Are Meal Kits Worth It? Hello Fresh Vs Dinnerly Vs BlueApron Vs Home Chef Vs EveryPlate 

My family got hello fresh for a few months and kept all the recipe cards now that we canceled the subscription we just buy the needed ingredients each week and use the recipes

For our family of four, it's only saved us money from going out to eat, but it's also saved us from having a TON of waste in our kitchen. We currently use Hello Fresh, and prior to starting Hello Fresh (about a year ago), we'd spend close to an hour, once a month, throwing out unfinished meals and spoiled food from our attempts at "shopping smart." Hello Fresh allowed us to stop spending hundreds of dollars in groceries every week and throwing out a quarter of that food due to spoilage, while additionally eliminating the time consuming process of "What do we eat for dinner, tonight?" Now we just grab the next meal in the fridge, cook it in an hour, and because my kids are still little, I usually have enough left over for work, tomorrow. I don't know that it's saving us any money, honestly, but it's certainly saving us a lot of headaches and a lot of wasted food, in the process.

This was basically an ad for me to get Dinnerly because I already spend upwards to $250-330 a month on groceries just as a single person

One tangible benefit of these meal kits that's overlooked virtually all the time, is they are a great way for people who don't know how to cook to get their feet wet and start acquiring some skills. Unfortunately not everyone learned how to cook growing up, and IMO its a skill everyone should have. I subscribed to Hello Fresh for a while but found myself highly modifying their dishes to the point I simply opted to make them myself and save some money.

I love meal delivery kits. Especially Hello Fresh. It saves me so much time and waste of food. My husband and I are busy health care workers and just don't have time to create a menu and shop all the time. We are both good cooks, so that's not the issue. Buying groceries is so expensive now. These delivery meals are great

We love Blue Apron and think it’s the best one. It definitely costs more than we spend on groceries but less than we spend eating out. It has great quality and variety, but we only use it about twice a month.

These companies are not meant to save you money as compared to buying your own groceries. The extra cost saves you time planning your meals, grocery shopping and measuring. I am using Hello Fresh now and have basically eliminated my Saturday work planning and grocery shopping. Also keep my kitchen cleaned after meal prep a lot better than I used to. And my meats are better quality than my local grocery store. So, I see value in the cost per serving increase over doing everything myself. Each week I have chicken beef and usually fish option. I am an ok cook, but I like the variety I am getting with Hello Fresh. I may not subscribe for years, but I am enjoying it now. And it helps you become a better cook.

I like Blue Apron the least. I find most of their meals to be too exotic or unappealing. I personally use Dinnerly. Also just so you know, Hello Fresh and Every Plate are owned by the same company, which is why their recipes mirror each other. Also, Dinnerly is owned by the same company as Marley Spoon, the Martha Stewart brand

Thanks bro I was debating on if these were good investments but in the end 👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽

I just cancelled my Hello Fresh subscription from listening to your channel. I never realized how much money I was throwing away. I appreciate the info.

Perfect video, dope format, nice background, flawlass script, super informative. AAA content IMO.

Helpful and detailed video. Thank you!

I waste a ton of food shopping for myself. I live alone and can eat the same thing like 2x in a row before I dont want it any more, so when a pound of beef makes 4 burgers i eat 2 and end up giving the other 2 to my chickens lol. I signed up for home chef with a student discount and got 5 meals a week (2 servings each) for $53 a week. I figure ill have one for dinner and save the other for lunch the next day, and it will be less than I spend just on lunch most days.

I usually just use the half off promo for first time and then cancel, and even then its still more expensive than grocery shopping and cooking myself but when I'm really busy I order from a different company with a promo code then cancel

Thank you! This saved me a lot of looking around, AND you included concerns with ingredients. I would be willing to shell out extra for meals-ready-to-cook only if the ingredients are higher and healthier quality than preserved meals (canned, boxed, frozen) at the grocery. Going by your review of all meal delivery services, it doesn't appear so, certainly not the money. There's also impact on the environment from reliance on shipping, as you mentioned. Meal delivery services seem to good to try if you're really busy, but otherwise, best to DIY shop and cook. Just takes a little more discipline. Thank you for putting up this review!

For a family of 4 I am spending weekly 188. Using hello fresh. Now before using hello fresh I used to just eat out at restaurants I would spend about 45 a day . On Average I would spend 30 but you have to include gas and lunch on that. It’s similar price I am going to cancel my hello fresh next week and see if i can lower my cost of food for a family of four . But I believe it’s a decent option if you use it hybrid .

The quality of your content is great, couldn't believe your subscriber didn't match, which is crazy! Keep up the good work, yours is one of the only good comparisons on meal kits!

I think you missed a big point. I live in a rural area, I do not have a lot of shopping options so the meal plan for me while I feel is a bit expensive is worth it. I am physically disabled to a point, have no one that lives close to me to help me, the closest store to my home is 10.6 miles one way for 1 store. The other stores are over 20+ miles one way. Prices in the last 7 months in our area have skyrocketed and buying meat is not affordable on a limited income. Using Meal Delivery for me is a life saver as I like the convenience of not having to go shopping. Using EveryPlate has helped me to eat fresh food and minimal effort on my part. I find their produce has been pretty good and honestly, I have had less food waste using the meal plan. I know it is hard to take every possible reason why or why not a plan is worth it, in the end I know that this is the right decision for me.

Thank you for making this

Certainly not cheap, but compared to groceries in NYC I do notice it comes in cheaper.

Thanks for the info!!

Checking local costs of hellofresh, it´s like three times more expensive per month than buying groceries and cooking on my own.

This was a good video dawg !

You got a nice thumbs-up from me...great video! So, I'm cooking for one. I want to eat healthy but I'm a full-time employee and a full-time student, so time is a consideration, as is food waste. Going to the grocery store and fighting through crowds (yes, there are crowds at my local grocery store, especially on weekends) is also something I hate! And, I throw out half of the stuff (or more) that I buy. Today, I had to throw out a Pork shoulder that had been in the freezer for 6 months. But all-in-all, I about $200+ a week at the store. So if I spent $150 a week and didn't have to throw anything out, I say that's a win. What I don't like is the lack of variety. There are items I really like, and ones I just don't want to try again. For example, Factor75 provides pre-made meals, but they're so chicken-heavy in their options, if I don't have to eat chicken for the rest of my life, I'll be happy!

ATTA BOY! Good job telling the truth man 💯💯💯👍

First time listener, have been looking at all the different companies, I thought they would be less expensive than buying at the grocery store, but NO & the cooking involved, no thanks. Great unbiased video, Thank you.

Thank you! I was seriously considering purchasing a meal service but instead I'm just gonna hop over to Etsy and buy a download meal plan for $2.

We use EveryPlate to explore new types of meals and just keep the recipes for stuff we really liked so we can just get stuff at the store and make it ourselves! So we get two boxes a month and make other recipes the rest of the month

By the time you have factored in the time spent on grocery shopping, meal prep, cooking, dishes, and kitchen cleaning, the cost of home cooked meals is way higher than just a few dollars per serving. If you make more than $20 an hour, and you could work more if you had less chores, it is almost certainly worth it to pay for even a more expensive meal kit like Blue Apron. This will also allow you to eat a more diverse, healthy and tasty diet than you other wise would unless you are an amazing chef. It’s also worth noting that home cooking requires huge up front costs and storage space for cooking tools. Edit: It is also not obvious that meal delivery is less environmentally friendly. How much food goes to waste in the refrigerator because we had too much of an ingredient or we forgot about it. Also let’s not pretend that regular grocery shopping happens without just as much packaging and vehicle transportation emissions.

First and most important, thanks for doing taking the time to do this video; and, share your thoughts. Much (continued) success with the channel. I've lived alone for a few years, was married for over a decade, and have been divorced for almost 5 years. I've never paid any less than $250/mo for groceries. I was looking at HelloFresh 2x6 option for myself. Which is $55 before fees. That's about $70 for 12 meals. Which is about $280/mo. I don't eat as often as I used to, so 2/day is good. $70 for 12 is a lot cheaper than $50 for 1 through UberEats. And the pizzerias around here are slinging $12 slices, if I want something quick. Meal delivery seems cheaper. But that's me. I did hear lots of people complain recently about prices like $7 for milk though so hey.

I’ve had Hello Fresh before and I’m the uk and I loved it there wasn’t a meal I didn’t like they have offers all the time on boxes x

THANK U

I notice that they often send more ingredients than you actually need allowing you to repurpose the leftover ingredients for other meals that you make yourself.

Thank you! Meal kits are not economical. But I suppose that if someone couldn't figure out that $10 a meal isn't saving them money, they have other problems.

good video!

Very thought out and informative thank you!

Not being a good cook and hating to do grocery shopping, getting a couple meals a week from Hello Fresh has worked out well. Our primary reason for using a meal service is it forces us to have a sit down dinner together at least twice a week. Also, HF portions are so large, we frequently have leftovers we can have later in the week. There's no way I would want to or could prepare meals as diverse and tasty on my own. I love the spices and flavorings that HF uses. They do advise you to salt virtually everything, though, which is way overboard. Just don't add the extra salt. Only had one bad meal from them, and that was a new menu for them. Way too greasy; we threw it out. Otherwise, we look forward to repeating certain dishes from time to time, and we love their chocolate melting lava cakes.

How could the economic model of meal kits be changed? What would a company like Amazon do to reduce prices and dominate the space? The focus of most of these companies is on convenience. What if the focus changed to price - reduce selection and complexity but provide healthy inexpensive meals?

My hesitation was: So… much… plastic. These have got to be catastrophically bad from _that_ standpoint since essentially everything has yet another new dedicated plastic bag, especially if compared to getting veggies on your own.

Which one is best for 1 person like myself

Overall really liked your video. Wouldn’t say so quickly how much more it is than groceries. Think about the cost to go shopping(gas), the time, and maybe you are really good at eating leftovers I end up throwing a lot of food away.

I work for hellofresh We actually own all of theese company’s we always talk about it in meetings because new hires ask about our competitors

They're convenient for people like me that arent very good at cooking and often waste a lot of groceries

I don’t really care about the environmental impact these companies have with their shipping stuff. I’ve been doing Blue Apron the past 2 years and love it. Some weeks the menu doesn’t seem appetizing so I just skip that week. I get 2 meals twice a week and it’s 58$ for me. I typically spend $60+ on one meal when I go out to eat so this does save me money.

Excluding the delivery costs makes little sense, since the cost does go towards the procurement of the meal kit and hence the overall cost of the meal to the end user. For example, if I am budgeting for eating out at a restaurant, I not only have to budget for the meal but also the tip since it is part of it. I can't go to the restaurant with $20 in my pocket, eat worth menu price of $20 and then say, "oh, i didn't budget for the tip since its not technically part of the meal". If you are paying it to the restaurant, its part of the meal. Same logic here.

Yes,of course it is less expensive to shop and prepare your own meals..unless you include time as a factor. Most people do not have the time to shop for ingredients and prepare meals, not to mention cleanup and storing leftovers. The whole appeal of meal kits is to save time. Most people with no time order out. You should price compare eating out for 3 people to one of these plans, I think you'll find them much cheaper.

Bro I need food thanks for doing this

Im pretty sure i spend way more than 57 a week on food 😅

I was seriously considering trying one of these meal kits to save money but after watching this vid I'm not going to. I get overwhelmed easily when it comes to cooking and the dishes it makes. My mental health isn't good overall. One thing that does not help is the prices of food and ingredients. I don't know how many times I went to the grocery store to buy a few things just to end up with over a hundred dollars worth for a couple of days and just end up bawling my eyes out in my car in frustration and anxiety. As someone on disability, it really takes a chunk of my check and that's even with my husband making decent money. I honestly don't know how a whole ass family can afford food when I hate just feeding myself. So this vid at least saved me from making a purchase I can't afford to make. Thank you for your honest opinion and for explaining the pros and cons of everything so eloquently.

NO. They are NOT worth it. VERY expensive. Far more expensive than going to the grocery store. Anyway probably 95% of Americans can't even actually cook basic meals. A service like Hello Fresh isn't going to make it easier for them. Instructions? Too hard apparently. If instructions allowed them to cook they would have been doing it for years. Even the discounts they give you in the beginning are expensive, but once you are off those discounts OH BOY..... might as well eat at a 5 Stars Michelin restaurant. These services are actually very NICHE. For rare specific circumstances. For people that just do not have time. It's rare that people have so little time that they can't go to a grocery store.

You DIDN'T ORDER anything from ANYONE. lol...

Yeah some channels first there was hello fresh,saying how great it is but then i think every plate,same thing?

Dinnerly has a whole market section where you can add hundreds of add ons.

What’s better is to actually get the food and compare like that

Imo, these services should not be used as replacements for your groceries. I've been able to find a nice spending balance between what I get from the market and what I get from a kit.

Home chef is cheaper than grocery stores: I tried buying same ingredients on one of there meal, and it cost me around $30. For 2 servings unlike $20 with home chef package meals

I disagree with buying from store when you’re 1 person. I waste so much more produce, my time and groceries are expensive. I have used Homechef, hello fresh and Marley spoon. Homechef is better than HelloFresh by far and I haven’t got my order from Marley Spoon yet. HelloFresh food is pretty boring. Meal size with Homechef is abundant and flavorful. I like alternating between meal kits too for change

That’s really not expensive when you think about how much a chipotle burrito that’s delivered costs. Now you’re looking at 15-20$ a serving for fast food.

How could 2 people possibly spend $112 a month at the store 😅😂😂 we spend $300 -$400 a week at the store for 2 people. This video must be outdated or uninformed. We waste more food because left overs are never as good as the first cook .

Dinerly is the worst! You don't get the ingredients you need for the recipes you pick other than the meat veggies and small packets of spices. You get no instructions, no list that you can check to see if you received everything. You get a box with just food in it. You need to have all the other ingredients in your cupboard and fridge. Also if you open the box, which you have to due to the lack of any information on what the box contains, you can't get a refund! Their refund policy is virtually non existent. I don't recommend them at all. 1 🌟. Every plate is good. They give you the recipe cards and 95% of the ingredients, and they're cheaper.

I don’t know where u live but buying groceries in HEB is at least 100 per week or min 79 a week

$30 a week for food? That's nothing. I spend $1000 a month for I, my wife, and son.

I tried hello fresh and it's too expensive long tern

I love the ideas of these meal delivery kits, but I’m very concerned about the environmental impact. I did Factor for a few months but stopped because I felt so guilty about throwing away the packing materials (even though I put it all in the recycling bin).

This is a shalow review. The author doesnt take into consideration time save for meal prep, travelling to grocery store, and spending more at the store then planned. Slight premium still fine if you are busy person.

So what are you making on your own that is so cheap? Hamburgers every night? Food is expensive. I use to be able to cook for $10 a night, but no more. Occasionally we will have grilled cheese or a frozen pizza, pancakes and eggs. But even to make chili or spaghetti you are looking at over $10. I get Home Chef and eat a bigger variety of food and healthier.

Your shutter speed is too slow

"Do y'all realize how expensive $9 per serving is?!" I just checked Hello Fresh and its $12.50 now

You need to blink more often. kind of scary to watch

Every Plate and HelloFreah is the same company, sold with different names.

Could you hold your arms still please?

Uses cringey made up words like "sus" during a professional review

Hello Fresh is a scam.

Bro I need food thanks for doing this