Short On Time? These 2 Meal Delivery Services Help Get (Healthy) Dinner On The Table

HelloFresh vs. Blue Apron

HelloFresh

Meals per week:

2 to 6 meals per week

Cost per meal:

From $9 per serving

Who should try it?

Families, larger households, and couples who do not have a lot of time to cook should try HelloFresh. Really, anyone who wants to save some time in the kitchen could benefit from this meal delivery service.

Who should skip it?

That said, if you're on a very specific diet or nutrition plan, you may not find enough options on HelloFresh. People with severe food allergies, or who are simply picky eaters, may want to try a meal delivery service with more restriction options.

Blue Apron

Meals per week:

2 to 5 meals per week

Cost per meal:

From $8 per serving

Who should try it?

If you're looking for quick and easy meals and don't want to spend a ton of time in the kitchen, Blue Apron is a great option—especially if you aren't on a restrictive diet. Blue Apron also has ready-to-eat meals, which are perfect for people with a busy schedule.

Who should skip it?

Those with severe food allergies or dietary restrictions may not find enough options on Blue Apron. Additionally, you can only get up to five meals per week, so this one might not be best for larger families.

Pros:

Cons:

Pros:

Cons:

If you aren’t following a specific dietary plan and want to mix and match meals, you can choose multiple plans to have access to a more robust menu.

Once you pick a plan, you’ll select how many meals you want to receive each week (2 to 6) and whether you’d like 2 or 4 servings for each recipe. As you customize your box, you’ll see the price adjust in real time; the bigger your box, the lower the cost per serving.

Next, you’ll be given access to the weekly menu. The brand will suggest recipes based on which plan you've selected—but you can view the options from all meal plans.

When your recipes are confirmed, HelloFresh will work build your box for the week. You’ll receive all the ingredients you need to make each meal, plus recipe cards that walk you through each step.

Each week, you’ll sign into your account and pick the recipes for your upcoming delivery. If you’re out of town or don’t want a delivery for any reason, you can skip a week at any time (as long as it's before the cut-off date).

As with HelloFresh, you can choose multiple plans to have more menu options. You can opt for between 2 and 5 recipes per week that serve 2 or 4 people. Again, the cost per serving goes down with the larger plans.

Once you’ve determined which meal plan you want to sign up for, the next step is to choose your meals—the menu updates weekly and includes more than 70 options across all meal plans.

After your recipes are confirmed, you’ll choose a delivery date and Blue Apron will send you a box of ingredients with recipe cards. Each week, you’ll go back in and choose your recipes for the upcoming week. If you don’t want delivery for that week, you can skip or pause your subscription at any time.

For smaller plans, HelloFresh is less expensive than BlueApron. However, BlueApron becomes more affordable than HelloFresh when you commit to five (or more) meals per week.

Here’s are more detailed breakdown of how the costs compare:

3 recipes of 2 servings each:

5 recipes of 4 servings each:

Both brands also discounts to certain groups of people. HelloFresh has a “Hero Discount” of 55% off your first box plus free shipping, and 15% off all other boxes for a year. Medical providers, nurses, hospital employees, active military and veterans all qualify for this discount.

Blue Apron's discount applies only to the first order, but covers more professions: Doctors, nurses, hospital employees, first responders, seniors (55+), military, students, teachers, and government workers will get $110 off plus free shipping on their first box.

HelloFresh offers 100+ meals each week, while BlueApron has about 70+. Both brands have ever-changing menu options, meaning new recipes are added each week.

HelloFresh allows you to mix and match from all meal plans, regardless of which you signed up for. Blue Apron limits you to meals from the plan you initially sign up for. However, you can change your plan at any time.

As far as dietary considerations go, HelloFresh has a slight edge here—but neither company has a ton of customization options available. While both brands do clearly mark any meals containing the top eight major allergens (wheat, milk, soy, eggs, tree nuts, peanuts, fish, and shellfish), neither uses a dedicated kitchen, so cross-contamination is a possibility.

While not allergen-friendly, HelloFresh’s meals can be customized to be beef-free, pork-free, and seafood-free. There are also a handful of vegetarian options and vegan options (about six total out of the 40+ on the menu), but no gluten-free, dairy-free, or nut-free meals. Some, but not all, ingredients are organic.

HelloFresh does allow you to change, swap, or add-on about 12 sides and proteins each week. For example, if a meal features beef but you prefer chicken, you can make a request when selecting your recipes.

Blue Apron has fewer dietary considerations. The company offers a vegetarian plan and you can filter by beef-, pork-, and fish-free meals, but that’s really it as far as customizations go. Like HelloFresh, some ingredients are organic.

A few HelloFresh meal options:

A few Blue Apron meal options:

Both brands are 100% carbon-neutral and are making strides when it comes to sustainability and environmental impact.

HelloFresh uses renewable energy sources and local suppliers to shorten the supply chain. Blue Apron purchases carbon offsets and is working toward a goal of net zero (which means no carbon will be generated in the first place). HelloFresh and Blue Apron both use some recyclable materials, but some plastic materials as well.

As for animal welfare? Both HelloFresh and Blue Apron only source from suppliers that adhere to strict humane animal welfare policies.

Unfortunately, neither company is 100% organic, but they do include some in their kits when possible. There’s not too much information on either website, so it’s hard to say exactly how many of the ingredients are organic.