week kit is the match: 56,460 divided by 2,000 is about 28 days. See long-term survival food kits by size.
• Three months or more. The 3-month and 1-year kits are covered in the same long-term kit guide, with cost per day.
• A tight budget. Cost per 1,000 calories is the check that scales. Two sellers side by side are in My Patriot Supply vs 4Patriots, and all three are in the three-seller comparison.

When a kit is the wrong tool

A kit is a poor match when the household has dietary restrictions the menu does not cover, or when ordinary pantry food would do the job. Ready.gov asks for at least a several-day supply of non-perishable food and tells readers to remember special dietary needs, so a short event may only need groceries you already eat. The guide to freeze-dried versus canned food compares the formats, and the shelf life guide explains what a stated shelf life means. The five checks guide is a one-page checklist, and the full list of guides has the rest.

FAQ

Do My Patriot Supply and Ready Hour sell the same kits?

Their pages show the same kit lineup. My Patriot Supply's product pages call the kits "Ready Hour" kits, and the 4-week and 3-month kits match on name, calories, servings and price. The one price gap read is the 1-Year kit. The pages do not describe how the two businesses are related.

Which seller is lower per 1,000 calories?

On the 3-month kit, My Patriot Supply and Ready Hour are tied at $4.39, below 4Patriots at $5.72. On the 1-Year kit, Ready Hour's $2,977.95 listing works out to $4.09, My Patriot Supply's to $4.39 and 4Patriots' to $5.01. Read date 2026-10-14.

Does 4Patriots hold up on the other checks?

Yes on some. It states a 90-day return window against 30 days at the other two, plus a 365-day limited warranty for defects. It also sizes its kits at about 1,551 calories per day, so each lasts fewer days at 2,000 calories. See the 4Patriots review.

How many calories does a person need?

FDA describes 2,000 calories a day as a general guide, and needs vary by age, sex, height, weight and activity. This site uses 2,000 as a planning figure only.

Is the shelf life certain?

No. Each seller states its own figure, up to 25 years for My Patriot Supply and Ready Hour when stored properly, and designed to last 25 years under proper storage for 4Patriots. These are seller statements, and storage conditions change the result. See how long survival food lasts.

Sources

• My Patriot Supply 3-Month kit page, read 2026-10-14: https://www.mypatriotsupply.com/products/3-month-emergency-food-supply-2-000-calories-day
• My Patriot Supply 4-Week and 1-Year kit pages, read 2026-10-14: https://www.mypatriotsupply.com/products/4-week-emergency-food-supply-2-000-calories-day and https://www.mypatriotsupply.com/products/1-year-emergency-food-supply-2-000-calories-day
• My Patriot Supply refund policy, read 2026-10-14: https://www.mypatriotsupply.com/policies/refund-policy
• Ready Hour kit pages, read 2026-10-14: https://readyhour.com/products/3-month-emergency-food-supply-2-000-calories-day-1 and https://readyhour.com/products/1-year-food-supply-2000-calories-per-day
• Ready Hour refund policy, read 2026-10-14: https://readyhour.com/policies/refund-policy
• 4Patriots 3-Month kit page, read 2026-10-14: https://4patriots.com/products/3-month-emergency-survival-food-kit
• 4Patriots refund policy, read 2026-10-14: https://4patriots.com/policies/refund-policy
• Ready.gov food page, read 2026-10-14: https://www.ready.gov/food
• FDA, calories on the Nutrition Facts label, read 2026-10-14: https://www.fda.gov/food/nutrition-facts-label/calories-nutrition-facts-label

Update history

Next review due 2026-12-13.