Cooking after a day of work can add another level of stress to your day, especially when you need to go shopping, weigh ingredients, and figure out what actually to do with them.
If you want to save time, a meal kit delivery service like Hello Fresh is a great solution. You get everything you need and don’t have to worry about measuring stuff. Easy-to-follow recipes turn preparing tasty meals into child play.
But is Hello Fresh cheaper than grocery shopping?
No, HelloFresh is not considered to be cheaper than grocery store shopping. When you compare the cost of the meals and the cost of the ingredients at a grocery store, the grocery store options are almost always cheaper per serving.
If you want to learn more about the costs involved and how Hello Fresh compares against shopping for ingredients in the grocery store, keep reading this article.
What Is HelloFresh, And What Does It Offer?
Hello Fresh is the most popular meal kit delivery service worldwide. In 2021, the company delivered a whopping 1 BILLION meals to people. The company employs more than 20,000 people and has millions of customers.
Hello Fresh started in Germany in 2011 and entered the US market in 2013, a year after it started delivering in the UK. Canadians have been able to order from Hello Fresh since 2016.
Hello Fresh offers a wide variety of meal kits they send to customers’ homes. Customers choose their meals from a huge menu each week. The minimum order is 2 meals for 2 people per week, and the maximum is 6 meals for 4 people per week.
There are over 100 options to choose from each week. While many of these meals are meat-based, there are plenty of vegetarian and vegan options.
Hello Fresh is one of the few meal kit delivery services that enable vegans to have a box filled with different meals (other services often only have 1-2 vegan options, which makes it hard to fill a weekly box).
While Hello Fresh does not offer specific plans like “gluten-free,” or “dairy-free” as such, the allergen information is easy to find, so people can make the right decisions about whether to order a certain meal.
How Much Does HelloFresh Cost?
Before we compare how much the ingredients you’d need to prepare Hello Fresh meals would cost if you bought them yourself, we need to look at how much a serving of Hello Fresh costs (as of January 2023).
| Meals | Cost per serving for 2 people | Cost per serving for 4 people |
| 2 | $12.49 | $9.79 |
| 3 | $9.99 | $9.49 |
| 4 | $9.79 | $9.29 |
| 5 | $9.79 | $9.29 |
| 6 | $9.79 | $8.99 |
This means the most expensive cost per portion is $12.49, and the cheapest cost is $8.99. This cost per serving means that Hello Fresh is more expensive when it comes to meal kit delivery services.
How Much Would It Cost To Buy HelloFresh Ingredients In A Grocery Store?
To compare Hello Fresh against the cost of a grocery shop just for the ingredients, I have chosen one of Hello Fresh’s most popular dishes When Steak Met Potatoes.
For two servings, Hello Fresh sends customers
- 12 oz sirloin steak
- 12 oz Yukon gold potatoes
- 4 tbsp sour cream
- 1 unit beef stock concentrate
- 4 oz kale
- 1 shallot
- ½ oz black peppercorns
Remember, one serving would cost between $8.99 and $12.49.
Let’s see how much these ingredients cost on average when bought in a grocery store.
- $8 for 12 oz sirloin steak
- $1 for 12 oz Yukon gold potatoes
- $1.50 for a tub of sour cream
- $1 for beef stock
- $1.50 for a bunch of kale
- $0.45 for 1 shallot
- $1.50 for a packet of black peppercorns
That’s a total of $14.95 for two servings, which means one serving costs $7.48. You could spend even less if you buy some things on special or go for value brands.
Considering the cheapest option at Hello Fresh costs $8.99 per portion, buying these ingredients yourself is cheaper.
You would see even bigger differences when you look at vegetarian meals and meals without expensive meats like steak.
Other Savings If You Use HelloFresh
So, you now know that Hello Fresh is not cheaper than doing your own shopping when it comes to the ingredients alone. However, you need to consider that other factors come into play.
Most people have to spend money to get to a grocery store – either by buying fuel for their vehicles, paying for a taxi or Uber, or paying for a public transport ticket.
When you consider that, then Hello Fresh’s cost no longer looks quite as expensive.
In addition, you’ll save a lot of time. Grocery shopping is time-consuming and can be stressful, too, for many people.
Keeping the meal example above in mind, also ask yourself: what will you do with the extra sour cream, peppercorns, beef stock, and kale? You can’t buy the exact amount you need just for that meal, so you will have leftovers. Will you honestly use it all up, or will some end up in the bin?
Adding it all up, Hello Fresh might not be cheaper than the grocery store, but it will not cost you that much more, and it’ll prevent a lot of food waste (which equals throwing money into the bin).
Are Other Meal Kits Cost Cheaper Than HelloFresh?
Hello Fresh is probably the first meal kit service you are looking at, as it’s one of the most popular ones. Hello Fresh has been around for a while, has proven reliable, and delivers quality ingredients.
But what if cost is an important factor for you? Are there meal kit delivery services that are cheaper than Hello Fresh?
There are! Dinnerly and Everyplate have plans where you only pay as little as $4.99 per portion. However, there are some minor drawbacks to using these services instead, especially if you’re vegan or have other dietary needs. Hello Fresh has a far bigger range of meals to choose from.
You can also find similarly priced meal kit services like Blue Apron.
Who Would Benefit From Using HelloFresh?
Hello Fresh is suitable for everyone – from singles (you must freeze half of what you cook or eat it the following day) to families.
Hello Fresh is particularly beneficial if
- You want to save time,
- You don’t like grocery shopping,
- You want to try dishes from all over the world without having to look for exotic ingredients that might be hard to find,
- You want to cook something different every day,
- You want to try and stick to eating healthier or more nutritious meals,
- You don’t like throwing away food.
Are HelloFresh Meals Healthy And Filling?
While none of the Hello Fresh meals are truly junk food, some options are healthier than others. For example, the Firehouse Cheeseburger won’t win an award for being extra healthy, but it’s still better than McDonald’s.
Meals like the Honey Miso Broccoli Donburi, the Harissa Sweet Potato Wraps, the Coconut Curry with chickpeas, or the Vegan mushroom and soy ramen are examples of meals that are delicious but healthy.
Even healthier options include chickpea-powered couscous, veggie burrito bowls, butternut squash and sage orecchiette, and seven-grain chiles Rellenos.
You can create a nicely balanced week with Hello Fresh meals. There are also some lush options for a nice weekend night. Maybe not extra healthy, but super tasty.
Each portion should fill up the average adult nicely.
Are HelloFresh Meal Kits Worth The Price?
It depends on what your priorities are. If you need to save cash and don’t mind spending time grocery shopping, then Hello Fresh might not be for you.
If you, however, value having some extra time to relax at home, and being able to try a variety of interesting dishes each week, then Hello Fresh is worth it. If you consider that it’s not that much cheaper once you add all the extra costs connected to grocery shopping, you’ll also realize there’s not such a huge difference.
For me, Hello Fresh is of great value because I enjoy trying dishes from all over the world. I particularly enjoy the Japanese options from Hello Fresh. I don’t need a fancy cookbook, and I don’t need to find some exotic ingredients. Hello Fresh sends me everything I need, and I’ve been impressed so far.
Does HelloFresh Tie You Into A Long Subscription?
Absolutely not. That’s another thing I like about Hello Fresh. If I need to stop, I can log in and pause my subscription or cancel it. It’s easy, and they won’t hassle you about it.
Sometimes, they send you special promotion emails to “lure” you back after you leave, and these come with some extra savings (e.g., $10 off your next box), so that’s a nice bonus.
How often you get Hello Fresh and how long you stay with them is up to you. You won’t be tied into some contract.
Final Thoughts
While Hello Fresh isn’t the cheapest meal kit, it’s one of the best, and I regularly order from them – not every week, as it’s easy to order just when you want stuff. I enjoy cooking various dishes without worrying about having a cupboard full of ingredients I won’t use for anything else (e.g., I don’t need a full bottle of rice vinegar, it’ll just collect dust).
When I have a busy week ahead, I often order a week’s worth of Hello Fresh meals as this will help a lot with time management – and prevent me from eating too much junk.