There really is nothing like sitting down to a home-cooked meal, especially after a long day. Still, so many of us don’t feel there’s enough time to cook a meal from scratch or grocery shop. Meal kit services make it easy to enjoy a meal at home, but there are so many to choose from. Here, we’re going to look at two of the most popular as we compare Sun Basket Vs Hello Fresh.
Hello Fresh is one of the more widely recognized names in the meal kit industry. Often, name recognition alone is enough to help a company like Hello Fresh stand out. However, Hello Fresh delivers on their name by offering farm-fresh meal kits that include easy to prepare, nutritional, and taste-diverse recipes.
Sun Basket is also gaining steam as a top meal delivery company. They commit to sourcing ingredients from top suppliers and delivering only the best to your door. With expansive menu options, Sun Basket is quickly becoming a favorite at dinner tables across the country.
Here’s a closer look at how Sun Basket and Hello Fresh stack up.
Sun Basket
Pros
- Good variety of meals
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner options
- Some heat & eat options available
- A la carte proteins, pasta, and sauces available
- Commitment to quality, ethically sourced ingredients
Cons
- Cost more per serving than Hello Fresh
- Sun Basket takes hits in the customer service department
- Doesn’t ship to parts of Montana, New Mexico, and North Dakota
Hello Fresh
Pros
- Nice variety with an average of 20 meal options each week
- Classic meals and a range of 18 different styles of worldly cuisines
- Economical meal kit delivery options
- Flexibility in plan choices
Cons
- Limited options for special dietary preferences and needs
- Their website lacks transparency in where their ingredients are sourced
- Some packaging components are non-recyclable
Dietary Options
Sun Basket
check check check check close check check check check close
Hello Fresh
check check close close close close
When you have special dietary needs or preferences, it can feel like everything is working against you. Eating out is a challenge and even the ingredients you use at home can have hidden ingredients. Choosing a meal kit seems risky unless you know the company is committed to honoring special dietary needs.
Hello Fresh does cater to special dietary preferences but the options are limited. If you’re looking for low-calorie meals or live a vegetarian lifestyle, then Hello Fresh offers satisfactory options. If you follow a strict dietary protocol (think Paleo or Keto) or have food sensitivities, you’re not going to find a ton of choices with Hello Fresh.
In contrast to Hello Fresh, Sun Basket offers up a good variety of meals for special dietary needs. From their website, you can choose your plan according to dietary preferences, such as gluten-free, Paleo, carb-conscious, and diabetes-friendly.
Sun Basket does state on their website that all their meals and meal components are prepared in the same facility, which also handles gluten, nuts, dairy, and other common food allergens. According to their website, if you have severe food allergies, you shouldn’t order from them due to the risk of cross-contamination.
Dietary Options Winner
Often, it’s difficult to choose a winner in each category but not in this case. Sun Basket goes above and beyond in providing meals that cater to special dietary preferences and they make it easy to select meals that fit your needs.
Meal Prep & Variety
Sun Basket
- 20+
- 2 meals for 2 people
Hello Fresh
- 70+
- 2 meals for 2 people
By signing up for a meal kit delivery service, the expectation is that minimal prepwork and easy recipes are going to simplify mealtime. You also want enough variety to keep boredom at bay. Let’s look at how Sun Basket and Hello Fresh measure up in this department.
Hello Fresh offers an average of 20 menu options each week. With a rare exception, their meals can be on the table in less than 30 minutes, with some meal options taking as little as 15 minutes from start to finish.
Hello Fresh offers a good variety of meals, offering up a range of well-liked, classic style flavor combinations. Think along the lines of dishes you’d find at a restaurant that serves American fare with a few forays into southwest and Asian cuisine.
With Sun Basket, most meals also take an average of 30 minutes to make it from cutting board to the plate. Preparation is easy with pre-portioned ingredients, so waste is kept to a minimum.
Variety is where Sun Basket excels. In addition to more than 20 dinner options, Sun Basket also offers breakfast, lunch, and snacks. Plus you can order from a selection of a la carte proteins, pasta sauces, and fresh pasta.
Meal Variety Winner
Both Hello Fresh and Sun Basket are on even ground when it comes to simple meal prep and recipes instructions. Sun Basket wins this category due to their more expansive selection of menu options. Sun Basket also offers heat & eat options for breakfast and lunch.
Ingredients
Sun Basket
- Non-GMO
grass Organic- Grass Fed
- Wild-Caught
Hello Fresh
close close close close
When it comes down to it, the quality of ingredients far outweigh details like variety and prep work in creating a meal you’re going to love. When you order from a company like Hello Fresh or Sun Basket, you might also be curious about where your food comes from.
Hello Fresh has a reputation for being choosy about their ingredients (something that’s evident when reading customer reviews). Hello Fresh is committed to sourcing ingredients straight from the farm whenever possible and focusing on sustainability and ethics when choosing their suppliers.
Sun Basket is also committed to sourcing their ingredients from ethical, sustainability-minded providers. On their website, Sun Basket claims to hand-select their ingredients from top farmers, ranchers, and seafood providers from around the country. In contrast to Hello Fresh, Sun Basket uses organic produce whenever possible, and proteins that are free of hormones and antibiotics.
Ingredients Winner
Sun Basket is on a bit of a winning streak here but it’s one that’s well-deserved. This category is a little closer to call but Sun Basket is upfront about their use of organic and clean ingredients. Similar information is difficult to find from Hello Fresh.
Taste & Sample Meals
Sun Basket
- Chicken and hummus flatbread “tacos”
- Mediterranean turkey meatballs with red pepper–cashew crema
- Korean chicken japchae with glass noodles and vegetables
Hello Fresh
- Zucchini Pomodoro Penne Bake
- Bulgogi Chicken Tacos
- Harissa Sweet Potato Pockets
Is your stomach a little grumbly from hunger? If you’ve looked over Hello Fresh and Sun Basket’s websites, your mouth is probably watering after looking over all their meals. These meals might look delicious but how do they taste?
One stand out detail of Hello Fresh is that their menu options span as many as 18 different worldly cuisines. If you like to try something a little different or love ethnic flavors, you’re going to enjoy trying some of what Hello Fresh has to offer.
Hello Fresh also offers plenty of options that have more classic style flavors and that are designed to appeal to the pickiest of eaters.
Sun Basket does a good job of mixing things up and keeping it interesting with a nice variety of classic and worldly cuisines. The flavors profiles sound intriguing. The downfall here is that Sun Basket doesn’t receive stellar customer reviews across the board for taste.
Taste Winner
Both companies do an excellent job of offering variety and flavor profiles that appeal both to picky eaters and those with a bit of a sense of adventure. Overall, Hello Fresh customers have more positive things to say about the taste and quality of their meals.
Pricing
Sun Basket
MEAL | SERVING | COST/SERVING |
Meal Kits | 2 | $11.49 - $24.49 |
Fresh & Ready | 1 | $9.99 - $14.59 |
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 |
For many people, price is a major factor in choosing a meal delivery service. If you’re on a tight budget, services like Hello Fresh or Sun Basket feel like a luxury. Fortunately, both of these companies offer good value and are priced to fit into a range of budgets.
Hello Fresh is the more economical choice between the two. All meals from Hello Fresh are going to cost less than $9 per portion, and the company does offer occasional discount incentives that knock the price down even further. Shipping with Hello Fresh is a flat rate of $7.99 per order.
Sun Basket comes in at a few dollars more per serving, which may or may not be an issue depending on your budget. Sun Basket also charges a small flat rate shipping charge per order. There are few spots that Sun Basket doesn’t deliver to including parts of Montana, New Mexico, and North Dakota.
Pricing Winner
Hello Fresh offers meals that are comparable to Sun Basket at a lower price point, putting them in the lead here. Both companies are similar in terms of shipping charges and discount incentives.
Packaging & Recycling
Sun Basket
Hello Fresh
When meal kits are delivered to your door, they come in a large box, complete with all the packaging needed to keep all your ingredients safe and at optimal freshness. Proper packaging is essential but it can also be a challenge to dispose of.
Both Hello Fresh and Sun Basket similarly package their meal kits, making sure temperature-sensitive items are sufficiently insulated. Hello Fresh uses as many recyclable materials as possible. The gel inside their gel packs isn’t recyclable (or drain friendly) and they also use some non-recyclable, BPA- free plastic and mylar liners.
Sun Basket uses what they say is the most environmentally friendly packing available. It’s hard to disagree considering they use packaging like fully compostable cotton and gel packs that can be used to water your garden. Sun Basket also details on their website how to package or reuse every piece of packaging.
Packaging Winner
Sun Basket goes above and beyond to use the most environmentally friendly packaging materials, and they provide detailed instructions for recycling and repurposing on their website.
Customer Service
Sun Basket
- Up to 4 weeks
- Online or Phone
play_circle Skip a Weekpause_circle Pausestop_circle Cancel
Hello Fresh
check check
When talking about customer service, we’re really looking at two things. The first being how easy to use and accommodating the company is. The second is a glance at what customers with first-hand experience have to say.
Honestly, both Sun Basket and Hello Fresh have taken some hits in the customer service department. Customers cite issues like a poor response, difficult cancelations, and inconsistencies with shipping. It’s safe to assume that these are exceptions to the norm but still important to pay attention to.
Customer Service Winner
These two companies are nearly neck in neck when it comes to customer service. Hello Fresh marginally takes the lead because Sun Basket has a greater number of recent customer reviews that are less than spectacular. It’s important to note that this isn’t all that unusual as business has increased for these companies due to Covid-19.
Winner
Sun Basket
In the dual of Hello Fresh Vs Sun Basket, the winner is Sun Basket. Both companies offer good variety and value but Sun Basket wins for their variety, the fact that they offer more than just dinner, and their commitment to ethically sourced, sustainable, and organic ingredients.
Still, choosing a meal delivery service isn’t a one size fits all process. Your individual preferences might mean that Hello Fresh is the better option for you. Here are a few points to consider before choosing.
Choose Sun Basket if you:
- Don’t mind spending a little extra for an exceptional variety
- Want meal options for breakfast and lunch in addition to dinners
- Like the idea of a la carte options for proteins, pastas, and sauces
- Organic, hormone-free, antibiotic-free, and sustainably sourced ingredients are important to you
- Have special dietary preferences or concerns.
Choose Hello Fresh if you:
- Are looking for a more budget-friendly meal delivery service
- Like a range of worldly cuisines
- Are sometimes short on time and want super fast meal options
- Like the idea of their straight from the farm philosophy