Green Chef vs. Factor 2023: Organic Meal Kits or Convenience?

In my Green Chef vs. Factor comparison, you’ll see that both services have benefits. Both companies are under the HelloFresh umbrella, so picking between them can be tricky. Green Chef offers organic meal kits and Factor has prepared meals, but there are other key differences to explore.

Fortunately, I’ve checked out both companies and have compared lots of variables. I’ve looked closely at pricing, menu variety, meal prep times, customization options, how easy it is to order and have your food delivered, and customer service. I want to clearly demonstrate to you which of these companies will give you the most for your money.

Though it was a close race, Factor edged out Green Chef for the win. For instance, it offers a very large selection of prepared meals perfect for those looking to live a healthier lifestyle. It also offers a boatload of keto-friendly add-ons, extras, sides, and snacks. Unless you specifically want meal kits, Factor’s your best bet.

At a Glance: Who Won Each Category?

Menu Variety

Winner: Green Chef 

Green Chef’s weekly-changing menu consists of around 45+ unique meal kits. You need to cook them yourself using pre-portioned ingredients and pre-made sauces, dressings, and spice blends.

Most of Green Chef’s meals take around half an hour to make, but there are a couple of 10-minute lunch recipes on the menu each week. For instance, you’ll find options like these Black Bean and Cheese Burritos with Sour Cream, Cholula Sauce, and Chimichurri Slaw.

Recipes come with clear, detailed instructions that make cooking as simple as possible. Even if you’re not an experienced cook, you’ll still find the recipes super simple. The pictures that illustrate each step pretty much make the meals foolproof.

The Green Chef menu is a mix of cuisines and influences that’ll take you on a world journey. You'll get to taste cuisines like Mediterranean, South American, Asian, and Middle Eastern, yet also more familiar Mexican and American recipes (like Monterey Jack Burgers).

Many of the recipes are actually fusion cuisine, combining elements from different parts of the world into exciting new dishes. For instance, the Turkish-Spiced Chicken Tacos is a very unique and tasty blend of Mexican and Turkish.

On the other hand, Factor’s menu is entirely made of prepared dishes, so you don’t need to cook anything. In order to enjoy the meals, you simply heat them in the microwave or oven and eat them. The menu boasts 30+ recipes each week, so slightly fewer than Green Chef.

Most of the meals are either keto or calorie-smart, making Factor a great choice for fitness and health enthusiasts. Many recipes are transformed into lower-carb and low-calorie versions, like using zucchini noodles instead of rice noodles, for example.

However, Factor’s menu isn’t as internationally-focused or exciting as Green Chef’s. Almost all recipes are of either American, Mexican, or Italian inspiration. For instance, the Tuscan Shrimp with Creamy Kale and Zucchini-Pepper-Onion Medley (pictured) is pretty Americanized.

Both Green Chef and Factor have an impressive number of add-ons, extras, sides, and snacks. For instance, Factor offers everything from keto desserts and energy bites to breakfast options and side dishes. You can also get smoothies, shakes, juices, and protein add-ons. 

Green Chef’s add-on offerings are similar. For example, get anything from banana nut muffins, egg bites, oatmeal, Breakfast to Lunch Bundles, “pita pizzas”, bacon and egg sandwiches, and more. It also offers a few keto desserts, like Factor, such as cookies. 

You can also get lots of protein add-ons with either service. Choices here include salmon, barramundi, steaks, ground meats like turkey, pork, and beef, pork tenderloin, pork chops, and even a variety of chicken breasts.

Serving size is another key difference between Green Chef and Factor. Green Chef’s meals can serve as many as 6 people, making it a better choice for feeding a family. Meanwhile, Factor’s meals are single-serving only, so it’s more suitable for singles and couples that want to share a plan.

Both services have options for special occasions on the menu each week. Those are called Chef Select by Green Chef and Gourmet Plus by Factor, but they’re basically the same thing. These are “nicer” dishes with more expensive ingredients for special occasions.

Green Chef goes a step further with its premium offerings. Since all ingredients are seasonal and made to highlight what nature has to offer, you can order a special Season’s Finest dish. It reflects the aroma of local ingredients around that time. Have a peek at the latest Fall Special:

It’s definitely a tough call between Green Chef and Factor. Both companies offer compelling meal options that benefit you in different ways. Green Chef has gourmet-style meal kits that are internationally inspired, while Factor focuses on healthy, tasty prepared meals.

But even with all that said, Green Chef is the winner overall. It simply offers more weekly options, USDA-certified produce and eggs, and more dietary preferences like gluten-free, which Factor doesn’t have.

Sample Meals

With Factor, you just have to heat your meals and eat them. Each meal takes no longer than around 2 to 3 minutes to heat up. The company offers an abundance of health-conscious meals across several special diets.

• Best low-carb dish: Smoky Gouda Chicken with roasted red potatoes & parmesan green beans

• Best calorie-smart dish: Chicken & Mushroom Tetrazzini with garlicky green beans

• Best keto-friendly dish: Herb-Crusted Chicken with mashed cauliflower & toasted almond green beans

• Best high-protein dish: Black Pepper & Sage Pork Chop with smoked cheddar brussels sprouts & creamy broccoli

Green Chef, on the other hand, provides top-notch meal kits. You’ll also get similar diets like keto and calorie-smart, but you’ll also find more niche ones like Mediterranean and gluten-free.

• Best gluten-free meal kit: Pork Chops with Truffle Cream Sauce, caramelized onions, parmesan green beans, and almonds

• Best keto-friendly meal: Middle Eastern–Style Beef & “Rice” Bowls with cauliflower “rice”, dates, squash, lemon crema, and feta

• Best Mediterranean dish: Lemon-Basil Caper Pork with sautéed cauliflower, bell pepper, almonds, and feta cheese

• Best low-carb meal kit: Barramundi with Cilantro-Lime Crema, tomato cauliflower “rice”, and slaw with pepitas

Meal Customization

Winner: Green Chef 

Neither company prioritizes customization, but Green Chef edges out another win here. Unlike Factor, Green Chef has some limited ingredient swaps. For example, you can choose the type of chicken in some recipes out of organic and non-organic options.

Other than that, you can’t ask for any modifications or exclude certain ingredients from the meals before they arrive. You can, of course, omit any ingredient you wish when it comes to preparing the meal kit at home. 

Factor’s prepared meals don’t support customization. You’ll need to look at each and every ingredient list to see if the meal suits your dietary needs and preferences. The meals don’t cater to any specific allergies either, unfortunately. 

Both services categorize their menus into different plans you can choose from. Green Chef offers Keto, Protein Packed, Plant Based, Mediterranean, Quick & Easy, Delicious Discoveries, Calorie Smart, and Gluten Free. Factor, on the other hand, offers Keto, Calorie Smart, Protein Plus, and Vegan & Veggie.

You can mix and match between plans as you please, so you aren’t stuck with whatever menu you pick. It mainly functions as a simple way to select your dietary preferences and guide what recipes are suggested for you each week.

For Green Chef, many common allergens are excluded from the menu by default. When I checked the menu, 26 were labeled gluten-free (out of 45). And rightly so: Green Chef is certified through the Gluten Intolerance Group’s Gluten-Free Food Service program. This is great news for celiacs. Plus, all gluten-free meals are designed to be soy-free as well.

The Factor menu features around 14 keto and 14 calorie-smart recipes (550 calories and less). Many of them are high in protein, with 30g or more per portion. This is great if you’re looking to lose weight and/or put on more muscle.

Ingredient Quality and Nutrition

Winner: Green Chef 

Both Green Chef and Factor offer pretty high-quality ingredients. For instance, Green Chef promises organic fresh produce and eggs. It also promises that its proteins are raised with high animal welfare standards.

You also get organic beef, chicken, and wild-caught seafood options with Green Chef. It also promises that it works closely with local farmers and suppliers. And, it’s a USDA-certified organic company.

Factor, on the other hand, isn’t USDA-certified organic and doesn’t promise to use any special foods or ingredients. However, it does promise to use chickens that have been raised with high animal welfare standards.

In terms of nutritional data, both companies are tied as each provides 9 nutritional values. These include:

• Calories

• Total fat

• Saturated fat

• Carbs

• Sugars

• Dietary fiber

• Protein

• Cholesterol

• Sodium

However, I’d love to see complete labels like you’d find on products at the grocery store. But at least you do get some very valuable information.

Ordering, Delivery, Unboxing

Winner: Factor 

Though a close call, the win goes to Factor here. Both Green Chef and Factor have a straightforward ordering process, and both make it easy to see the menu and select your plan before you pick your meals. 

However, Factor’s overall ordering experience is heaps ahead of Green Chef’s. I think this is mostly attributable to the fact that Factor’s meals are prepared. Meal kit deliveries can get a bit cluttered and messy with there being a seemingly endless pile of ingredients.

The site is also much easier to navigate than Green Chef’s. Green Chef’s menu is horizontal, which means you constantly have to scroll. Factor’s, on the other hand, is vertical, which means it’s just easier to see the meals at a glance.

However, what I don’t really like is that you can’t pick your meals until you pay with either service. For Factor, this also means that you can access the prices of the add-ons only at the end, so you can’t budget your order before registering first. Kind of annoying!

The minimum order for Green Chef is 3 meals for 2 people, so 6 portions per week, while the maximum order is 6 meals for 4 people, so a whopping 24 portions per week. This is perfect if you have a small family to feed.

For Factor, you can order from 4 to 18 single-serving meals each week. This makes it a better choice for smaller orders.

Changing your orders is simple for both services, as long as you do it before the weekly cutoff date. That’s 7 days prior to delivery at 11:59 pm EST from Green Chef, and 11:59 CT on Wednesday before your next order from Factor.

Both Green Chef and Factor deliver to all continental US States, with the exception of AK or HI. You can expect to receive your box from 8 am to 8 pm (local time) on your scheduled delivery day. Your best bet is that you’ll find them on the porch when you get home from work.

Green Chef’s boxes are delivered Monday through Saturday, and you can choose your delivery day. This is depending on where you live. You can even use a commercial address, in which case the carrier will make an effort to deliver your box before 5 pm.

Since Factor uses different carriers throughout the US, you don’t have much control over exact delivery dates. You can sometimes choose from more options, but for some locations, you’re stuck with a single delivery date.

I’m also happy to report that both companies have apps for both Android and Apple devices. This helps you track your orders or make changes as necessary.

When it comes to packaging and recyclability, both companies do a pretty good job. Green Chef’s packaging is made from recycled, reusable, and/or compostable materials. The only exceptions are for food safety reasons, like the plastic film that wraps tofu to ensure its freshness. 

Factor also has plenty of resources on the website about recycling. However, not everything in the packaging can be recycled everywhere, so you need to check with your local facilities. The PET insulation and the cotton insulation, for example, need to be thrown in the trash.

Meal Prep

Winner: Factor

Obviously, Factor has to win here since it only offers prepared meals. Green Chef’s meal kits take much longer to make. While you need around 25 to 35 minutes to cook Green Chef’s kits (and just 10 for some quick lunches) Factor’s meals only take a few minutes in the microwave.

What I really like about Factor’s meals is that you can reheat them directly in their plastic trays. They’re BPA-free and microwave- and oven-safe. Plus, it means that cleanup is virtually non-existent.

Your Factor meals will arrive freshly prepared and cool, but not frozen. When they arrive, you need to unpack them and store them in the fridge. Factor doesn’t recommend freezing the meals, as it affects the quality of the eating experience (translation: things would get a bit mushy).

The best-by date is printed on each meal sleeve, but in general, the meals last for 7 days in the fridge. That basically means you can eat them anytime you want before your next box arrives.

Green Chef’s meals don’t come prepared, but almost everything is already done for you. The sauces, dressings, and spice blends are made in-house to make things easier, and many of the pre-portioned ingredients don’t need more than a quick peeling or chopping.

You get detailed instructions and cooking tips, plus pictures of every step of the cooking process, in the recipe card of every meal. All kitchen utensils you’ll need (and essentials like salt and pepper) are also listed there.

Green Chef ingredients don’t have a very long shelf life, since the service is certified organic and doesn’t use artificial preservatives. After you receive your box, you should put everything in the fridge and prepare the meals within 5 days – 3 if your recipes include seafood.

Your Green Chef box will arrive cool, not frozen, shortly after being procured from trusted suppliers. The produce is always in-season and will stay fresh until it gets to your home, thanks to the insulated packaging.

Customer Support

Winner: Factor

Both Green Chef and Factor can be reached by phone, email, or live chat. There is also an extensive FAQ section on each competitor’s website. However, Factor wins here because it offers 24/7 live chat support. For phone calls, Factor’s agents are there for you from 6 am to 11 pm ET during the week and 7 am to 7 pm on weekends.

Green Chef’s live chat is available every day from 9 am to 7 am EST. (A quick tip: make sure to deactivate any ad blocker, so the live chat icon appears on the screen.) For phone calls, the schedule is 6 am to 11 pm EST on weekdays and 7 am to 7 pm EST on weekends.

It’s easy enough to cancel your Green Chef plan. Just go to Settings, scroll down to the Account section, and click on Deactivate Your Plan. After you enter your reason for cancelation, simply click on Deactivate Now and you’re all set. No need to contact customer service!

I took it upon myself to test out both competitors’ live chat feature. The experience was identical, with each agent providing very fast, professional, and courteous service. Since both companies are part of the Green Chef brand, I’m not surprised.

Factor is also easy to cancel from your computer or mobile device. Simply log into your account, click Settings, then Plan Settings. Scroll down and click on Deactivate My Plan in the Status section, select one of the options or click Cancel Anyway, and choose your reason for cancellation. After you click on Deactivate Now, you’re all done!

Pricing

Winner: Factor

Factor wins this category with its lower prices, starting at $6.19 per portion. For both services, the more you order, the less you’re gonna pay per portion of food, but Factor still wins if you compare those prices for similar plans.

Green Chef’s lowest price per serving (without discounts) is $11.99. You need to order at least 16 servings per week to get this price (4 meals for 4 people or a 6-person plan). By contrast, you can pay this price by ordering just 10 single-serving meals from Factor.

Factor is cheaper per-serving for most order sizes. If you order 18 meals, for example, you’ll only pay $11 per serving. The only way Factor ends up costing more is if you order the smallest plan with only 4 single-serving meals, which ends up being $15 per portion.

The shipping fee for both Green Chef and Factor is $10.99 per weekly order, so there isn’t any comparison here. The 2 services also have comparable prices for their extras and add-ons. It’s a close match, but Factor will be the cheaper option for most households.

Green Chef vs. Factor — A Quick Overview

And The Winner Is: Factor

It was tough to choose a definitive winner, but my pick here has to be Factor. The company offers several benefits over Green Chef. 

For one, it provides a large selection of super-convenient prepared meals. Each of its prepared meals is very healthy and supportive of your fitness and dieting goals. But none of this is to say that Green Chef is a bad choice by any means.

For example, Green Chef is great if you want to take your cooking skills to the next level. It offers an abundance of gourmet-style meal kits, most of which are ready in 10 to 35 minutes. It also offers a couple of special diets like gluten-free and Mediterranean, neither of which you’ll find at Factor. Ultimately, you can’t go wrong with either.

FAQ

Is Green Chef a good brand?

Green Chef is one of the better meal delivery services out there. For example, when I researched the menu and ingredients, I found out that all of Green Chef’s veggies and eggs are organic and that everything else is sustainably raised, caught, or sourced.

Is Green Chef the same as Factor?

No – they are separate companies with vastly different offerings. For instance, Green Chef offers organic meal kits whereas Factor offers health- and fitness-conscious prepared meals. Take a look at my Meal Variety section above to get a better understanding of each company’s offerings.

What is the average cost of Green Chef meals?

Green Chef’s meals (per serving) vary in price. For example, when you opt for Green Chef’s largest order, which is 4 weekly meals for 6 people, you’ll pay $5.99 per serving. If you order fewer servings per week, you’ll pay slightly more – so I always recommend getting as many meals as you can to save money.