Martha & Marley Spoon and Hello Fresh are meal kit delivery companies that deliver everything you need to prepare a delicious meal right to your door. You choose the meals you want from a rotating weekly selection, and then fresh ingredients are shipped to you, ready to prep and cook. With both, you can have a meal on your table in under 30 minutes.
Martha Stewart is the inspiration behind the menu of Martha & Marley Spoon. With her input, dishes with unique and perfectly balanced flavors are born. The focus of Marley Spoon is to keep it simple, fresh, and fast.
Hello Fresh ranks among the more well-known meal kit services. Like Martha & Marley Spoon, Hello Fresh specializes in fresh, high-quality meal kits to make mealtime stress-free. Hello Fresh offers a larger variety of meal options, with most meals appealing to even the pickiest eaters.
Hello Fresh and Martha & Marley Spoon each have their pros and cons. Let’s take a look.
Marley Spoon
Pros
- Generous portion sizes
- Nearly two dozen meal options each week
- Most recipes are six steps or less, taking under 30 minutes to prepare
- Classic flavors with wide appeal, never boring
- Minimal packaging
Cons
- Cost savings really only kick in when you sign up for the larger subscription packages
- Limited to no options for weight-loss, or diabetic-friendly diets
- While Martha & Marley Spoon offers simple, one-pot options, many of their others require more kitchen clean-up than other meal kit services.
Hello Fresh
Pros
- Hello Fresh is one of the more economical meal delivery kit options, with a slight discount for larger orders
- Large selection of meal options
- A variety of unique flavor profiles for those who are tired of repetitive flavors
- Different types of worldly cuisines
- A flat rate shipping fee
- Easy to manage subscriptions
Cons
- Limited options for special diets, difficult to filter meals for special dietary concerns
- Slightly smaller portion sizes
- Less experimental with new flavors and food combinations
- The gel used in freezer packs can harm plumbing if accidentally goes down the drain
Dietary Options
Marley Spoon
Hello Fresh
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One of the key highlights of Martha & Marley Spoon is the company’s large selection of meal options. There are about two dozen meal selections each week, making this meal kit company a good choice for households with a variety of tastes and dietary preferences.
Martha & Marley Spoon make it easy to spot meals for special dietary needs, such as dairy-free, gluten-free, low-carb, and low-calorie, vegetarian, and meals that are considered to be overall healthy options, with tags on each meal option. Where Marley Spoon falls short is with meal options for special dietary plans like keto, paleo, or Whole30.
Hello Fresh also offers meal choices to suit those looking for healthier options. They offer a selection of low-calorie meals, many designed specifically for weight loss programs. There are a few vegetarian or vegan options, but these choices are limited.
The unfortunate thing about Hello Fresh is that they don’t exactly make it easy to tell if a meal fits your dietary needs, especially if you have food intolerance or allergy. You need to dig a little further beyond the menu page and look at the ingredients and nutritional content to determine if a meal is appropriate for your special dietary needs.
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
Hello Fresh
- 70+
- 2 meals for 2 people
As far as variety is concerned, both Martha & Marley Spoon and Hello Fresh go above and beyond. Each company offers more than 20 meal choices each week. Martha & Marley Spoon works from a collection of more than 1,800 recipes when choosing which meals to put into rotation each week.
With Martha & Marley Spoon, expect a mixture of classic, comfort style dishes that have been taken up a few notches, Martha style, along with new interesting flavors that infuse elements of world regional cuisines.
Martha & Marley Spoon simplifies meal selection by displaying the category of each meal on their menu, making it easy to choose fish, meat, or vegetarian options – or skip over the categories you don’t want. There’s also a selection of desserts, smoothies, and a la cart items to build or complement your meal.
Hello Fresh compares to Martha & Marley Spoon in terms of variety. The main difference between the two is that Hello Fresh is almost entirely down-home, comfort-food style meals. Dishes like cottage pie, sloppy joes, and garden veggie soup are a few examples of well-liked favorites. Each week you’ll also find a couple of selections that allow you to try something new.
Hello Fresh lists on their menu page how long each dish takes to prepare/cook. This is an excellent tool for simplifying meal selection, especially if the reason you want to try a meal delivery service is to save time in the kitchen. Most meals from Hello Fresh take about 35-40 minutes to prepare but some selections can be on the table in 20 minutes or less.
Martha & Marley Spoon focuses more specifically on meals that can be cooked and on the table in 30 minutes or less. You’ll find that a bit more prep work has been done with Martha & Marley, which is why you can make any of their meals in 6 steps or less.
Meal Variety Winner
Both Martha & Marley Spoon offer more than 20 meal options each week, so both provide a good variety. Where Martha & Marley Spoon stands out is in their range of different styles of dishes, from classic, comfort meals to dishes that show you how to use spices and herbs in new ways. With only 6 steps and meals that can be on the table in 20 minutes, Martha & Marley Spoon stands out for ease and simplicity.
Ingredients
Marley Spoon
- Non-GMO
grass Organic- Grass Fed
- Wild-Caught
Hello Fresh
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Quality ingredients make for quality meals. While ingredient quality is a top priority for both Marley Spoon and Hello Fresh, neither company is completely committed to organic, non-GMO produce, or grass-fed or wild-caught meat and fish. Both do take steps to source the freshest, highest-quality ingredients for their meal kit.
Martha & Marley Spoon is more focused on using seasonal ingredients that are at their peak of freshness. By offering meals that take advantage of seasonal produce, you can count on superior taste and quality with each dish. Martha & Marley Spoon provides unique spice and herb blends in their meal kits that bring out the best natural flavors of the other ingredients.
Hello Fresh makes a point of saying that at this time, only some of their ingredients are organic but they are committed to ethics and sustainability when sourcing their ingredients. They make an effort to meet with each farmer that they work with. Even though they don’t offer many organic ingredients, they do put effort into choosing ingredients that look and taste the best.
Ingredients Winner
Hello Fresh receives excellent reviews for the quality and freshness of their ingredients. This combined with their commitment to ethically sourced, sustainable ingredients, along with their transparency about where the produce and proteins in their meal kits come from, earn them higher marks for quality ingredients.
Taste & Sample Meals
Marley Spoon
- Crispy Ginger-Chili Beef
- Buffalo Turkey Lettuce Wraps
- Hand-Cut Peanut Noodles
Hello Fresh
- Zucchini Pomodoro Penne Bake
- Bulgogi Chicken Tacos
- Harissa Sweet Potato Pockets
Taste is arguably the most important aspect of a meal kit – after all, if it doesn’t taste great, you’re not going to eat it, and that’s a waste of your money.
With Martha Stewart’s inspiration behind the Marley Spoon’s menu, it’s no surprise that overall customers are pleased with the taste of the meals. Most notably, customers enjoy the unique spice blends and herbs that are included as part of the meal kits. Martha & Marley Spoon’s portion sizes are generous and satisfying for the average appetite.
Hello Fresh offers a decent selection of variety, but the tastes of their meals are more aligned with what you might normally prepare at home, or get as take-out from your local family-style restaurant.
That’s not to say that Hello Fresh doesn’t offer any “exciting” meal options, because they do. They’re just not quite as creative as some options presented by Martha & Marley Spoon. Hello Fresh meal portions are a decent size for the average appetite but they do seem to be a bit smaller than those of Marley Spoon, so larger appetites may feel the need to add something extra.
Taste Winner
It’s not fair to say that one of these meal kit delivery services tastes better than the other because customers report enjoying both. Where Martha & Marley Spoon stands out is in their variety and portion sizes that are designed to satisfy average to slightly above average appetites.
Pricing
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 |
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 |
Hello Fresh’s prices are just under $9 per meal, with a discount for ordering a larger quantity of meals. Their pricing is pretty standard in the meal kit delivery industry. Hello Fresh charges a flat rate shipping charge of $8.99 for each order.
Martha & Marley Spoon also has a sliding scale for the costs of their meals depending on how many meals are ordered. Their meal plan for 2 people, with only 2 meals per week, is their smallest plan option, with the cost being over $10. This makes the price comparable to the low end of what you might pay in the average sit-down restaurant.
Their larger meal plans for 4 people cost just under $7 per meal when you order 6 meals per week. This is the largest plan Martha & Marley Spoon offers. Like Hello Fresh, shipping is a flat rate of $8.99 per order.
Pricing Winner
While Martha & Marley Spoon offers more economical meal plans, you have to order their most sizable plans to take advantage of this pricing. For smaller households, Hello Fresh is a more economical option. Hello Fresh wins here for doing their best to provide great meals at a reasonable cost to all of their customers, regardless of the size of plan chosen.
Packaging & Recycling
Marley Spoon
Hello Fresh
Hello Fresh is committed to using as many fully recyclable materials as possible in their packaging. Almost all of their packaging components are recyclable, except for the gel inside their ice packs. The gel inside the freezer packs is not friendly to your plumbing system, so dispose of it with care. Plastic packaging components, like their liners, are all BPA-free.
Martha & Marley Spoon also use almost all recyclable packaging components but where they go above and beyond is in minimizing the packaging used in as many ways as possible. The only time plastic packaging is used is typically when ingredients require more secure packaging to prevent leaking, as with meats.
Packaging Winner
Martha & Marley Spoon win with their efforts to minimize packaging as much as possible. They also minimize the use of all plastic packaging, except when there isn’t a better option to keep your food fresh and to avoid cross-contamination.
Customer Service
Marley Spoon
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Hello Fresh
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Customer service can make or break your experience with a meal delivery service. When looking at the different areas of customer service, Hello Fresh and Martha & Marley Spoon are pretty close to one another in terms of signing up, modifying/pausing your subscription, and canceling your subscription.
When looking at customer reviews, both companies also have somewhat mixed reviews in terms of customer service.
Customer Service Winner
It’s difficult to pick a winner in this category because the two meal kit delivery services are so close in terms of the customer service they provide. Hello Fresh comes out as the winner here simply because comparing customer reviews in this category puts them marginally ahead.
Winner
Martha & Marley Spoon
It was a tough but delicious job comparing Hello Fresh Vs Martha & Marley Spoon. When considering every category, Martha & Marley Spoon emerge as the winner. The variety, quality, and tastes of their meals delivered them this victory.
Still, it doesn’t feel fair to not give Hello Fresh proper accolades. They are a great company and have been providing high-quality, tasty meal kits to customers for years. What really determines if one is better than the other is your own personal preferences.
Choose Martha & Marley Spoon if you:
- You like a bit more variety and the option to try new flavors
- You appreciate that their 6-step instructions help simplify meal preparation
- You like that their delicious meals can be prepared in about 20 minutes
- You don’t mind spending a bit more if it means you can select a smaller subscription package
- You appreciate minimum packaging
Choose Hello Fresh if you:
- You like down-home, comfort-food style dishes with some variety
- You are looking for a more economical meal kit option
- You appreciate their commitment to ethically sourced, sustainable ingredients
- You are looking for a meal kit that will fit in with your low calorie, healthy lifestyle