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Home Chef vs Hello Fresh – which is better? Learn the difference between Hello Fresh vs Home Chef in this 2024 review and comparison. When comparing HelloFresh vs Home Chef, these meal delivery services appear similar on the surface. However, the Home Chef menu has oven-ready meals if you don’t like cooking, in addition to ingredients with recipe cards. Get the scoop on which meal kit delivery service is best, and get my discount codes!

home chef vs hello fresh

Home Chef vs Hello Fresh

Home Chef and Hello Fresh both provide a once per week (or less) meal delivery service. After picking your recipes and submitting payment, you’re sent a meal kit box containing recipe cards and measured ingredients.

Here is my winner in each category…

CategoryBest Meal Kit (Winner)
💰 Price Hello Fresh
🥘 Variety of Meals Hello Fresh
🌱 Customizing Meals Home Chef
📦 Uses Least Packaging Hello Fresh
Preparation Time Home Chef
🚀 Easy to Place Order Tie
❌ Easy to Cancel Hello Fresh
💁 Customer Service Tie

Home Chef is rated #1 in satisfaction among the leading meal kit companies. Hello Fresh is the world’s most popular meal delivery company and USA Today named it America’s #1 Meal Kit. So, is Hello Fresh or Home Chef better? Let’s find out!

Blue Apron vs Home Chef vs Hello Fresh (Reddit Reviews)

Check out Home Chef vs Hello Fresh vs Blue Apron on Reddit for different opinions. Some think (and I agree) that Home Chef is best for beginner cooks, but that Hello Fresh is better for vegetarians. Depending on your order, Blue Apron may have the best pricing of the three.

How does Hello Fresh compare to Home Chef?

Home ChefHelloFresh
Menu Options Meal Kit, Express, Fast & Fresh, Oven
Ready, Culinary Collection
Meat & Veggie,
Veggie,
Family Friendly,
Fit & Wholesome,
Quick & Easy,
Pescatarian
Servings per
meal
2,4, or 6 2 or 4
Recipes per
week
2,3,4,5,6 2,3,4,5,6
Price per
serving
$9.99-14.95 $9.99-11.49
Flat shipping
(per week)
$9.99-13.99 $9.99
USDA
Certified
Organic?
No No
Meal
choices
per week
Up to 30 weekly choices using
Customize It!
Over 50 weekly
menus and market
items
Trustpilot
U.S. Reviews
2.7 / 5.0; 3,130 reviews 3.7 / 5.0; 50,706 reviews
Delivery
availability
Home Chef says that they currently
deliver to “98% of the United States.”
Enter your zip code when you sign up to
see if they deliver to your area.
Lower 48 United
States*,
United Kingdom,
Germany,
Austria,
Switzerland,
the Netherlands,
Belgium,
Luxembourg,
Sweden, France,
Australia, New
Zealand, Canada,
Denmark,
Norway, Japan,
Ireland, Italy,
Spain
Cancel
anytime?
Yes Yes
*No delivery to Alaska or Hawaii

Depending on the meals you choose, you’ll need basic kitchen equipment like pots, pans, mixing bowls, and a baking sheet. A meat thermometer is also important (unless you’re getting Hello Fresh vegetarian meals).

I needed olive oil, salt, pepper and cooking spray for the Home Chef meals I ordered. For Hello Fresh, I also needed these plus butter (or margarine) and sugar.

home chef hello fresh

💸 Hello Fresh vs Home Chef Price

When comparing Home Chef vs Hello Fresh cost, there are a variety of factors at play. Home Chef cost per serving depends on type of meal, while Hello Fresh prices depend on number of meals and servings per week.

Here’s a Hello Fresh and Home Chef cost comparison:

2 People
Hello Fresh
2 People
Home Chef
4 People
Hello Fresh
4 People
Home Chef
6 People
Home Chef
2 meals per week

Total per week:
Total per month:
$11.49/serving 
$9.99 shipping/wk 
$55.95 
$223.80
$9.99-14.95/serv
$9.99-13.99 ship/wk
$49.95-73.79
$199.80-295.16
$9.99/serving 
$9.99 shipping/wk 
$89.91 
$359.64
$9.99-14.95/serv
$9.99-13.99 ship/wk
$89.91-133.59
$359.64-534.36
$9.99-14.95/serv
$9.99-13.99 ship/wk
$129.87-193.39
$519.48-773.56
3 meals per week

Total per week:
Total per month:
$9.99/serving
$9.99 shipping/wk
$69.93
$279.72
$9.99-14.95/serv
$9.99-13.99 ship/wk
$69.93-103.69
$279.72-414.76
$9.99/serving 
$9.99 shipping/wk 
$129.87 
$519.48
$9.99-14.95/serv
$9.99-13.99 ship/wk
$129.87-193.39
$519.48-773.56
$9.99-14.95/serv
$9.99-13.99 ship/wk
$189.81-283.09
$759.24-1132.36
4 meals per week

Total per week:
Total per month:
$9.99/serving 
$9.99 shipping/wk 
$89.91 
$359.64
$9.99-14.95/serv
$9.99-13.99 ship/wk
$89.91-133.59
$359.64-534.36
$9.99/serving 
$9.99 shipping/wk 
$169.83 
$679.32
$9.99-14.95/serv
$9.99-13.99 ship/wk
$169.83-253.19
$679.32-1012.76
$9.99-14.95/serv
$9.99-13.99 ship/wk
$249.75-372.79
$999-1491.16
5 meals per week

Total per week:
Total per month:
$9.99/serving 
$9.99 shipping/wk 
$109.89
$439.56
$9.99-14.95/serv
$9.99-13.99 ship/wk
$109.89-163.49
$439.56-653.96
$9.99/serving 
$9.99 shipping/wk 
$209.79 
$839.16
$9.99-14.95/serv
$9.99-13.99 ship/wk
$209.79-312.99
$839.16-1251.96
$9.99-14.95/serv
$9.99-13.99 ship/wk
$309.69-462.49
1238.76-1849.96
6 meals per week

Total per week:
Total per month:
$9.99/serving 
$9.99 shipping/wk 
$129.87
$519.48
$9.99-14.95/serv
$9.99-13.99 ship/wk
$129.87-193.39
$519.48-773.56
$9.99/serving 
$9.99 shipping/wk 
$249.75 
$999.00
$9.99-14.95/serv
$9.99-13.99 ship/wk
$249.75-372.79
$999-1491.16
$9.99-14.95/serv
$9.99-13.99 ship/wk
$369.63-552.19
1478.52-2208.76

To sum it up, the cost per week for HelloFresh ranges from $55.95-249.75. The cost per month for Hello Fresh ranges from $223.80-999.00.

Save some money and snag my discount for HelloFresh if you want to try it out! Get it by clicking here:

Is Home Chef or Hello Fresh cheaper?

Hello Fresh is almost always cheaper than Home Chef for similar orders. The cost per month for Home Chef ranges from $199.80-2208.76. The average weekly cost for Home Chef ranges from $49.95-552.19. These price ranges are for 2-6 servings per meal; keep in mind Hello Fresh doesn’t offer 6 servings per meal.

Home Chef is more expensive than Hello Fresh because they use more packaging. Also, many Home Chef options are oven ready or semi-prepared (with chopped ingredients, etc). This added convenience, plus the option to choose meals with premium ingredients, leads to Home Chef’s higher cost.

You can save money with Home Chef if you skip the premium meals (AKA the culinary collection meals). It also helps to live in an area that is cheaper for Home Chef to ship to. The two servings, two meals per week meals are slightly less expensive with Home Chef versus Hello Fresh if you live in a cheap shipping area.

Save even more with my coupon code for Home Chef if you want to try it out! Get it by clicking here:

Are Hello Fresh and Home Chef the same company?

No, Home Chef is not owned by the Hello Fresh group. Home Chef is owned by the Kroger family brands (source).

👨‍🍳 Home Chef Menu

Home Chef categorizes its meal plans by how fast they are to prepare, or if they cost extra. They call meals with 4 or more servings their family-friendly recipes. Here are the Home Chef meal plan options:

  • Meal Kit: simple meals with a recipe card and ingredients, most like the Hello Fresh options
  • Express: easier to put together than meal kit meals and cooks in 15 minutes or less; shortcuts have been worked in (e.g., chicken was already diced, etc.)
  • Fast & Fresh: minimal prep meals for the oven or microwave; I only had to stir things together for this one- this is their fastest option (cooks in the pan, no dirty dishes!)
  • Oven Ready: fast and flavorful meals that cook in 45 minutes or less; my meal came in a disposable pan to cook it in
  • Culinary Collection: these are Home Chef’s premium options that cost more (more costly ingredients like scallops are included)

One of my biggest complaints about Hello Fresh is the dirty pots and pans afterwards. With certain Home Chef meals, there’s virtually no clean up! (This of course means more packaging, but much of it is recyclable.)

home chef vs hellofresh

Another way Home Chef wins is in regards to how highly customizable the meals are. Though there isn’t a separate Home Chef vegetarian plan, you can swap out the proteins in many of the meals. You can also replace rice or other grains with cauliflower rice in some meals for low carb or keto.

Home Chef Meals

I tried the 4 meals with 2 servings Home Chef box, so I could sample their different plans. Here’s what I ordered in my Home Chef box:

  • Beef Meatball Marinara with Pesto Zucchini and Peppers (Meal Kit)
  • Chicken Thigh Gyros with Tzatziki and Lemon Garlic Naan (Express)
  • Bolognese Pasta with Tomatoes and Artichokes (Fast & Fresh)
  • Smoky’n Sweet Shrimp and Pepper Wonton Tacos with Slaw (Oven-Ready)
home chef ingredients

Each of the Home Chef recipes were individually packaged, making it easy to determine which ingredient was for what recipe. Meats were packed separately with ice packs in the bottom of the box, and were separated by cardboard. The recipe cards were kept dry, tucked between the box and the insulating box liner.

The directions on the full color recipe cards were extremely easy to follow. The prep time and cooking times all seemed accurate. They even included warnings about where you may go wrong with a recipe.

For instance, my chicken gyro recipe explicitly said to watch the naan closely under the burner. Somehow, I managed to forget them anyway and burned them a bit. (Oops!) Their warnings are right on- so make sure to listen to them (unlike me)! 😉

Home Chef sometimes sends their own substitutions with meals. In my case, they sent a whole red onion in place of pickled onions, which disappointed me a bit.

That said, I was impressed they do some microwave meals. The one I tried (the Bolognese) tasted fresher and much less salty than most frozen microwave meals from the store.

home chef meals

Home Chef Pros and Cons

Home Chef is definitely the laziest meal kit I’ve tried, with minimal meal prep. It’s perfect if you like to eat tasty food without much cooking or cleaning. This is the best meal kit I’ve found for beginner cooks, as the instructions were very easy.

Home Chef not only saves time in the kitchen, it also saves time shopping and meal planning. It’s a huge time saver!

➕ The recipe cards from Home Chef provided “cook within X days” info, which is very helpful. Some recipes needed to be cooked within 3 days, while others could wait 7 days.

➕ Home Chef offers more ways to customize meals than Hello Fresh. Home Chef also has breakfast and snack add-ons that you can include in your order for an additional fee.

➕ The individual packaging of each Home Chef meal makes it easy for travel. You don’t have to worry you’ve accidentally left a needed ingredient at home.

➕ You can use the recipe cards to remake favorite dishes again and again, including favorites by Rachael Ray and Skinnytaste. (Except when premade sauces or secret seasoning blends are sent.)

❌ Home Chef meals are more expensive than Hello Fresh meals. Convenience comes at a cost!

❌ Home Chef recipe cards don’t provide any nutrition info. (You can find this info online, however, it’s more inconvenient.)

❌ The Home Chef meals felt less substantial to me than the Hello Fresh meals. (This could just be due to my individual choices, however.)

🍽️ Hello Fresh Menu

Here are the HelloFresh meal plans available:

  • Meat & Veggie: the most popular Hello Fresh meal plan
  • Veggie: plant-based and vegetarian Hello Fresh meals
  • Family Faves: family dinner recipes that kids love
  • Quick & Easy: meals for busy weeknights
  • Pescatarian: veggie and seafood meals
  • Fit & Wholesome: healthy balanced meals
hellofresh vs home chef

Hello Fresh lets you pick from one or multiple plans when you place your order. Choose “meat & veggies” or more than one plan to get the greatest number of menu options. There is no difference in pricing between the different meal plans.

You can customize HelloFresh proteins and sides, however these substitutions may cost more. However, this feature can be helpful if you’re following a vegetarian or low carb diet.

Hello Fresh Meals

I tried the 3 meals with 4 servings Meat & Veggies plan from Hello Fresh. Here’s what I got in my Hello Fresh box:

  • Tuscan Garlic Butter Chicken with Creamy Kale & Paprika-Roasted Carrots
  • BBQ Baby Back Ribs with Chili Lime Corn Salad & Jalapeno Cheddar Biscuit Bombs
  • Cherry Balsamic Sirloin with Herby Fingerling Potatoes & Roasted Brussels Sprouts
meals hellofresh

Everything in my order was fresh and delicious. As with Home Chef, everything was shipped in a strong, insulated box. The meats were packed separately at the bottom of the box, but Hello Fresh used less packaging than Home Chef overall.

Hello Fresh Pros and Cons

Hello Fresh meals are generally less expensive than Home Chef, and I felt the portions were bigger.

Hello Fresh uses less packaging than Home Chef. (Both programs do recommend recycling their packaging and they both value sustainability.)

➕ The recipe cards from Hello Fresh provide calorie info, while the Home Chef recipe cards had no nutrition information.

➕ Saves time making trips to the grocery store and menu planning.

➕ Hello Fresh offers more menu choices than Home Chef.

➕ You can use the recipe cards to remake favorite dishes again and again. (Except when premade sauces or secret seasoning blends are sent.)

❌ One downside of Hello Fresh meals is they take more time than Home Chef meals, and may be better for more advanced cooks.

❌ None of the Hello Fresh meal options are oven ready- you will need to cook! (Choose Quick & Easy for the fastest Hello Fresh meals.)

❌ Hello Fresh offered fewer ways to customize meals than Home Chef.

🌾 Specific Dietary Needs

Home Chef and HelloFresh do not use a dedicated allergen-free space in their facilities to limit cross-contact. Thus, these meal kit delivery boxes are not tailored to those with severe food allergies (such as to shellfish, peanuts, tree nuts, etc.). Neither Home Chef nor Hello Fresh provide certified gluten-free foods.

Both Home Chef and Hello Fresh offer weekly vegetarian options. Hello Fresh has a vegetarian plan, and plant-based proteins (like Impossible burger) can be substituted in many Home Chef meals. Home Chef states they don’t guarantee weekly vegan options.

If you have a weight loss goal, both Home Chef and Hello Fresh offer low calorie meals (depending on your definition). My Home Chef meals were all 500-700 calories (and could be made lower with certain modifications). Best of all, we loved the taste of everything we tried!

homechef meal

How to Order Home Chef

To order from Home Chef, follow these steps:

  1. Visit the Home Chef website here and click either “pick your meals” or “take our quiz.” The quiz aims to find out what kind of chef are you, so they can help match you with good meal options. They ask about dietary restrictions and whether you have dietary preferences for calorie-conscious or carb-conscious meals.
home chef

2. Pick your box size. Tell Home Chef if you cook for 2,4, or 6 people. (Keep in mind big eaters may need to double their portion size!) You can choose 2,3,4,5, or 6 meals per week. You can compare pricing on this page.

home chef box

3. Choose your meals. Every week, choose from over 30 meals and 18 extras.

home chef order

4. Customize your order. Use the “Customize It” tool to make your meals feel truly yours. You can also choose among saving bundles and other add-ons while you build your box.

home chef options

5. Set up your account. Enter your email address and create a password.

6. Enter your delivery information and payment information. Provide your delivery address, the delivery date, and your payment details.

7. Review your order and submit. Make sure everything is correct, then click “Submit Order” to complete your purchase.

It’s really that easy! Now all you need to do is sit back and wait for the box to arrive at your door. Ordering from Hello Fresh is a similar process, except you choose a box size and meal plan without taking a quiz first.

How to Cancel Home Chef

To cancel Home Chef, simply click “Pause subscription” under the account settings on the Home Chef website. You’ll get a confirmation that your account has been paused, and that you won’t receive future shipments unless it is reinstated.

cancel home chef

I dislike that Home Chef doesn’t use the word “cancel,” and that they don’t remove your information from their site. I don’t see a way to remove credit card info without contacting customer service. For this reason, I prefer the Hello Fresh cancellation process.

📱 Home Chef and Hellofresh Customer Service

You can reach Home Chef customer service by leaving them a message on their contact page. Another option is to give them a call at 855-949-3049 (Monday-Friday 9AM-6PM CT or Sat-Sun 10AM-2PM CT). For in-store Home Chef purchases, call Kroger Customer Care at 1-800-632-6900.

Reach HelloFresh customer service for a live chat through their contact page. Alternatively, give them a call at 646-846-FOOD (3663).

To start ordering meals, sign up for the plan you want here. After you check out, you can start selecting recipes. (So easy!)

FAQs

Is Home Chef cheaper than groceries?

The answer depends on your specific grocery shopping habits and the meals you choose from Home Chef. Home Chef’s meals are priced competitively, and they use high-quality ingredients. However, if you typically buy cheaper ingredients and cook meals from scratch, Home Chef may not be cheaper for you.

Does Home Chef meat come frozen?

The meats in the Home Chef box all come fresh or partially frozen. You can store Home Chef meats in the refrigerator or freezer.

Are Home Chef meals tasty?

Yes, we thought all of our Home Chef meals were perfectly seasoned and very tasty. Home Chef allows customers to customize their meals to their liking, which can lead to even more delicious results.

🌱 What is the best meal delivery service with the least packaging?

For the cheapest meal delivery service (by far) with minimal packaging, don’t miss EveryPlate! Get the scoop on this meal box, plus a super discount code in my Hello Fresh vs EveryPlate review.

🏆 Which is better, Home Chef or Hello Fresh?

Home Chef is best for beginner cooks and those who don’t like to cook. If you like the idea of meal kits, but not washing a bunch of pots and pans, Home Chef might be best for you. I loved how organized Home Chef’s boxes are, and that they provide good food safety info on the recipe cards.

HelloFresh is wonderful if you want the widest range of menu choices. They’re best for those who like to cook, and unlike Home Chef, you can purchase Hello Fresh outside of the U.S. Between Home Chef and Hello Fresh, I preferred Hello Fresh’s heartier meals and lower pricing.

Both plans offered classics and novel recipes with great flavors, and you can go as healthy or indulgent as you wish. If you want to make life a little easier, meal kits can reduce time spent on menu planning and shopping. (They make a great gift too!)

Note: Promo codes valid in the US only. Further details on the Home Chef and HelloFresh discounts can be found by clicking the links.

📦 Other Meal Kit Services Reviews

🎥 Home Chef vs Hello Fresh Video

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