Fresh n' Lean vs. FreshlyFit 2023 – Variety or Simplicity?

Fresh n’ Lean and FreshlyFit both cater to people looking for high-protein, low-carb diets, from serious athletes to regular folks who just want to eat healthy, lose weight, or bulk up.

To help you choose between these similar services, we’ve put together an in-depth review comparing Fresh n’ Lean to FreshlyFit – taking into account everything from price and packaging to ingredients and variety.

In a nutshell, if you’re extremely careful about what you eat and want a lot of choices, go for Fresh n’ Lean. For a quick overview, take a peek at the handy chart below. 

At a Glance: Fresh n' Lean vs. FreshlyFit

Dietary Preferences

Both meal delivery services aim to fuel your body with high-protein, low-carb, healthy meals, designed to optimize your athletic performance and boost your energy. While Fresh n’ Lean is an entire company formed with just this goal in mind, FreshlyFit is a dedicated menu from Freshly, a prepared meal delivery service with a broader menu.

Fresh n’ Lean offers 5 unique meal plans for very specific diets – Protein+, Keto, Paleo, Vegan, and Low Carb Vegan – plus a Bulk menu that allows you to stock up on staples. All meals are gluten and GMO-free, most are dairy and soy-free, and it only uses locally grown, organic, nutrient-dense ingredients, including antibiotic and hormone-free animal products.

You can easily filter out allergens and foods that you don’t like to make sure you’re getting meals you love.

While Fresh n’ Lean caters to a wider range of dietary needs, it can be overwhelming if you aren’t committed to one specific diet and just want to try incorporating more healthy foods into your week.

FreshlyFit has just one menu made up of relatively healthy foods that are high in protein, low in carbs. Although its meals are all gluten and peanut-free, your options are somewhat limited when it comes to additional allergens. It’s clear, though, that FreshlyFit’s chefs follow careful instructions when handling any of the major allergens: milk, eggs, shellfish, fish, tree nuts, and soy. There are very few vegetarian options.

Winner: Fresh n’ Lean

Menu Variety

Fresh n' Lean offers a full single-serving menu of breakfast, lunch, and dinner, plus extra snacks, side dishes, bulk items, and even a stand-alone A La Carte menu for one-time orders, allowing you to order as much or little as you want. Depending on which menu plan you sign up for, you can choose between 6-14 entrees for lunch and dinner, plus 2-8 breakfast options to get your day off to a great start.

Fresh n’ Lean’s nutritious meals are full of exciting flavors and ingredients, like Roasted Cilantro Cream Vegetables With Sustainable Salmon and Chipotle Lime Broccoli and Cauliflower.

FreshlyFit has only one menu, with 9-18 carb-conscious, paleo, and keto-inspired options each week. You can choose between 4, 6, 10, or 12 single-serving meals per week, with no options specifically designed for breakfast.

With more sodium and fat, the meals are definitely less healthy than Fresh n’ Lean but can be more adventurous. Think Cauliflower Mash and Miso Glazed Beef Bowl with Carb Swap Cauli Rice and the Ultra-Umami Turkey Meatloaf with Creamed Spinach.

Winner: Fresh n’ Lean

Starting Prices

Considering the variety and quality provided, Fresh n’ Lean is surprisingly affordable, with standard vegan meals starting at just $7.53 each. However, if you choose one of the other plans that incorporates lots of high-quality animal products, your starting price can jump up to $10.78 each for keto and paleo meals.

If you plan to order 3 meals a day with snacks and side dishes, your bill is going to climb pretty quickly! No matter what you order, you’re guaranteed free shipping, which is a huge plus.

FreshlyFit ranges from $8.49 to $11.49 per meal, with the price dropping as you increase the number of meals you order each week. Shipping is an additional $3.99 to $12.99 per week, depending on both your location and the quantity of your order.

Winner: Fresh n’ Lean

Delivery and Packaging

Fresh n’ Lean offers free delivery to anywhere in the US, always sent out on Fridays, with guaranteed delivery by Saturday afternoon. For delivery on any other day of the week, you will need to pay an extra fee. FreshlyFit, on the other hand, delivers 7 days a week, but you don’t have the freedom to choose your delivery date, because it depends on when the company’s delivery partners will be in your area.

FreshlyFit is confident that its packaging will keep your meals cool for 2 full days of shipping, plus another 12 hours waiting at your door, while Fresh n’ Lean encourages you to refrigerate as quickly as possible.

Both companies are making an effort to use recyclable materials, but when ordering ready-made meals, it’s hard to get around using plastic. Fresh n’ Lean and FreshlyFit both serve their meals in BPA-free, microwave-safe, recyclable plastic trays, packaged in recyclable cardboard boxes with at least partially recyclable ice packs. FreshlyFit adds an oversized cardboard sleeve on each meal, which seems unnecessary to me.

While Fresh n’ Lean marks each meal with just a sticker, as opposed to a whole sleeve, its packaging includes styrofoam padding, which is very difficult to recycle.

FreshlyFit uses denim insulation made from 85% biodegradable materials and non-toxic gel packs with recyclable plastic casings.

Winner: FreshlyFit

Meal Prep

Both Fresh n’ Lean and FreshlyFit deliver fully prepared meals to your door – ready for you to simply heat and eat. Packaged in microwave-safe containers, your healthy meal can be on the table in just 3 minutes. If you prefer to heat your food in the oven, you’ll need to transfer it to a different container first.

Fresh n’ Lean offers high-protein sweet and savory snacks that are truly grab-and-go for those extreme moments when even a few minutes is too long to wait.

If you want to save your meals for a rainy day, you can store your Fresh n’ Lean meals for 7 to 10 days in the fridge or freeze them for 6 to 8 weeks. 

FreshlyFit recommends eating your meal within 5 days, and although it doesn’t seem too excited about you freezing them, you certainly can.

Winner: Fresh n’ Lean

The Bottom Line

Fresh n’ Lean is the best choice for protein-packed prepared meals designed to optimize your performance, whether your doc put you on a super strict diet, you’re training for your next marathon, or you want to make sure you’re getting enough protein on a plant-powered diet,

Fresh n’ Lean makes sure you get the foods your body needs, no matter what. It offers 4 different meal plans, a lot of menu variety, top-quality ingredients, 3 meals a day, extra snacks, and free shipping all across the United States.

FreshlyFit also offers lots of delicious, nutritious, high-protein, low-carb meals, but it’s clear that this is a subset of a larger brand, as opposed to an entire service dedicated toward this mission. To see more meal delivery services that may suit your needs, check out our full list of the best keto meal delivery options on the market.

Winner: Fresh n’ Lean