Dinnerly vs. Hello Fresh Comparison

Highlights

HelloFresh Cost vs. Dinnerly Price

Dinnerly offers some of the lowest prices in the meal kit delivery market, with meals starting at just $4.99 per serving. HelloFresh is touted as more of a premium service, and is therefore a bit more expensive—meals start at $9.99 per serving.

Shipping Fees

Both services charge for shipping. Dinnerly charges a flat fee of $11.99 per box while HelloFresh typically charges $10.99 per box.

Discounts and Promotions

Both services frequently offer discounts and promotions for new customers, which reduce the price per box and/or eliminate shipping fees for one or more shipments.

HelloFresh vs. Dinnerly: The Meals

Although Dinnerly and HelloFresh are both designed to make mealtime easy by sending recipes and fresh ingredients directly to customers’ doors, there are some notable differences between the two services. Dinnerly positions itself as one of the least expensive meal kit delivery services on the market, and therefore offers a more streamlined experience featuring classic, comfort food recipes and basic flavors. It is a great choice for every day people with busy schedules or limited cooking skills, who would rather get tasty, filling meals on the table fast than refine their culinary skills. HelloFresh is more of a premium service representing a wider variety of cuisines and providing recipes with more complex and unexpected flavors. It’s an excellent option for anyone who appreciates a little more culinary creativity and craves layers of flavor in their food.

Meal Plans

There’s not a huge difference between the meal plans offered by these two services. With Dinnerly, you choose between two- and four-person plans with the option to receive two, three, four, five or six different meals per week; with HelloFresh you can select a two- or four-person plan, and can opt to receive two, three, four, five or six meals per week.

HelloFresh Recipes vs. Dinnerly Recipes

With both services, the meals are designed to be ready in around 30 minutes. Dinnerly’s feature an average of five steps per recipe and HelloFresh’s typically consist of six.

Dinnerly offers an expansive selection of more than 100 recipes plus grocery and pantry items that can be tacked on to your order for an additional fee. The recipe types include Family Friendly, Vegetarian, Vegan, Fast, Healthy and Reduced-Carb options. Every recipe is tagged with descriptors like “One Pot Meal,” “Kid Friendly,” “Ready in Under 30 Minutes,” and more, so you can make informed decisions when building your menu. Many recipes are also customizable, which means you can swap proteins for a more personalized dining experience. Their team will suggest recipes based on your dietary preferences, but you can replace some or all of those up to one week prior to your delivery.

HelloFresh has 45 total recipes on the menu, including Meat and Veggies, Veggie, Family Friendly, Fit and Wholesome, Quick and Easy and Pescatarian, plus more than 100 seasonal and convenience items each week, which you can add to your order. To make your menu selection easier, the HelloFresh chefs have organized the recipes into various categories, including “Hall of Fame” (most popular recipes), “New,” “Calorie Smart” (about 650 calories per serving), “Carb Smart” (around 40 grams of net carbs per serving), “Quick” (20 minutes or less) “Easy Cleanup” (can be cooked in one pot, pan or dish), “Easy Prep” and “Seasonal Faves,” just to name a few.

Options for Special Diets

While neither Dinnerly nor HelloFresh offers many full meal plans for those with specific dietary restrictions, both offer accommodations that may work for you. Here’s a look at how each service approaches a few popular diets:

HelloFresh Vegetarian Meals vs. Dinnerly Vegetarian Menu
Dinnerly offers at least four vegetarian meals each week. The company doesn’t offer many vegan meals but many of the vegetarian recipes can be made vegan by leaving out certain ingredients (like cheese or yogurt) during the cooking process.

HelloFresh offers 14 vegetarian meals in their Classic Plan each week. The recipes emphasize fresh fruits, vegetables, grains and/or plant-based proteins. While only two vegan meals are offered each week, as with Dinnerly, some of the vegetarian meals can be made vegan with some omissions during the cooking process.

HelloFresh Keto and Low Carb Dishes vs. Dinnerly
Dinnerly does not offer specific meal plans catering to low carb or ketogenic eaters. They do, however, offer a variety of low carb dishes, which contain fewer than 40 grams of carbs per serving, and some keto-friendly dishes, which contain fewer than 20 grams of carbs per serving. Carb- and keto-conscious customers can omit ingredients during the cooking process, although you run the risk of compromising the flavor profile and changing the nutritional composition.

HelloFresh does not offer a Keto or a Paleo meal plan—nor any meals specific for these diets. They do, however, have several “Carb Smart” recipes, which contain around 40 grams of net carbs per serving. Again, you can make some adjustments during cooking to reduce the carb content, but this may change the flavor and nutrition.

Lower Calorie Meals
While neither Dinnerly nor HelloFresh offer a weight loss plan, both have options for the calorie-conscious. Dinnerly’s “Low Calorie” and HelloFresh’s “Calorie Smart” dishes both clock in at around 650 calories per serving.

Options for Those with Food Allergies
With both meal kit delivery services, ingredients and allergen information is clearly listed on the recipe cards, online menus or ingredient packaging, so with a little legwork, customers with dietary sensitivities or restrictions may be able to put together a menu that works for them.

However, it should be noted that those with severe gluten or nut allergies would do best to skip both services. HelloFresh does not offer gluten-free or nut-free meals at this time. Dinnerly does offer a few meals without gluten (and without dairy), but cannot guarantee against cross-contamination, so those with severe food allergies should probably pass on this service, too.

Recipe Complexity

While both services dish out recipes of varying complexity, both Dinnerly and HelloFresh offer recipes that are ready in about 30 minutes and require five or six simple steps. Both also indicate the difficulty level of each recipe, the kitchen tools you’ll need to have on hand, and any additional spices or condiments you’ll need to add from your own pantry, so you can decide if it’s a good fit.

It should be noted that while both services require you to provide a few basic ingredients like salt, pepper, butter and oil, some of Dinnerly’s recipes require you to add more substantial ingredients, like garlic, barbecue sauce, flour, eggs, etc. While this may help keep costs low, it may be an inconvenience you may not be willing to overlook.

Extras

Dinnerly customers have access to the Dinnerly Market, which includes a large selection of pantry items, fresh produce, drinks, premium meal kits and more—all for an additional cost. Dinnerly also occasionally sells seasonal specials like desserts and brunch foods around holidays like Easter, Thanksgiving and Mother’s Day. HelloFresh offers customers exclusive access to a curated selection of quick breakfasts, lunches, snacks, desserts and other grocery essentials.

Quality of ingredients

Both services prioritize the use of high-quality ingredients sourced from trusted suppliers.

HelloFresh is committed to providing the safest, freshest and healthiest ingredients while also prioritizing animal welfare and sustainability. They maintain a rigorous supplier selection process and in some cases, even send representatives out to vendor sites to ensure the safety of the operation. They adhere to USDA Inspection Guidelines and are supplemented by globally recognized third-party food safety audit programs. Their meats are primarily sourced domestically, and their suppliers’ chicken and pork are hormone-free. They use sustainably sourced wild-caught and farm-raised fish, identifying the best option for each species on a case-by-case basis and requiring traceability (including country of origin, catching area, fishery, catch season, and catching method). They have also joined forces with the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch and strive to only source ocean-friendly seafood rated Best Choice, Good Alternative or Eco-certified by trusted, independent programs. Some of the fish species HelloFresh buys have additional sustainability certifications, like Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) for wild-caught and Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) for farm-raised.

Some of HelloFresh’s ingredients are organic, but their primary focus is on which produce looks and tastes best—they work with trusted and sustainable business partners to ensure they deliver high quality, seasonal and farm-sourced produce to customers at the peak of freshness.

As for Dinnerly, their priority is working with suppliers they trust so you’re always cooking with the freshest fruits and veggies, and highest quality proteins. All of their meat comes from the U.S., with the exception of some high-quality, grass-fed beef that comes from Australia, and their chicken is NAE (No Antibiotics Ever) tier ABF, which means it has never received any antibiotics at any stage of its life. (Their other meats do not contain any antibiotics at the time of harvest but could have received antibiotics at some point during their life.) Like HelloFresh, some of the Dinnerly ingredients are organic, but not all of them—the company occasionally sources organic products from local suppliers.

Convenience and Flexibility

Both services are designed to be accommodating, allowing you to skip weeks or cancel your subscription at any time. With both Dinnerly and HelloFresh, you can make changes to your order up to five or six days prior to it shipping.

HelloFresh Delivery vs. Dinnerly Delivery

Both services deliver to most of the contiguous United States via UPS, FedEx and select regional couriers. HelloFresh also delivers to select zip codes in Honolulu, Hawaii and Anchorage, Alaska. Both enable customers to select their delivery day, although available days and times vary by location.

Packaging and Preparations

HelloFresh color codes and separates ingredients according to the recipe, which makes for a very organized unboxing experience. One of the ways that Dinnerly manages to drive down costs is by keeping its packaging to a minimum, which means the company combines all the ingredients for all of the recipes inside one shipping box. Some Dinnerly customers find this disorganization problematic, but most are willing to overlook the inconvenience if it helps keep costs low and means less waste.

Dinnerly also does not provide printed recipe cards unless you opt in to receive them—you simply visit their website for recipe instructions. This is another cost-cutting and waste-reducing measure that some customers may find inconvenient. It’s also important to note that with Dinnerly, you may need to supply more of your own ingredients than you might expect, like flour eggs, garlic and barbecue sauce. This is one of the ways the company drives down costs, but can be a bit of a pain point for anyone hoping to eliminate trips to the grocery store.

Customer Support

Both services offer robust help centers featuring answers to FAQs, as well as dedicated customer service teams that can be reached via email or phone. Dinnerly and HelloFresh also offer convenient Live Chat functions with virtual assistants.

Return Policy

Whether you’re a Dinnerly or HelloFresh customer, if you’re not satisfied with an ingredient, a meal or the service for any reason, you can contact a customer support representative to request a refund or credit. Whether you receive one is at the sole discretion of the companies.

Our Verdict

Dinnerly and HelloFresh provide convenient solutions for anyone craving a hassle-free way to get tasty, home cooked meals on the table. The less expensive of the two, Dinnerly offers more of a frills-free experience, with basic recipes, streamlined packaging and more pantry add-ins required. Touted as more of a premium service, HelloFresh offers recipes rooted in culinary creativity, with a more complex and unexpected flavor profile. HelloFresh also includes all the ingredients you need with the exception of a few common seasonings, and the food arrives well-organized and often, prep-free. Ultimately, the better service for you depends on your priorities, taste and budget, but both are excellent options for anyone who’d like to minimize meal planning and shopping.