Meal kit delivery services offer a solution that busy people and families have long been looking for. They simplify mealtime and eliminate the need to make multiple trips to the grocery store each week. The hardest part of choosing a meal delivery service is that there are just so many out there. Here, we’re going to look at two of the most popular meal delivery services – Dinnerly Vs Hello Fresh.
Dinnerly is one of the most affordable meal delivery services on the market today. They realize that the costs of some meal delivery services can be a prohibitive factor, especially for budget-minded individuals and families.
With Dinnerly, you get simple, easy-to-prepare meal kits with fresh ingredients at affordable prices.
Hello Fresh is one of the more popular names in the meal delivery service industry. Hello Fresh aims to provide delicious, simple meals that help you avoid the temptation of take-out and preservative-laden processed foods. Their tasty meals are simple to prepare and nutritionally balanced.
If you’re looking for an economical option for meal kit delivery, both Dinnerly and Hello Fresh fit the bill. Here’s a closer look at how the two meal delivery services stack up against each other.
Dinnerly
Pros
- One of the most economical options with meals coming in under $5
- Occasionally offers additional discount incentives
- Classic, well-liked menu choices
- Option to purchase extra protein a la carte
- Kid-friendly meal options are good for families
Cons
- Only offers dinner options, except for special occasions
- Limited customization options
- To cut cost, Dinnerly’s recipe cards are digital (something that might be a pro or con depending on personal preferences)
Hello Fresh
Pros
- Good selection of meal choices with 20 weekly meal options
- Offers a range of classic and worldly cuisines
- Flexible per-week plan options
- Hello Fresh offers a 15% student discount
Cons
- While economical, base price is notably higher than Dinnerly
- Limited options for those with special dietary needs or preferences
- Some packaging material is difficult to recycle
Dietary Options
Dinnerly
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Hello Fresh
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If you’re someone who has special dietary needs, you’re likely too familiar with how challenging it can be to find meals that meet your needs. Some meal kit delivery services do a great job of offering a range of special dietary options, while others fall a little short.
Both Dinnerly and Hello Fresh are economical meal kit services, which means there’s going to be some limitations on what they can offer while continuing to keep prices low.
Hello Fresh can cater to some dietary lifestyles, such as vegetarian and low calorie. Their weekly menus usually offer a decent range of choices in these categories. Outside of this, their ability to cater to special dietary needs is rather limited.
If you have food allergies or sensitivities, plan on doing some digging and not having too many options for gluten-free, dairy-free, or soy-free meals. Special diet options are quite limited.
Dinnerly is an even more economically friendly option, so you’d think their ability to cater to special dietary needs would be even more limited. This isn’t necessarily the case.
While a range of dietary options isn’t what Dinnerly is known for, there do include a small number of vegetarian meals and allergen-free meals each week.
What helps set Dinnerly apart in this category is that they make it so much easier to find allergen and dietary option categories at a glance on their website.
Dietary Options Winner
Neither Hello Fresh nor Dinnerly wins high marks for offering a ton of options for special dietary needs or dietary restrictions, like food allergies. However, Dinnerly does offer a few more, and their site is more user friendly, making it easier to find meals that fit your needs.
While not front and center of their meal lineup you can find vegetarian options and some low-carb options on the weekly menu.
Meal Prep & Variety
Dinnerly
- 40+
- 3 meals for 2 people
Hello Fresh
- 70+
- 2 meals for 2 people
The whole point of choosing a meal delivery kit is to simplify mealtime. Meal kits allow you to skip grocery shopping and meal planning, while also getting the chance to try new and different meals.
Choosing one with complicated recipes or so little variety that you easily become bored defeats the purpose. You want an option that makes mealtime effortless and provides mouth-watering variety.
With 16 meal choices each week (including smoothies and a la carte protein), the Dinnerly menu offers up a decent variety of meals. What’s great about Dinnerly’s selection is that their meal choices range from traditional classics to world cuisines with flavors that border on the exotic.
Dinnerly also offers a good selection of kid-friendly meals, which is a huge bonus for families.
It’s worth noting that Dinnerly doesn’t supply printed recipe cards. You’ll need to access your account for the digital recipe cards instead. However, it’s simple enough to print a paper recipe if you have access to a printer.
Most of Dinnerly’s meals can go from cutting board to table in about 30 minutes. They also offer a category of meals that can be prepared in even less time for those extra busy (or lazy) nights.
Hello Fresh offers a bit more variety than Dinnerly, with about 20 meals per week. Hello Fresh doesn’t sway so far into worldly cuisines as Dinnerly but their menu is filled with classics that will appeal to most people.
Hello Fresh also offers meals that can go from pan to table in less than 30 minutes. Their Bulgogi Chicken Tacos is an example of a Hello Fresh meal that can be on the table in 15 minutes.
They also highlight some of their meals as easy cleanup, which is great for those nights when you need to be out the door after dinner. It’s also not uncommon to find a one pot meal or two on the menu.
Overall, we found that most meals had very easy to follow instructions, and the delicious recipes had us excited about each upcoming delivery day.
Meal Variety Winner
Both companies offer a good variety of meal kits, fresh ingredients, and simple recipes. Hello Fresh wins here because they offer a bit more variety and their easy cleanup and super quick meals are a definite plus for busy people.
Ingredients
Dinnerly
- Non-GMO
grass Organic- Grass Fed
- Wild-Caught
Hello Fresh
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Worried that you’re going to sacrifice quality ingredients by signing up with an economical meal kit delivery service? Don’t be. Both Dinnerly and Hello Fresh prove that you can provide quality while keeping prices low and offering tasty, healthy meals to their customers.
Dinnerly makes a point of sourcing ingredients only from suppliers that they trust. You can’t find out who exactly these suppliers are by looking at their website but if you contact Dinnerly directly you might be able to dig up a little more information.
When it comes to quality, the proof is in the pudding so to speak, and overall Dinnerly has a track record of customer satisfaction with the quality of their ingredients.
Hello Fresh is also committed to being choosy about where they source their ingredients. Their website claims they source as many ingredients as possible, including wonderfully fresh produce straight from the farm.
Hello Fresh has a focus on sustainability and ethical sourcing. Like Dinnerly, Hello Fresh also receives good reviews from their customers regarding ingredient quality.
Ingredients Winner
Hello Fresh wins this category by a hair. At the end of the day, the two meal kit services do a great job of supplying quality ingredients for their weekly recipes at an affordable price point.
HelloFresh meals win due to their “straight from the farm” philosophy and commitment to sustainability, all without the higher price point that other meal kit companies charge.
Taste & Sample Meals
Dinnerly
- Creamy Cajun Shrimp
- Chinese Take-Out Pepper Steak
- Hoisin-Glazed Chicken
Hello Fresh
- Zucchini Pomodoro Penne Bake
- Bulgogi Chicken Tacos
- Harissa Sweet Potato Pockets
If the meals you create from your meal kit fall short in the taste department, you’re going to be disappointed, Taste is one of the most important factors to consider when choosing a meal kit delivery service.
Dinnerly offers about 16 menu choices each week. Among them are flavors that appeal to a wide range of tastes and dietary preferences.
Overall, customer reviews for the taste of Dinnerly’s meals are decent, and they even include some dishes, like a skillet chocolate chip cookie, that will win major points with any with a sweet tooth.
Dinnerly tends to keep things pretty simple in terms of flavor profiles. You’ll find meals with a bit of stand-out flavor, but you shouldn’t expect to be wowed in terms of taste.
Hello Fresh offers meals offer good variety among the menu options. With a bit more selection, you’re likely to find taste and flavors that appeal to both picky eaters and those looking for something a little new and unusual.
Taste Winner
Both companies are about on the same level as far as customer reviews for taste go. Hello Fresh has a bit higher of a price point, which means you’re going to get a few extra bells and whistles in the flavor department of the meals offered.
They also offer a wider range of flavor profiles to choose from, and most recipes are well-recieved by pickier eaters.
Pricing
Dinnerly
MEALS PER WEEK | PRICE PER SERVING | PRICE PER SERVING |
Two | $8.49 | $6.99/Meal |
Three | $7.49 | $6.49/Meal |
Four | $6.99 | $5.99/Meal |
Five | $6.49 | $5.79/Meal |
Six | $6.24 | $4.99/Meal |
Hello Fresh
MEALS PER WEEK | PRICE PER SERVING | PRICE PER SERVING | PRICE PER SERVING |
2 | $11.49 | $9.99 | $9.99 |
3 | $9.99 | $9.99 | $9.99 |
4 | $9.99 | $9.99 | $9.99 |
5 | $9.99 | $9.99 | $9.99 |
6 | $9.99 | $9.99 | $9.99 |
One of the biggest appeals of both Dinnerly and Hello Fresh is their pricing structure. Compared to other companies that charge twice as much (if not more), these two companies keep affordability as a main priority.
Dinnerly is by far one of the most economical options out there. Their prices start at $4.29 per serving and max out at $4.99. Dinnerly offers a two-person box and a family box, with a slight range in price depending on how many portions you purchase.
Dinnerly works hard to keep their prices low, and this includes charging a flat rate shipping fee of $8.99 with each order to keep prices low in other areas.
Hello Fresh is also an economical option but their price per meal exceeds Dinnerly’s by a significant amount (nearly double in some cases). That said, Hello Fresh does offer some good discount incentives that slash their prices closer to that of Dinnerly’s.
Hello Fresh also charges a flat rate shipping charge of $7.99 per order. This isn’t as nice as free shipping, but there are definitely companies that charge significantly more.
Pricing Winner
It’s hard to say anything negative about the pricing structure from either of these companies. Dinnerly wins here simply because their basic price point is notably lower than that of Hello Fresh, making it an affordable option for more people who want to give meal services a try.
Packaging & Recycling
Dinnerly
Hello Fresh
In the world of meal kits, the packaging is a big deal. The packaging is key for keeping ingredients fresh but you also don’t want packaging that is too bulky, wasteful, and difficult to dispose of or recycle.
Hello Fresh is committed to using as many easily recyclable materials as possible. Hello Fresh uses a gel pack to keep ingredients properly chilled. The outside of the gel pack is recyclable once the inner gel is disposed of. The only issue here is that the gel itself can be damaging to pipes, so extra care needs to be taken with the disposal.
Aside from the gel issue with the ice pack, the only packaging that Hello Fresh uses that isn’t recyclable are BPA-free liners made from plastic and mylar.
One of the ways Dinnerly can keep their prices so low is by limiting excess packaging in every way possible. You’re going to find that taking care of all the packaging is a little easier with Dinnerly.
With Dinnerly, less packaging also means that your ingredients aren’t going to come all nicely separated and marked in the delivery boxes.
You’ll have to spend a little time sorting through ingredients before making your meals, but once you’ve done this with your first box, the process becomes easy.
Packaging Winner
Overall, Dinnerly does a better job of streamlining packaging and eliminating excess. Their packaging is also easier to recycle. The only downside is that you have to do a little more work sorting ingredients once they arrive but for most people, this is just a minor inconvenience – especially for such affordable subscription boxes.
Customer Service
Dinnerly
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Hello Fresh
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Customer service is an important factor in choosing a meal kit delivery service, and for many, it can be a deal maker or breaker.
Dinnerly and Hello Fresh match up well on many customer service points, including ease of managing or canceling subscriptions, arranging to skip weeks, changing plan options, and refunds.
In the past, Dinnerly has received decent reviews for their customer service, however, that seems to have changed in recent months with the Covid-19 pandemic. Not all reviews are bad but there has been a noticeable decline in what people are saying about their customer service experience.
Hello Fresh has also taken some hits on their customer service from people who have posted reviews online. Compared to Dinnerly, Hello Fresh has some not so great reviews going back a bit further.
The way their website is designed means you have to enter minimum contact information before you can browse their entire menu.
Customer Service Winner
Honestly, it’s a tough call on this one. Both Dinnerly and HelloFresh have their strong and weak points from a customer service perspective. Dinnerly eeks out just slightly ahead of Hello Fresh.
Winner
Dinnerly
In the battle of Dinnerly Vs Hello Fresh, our final verdict is Dinnelry as the winner – but only by a small margin. Dinnerly wins for the selection and high-quality ingredients they offer at the lowest possible price point, and the fact that their menu offers a range of classic flavors that are well-liked.
This means less food waste, which is always a good thing. Plus, the family-friendly recipes make this a meal kit service that will work for many different households.
Still, you should consider your preferences when choosing which meal kit delivery service you want to go with. Consider this when deciding if Dinnerly or Hello Fresh is right for you.
Choose Dinnerly if you:
- Are looking for an economical meal kit delivery service
- Have young or picky eaters in your family
- Like the idea of ordering an occasional treat or dessert as part of your meal plans
- Want the option of adding extra protein to your meals
- Want simple, no-fuss meals that can be quickly prepared
- Don’t mind digital recipes instead of printed recipe cards with instructions and nutritional information
- Appreciate simple meals with fewer ingredients that can be on the table in no time.
Choose Hello Fresh if you:
- Value a little more variety in your meal options
- Like the convenience of having ingredients clearly packaged by meal
- Place value on high-quality ingredients with responsible sourcing
- Want an economical option but are willing to pay a bit more extra flavor, variety, and higher quality ingredients
- Appreciate a commitment to sustainability and straight from the farm philosophy
- Don’t need meals for special dietary preferences, such as calorie-smart meals, low-carb, vegan, or meals designed for food allergies.