EveryPlate vs. HelloFresh 2024: Is Low-Cost Best?

EveryPlate and HelloFresh are owned by the same company, but there are some key differences. I’ve consulted with our team of experts who have tested and researched these services in great depth. Both are recommended, and each has its own strengths.

HelloFresh has a massive and varied menu, but EveryPlate is aimed at those on a budget. The 2 services are both under the same parent company, so they actually have a lot in common. It wasn’t easy to decide which service would come out on top.

Ultimately, HelloFresh is my winner in this comparison. HelloFresh has more exciting recipes and more dietary accommodations. It’s also quite affordable, though more expensive than EveryPlate.

Read on to learn more details about each service and which is better for you. I analyzed everything from the menu to the recyclability of each service's delivery materials, so you can make the most informed decision possible. 

At a Glance: Who Won Each Category?

Menu Variety: HelloFresh Offers a Lot More Meals

At first glance, EveryPlate and HelloFresh look like they have similar menus, but HelloFresh offers a much larger range of meal kits with a more diverse array of cuisines and ingredients.

Most of EveryPlate’s weekly dishes are simple, crowd-pleasing American classics, including burgers, pork chops, and meatloaf. It also includes a small smattering of globally-inspired recipes, like the Sweet Potato and Poblano Fajitas or Cuban-Style Bean and Rice Bowls.

EveryPlate offers 5 flexible categories that act like menu filters more than structured plans. You can always order from the wider menu, and you can select multiple of the below options when you sign up:

• Meat & Veggie

• Veggie

• Family Faves

• Under 20 Minutes
  

• Calorie Smart
  

EveryPlate’s menu items are clearly labeled (with tags), so you know which recipes are vegetarian-friendly, quick to cook, and more. The Customer Fave tag reveals EveryPlate’s most popular dishes, while Veggie reflects the vegetarian-friendly options. 

The menu also features a couple of Premium recipes each week. These are created using higher-quality proteins, like steak and salmon, and have fancier sides. These come with an upcharge, however. Each upgrade is a different price, so you’ll have to double-check your order total to know the per serving price.

EveryPlate’s meals take, on average, around 30 to 40 minutes to prepare, though you’ll also find a section of the menu dedicated to recipes that take 30 minutes or less. Unlike HelloFresh, EveryPlate doesn’t rate the difficulty of each dish, but they’re generally beginner-friendly.

When I tried EveryPlate for myself, I found the side dish variety to be limited, with lots of the same vegetables – like carrots, broccoli, and potatoes – cropping up. This is one of the trade-offs you get for picking a low-cost service. To compensate, you could spice things up by shopping the add-ons menu for ready-to-mix salads, extra proteins, breakfasts, and pantry items.

HelloFresh offers a much richer selection of recipes, promising 100+ menu options, including meal kits and market extras, each week. In fact, thanks to the customization options, it’s often more than that. The menu features a well-balanced combination of American and international cuisines, with recipes like Sesame-Soy Beef Bowls with Jasmine Rice and Sriracha Mayo.

You can narrow down the menu by picking a dedicated plan, but you’ll always be able to mix and match: 

• Meat & Veggies

• Veggie

• Family Friendly

• Fit & Wholesome

• Under 20 Minutes
  

• Pescatarian

You’ll also find tags on the menu that highlight various recipe categories, like low-calorie, spicy, seasonal, and more. Look for the most popular recipes (Hall of Fame), low-prep options (Easy Cleanup, Quick, and Easy Prep), and Premium Picks. There are even some 10-minute lunch options! 

HelloFresh also has the HelloFresh Market for subscribers, where you can shop from a curated selection of quick-cook meal kits, breakfasts, lunches, snacks, desserts, and more. You can also purchase items to fill your fridge with, including fresh proteins and produce and ready-made spices and seasonings. 

With HelloFresh, you can order for households of either 2 or 4, up to 6 recipes per week. The minimum order, in this case, is 2 meals for 2 people. EveryPlate is a bit different, as you can order 2, 4, and 6-serving meal plans, up to 5 recipes per week. For the minimum order, you must order at least 3 meals per week for 2 people. 

Sample Meals

HelloFresh’s menu is diverse and easy to browse due to tags and labels like Hall of Fame, Premium Picks, Easy Prep, or Carb Smart. Plus, the recipes feature a wide range of cuisines, and you get to try new dishes each week.

To give you an idea of what you’ll be able to enjoy with HelloFresh, here are some of the dishes that caught my eye:

• Best Hall of Fame dish: Zucchini Pomodoro Penne Bake with Mozzarella & Herbed Ricotta

• Best family dish: Beef Ragú Zucchini “Lasagna”

• Best Easy Prep dish: Creamy Garlic Chicken Spaghetti with Nutmeg, Parmesan & Chives

• Best exotic cuisine dish: Pork Katsu with Sesame Roasted Carrots & Ginger Rice

• Best plant-based dish: Mushroom Ravioli with Kale & Walnuts in a Brown Butter Crème Fraîche Sauce

EveryPlate’s menu has fewer options and is more focused on efficiency. Still, it offers plenty of interesting recipes from cuisines all over the world. 

Here are some recipes you can expect when browsing EveryPlate's menu:

• Best under 15 Min dish: Chicken & Black Bean Enchilada Soup with Sour Cream & Scallions

• Best family dish: Cheesy Tex-Mex Beef Tortilla Bake with Black Beans & Corn

• Best Premium dish: Roasted Garlic Dijon Butter Steak with Brussels Sprouts & Mashed Sweet Potatoes

• Best veggie dish: White Bean Tomato Stew with Feta & Garlic Toast

• Best exotic cuisine dish: Greek Taverna Pork Chops with Cucumber-Tomato Couscous Salad

Meal Customization: HelloFresh Has a HelloCustom Feature

HelloFresh takes this round thanks to its HelloCustom feature. You can swap or upgrade the proteins and sides on around 12+ recipes each week, including being able to add protein to an otherwise vegetarian dish. 

Unlike Home Chef’s Customize-It feature, however, where you can choose from a number of different proteins, HelloFresh generally offers only 1 alternative protein and one side – such as trading potato wedges for broccoli.

EveryPlate doesn’t offer any customizations, but you can swap in home pantry items. Like all meal kits, it gives you the flexibility to add or remove ingredients as you like. Of course, this could lead to some food waste of the ingredients you exclude, so it’s not a foolproof method. 

Neither service caters to those who have severe allergies. Since the ingredients are handled in shared kitchens, there’s always a risk of cross-contamination. And while HelloFresh does allow for some “dislikes”, you can’t remove allergens such as nuts, soy, or milk. Neither accommodates those on special diets – such as keto or paleo – either, but you will find veggie options and some vegan-friendly meals.

EveryPlate has 5 or 6 veggie options each week, compared to HelloFresh’s 10 to 15. HelloFresh also has 2 or 3 plant-based recipes each week. This offering could certainly be improved further by offering a vegan-friendly protein alternative on the HelloCustom feature. 

Both EveryPlate and HelloFresh’s universally-enjoyable recipes are perfect for families, particularly those with younger children and picky eaters. You’ll find familiar favorites with more adventurous recipes or classics with twists scattered throughout each menu. 

Ingredient Quality and Nutrition: Both Offer Fresh Seasonal Ingredients

HelloFresh and EveryPlate are owned by the same company, so the ingredient quality is quite similar. The main difference between the 2 is that HelloFresh offers some organic ingredients, but the overall focus is on providing fresh and seasonal ingredients for each delivery.

HelloFresh is more transparent when it comes to its meat and fish sources, but both services make it clear that their animal products are sourced domestically and hormone-free. HelloFresh and EveryPlate only work with reliable business partners that practice farm-to-table agriculture.

Both services have premium options on their weekly menus (Premium Picks for HelloFresh and Premium for EveryPlate). These options include high-end ingredients and feature restaurant-worthy recipes, but they also come at an additional cost, so make sure to check the final price.

If you care more about sustainability and eco-friendliness, HelloFresh may be the best option since the brand is involved in various social actions. EveryPlate is less active, but it does support the environment by reducing the amount of packaging waste. 

Both brands make it easy to find the nutritional values for each meal. First, you’ll see the details on the website, once you open an individual dish, on the right side of the screen. Second, you’ll see the same values printed on the label of each food container. 

Both brands offer details on the main macros (fats, carbs, and protein), calories, sugar, fiber, cholesterol, sodium, and more. The nutritional information is available per serving, so you have to keep in mind that a regular meal kit recipe serves 2 people or more.

Ordering and Delivery: HelloFresh Has More Delivery Options

While both services were pretty evenly matched in this regard, HelloFresh takes the win for its wider range of delivery options and organized ingredients. 

HelloFresh delivers across the lower 48 US states, plus selected zip codes in Honolulu, Hawaii, and Anchorage, Alaska. On the other hand, EveryPlate is a little more vague, claiming to deliver to the “vast majority” of the continental US, but with either service, you can easily input your zip code to confirm whether you’re in the delivery area.

Both services offer delivery 7 days a week, but this largely depends on your location. Some areas may only have a few days to choose from. Again, you should input your zip code to confirm what days are available to you.

You have until 5 days before your scheduled order to make changes with either of these services. This includes swapping your meal selections, skipping a week, updating your delivery day, and more. These changes can all be made easily online with either service.

Both offer tracking information and shipping updates via email and the apps. Since the software behind signing up and ordering is essentially the same for these 2 companies, there’s no real difference in the process. When you receive your shipment, that’s when the differences become clear.

Unboxing: HelloFresh Is Way More Organized

HelloFresh’s packages arrive neatly organized, with each recipe discretely packaged in brown paper bags and labeled for your convenience. This certainly feels more organized than EveryPlate’s box, where everything is thrown in together.

From a personal perspective, I don’t mind having unsorted ingredients. However, people less comfortable in the kitchen may prefer HelloFresh’s more organized approach.

Both companies use recyclable materials in the packaging and prioritize sustainability. EveryPlate is perhaps a slightly more eco-conscious option because it forgoes the additional packaging, but it’s hard to deny the convenience of HelloFresh’s organization. Information on how to recycle everything is available on the website as well.

Meal Prep: Both Services Offer a Similar Experience

EveryPlate and HelloFresh are closely matched when it comes to meal prep. From the ingredient quality to the step-by-step recipes and beyond, your experience is going to be similar with either service.

When I tried EveryPlate, several ingredients had HelloFresh labels! So you don’t have to worry about reduced ingredient quality with the more affordable service.

Prep times average around 30 minutes with either service, with both also offering longer (40-50 minute) recipes, and quick, low-effort dinners. I found these estimates to be a little on the short side, but then again, I’m kind of a slow cook! 

You’ll usually be required to chop your own vegetables and make your own sauces with both services. You should also expect to keep basic pantry ingredients to hand, like butter, olive oil, vegetable oil, salt, and pepper.

The majority of EveryPlate’s recipes can be completed in 6 simple steps, and the recipe cards are clear and accurate. Similarly, HelloFresh’s meals aren’t overly complicated, but there are different levels of difficulty. Thankfully, almost every recipe on HelloFresh’s menu is categorized as Easy, with notably fewer Medium and Hard ratings. 

HelloFresh’s Easy meals – like the Shrimp Spaghetti with a Kick – often take less than 30 minutes and require very little multitasking, while the Hard recipes – like the Hibachi Sweet Soy Bavette Steak and Shrimp – use more complex ingredients and techniques.

Customer Support: Both Have Great Contact Option

EveryPlate and HelloFresh are pretty evenly matched in this arena, as you might expect from 2 services owned by the same parent company.

Live chat is the most efficient way of communicating with customer service, so I reached out to both companies this way. There were some things I wanted to confirm about the menu before I signed up… 

Unsurprisingly, EveryPlate and HelloFresh have almost identical chat functions, with a computer-automated “virtual assistant” to help narrow down your answers before you speak to a real person.

I thought their names were kind of cheesy, but Brie and Colby were both adequate at guiding me to a live representative. The representatives were both solid as well, so overall, I had perfectly fine experiences with both services.

Both services also have phone lines you can call. HelloFresh doesn’t state the phone line opening hours on the website, but for EveryPlate, it’s 6 am to 11 pm EST, Monday through Friday. Just keep in mind that only the live chat is available 24/7.

One final common feature of these services is an easy pause and cancelation process. With both EveryPlate and HelloFresh, you can easily manage your account from the settings page – no need to speak to a representative. 

Both EveryPlate and HelloFresh have easy-to-use apps that you can use for most tasks, including viewing the menu, placing an order, modifying your meal preferences, and more. As a bonus, the HelloFresh app can read aloud the cooking instructions, which certainly makes things easier in the kitchen! 

Pricing: EveryPlate Is More Affordable

Here’s the only category where EveryPlate really excels, with meal kits starting at $1.49 per serving when you sign up to the largest plan of 5 recipes for 6 people per week. In fact, even when you order the minimum number of 3 meals per week for 2, EveryPlate’s dishes are highly affordable and still cheaper than HelloFresh. 

HelloFresh’s prices start at $3.32 per serving, still making it among the more budget-friendly options out there right now. This price is based on the largest order of 6 meals for 4 people per week.

HelloFresh also charges more for shipping – $10.99 compared to a current flat rate of $9.99 at EveryPlate, so it’s also worth taking that into account when you work out your food budget. 

Both also let you add extra items to your standard order, like more proteins, snacks, or breakfast options. These are priced separately and will change your total bill. And yes, you can add premium recipes whenever you want, but that'll cost a bit more. 

EveryPlate vs. HelloFresh — Quick Overview

And The Winner Is: HelloFresh

Ultimately, EveryPlate is a simplified version of HelloFresh. It offers a more streamlined menu selection than HelloFresh, however, EveryPlate outperforms in one crucial area: affordability.

EveryPlate will suit those on a tighter budget. If you're a family or a couple looking to save on meal kits, EveryPlate could be an ideal choice. On the other hand, while HelloFresh is still great value, it does cost a tad more.

The cost difference mainly relates to the variety on offer and the convenience of the packaging. Your decision between the 2 services will hinge on whether you value a broader selection and additional features over savings. If you're okay with spending a little more, you'll appreciate HelloFresh's more expansive menu and recipes.

EveryPlate offers consistent affordability. So for those aiming to economize in the long run, EveryPlate ensures that you can enjoy meal kits without straining your budget. It's also better for larger families as it can cater up to 6 people, while HelloFresh maxes out at 4. 

HelloFresh stands out for its diverse, creative dishes. If you can allocate a few more dollars weekly, HelloFresh rewards you with a significantly wider range of recipes. It's worth noting that HelloFresh ranks in our top 5 best meal delivery services.

FAQ

Is EveryPlate the same as HelloFresh?

HelloFresh and EveryPlate are separate services owned by the same parent company. They have many similar features, including the same quality of ingredients. EveryPlate is the more affordable option, while HelloFresh has a bigger and better menu.

Why is EveryPlate so cheap?

EveryPlate is able to maintain its low prices by offering a no-frills service, but it doesn’t compromise when it comes to the quality and freshness of its ingredients. The menu is more limited than HelloFresh and other services, but the recipes are still tasty.  

How long does EveryPlate meat last in the fridge?

Once refrigerated, EveryPlate’s proteins should stay fresh for 3-5 days. The same is true for HelloFresh, which uses many of the same suppliers. EveryPlate’s insulated packaging ensures all meat and other ingredients are chilled when they arrive at your door, but you should transfer all perishables to the fridge as soon as possible.

Is EveryPlate really $1.99 per meal?

Prices as low as $1.99 per serving are only possible with one of EveryPlate’s introductory offers. With our current deal, prices start at $1.49 per serving. However, even without discounts, this service remains affordable, with prices for the largest order starting at $4.99 per serving.