This is the conclusion of a series offering reviews of the top meal delivery services, plus tips and tricks on how to get these subscriptions shipped straight to your kitchen for a fraction of the advertised price. Posts include A Low Price for Plated, How to Hack Hello Fresh, Home Chef Coupons and Cash Back, and Save Big on Blue Apron. Here’s how these competitors compared:
Best value: The pre-discounted advertised price for Blue Apron’s two person, three meal per week plan is $59.94. Through Ebates I was able to redeem a $30 off coupon and a $7.50 cash back rebate, for an adjusted total cost of $22.44 or $3.74 per meal.
Honorable mentions: The pre-discounted advertised price for Home Chef’s two person, three meal per week plan is $59.70. But after redeeming a generous 20% cash back rebate from MrRebates.com, plus an automatic $30 credit for first time customers, my adjusted cost was $23.76 or $3.96 per meal.
The pre-discounted advertised price for Hello Fresh’s two person, three meal per week plan is $59.94. I scored $25 off through MrRebates.com by using the coupon code FRESHNEW50HF, which is advertised as $50 off your first two orders but still worked for this single purchase. After my coupon redemption and a $5.94 cash back rebate, my adjusted total cost was $29 or less than $4.84 per meal.
Worst value: The pre-discounted advertised price for Plated’s two person, three meal per week plan was the highest at $72. I was unable to find a cash back rebate through Ebates or MrRebates.com, or points and miles for purchasing through any other shopping portal. I used Google to find a $30 off coupon code, which is better than their advertised offer of your first night free, valued at $24. After coupon redemption, my total cost was $42 or $7 per meal.
Most family size and number of meal per week options: Home Chef offers plans for two, four or six people. Any of those family sizes can pick between two and six meals delivered per week.
Honorable mention: Plated offers two, three or four meal per week plans for families of two, three or four.
Least family size and number of meal per week options: Blue Apron’s only two-person plan includes three meals per week. For a family of four, you have the choice of receiving two or four meals per week.
For two people, Hello Fresh offers plans that include three, four or five meals per week. But, families of four only have the option of three meals per week. And if you choose their vegetarian plan, regardless of whether you’re ordering for two or four people, you are limited to three meals per week.
Best menu options: With Plated, each week you can pick between eleven different meals, seven unique to that week, as well as four “Encore Recipes,” top-rated customer picks available all month.
Home Chef offers ten different recipe choices per week, and you are able to select meals by dietary preference (low-calorie and low-carb) as well as choose to avoid foods that may contain common allergens or aren’t permissible for consumption by certain faiths (soy, nuts, gluten, dairy, mushrooms, red meat, pork and shellfish).
Honorable mention: There are six Hello Fresh meal options from which to choose every week and you are given complete freedom when it comes to choosing your menu.
Worst menu options: With Blue Apron, you have six options, but aren’t given complete freedom when it comes to choosing your menu. Based on your initial selection some second and third choice options may be blocked, which I assume is to keep the customer from choosing the three meals with the costliest ingredients.
Most delivery dates available: Hello Fresh delivers on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
Honorable mentions: You can choose Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday (residential only) delivery options for Blue Apron.
Home Chef can arrive on Wednesday, Thursday or Friday.
Fewest delivery dates available: Plated only delivers on Wednesday and Saturday.
When you looking strictly at the cost, Blue Apron was the clear winner. But they didn’t offer the flexibility of Hello Fresh, Home Chef and Plated, when it came to menu selection, delivery dates or family size. If you’re thinking about committing beyond the introductory period, those benefits may be just as important. Bon appétit!
All opinions are exclusively my own. Prices and available discounts in these posts are current as of their publication date. I personally paid for all meal delivery service shipments referenced, and all opinions are unbiased and completely my own. I may receive a commission if you sign-up for these services, as well as Ebates or MrRebates.com using my embedded referral links. (Please and thank you!)