Blue Apron vs. HelloFresh

Cooking a full meal after working 8 hours can easily seem like a job in itself. You can see why delivery services like Seamless and GrubHub are so popular. But for those of us who would very much prefer a "homemade dish," but our only wish is that it didn't require so much of us, there are meal delivery services! Meal delivery kits save you the annoyance of figuring out a new way to cook broccoli and frees up the time you would spend slicing and dicing by delivering fresh, pre-portioned ingredients with chef-approved recipes. There are many to choose from and factors like pricing, subscription tiers, dietary restriction and food quality should all be considered when deciding on one. Today, however, Riffbuddy presents you with a side-by-side comparison of two of the most popular meal delivery services: Blue Apron and HelloFresh! Here's the breakdown: Blue Apron: Plans: Choose between a 2-person plan that promises 2 servings of 2 or 3 different recipes per week or a family plan that promises 4 servings with the option of 2, 3 or 4 different recipes per week. No commitment. You can upgrade, downgrade, skip or cancel at any time. Food Options: Blue Apron offers an all-vegetarian 2-person plan. No specific gluten-free, dairy free or other dietary restrictive options. They also send out the nutritional and allergen information with kits. Customers can also choose their recipes for the week. Pricing: With the 2-person plan, the 2 recipe per week options breaks down to $9.99/serving with $7.99 shipping. The 3 recipe per week option also breaks down to $9.99/serving but Blue Apron offers free shipping for this plan. Free shipping is offered for any recipe amount in the family plan and the price per serving ranges from $7.49-$8.99. Delivery: Blue Apron delivers to all locations in the continental US, 7 days a week. The delivery day is dependent on your location. Packaging: Each kit is packed with insulated liners and ice packs to ensure freshness. Even if you aren't home to receive your package, no worries, your fish is waiting on ice. Food quality and variety: Blue Apron claims that it sources directly from farms and family-owned businesses. They do use many organic ingredients, but most are regular ingredients that you can find at your local supermarket. Many customers have claimed the variety of food is limited. vs. HelloFresh: Plans: Choose between the classic plan for either 2 or 4 people with 2,3 or 4 recipes per week; the veggie plan for 2 or 4 people that offers 4 recipes per week or the family plan for 4 that offers 2 or 3 recipes per week. No commitment; you can upgrade, downgrade, skip or cancel at any time. Food Options: HelloFresh's classic plan is curated with a variety of meat, fish and fresh vegetables. The veggie plan offers vegetarian recipes that utilize plant-based proteins, grains and seasonal produce while the family plan offers a variety of meals. There is also a "fit" option that offers meals under 650 calories. You can only choose your meals with the classic or the 2-person family plan. HelloFresh allows you to pick from 15 recipes each week. Pricing: Because HelloFresh offers more plan options, the pricing per serving and shipping varies a bit more. The lowest tier option of the classic plan goes for $8.99 per serving with a $7.99 add-on price for shipping. With the veggie plan, each serving is $8.99 in the 2-person plan, and $6.99 per serving in the 4-person plan. Each costs $5.99 for shipping. The family plan has little variance in pricing when you change the amount of recipes per week, but each requires a $5.99 shipping fee. Delivery: HelloFresh maintains an 8 AM - 8 PM delivery window. Packaging: HelloFresh packs meat and dairy in cooking containers to ensure freshness. The kit also includes easy instructions, nutritional information and an ingredients list. They do not include ingredients like salt, pepper, sugar, butter or oil. Food quality and variety: HelloFresh chefs work alongside dietitians to put together 15 new recipes each week. They source their ingredients from family owned and operated purveyors across the country and only utilize sustainably sourced seafood and high-quality meats and poultry. Based on our research at Riffbuddy, Blue Apron seems to be a fitting option in terms of pricing while HelloFresh is best suited for someone who prefers more flexibility in deciding their meals, whether it be vegetarian or not. If you still aren't sure, take a look at what customers are saying here: Blue Apron HelloFresh ….and more Meal Delivery Services.

Happy eating!