Dinnerly vs. HelloFresh

Dinnerly Pros and Cons

HelloFresh Pros and Cons

Pricing

Pricing is often the foremost concern for customers. Honestly, the price is the first thing we see when considering a new subscription service.

Keep in mind that prices fluctuate over time.

Dinnerly

Many people are drawn to Dinnerly for their famously low prices. But are they really that lower than your average meal subscription? Let's take a look.

Dinnerly's website says they have meals starting at $4.99 per person. However, that price only applies if you purchase their most popular option.

We purchased their meal delivery for two people for five nights a week. It ended up being $6.44 per person. Or a total of $64.4 a week, not including shipping.

You can also order their most popular four-person meal plan for six meals weekly at $119.76 or $4.99 per meal. It's pricey but helpful if you want more meals per week.

HelloFresh

HelloFresh has a wider variety of meal plans, and they're all different prices.

We ordered HelloFresh's most popular plan for two people, three nights a week. It cost $9.99 per serving, which was quite steep compared to Dinnerly!

HelloFresh's prices don't change much if you alter the schedule or number of meals. The cheapest we could find was $9.79 per meal for eight weekly servings.

Similar to Dinnerly, HelloFresh charges around $10.99 for shipping.

Winner

Dinnerly is the winner for the lowest prices. Their average meal is around $6.44, but you can get meals as low as $4.99.

Those numbers can't compete with HelloFresh's higher prices, so Dinnerly is our top choice for a budget-friendly option.

Nutrition

While great prices are essential, getting nutrients in your diet is too. Fortunately, we’ve compared Dinnerly and HelloFresh's nutrient profiles.

Read on to discover the nutritional benefits of each plan and our pick for the most nutritious meal subscription service.

Dinnerly

Dinnerly meals can be as nutritious or indulgent as you like. They offer over a hundred meals you can choose from, ranging from meat-heavy to low-carb to pescatarian.

We label Dinnerly meals as moderately nutritious. They aren't specifically for weight loss, but their well-balanced meals can help you maintain a healthy diet. 

The lowest calorie options at Dinnerly are around 650 calories per serving, and the meals have a well-ranged balance of fat, protein, carbs, and essential vitamins.

HelloFresh

HelloFresh offers nutritionally diverse meals ideal for a healthy dinner on a busy weeknight. The meals average around 792 calories, but you can choose a lower-calorie option.

Their meals are a bit harder to prepare, as they have more ingredients, but the diverse assortment of foods can help you get more nutrients in your diet. They also have tons of veggies and fresh foods in their meal kits.

Winner

HelloFresh is our choice for the more nutritious meal subscription service. They have a diverse amount of ingredients and healthy foods. They also have customizable plans for different dietary needs.

Size Scaling

Every household has a different size, needs, and preferences, and you'll need a subscription service that works for you. Whether you're ordering solo meals, have a partner, or have a family with kids to feed, I'm here to review Dinnerly vs. HelloFresh and find the right one.

Read on to learn about the size scaling options of each company.

Dinnerly

At Dinnerly, size scaling starts at two people, but you can also order for a family of four.

Order two, three, four, five, or six meals weekly with Dinnerly.

HelloFresh

HelloFresh lets you order for two or four people weekly.

You can choose a plan of two, three, four, five, or six meals weekly.

Winner

Dinnerly and HelloFresh have the same size scaling! Therefore, it's a tie between the two for this category.

Recipe Clarity and Simplicity

We know that not everyone is a classically trained chef in their home kitchen! Our ideal meal subscription service is appropriate for people with minimal cooking experience.

In this section, Wecompare Dinnerly vs. HelloFresh and tell you which recipes are easier to prepare. We rate them based on recipe clarity, cooking time, and preparation like chopping and measuring.

Dinnerly

We found that Dinnerly's recipes use clear, concise language, and the foods are pre-measured and packaged, so there is no need to chop, measure, or shop for extra ingredients. It made it easier to cook dinner quickly and easily, even on busy nights.

Dinnerly designs its recipes for simplicity. Even novice cooks can follow along easily. However, one thing we didn't like about Dinnerly's recipe cards was the lack of pictures. We would have appreciated photographs of the recipes to help me follow the steps better.

Dinnerly also provided some ready-made meals, which only took about five to ten minutes to prepare.

HelloFresh

HelloFresh is similar to Dinnerly because all the ingredients are prepackaged and measured. However, it's even easier because the foods come sorted by recipe.

Each HelloFresh meal has an individual package, so you don't have to worry about confusing foods between different recipes.

HelloFresh meals took an average of 30 minutes, and they didn't offer ready-made meals. However, the recipe cards are easy to understand and we cooked restaurant-level foods even though we’re no culinary experts.

HelloFresh also included photos in their recipe cards, which is a help for visual learners.

Winner

HelloFresh was the winner in this category, if only slightly. We love the helpful photos on the recipe cards and their sorted meal bags made the cooking process a breeze.

The meals from HelloFresh took a few minutes more to cook than Dinnerly's, but the process was fun and engaging with HelloFresh's simple and concise recipes.

If you are looking for a meal kit delivery service that offers straightforward, concise recipes and simple-to-prepare meals, HelloFresh is probably your best bet.

Flavor and Recipe Diversity

Of course, our favorite part of researching for this review was trying the meals.

We sampled several HelloFresh and Dinnerly meals and rated them based on the flavor and diversity of cuisine. We also studied the companies' menus to see what other kinds of meals they offer.

A varied diet is healthy, but diverse meals are also crucial for families with kids, picky eaters, and people who like to change things up. 

Dinnerly

Dinnerly is known for its simple and affordable meals, and the flavor diversity matches the company's reputation. It's simple and gets the job done. But you won't find any cutting-edge or gourmet meals at Dinnerly.

The company uses American cuisine, and the meals are comfort-food based, without any particularly unique ingredients.

Some examples of Dinnerly meals include meatball parmesan, two-cheese gnocchi, turkey cheeseburgers, and black bean chili. We did try some globally-inspired meals like the stir fry and the tikka masala, but they felt very American-based and lacked authentic flavors.

HelloFresh

On the other hand, HelloFresh has a widely varied menu. They use more ingredients, making the food choices more diverse and enjoyable.  

HelloFresh is known for a focus on global cuisine and they sell Mexican, Mediterranean, African, Middle Eastern, and Asian, including Indian and Thai, cuisines.

The meals you get depend on the week you order, as the menu rotates often. We sampled several cuisines, including Asian and Latin American.

HelloFresh meals are a bit more involved, taking more time than other services like Dinnerly, but the benefit is high flavor diversity and engaging meals.

Winner

Dinnerly and HelloFresh are both meal kit delivery services that offer a variety of recipes to choose from. If there's a cuisine or ingredient you don't like, both services have options for you.

However, there are some crucial differences in the flavor diversity of the two services.

We enjoyed the diverse cuisines of HelloFresh and were a bit disappointed by the over-simplicity of Dinnerly's meals. Therefore, we’re declaring HelloFresh the winner in this category.

Ingredient Freshness and Quality

Freshness and quality of ingredients are a big selling point for people who are shopping around for meal subscriptions. We always want our food to be as fresh as possible, but it can be hard to get fresh ingredients when ordering from across the country.

Let’s take a closer look at how Dinnerly and HelloFresh scored on ingredient freshness and overall quality. 

Dinnerly

It’s important to know that Dinnerly offers more packaged foods than other companies. We don't necessarily see this as a downside because the ingredients are better protected during shipping, and they include fresh ingredients when possible.

Dinnerly doesn't skimp on quality, even though they're a more budget-friendly company. According to their website, they source only the best quality vegetables and meats, using NAE meat (No Antibiotics Ever) and pasteurized dairy products.

When they can, Dinnerly purchases local, organic fruits and vegetables. They also commit to shipping your ingredients quickly, so there's little time between farm and table.

HelloFresh

HelloFresh uses more fresh ingredients than Dinnerly, but the difference isn't too substantial.

Most of their foods are unprocessed, meaning a bit more effort in the kitchen but a fresher taste overall. They source only the best ingredients and use some organic items.

The company sells sustainable seafood, and you won't have to worry about shady meat companies because they commit to poultry and beef suppliers with federal safety regulations.

Our only issue with the fresh HelloFresh foods is that some sustained damage during shipping. With the higher amount of fresh ingredients, this is likely to happen.

Winner

Dinnerly and HelloFresh came in at a tie for the freshness category. Both companies have the same commitment to high-quality, fresh foods, and they use organic and local when they can.

Dinnerly has some qualms with fewer fresh foods, but HelloFresh suffers because all the fresh ingredients tend to get damaged in shipping. Both Dinnerly and HelloFresh do an overall satisfactory job selling top-tier, flavorful foods from good sources.

Ease of Use

Before we conclude, we want to add a section about the user experience of these two services.

Dinnerly

The Dinnerly subscription service is very user-friendly. We logged in quickly and ordered a box of meal kits within minutes.

Once the meals arrived, they were easy to cook, and the recipes weren’t confusing. As mentioned earlier, we only wish there were photos on the recipe cards.

HelloFresh

Ordering HelloFresh is nearly identical to ordering from Dinnerly. You select your family size and number of meals, and dietary preferences. The interface is straightforward, and the customer service reps are super friendly.

The service runs week to week, and you can cancel anytime.

Winner

They were similar, HelloFresh was a little easier to use. The website interface had more options, and the customer service was more interpersonal than Dinnerly's, which is chatbot only.

The Verdict

Ultimately, the better meal subscription depends on your individual preferences. But our favorite pick overall is HelloFresh and give it 4.5 out of 5.

It outperformed Dinnerly in most categories and has more diverse flavors, easy-to-use recipes, and top-notch customer service.