Fresh N Lean vs. Factor 2023: Fresh N Lean For the Win?

When comparing Fresh N Lean vs. Factor (formerly known as Factor75), you’ll notice that both are meal delivery services offering prepared meals only. This means you never have to worry about cooking with either, and simply heat and eat your meals. The services also cater specifically to the health-conscious community.

Factor’s shipping fee is around $10 per delivery, and Fresh N Lean’s is always free. But there are several more factors that I recommend taking into consideration. For example, Fresh N Lean appeals to more athletic people who are health conscious as all of the meals are low carb. Factor, on the other hand, is aimed at busy people who want healthy, nutritious meals.

Though deciding between Fresh N Lean and Factor can be tricky, Fresh N Lean is the clear winner for me thanks to its cheaper per-meal prices, free shipping, and a larger selection of meal options. Factor is still a great choice as it has a variety of keto, paleo, and plant-based meals.

At a Glance: Who Won Each Category?

Menu Variety

Winner: Factor (but it was close)

When it comes down to the sheer number of different meals, Fresh N Lean definitely has more choices, but it’s not as simple as that. Let me explain. Factor has about 29 choices per week (give or take), and Fresh N Lean 100+ per week – but they’re split across seven meal plans.

You’ll be able to mix and match across meal plans with Factor and you always have access to the full menu. But with Fresh N Lean, you must first select your meal plan, and you’ll only have access to meals within that plan giving you 11-20 choices per week.

Each service has a good variety of meals. You can keep things simple with American-style dishes, or you can experiment with other cuisines. Roughly two-thirds of Fresh N Lean’s meals are American style, and the rest international including Mexican and Mediterranean. More of Factor’s meal choices are American style – about 75%. The rest are international dishes including inspiration from Indian and Italian cuisines.

Fresh N Lean provides items for breakfast, mains, snacks, veg sides, and protein add-ons. Factor, on the other hand, offers breakfast, mains, desserts, sides, snacks, and beverages – but no protein add-ons. It’s up to you to decide what’s more important to you.

Since both Factor and Fresh N Lean only offer prepared meals, you’ll get a good selection of microwave and oven-ready meals. You can prepare both Fresh N Lean’s and Factor’s meals in the microwave and oven.

Most of each service’s meals are also child-friendly. Some recipes might be slightly more complex or “flavorful” for a child’s taste buds, but there are plenty of options with both services. However, a child shouldn’t necessarily be on such a strict, diet-oriented meal plan (unless from medical advice) – so most of the meals would be better suited for adults.

Factor offers meals for keto, low-calorie, plant-based, and high-protein diets within its menu. Fresh N Lean has seven distinct dietary plans – Keto, Paleo, Protein +, Standard Vegan, Low Carb Vegan, Whole30 Approved, and Mediterranean diet. With 11-20 meals per menu, this one easily goes to Fresh N Lean.

If you’re wondering about allergies, Factor doesn’t promise or guarantee that its ingredients haven’t come into contact with any known allergens like soy, nuts, gluten, or dairy. Fresh N Lean, though, has a gluten-free kitchen, so all of its meals are gluten free, and most of its meals are also dairy free as well except for some meals on the keto menu.

Both delivery services rotate their meals out on a weekly basis, so things might change over time. But as a general rule, you can expect good variety and a large selection of delectable meals, no matter your flavor preferences.

Meal Customization

Winner: Fresh N Lean 

Unfortunately, neither Fresh N Lean nor Factor allow you to customize any ingredients in their prepared meals. But what you can do is choose certain ingredients that you want to exclude with Fresh N Lean.

For example, Fresh N Lean gives you the option of omitting up to three ingredients per meal plan from a choice of over 20 ingredients including bell peppers, red meat, quinoa, mushrooms, turkey, and cilantro. You can also avoid allergens like soy, tree nuts, eggs, dairy, sesame, and shellfish. Factor, on the other hand, suggests that you take a look carefully at the ingredient list for each meal to determine if it contains something you don’t want or can’t eat.

Fresh N Lean will also allow you to filter down the menu to your desired preferences before signing up. So if you’re vegan, you can focus on viewing the vegan-friendly meals and you won’t have to scroll through lots of meat-containing meals first.

Neither service allows you to directly replace any part of the meal. You can’t replace any meat, vegetable, or starch items with others, unfortunately. In that case, I recommend checking out each meal to make sure it contains only things you want and are able to eat.

Ordering, Delivery, Unboxing

Winner: Fresh N Lean (but it was close)

Ordering is fairly straightforward for each website. Factor also offers a mobile app for extra convenience, but Fresh N Lean doesn’t. Here’s how it works for both services.

On Factor, after placing your first order, the subscription feature will be activated on your account. Each week, orders are automatically processed immediately after the weekly cutoff which is 11:59 pm CT on Wednesdays for delivery the following week. You also have the option to skip up to two weeks in advance or turn off the subscription feature.

Any changes you need to make to your order can be done before the weekly cutoff time. The minimum order for Factor is four meals per week. But you can select up to 18 each week, which saves you even more money. More on that below in the Pricing section.

Fresh N Lean also has a subscription-based model that will automatically renew itself every week. Any changes you want to make to your order, or canceling your subscription, need to be done by Saturday, before 12 pm PST for the following week’s delivery. Fresh N Lean’s minimum order is for five meals.

For shipping, there’s one primary difference in shipping between Factor and Fresh N Lean. Factor delivers to all contiguous states, and Fresh N Lean delivers to all states. If you’re in a less populated or rural area, Fresh N Lean will be the best fit. It also delivers every Friday, with a guaranteed at-the-latest delivery day of Saturday.

Fresh N Lean does deliver on other days too, but since Fridays are the standard, getting them delivered any other day will cost you extra. Factor, on the other hand, delivers between 8 am to 8 pm on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays. The exact delivery date will depend on your zip code.

The unboxing experience for both Factor and Fresh N Lean is basically the exact same thing. Both services manage to provide mostly recyclable materials.

Factor’s boxes themselves are recyclable, and so are some of the insulating layers. All of the insulating layers are made from recyclable materials, but not every type of layer can physically be recycled. Gel packs are non-toxic and reusable. If you don’t need them, you can drain the liquid in your sink or toilet, and discard the rest – otherwise, you can also donate them.

On the other hand, all of Fresh N Lean’s packaging is recyclable. This includes the boxes, insulating layers, meal containers, and the plastic seals covering the meal containers.

Each meal delivery’s boxes come in insulating layers, protecting from heat (or cold!), and keep your meals fresh until you get home to store them. Each Factor meal should be put into the fridge immediately and lasts for about seven days. Fresh N Lean’s meals stay fresh in the fridge for about seven to 10 days, but they can be kept fresh for up to eight weeks in the freezer.

Something you’ll notice is that each meal is neatly labeled, with the accompanying nutritional information available as well. Each meal is organized inside the box and comes very professionally packaged. Fresh N Lean labels its nutritional information on the backside of the box, and Factor provides its nutritional info on the bottom of each meal.

Meal Prep

Winner: Tie

There’s no clear winner when it comes to meal prep. Both Factor and Fresh N Lean offer a diverse array of heat-and-eat meals. So, it’ll all boil down to your preferences.

At the end of the day, both services deliver meals that you can heat up in your oven in about 15-20 minutes, or 2-4 minutes in your microwave, depending on how powerful it is. There is no real reason to choose one over the other regarding meal prep, but the next few sections might help you make a more informed decision as there will be more variance.

Customer Support

Winner: Tie

In terms of Factor, it was really easy and super fast to contact the support team via live chat. You’re able to get pre-sales support and ask any questions you like. Once I initiated the chat, it took less than 10 seconds to connect with John. Now that’s impressive.

All of my questions were answered by John in no more than an additional 30 seconds. Overall, it took less than two minutes to connect to someone and get some answers. I highly recommend trying out the Factor live chat support system if you need any more information before deciding.

You can contact Factor’s support team from 6 am to 11 pm EST Monday to Friday, and 7 am to 7 pm on Saturday and Sunday. Fresh N Lean, on the other hand, offers support between 7 am to 5 pm PST seven days a week (for the phone line only), and from 9 am to 5 pm PST using the live chat feature – also every single day of the week.

The support team was able to get back to me super quickly – in under less than 10 seconds – using the live chat feature. I was able to receive pre-sales support for a number of questions I had before getting started. Again, this is about on par with what Factor offers as well, so there really is no clear winner here.

If you really want to split hairs, however, Fresh N Lean offered more personalized support instead of just a canned response like the one I received from Factor. Not that this is a big deal, but it made me feel more “special” so to speak, and that the company really cares just that little bit more, which you might find important. It also offers support via a contact form and email.

Interestingly, the canned response from Factor was actually way more in-depth, and more packed with helpful information. What the support team ends up saying to you has clearly been well thought-out which actually ends up being far more helpful than Fresh N Lean’s bespoke response.

At the end of the day, nobody wins the customer support category. I was adequately satisfied with the service I received from both services.

Pricing

Winner: Fresh N Lean

Deciding between Fresh N Lean vs Factor here was no easy task. At first glance, it would appear that you’ll get the cheaper meals with Fresh N Lean, but that’s not necessarily true. For a standard, balanced omnivore meal plan, both services are fairly similar in price – give or take $0.50 to $1.

But it’s not as simple as that. Fresh N Lean offers seven specific meal plans – Protein+, Paleo, Standard Vegan, Whole30 Approved,  Mediterranean Diet, and Low Carb Vegan. Pricing will depend on which plan you choose. However, the least expensive plan is the Standard Vegan plan which comes in at around $7.53 per serving for seven days.

In terms of add-ons, each service offers its own pricing structure for those. For example, Fresh N Lean’s add-ons range from about $3 to $30, depending on what it is. Simple snacks are cheaper, and a protein add-on can cost significantly more.

Its most expensive plans are the Keto, Paleo, and Whole30 Approved ones. They’re about $2 more expensive than the cheapest one – the Standard Vegan plan. The others fall somewhere in the middle, between around $9 to $10 per serving.

Factor, on the other hand, is always more expensive, per serving, no matter how many weekly meals you choose or whether you choose Factor’s Chef’s Choice, Calorie Smart, Vegetarian/Vegan, or Keto meal plan. You’ll be able to choose between four to 18 meals – and choosing more per week will save you a significant amount of money. 

Factor is more expensive than Fresh N Lean, but you can check out our exclusive discount to save a good amount of money – Up to $276 off!.

For me, there’s a clear winner, which, in this case, is definitely Fresh N Lean, especially when you consider the free shipping as well. Factor’s shipping fees can really start adding up – $9.99 per week is a lot.

Features Comparison: Vendor vs. Vendor

And The Winner Is: Fresh N Lean

With an excellent array of reasonably-priced meals, free shipping, and a larger selection of special diets, Fresh N Lean is the winner. Factor is still an excellent choice since it offers far more weekly meals to choose from.

Fresh N Lean also goes above and beyond Factor in terms of allergies. Whereas Factor doesn’t promise that its ingredients haven’t come into contact with known allergens, Fresh N Lean does. If you’re specifically trying to avoid gluten and dairy, Fresh N Lean, again, is the clear winner. 

You can also always check out our comparison of the Best Prepared Meal Delivery Services for an in-depth review of all the most popular ones.

But I wouldn’t discount Factor just yet. If you want to order meals in bulk (up to 18 at a time), you can save some money (although it’ll still be pricier than Fresh N Lean). Factor also has Fresh N Lean in a stranglehold in terms of menu variety. Factor offers nearly 30 different meal options at any given time. You certainly won’t get bored with Factor.

FAQ

How much does Factor cost per month?

Factor’s prices depend on how many meals you order per week. For example, if you go with the maximum number of meals available, you can spend $6.19 per serving. After you decide how many meals you’ll order every week, you can get a rough estimate of how much you might spend each month.

Are Fresh N Lean meals healthy?

The word “healthy” doesn’t necessarily mean anything on its own. However, if you’re looking for high-quality meals made from hand-selected, chef-chosen ingredients that are based on whole foods, and are highly nutritious, I think Fresh N Lean fits that bill nicely.

Is Factor good for weight loss?

You can lose weight eating any food known to man, as long as you’re carefully tracking the number of calories you’re consuming. That said, Factor explicitly publishes all of its nutritional data for each meal it delivers, so you can always be certain you know exactly how many calories you’re consuming. In this way, it can help you achieve your weight loss goals.