Gobble vs. Blue Apron 2023: Which Has the Best Value?

Gobble and Blue Apron are both premium meal delivery services. Both offer meal kits of thoughtfully sourced ingredients, restaurant-quality recipes, and globally-inspired cuisine variety. They’re similar on the surface, but I want to see which will come out on top.

Gobble is known for quick-prep meals, while Blue Apron is known for gourmet dishes. All Gobble meals are estimated to be ready in 15 minutes or less, while Blue Apron kits are ready in 20 to 55 minutes. However, the service offers a weekly selection of microwavable meals that only take 2 to 5 minutes to heat up.

This was a close call, but Blue Apron wins this comparison, and it even made it onto our list of this year’s Best Meal Delivery Services. Read on for an in-depth dive into Gobble’s and Blue Apron’s menus and service features.

At a Glance: Who Won Each Category?

Menu Variety

Winner: Blue Apron

Blue Apron offers more extras, bundles. The core menu offers up 16 dinners each week, but the marketplace greatly expands your options. Market options include salads, desserts, protein add-ons, and even microwave-ready meals. 

You can even order kitchen utensils from the Market. While Gobble offers some extras on the main menu and has a pretty similar dinner entree menu, it just can’t beat Blue Apron’s Market extras.

Blue Apron’s plans include Signature, Vegetarian, Wellness, and Signature for 4. The Signature plan is Blue Apron’s standard menu. The Wellness plan is “designed with nutritionists with your wellness in mind” and includes tags like Carb Conscious and 600 Calories or Less.

The Signature for 4 plan is best for small families, get-togethers, or meal preppers. It is essentially the same as the regular Signature plan, only it includes enough ingredients for 4 servings of each meal rather than the standard 2 servings.

Blue Apron also offers 6 microwavable dishes as extras each week. The fairly limited selection of prepared meals is good enough to round out your weekly lunches and dinners. Like all Market items, they are priced separately from Blue Apron’s meal kits.

Gobble offers 16 dinner entrees, 3 salads, 2 soups, 6 breakfasts, 3 sides, and 3 desserts. This is actually great variety for a meal delivery service, especially since most don’t offer breakfasts. However, you won’t find protein add-ons, picnic bundles, kitchen utensils, or signature spice blends on Gobble’s site.

Gobble’s Classic, Vegetarian, and Lean & Clean plans offer gourmet recipes. The main difference between these plans is the Lean & Clean plan only includes meals of 600 calories or fewer by only using lean proteins and healthy fats and excluding sugars and simple starches. However, you’ll only find about 3 Lean & Clean recipes each week, so plan carefully.

Both companies have similar, globally-inspired cuisine, drawing from Mexican, Mediterranean, and Asian-inspired recipes. You’ll find some familiar standard American favorites like burgers, but you’ll be happy with the main menu from either service. Blue Apron just offers a little more spice than Gobble does with its Market selections.

Both companies rotate their menus each week and regularly introduce new recipes. This is a great feature of meal delivery services because you’ll potentially try new cuisines or recipes. They also both highlight holiday-specific recipes. Gobble sticks to major holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas, while Blue Apron also features recipes for holidays like the 4th of July or Mother’s Day.

You can see Gobble’s menu 3 weeks ahead and Blue Apron’s menu 6 weeks in advance. I appreciate when meal delivery services post menus in advance because I can better plan my meals and budget each week.

Another point in Blue Apron’s favor is the high quality and sourcing of its ingredients. Blue Apron only sources from family-run farms that follow the highest humane treatment standards and sustainable farming practices. It also incorporates organic produce where supply line and pricing allow.

Meal Customization

Winner: Gobble

Neither company offers super flexible customization options, but Gobble offers more. Some recipes include the option to swap 1 protein for another – just look for the button labeled Personalize this Meal. When you click on it, you’ll see the available protein swap options.

Plus, within Gobble’s Classic menus, you can customize your protein preferences. This is a feature you don’t see too often with meal delivery services. There are several meal kit delivery services with great dietary accommodation but not too many have protein or ingredient customization. While Gobble’s protein customization is its only customization, it’s a great one.

Blue Apron also offers protein swap options but for fewer meals. You also can’t see which recipes have swap options on the main menu, so you have to click through each recipe to see what’s available. You can, however, see which recipes you can make vegetarian with the recipes that are tagged “Make it Vegetarian.”

Ordering, Delivery, Unboxing

Winner: Blue Apron

Blue Apron wins with its greater shipping coverage and more eco-friendly packaging. Blue Apron delivers to the contiguous 48 states. Gobble doesn’t yet deliver to Montana and has limited delivery to Nebraska, New Mexico, Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Louisiana. 

Your weekly box delivered by Gobble comes with each meal separated in a plastic bag. In case you need to divide your bags for storage purposes, each ingredient has a designated sticker identifying which meal it belongs to, so you definitely won’t get confused. However, that’s a lot of extra plastic.

Blue Apron is also committed to maximizing eco-friendliness by using as little packaging material and as much recycled and recyclable material as possible. You can find extensive recycling details in Blue Apron’s easily navigable FAQs and Recycling page.

In fact, Blue Apron’s shipping and delivery operations are carbon neutral. For those of you concerned about your meal delivery service’s carbon offset or eco-friendliness priorities – you won’t have to worry when ordering from Blue Apron. The company doesn’t yet focus on reducing carbon emissions, but it does invest in carbon offset projects to balance emissions.

In addition to minimizing waste, Blue Apron has also teamed up with How2Recycle, a program designing easily identifiable recycling labels to help reduce waste even further. All packaging that comes from Blue Apron is 85% recyclable. On the other hand, Gobble has removed claims of being eco-friendly after disputes with the National Advertising Division.

Blue Apron wins this round for its commitment to the environment. Gobble’s packaging is definitely more convenient and time-saving, but Blue Apron’s eco-friendliness and wider delivery area give it the edge.

Meal Prep

Winner: It’s a tie

Both services offer different convenient meal prep features. You’ll find easy prep meals on both services’ menus but with different twists. Gobble’s your best bet if easy meal kit prep is your priority, while Blue Apron is the better choice for microwavable meals.

Gobble advertises that all its meal kits only require 15 minutes to prep. For the novice chef, I imagine this might be closer to 20 or 25 minutes when you factor in time spent YouTubing new prep skills.

On the other hand, Blue Apron’s meals take anywhere from 20 up to 65 minutes to make. However, this service is known for its easy-to-follow recipes that come complete with images of your meal at each step. There are even videos where you can cook along with a Blue Apron chef.

You can also choose Blue Apron’s Fast & Easy option for recipes ready in 30 minutes. While this still means Gobble’s meal kit recipes average less prepping time, Blue Apron offers the follow-along resources to make your prep time as smooth as possible.

What really gives Blue Apron the upper hand is its selection of microwavable meals. Each meal only takes 2 to 5 minutes to heat in the microwave. While you can’t include heat-and-eat meals as part of your plan, the price per serving is just a dollar or 2 higher than the average per-serving price for meal kits. 

Customer Support

Winner: Blue Apron

Blue Apron wins because of its mobile app and detailed FAQs. The app is iOS and Android compatible. Its website also has how-tos and useful information about things like ingredient sourcing, quality standards, recycling details, and account management. 

Having an app is the best customer service feature meal delivery services can offer. You can manage your subscription, skip an order, track an upcoming delivery, or even chat with customer service on the phone or via chat through the apps. Gobble is a bit behind the times since it doesn’t have an app, thus requiring you to use the desktop website.

Both services offer live online chat, a phone line, and email. Gobble offers more live customer support hours, but I think the fewer hours Blue Apron offers are balanced with its better upfront information. 

Blue Apron’s live customer support is 6 days per week excluding major holidays, and you can reach a live Blue Apron agent via chat or phone Monday to Friday 10am to 9pm ET and Saturday 11 am to 5 pm ET. 

Gobble’s live customer support is 7 days per week excluding major holidays, and you can reach a live Gobble agent via chat or phone Monday to Friday 5 am to 8 pm PT, and Saturdays and Sunday 5 am to 1 pm PT.

But again, Blue Apron wins because its FAQ is among the best I’ve seen. With such comprehensive information upfront, I rarely needed to reach out to Blue Apron’s live agents to clarify menu or service features.

Pricing

Winner: Blue Apron

Blue Apron’s per serving prices are lower than Gobble’s from smallest to largest order. Blue Apron’s highest per serving price on its regular meal plans is lower than Gobble’s per serving starting price.

Gobble’s lowest per serving price starts around $12 per serving, while Blue Apron’s is $8, excluding shipping. You can get these prices when you order the maximum number of weekly meals, which is 4 meals for 5 people each week from either service. This is a pretty big starting difference! And prices only increase for each service if you order fewer meals each week.

And don’t forget to factor in shipping – Blue Apron’s is $10.99 and Gobble’s is only $8.99. However, when factoring the higher per serving price difference, Blue Apron still wins this section. 

This means 20 weekly meals for Blue Apron is around $170 while Gobble’s is $195, including shipping. That’s about a $100 price increase per month when ordering from Gobble. As you can see, Blue Apron is the clear winner in terms of starting price. 

Gobble vs. Blue Apron – Quick Overview

And The Winner Is: Blue Apron

Blue Apron wins for its lower price point, eco-conscious packaging, and mobile app. When compared to Gobble, Blue Apron also offers both a lower minimum and maximum per serving price. 

I also like that Blue Apron uses reduced amounts of plastic and paper in its packaging. It also boasts a comprehensive FAQ section that minimizes the need to contact customer support.

Gobble does remain a strong option. While Blue Apron shines in specific areas, Gobble may suit you well if its pricing aligns with your budget.

Both services cater to a variety of households. Whether you're an individual, part of a couple, or have a small family, both companies aim to simplify your meal processes.

The goal is to minimize grocery visits and cooking hassles. Both Blue Apron and Gobble excel at helping consumers cut down on shopping, meal planning, and preparation.

FAQ

Does Blue Apron have organic food?

Does Blue Apron have free shipping?

No, Blue Apron charges a set shipping fee of $10.99 for all plan sizes. In comparison, Gobble also charges a set shipping fee of $8.99 for all its plans.

Does Gobble have organic food?

Gobble does offer organic options, but not all its ingredients are organic. While the service promises high-quality ingredients, you might find Blue Apron a better fit if organic items are a priority for you.

Which meal delivery service has good microwavable meals?

Blue Apron offers a selection of 6 microwavable meals each week. Meals are pre-cooked, pre-prepared meals that you can heat in the microwave for 5 minutes or less. Gobble’s meal kits require a lower average prep time than Blue Apron’s meal kits, but you won’t find microwavable meals on its menu.

Is Blue Apron affordable?

Blue Apron is relatively affordable, with plans starting at $5.74 per serving. Keep in mind, the total cost can vary based on your meal selections and plan. However, compared to Gobble, whose prices start at $11.99 per serving, Blue Apron can be a more cost-effective option.