These Meal Kit Services Make Eating Healthy Easy — But Does One Outshine The Other?

Oftentimes making nutritious, homemade meals can take a backseat to busy schedules and vibrant social lives. And as much fun as dining out is, research shows high-quality diets can lead to lower obesity rates1. In fact, having healthy, particularly vegan, meals ready to prepare in your fridge is linked with lower disease rates2, a balanced gut microbiome3, and better metabolic health4. The best part? You can save a truckload of money by cooking at home—and to make your life even simpler, there’s a plethora of meal kit delivery services offering healthy, affordable options. Let’s take a closer look at two of our top picks: HelloFresh vs Purple Carrot.

These subscription-based services make it easier to prepare and cook healthy meals at home with minimal effort and little cleanup. While the basic concept is quite similar, there are a few key differences to consider when deciding which is better, HelloFresh or Purple Carrot.

HelloFresh vs. Purple Carrot:

HelloFresh

Cost per meal:

From $9.99 per serving

Dietary considerations:

Low-caloriePescatarianVegetarianBeef-freePork-freeSeafood-free

Who should try it?

People without strict dietary preferences or food allergies will enjoy HelloFresh. Anyone with a busy schedule (or who simply doesn't like grocery shopping) should try HelloFresh for quick, simple meals. The 4-serving plan is great for families of three or four.

Who should skip it?

Similar to Purple Carrot, HelloFresh might not be the best choice for those with strict dietary restrictions or preferences.

Purple Carrot

Cost per meal:

From $11 per serving

Dietary considerations:

VegetarianVeganGluten-Free

Who should try it?

If you want quick and easy access to plant-based meals at a reasonable cost, Purple Carrot is a great option. It's a convenient choice for people who don't have too many dietary restrictions and who are looking to trying unique recipes.

Who should skip it?

People with dietary preferences or restrictions such as low-carb, keto, or paleo might have a tough time finding enough options with Purple Carrot. Some recipes can also be intimidating for people who aren't comfortable in the kitchen. That said, the instructions are broken down in a very easy-to-follow manner.

Pros:

Cons:

Pros:

Cons:

One thing to love about this plant-based delivery service is the easy-as-(vegan)-pie signup experience. You’ll first set up an account for the weekly meal kit subscription service and select a category preference for recipes. You can choose between high-protein meals which have at least 20 grams of protein per serving, low-prep meals which are designed to use fewer pots and pans, gluten-free, and “no preference” (a great choice if you’re up for anything).

Next, you’ll choose the number of meals you want each week and whether you’d like two or four servings per meal. While the serving sizes aren’t customizable for households of odd numbers, we’ll often plan ahead to have leftovers for the next day. At checkout, your cart is based on the number of meals and serving size you’ve selected.

For the first week of your subscription, Purple Carrot will recommend meals based on your provided preferences. From there, you can select meals from a list of options. Each meal notes dietary preferences such as gluten-free, soy-free, or high protein. Prep time and calories will also be displayed.

Every week features eight rotating dinner recipes, plus options for breakfast, lunch, and snacks. On busier weeks, you can opt to receive prepared meals or frozen meals instead of the meal prep kits. Since Purple Carrot is a weekly subscription service, you’ll pay per week—and you can pause or cancel your subscription at any time free of charge.

Read our detailed Purple Carrot review here.

A few sample menu items:

From easy-to-follow recipe cards to its user-friendly app to a seasonal magazine with menu highlights, HelloFresh has a handle on convenience. To get started, you’ll create your HelloFresh account by personalizing your meal kit plan. Here, you’ll set your preferences so that their system will show you the most relevant recipes for you. You can choose up to six options from meat and veggies, just veggies, family-friendly, fit and wholesome, quick and easy, and pescatarian. You’ll be able to swap proteins and sides if they aren’t a perfect match and choose from over 60 recipes on its website under “weekly menus”. Here, you’ll discover recipes by cook time, notable mentions like “Hall of Fame” and “Best of 2022”, and descriptors like calorie smart, carb smart, protein smart, vegan, and more.

After setting your preferences, you’ll choose your plan to be for two or four people with two to six recipes per week. HelloFresh will then populate meals based on your preferences, and you’ll be notified that you have a certain amount of time to swap meals before your box is out for delivery. You should get your first delivery box containing your pre-measured ingredients and recipe cards with nutritional information and step-by-step cooking instructions within a week of placing your order and is sent in a box with cooling technology that will keep the ingredients fresh for up to 48 hours. If you need to skip a week or cancel your subscription, you can manage your entire account from the mobile app or the website.

Read our full HelloFresh review here.

A few sample HelloFresh meals:

If you’re wondering which meal kit delivery service is the least expensive, you should know that HelloFresh is one of the most affordable subscriptions that still prioritizes high-quality, and often locally sourced, ingredients. It’s worth noting that shipping isn’t included with HelloFresh like it is with Purple Carrot. And the more recipes and servings you order, the lower the cost per serving. Generally, HelloFresh meals are under $10 a serving and Purple Carrot meals are right above $10 a serving.

Here’s a quick comparison of costs:

Purple Carrot

HelloFresh

Both Purple Carrot and HelloFresh will note the common allergens when you view your curated weekly menu items and when you’re browsing the weekly menus. So while you can pick recipes free of allergens like soy, nuts, dairy, and gluten, if you have a food allergy, having your box picked for you won’t be as seamless. Also, if you have a severe food allergy, these products might have cross-contamination from being processed in the same facility. It’s also worth mentioning that HelloFresh only lets you swap recipes once the weekly menu they’ve picked for you is set to ship.

The main dietary difference is that all of Purple Carrot’s recipes are vegan and plant-based while HelloFresh has 100+ recipes and many of which have meat. If you are looking to enjoy a plant-based lifestyle, Purple Carrot might be a better option for you than HelloFresh.

HelloFresh uses some organic ingredients like local and seasonal produce at peak freshness. They state that their produce has a "31% lower life-cycle carbon footprint than those of the same size from a supermarket," according to an analysis the company published in 2022. We also love that their boxes and packaging are recyclable (the only thing you can’t recycle are the water liners).

Purple Carrot, on the other hand, states that most of its non-produce items are organic, but that its produce comes from various sources. Their boxes and packaging are also recyclable, and they take pride in not using as much material to ship their boxes. This is thanks to the fact the ingredients in the box aren’t always pre-measured out for each recipe like HelloFresh.