EveryPlate vs. HelloFresh 2023: Is Low-Cost the Best Option?

EveryPlate and HelloFresh are owned by the same company – but there are some key differences when it comes to their menus and costs. Which one is right for you very much depends on what you’re looking for in a meal delivery service. 

EveryPlate enjoys a solid reputation as a low-cost meal delivery service. HelloFresh is a little more expensive, but you get way more variety, including the option to customize some recipes. 

Both services offer meal kits as opposed to prepared meals. The question is: is the added value that you get with HelloFresh worth the higher price tag?

To help you out, I looked to see how both companies stacked up. For me, HelloFresh comes out on top thanks to its extensive offerings – but these 2 services are certainly more closely matched than expected! Read on to compare menus, cooking times, customer service, and more. 

At a Glance: Who Won Each Category?

Menu Variety

Winner: HelloFresh

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.

While EveryPlate has a smattering of globally-inspired recipes, like the Sweet Potato and Poblano Fajitas or Cuban-Style Bean and Rice Bowls, most of its 25 weekly dishes are crowd-pleasing American classics, including burgers, pork chops, and meatloaf.

EveryPlate offers 5 plans that will streamline the options shown to you. However, you can always order from the wider menu and you can select more than one of the below when you sign up:

• Meat & Veggie

• Veggie

• Family Faves

• Quick & Easy

• Nutrish & Delish

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 Dietitian Win reflects the more nutritious options. The menu also features a couple of Premium recipes each week, which are created using higher-quality proteins like steak and salmon, and fancier sides. These come with an upcharge, however. 

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 dishes to be limited, with lots of the same vegetables – like carrots, broccoli, and potatoes – cropping up. This is possibly the trade-off you get for picking a low-cost service, but you could spice things up by shopping the add-ons menu, which includes ready-to-mix salads, plus extra proteins, breakfast options, desserts, and pantry essentials.  

HelloFresh offers a much richer selection of recipes, promising 50+ options 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, including Sesame-Soy Beef Bowls with Jasmine Rice and Sriracha Mayo, or the Apricot, Almond and Chickpea Tagine, plus curries, tacos, pasta dishes, soups, and more.

You can narrow down the menu by picking one of HelloFresh’s dedicated plans, but like EveryPlate, you’ll always be able to mix and match: 

• Meat & Veggies

• Veggie

• Family Friendly

• Fit & Wholesome

• Quick and Easy

• Pescatarian

You’ll also find tags on the menu that highlight which recipes are 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 has the HelloFresh Market for subscribers, too, 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. 

Both services allow you to order for households of either 2 or 4, up to 6 recipes per week. The only difference is the minimum order – you must order at least 3 meals per week with EveryPlate, or 2 for HelloFresh. 

Meal Customization

Winner: HelloFresh

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 one alternative protein and one side – such as trading potato wedges for broccoli.

EveryPlate doesn’t offer any customizations, but since it’s a meal kit service, you do have the flexibility to add or remove ingredients. Of course, this could lead to some food waste, 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. 

Ordering, Delivery, Unboxing

Winner: HelloFresh

While both services were pretty evenly matched in this regard, I’m giving the edge to HelloFresh for its wider range of delivery options and organized ingredients. 

HelloFresh delivers across the lower 48 US states, plus to 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.

Both EveryPlate and HelloFresh give you until 5 days before your scheduled order to make changes, too. 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 services 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.

HelloFresh’s packages arrive pleasantly 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, it doesn’t make a big difference to me not having the ingredients pre-sorted, but people less comfortable in the kitchen may prefer HelloFresh’s more organized approach.

Both companies use recyclable materials in the packaging and place a big emphasis on 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 – plus information on how to recycle everything is available on the website.

Meal Prep

Winner: Tie

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.

To give you an idea of just how similar these services are, 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” dishes – like the Shrimp Spaghetti with a Kick – generally 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

Winner: Tie

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

I find live chat to be 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 feature these services have in common is the ease of pausing or canceling your subscription. 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 almost any task, 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

Winner: EveryPlate

EveryPlate really excels in this category, with meal kits starting at $1.49 per serving when you sign up to the largest plan of 6 recipes for 4 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 one of 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 offer the option to add to your standard order by choosing additional items like proteins, snacks, breakfasts, and more. These are priced individually and will change the total cost of your order. Of course, you can also upgrade to the premium recipes as frequently as you like, and these will also come with an extra charge. 

EveryPlate vs. HelloFresh— Quick Overview

And The Winner Is: HelloFresh

Here's the deal: EveryPlate is a stripped-down version of HelloFresh, so it naturally offers fewer choices. However, EveryPlate triumphs in a significant category: cost.

EveryPlate is a perfect meal kit service for families and couples on a tight budget, but similarly, HelloFresh is hardly a premium-priced service. Which one is right for you depends if you’re happy to pay that little bit extra for more variety and a larger range of add-ons. 

If you want to save money in the long term, EveryPlate has consistently low prices to keep your wallet happy. If you can spare a few extra dollars each week, though, HelloFresh offers a much more impressive array of recipes. Plus, HelloFresh is in our top 3 of the best meal delivery services.

FAQ

Is EveryPlate the same as HelloFresh?

HelloFresh and EveryPlate are separate services, but they’re owned by the same parent company. They have many similar features, including the same quality of ingredients, but EveryPlate is the more affordable option.

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 compared to services like HelloFresh and others, and it also uses much less packaging, for an overall simpler meal kit experience.  

How long does EveryPlate meat last in the fridge?

Once refridgerated, 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 EveryPlate’s introductory offer. However, even without discounts, this service remains affordable, with prices starting at $1.49 per serving.