In the meal delivery battle of Marley Spoon vs Blue Apron, we compare every aspect of the services including the dietary options, meal variety and taste, the quality of ingredients, pricing, packaging, customer service, and finally crown our winner!
When choosing a meal delivery service, you want to sign up for one that fits your needs, lifestyle, and culinary preferences. Blue Apron and Martha & Marley Spoon are two of the most popular meal delivery kits. Here’s a comparison between the two.
Who Are Blue Apron and Marley Spoon?
When someone mentions meal delivery kits, Blue Apron, being one of the premier companies to offer this service, is often the first to come to mind. Practically everyone has heard of them. Blue Apron is widely popular for a variety of reasons, brand recognition being only one of them.
Blue Apron emphasizes a commitment to sustainability in providing high-quality ingredients offered in meal choices that appeal to a range of tastes and culinary abilities.
A bit newer on the scene is Martha & Marley Spoon. Marley Spoon relaunched several years ago, partnering with Martha Stewart. Martha’s involvement with Marley Spoon goes far beyond lending her name to the brand. The entire concept is infused with her passion for delicious food.
Marley Spoon offers an exceptional selection of meals that are easy to prepare and feature the freshest possible ingredients. This meal delivery service offers a fresh, creative, and convenient meal option.
Let’s break down a few of the pros and cons of both Blue Apron and Marley Spoon.
Marley Spoon
Pros
- Wide variety of options, featuring 22 meal choices each week
- Thorough instructions, including equipment needed, is ideal for beginners
- Weekly meal options for those who follow healthy diets, including vegan and vegetarian options
- Meal selections include one-pot meals for simple, carefree meals at home
Cons
- Shipping costs are a turn off for some people
- Limited or zero options for special diets like Weight Watchers, Keto, or paleo
- Some dishes require above average kitchen clean-up
Blue Apron
Pros
- Blue Apron advertises no commitment and the option to skip meals
- Colorful, thoroughly outlined recipes cards make meal preparation easy
- Dishes are quite varied, ranging from simple classics to bolder flavors with ethnic cuisine
- Blue Apron’s commits to hormone-free meats and farm-fresh vegetables
Cons
- Compared to Marley Spoon, Blue Apron’s 12 meal offerings per week feels somewhat limited
- Multi-step process that involves sending Blue Apron an email to cancel your subscription
- Limited options for those with special dietary concerns
Dietary Options
Marley Spoon
Blue Apron
Both services offer some basic dietary options like vegetarian meals, but Marley Spoon also offers gluten-free and dairy-free meals.
Blue Apron has partnered with Weight Watchers to provide a few weight loss options each week. They also have Mediterranean and diabetic-friendly meals.
Dietary Options Winner
This is a real toss up, and depends on what diet you’re following. But because more people are looking for gluten-free and dairy-free options, Martha & Marley Spoon takes this category.
Meal Prep & Variety
Marley Spoon
- 40+
- 2 meals for 2 people
Blue Apron
- 50+
- 2 Meals for 2 People
So, this is where Blue Apron and Marley Spoon really begin to set themselves apart. Everyone has their own preferences here, and for some, less is actually more. You might not like having so many options to choose from, or you might be drawn more to the style of dishes than the variety offered.
Blue Apron is the service that you’ll find appealing if you don’t like being overwhelmed by choices. Blue Apron offers 6 meals each week for families, with 12 meals offered in total each week. Not an incredibly huge selection, but definitely enough that you’re likely to find something you’ll enjoy cooking and eating.
Marley Spoon nearly doubles Blue Apron’s offerings with 22 meal options per week. This is great if you love variety and enjoy feeling a little more creative in the kitchen.
What about ease of preparation? Both services offer meals that are great if you don’t have a lot of experience in the kitchen. You don’t need any advanced culinary skills. Marley Spoon does provide a few options that are specifically listed as “easy” if you’re just starting to get comfortable with cooking.
Menu Variety Winner
Tough call, but the fact that Marley Spoon offers so many choices, edges them closer to the finish line (although some find the options to be a little overwhelming).
Ingredients
Marley Spoon
- Non-GMO
grass Organic- Grass Fed
- Wild-Caught
Blue Apron
Blue Apron commits to Non-GMO ingredients, but cannot guarantee organic produce or grass-fed, wild-caught meats and seafood.
Marley Spoon offers no guarantee on ingredients, except to say they offer the freshest ingredients possible.
Ingredients Winner
With Blue Apron’s commitment to non-GMO ingredients, they are the winner in this category.
Taste & Sample Meals
Marley Spoon
- One-Pan Smoky Pork Tenderloin
- Buffalo Turkey Lettuce Wraps
- Hand-Cut Peanut Noodles
Blue Apron
- Seared Steaks & Calabrian Chile Butter with Collard Greens & Cheesy Potatoes
- Mediterranean Farro Bowls
- White Cheddar Cheeseburgers
Once you get your meal kit unpacked, it’s going to take anywhere from about 25-40 minutes start to finish before you have a meal on the table. This is fairly standard for meal kits, and not bad at all considering all the advantages of a home-cooked meal.
Overall, once the food on your plates makes it to your lips, the quality of both services is pretty good. Blue Apron offers a lot of diversity in their options, so it’s a great fit if you like a classic meal one night, and then want to get a little adventurous the next.
Marley Spoon’s menu is designed with Martha Stewart’s influence, and it shows in the end product. While Marley Spoon’s dishes are more classic, the spice mixes and fresh flavors show through in each dish. If you like fresh, classic flavors that will please most palates, Marley Spoon is the best option.
Concerning serving sizes, these two services are comparable. Servings sizes are satisfying, although, with some dishes, Blue Apron portions seem to be a little on the small size. For the average appetite, this is barely noticeable. For the hearty appetite, you might want to supplement with a salad or additional side dish.
Taste Winner
Blue Apron and Marley Spoon run neck and neck in this category, but Marley Spoon’s consistent achievements in providing fresh flavors and perfectly balanced spice blends gives them the advantage.
Pricing & Coupons
Marley Spoon
MEALS WEEKLY | PRICE PER SERVING | PRICE PER SERVING |
Two | $12.99 | $10.49 |
Three | $10.99 | $9.99 |
Four | $10.49 | $9.99 |
Five | $9.99 | $9.99 |
Six | $9.99 | $8.69 |
Blue Apron
MEALS PER WEEK | 2 PEOPLE | 4 PEOPLE |
Two | $12.49 | $9.99 |
Three | $10.99 | $9.49 |
Four | $9.99 | $8.99 |
Five | $9.49 | $7.99 |
For most people, price is just as important as convenience when choosing a meal delivery service. Both Marley Spoon and Blue Apron offer pricing that is comparable with other major meal delivery kits. The main differences are in the details.
The price difference between Marley Spoon and Blue Apron is marginal. Still, Marley Spoon will run sales that make the overall cost of their service lower and much more competitive. If you’re looking at comparable ingredients and quality, why wouldn’t you want to save a couple dollars per serving?
An advantage that Blue Apron has over Marley Spoon in the pricing department is shipping. Marley Spoon offers a flat shipping rate, which is convenient because there are no surprises. However, Blue Apron only charges shipping on their smallest meal kit. All other options are free of shipping charges.
Pricing Winner
While free shipping can offset the price difference for Blue Apron, the fact that Marley Spoon’s sale prices offer such a huge savings is significant. Over a week’s worth of meals, your costs with Marley Spoon can be less than half of that of Blue Apron. If you’re budget-minded, that makes Marley Spoon the clear winner.
Packaging & Recycling
Marley Spoon
Blue Apron
It’s always exciting to open up a meal kit, but sometimes the packaging seems a little overzealous. Meal delivery kits use an abundance of packaging because it’s necessary to keep all the ingredients fresh and to preserve flavor.
Both companies like to pride themselves on minimal and eco-friendly packaging, but there is one noticeable difference. Many of the ingredients for Blue Apron are vacuum-sealed, which isn’t bad in itself. The issue is all the extra plastic that surrounds some of the ingredients. A piece of protein might have several inches of excess plastic all around the perimeter.
That type of waste doesn’t seem to be so much of an issue with Marley Spoon. Marley Spoon also has an advantage in this department because their packaging is mostly recyclable.
Packaging Winner
Hands down, the winner is Marley Spoon when it comes to packaging. They use less, and focus on recyclable materials whenever possible.
Customer Service
Marley Spoon
play_circle Skip a Weekpause_circle Pausestop_circle Cancel
Blue Apron
- Difficult
Marley Spoon makes skipping a week, pausing, or cancelling a breeze. And, it even allows you the chance to skip up to 8 weeks in the future.
Blue Apron, on the other hand, makes cancellation a full time project. In fact, there are numerous horror stories of folks having to call the company to request an email to then follow the link to cancel.
Customer Service Winner
Canceling your weekly meal delivery should be easy, and there should be no hidden tricks, which is why Marley Spoon is the winner here.
Winner
Marley Spoon
Overall, in the matchup of Marley Spoon vs Blue Apron, Marley Spoon emerges as the winner. Their classic flavors, easy and one-pot dishes, make them perfect for families, busy professionals, and anybody who wants to explore creativity in the kitchen.
Now that your taste buds are fired up, you can learn more about each service by visiting the Marley Spoon and Blue Apron websites. Bon Appetit!
Choose Marley Spoon if you:
- Want more variety each week
- Love tacos – Marley Spoon offers a Fiesta Box, which includes everything you need for a perfect #TacoTuesday for 4-8 people
- Like Very detailed instructions
- Want One-pot meal options
- Are budget conscious
Choose Blue Apron if you:
- Love to cook a wide variety of international recipes
- Appreciate simplicity in choices and preparation
- On the Weight Watchers diet plan
- You’re a wine lover