So I recently took the meal kit delivery service jump after seeing multiple of my neighbors with boxes at their doorsteps. I had browsed them before but never really went beyond that until recently when I found out Dinnerly could send me dinner for ~$5/plate which is their regular price. Ordered a 4 meal x 2 person box from Dinnerly and it hooked me to the concept. Since then have signed up for HelloFresh as well (pausing Dinnerly) to give it a whirl as well. Well I have done 2 boxes with both and feel like I can give an honest review of both.
Dinnerly:
Dinnerly touts itself as one of the most affordable dinner meal kit delivery service, after some research they definitely are. For myself (4 meals for 2 people) it worked out to ~$5/per person per meal. Did not have any packaging or delivery issues over 2 boxes. 2nd was by mistake because I forgot to cancel my membership - will get into that later.
Pros:
- Price - Dinnerly is ~½ the price of the other brands. Rolling in shipping it ends up being a little under $5/per person.
Cons:
- Basic. These meals are as basic as you can get. The most exciting you will get with seasoning is salt and pepper. Meals are 1 protein and 1 side.
- Packaging. The ingredients are not separated by meal so you have to be very cognizant of what goes where. My second box I had two large potatoes, my first meal called for some roasted potatoes and I was unsure if I needed both potatoes or just one, had to review my other recipes to confirm. I don't memorize the recipes so without recipe cards it was back to the app to see which meals had potatoes.
- No recipe cards. They say this is part of how they can keep prices low. It's a pain to have to haul a tablet or laptop and prop it up somewhere where it won't get splashed with food juice/grime/etc. to keep unlocking or waking up to reference a recipe.
HelloFresh:
Cons:
Price. HelloFresh is almost 2x more than Dinnerly. Rolling in shipping it ends up being ~$10/per person. But for a restaurant quality meal at home I am on the verge of justifying this price.
Pros:
- Taste. HelloFresh has you cook with various herbs and spices they provide and the recipes are much more advanced than Dinnerly. Sounds more complicated but in my experience the HelloFresh meals are no more complicated than the Dinnerly meals. Despite not being a cook at all every HelloFresh meal I have made tastes like something you would get out of a mid-priced restaurant.
- Packaging. Unlike Dinnerly, HelloFresh packages all your meal ingredients into a recyclable paper bag labeled with which dinner it goes with. No digging through other recipes to figure out what you need for the recipe.
Overall:
I don't cook and I have never liked to cook so eating out is a way of life for me. Dinnerly was an experiment for me which then transitioned to HelloFresh. After Dinnerly I was intrigued but still did not want to cook, after 2 boxes of HelloFresh I am getting into this cooking thing because it is giving me more education on cooking with herbs and spices. I have cancelled my Dinnerly and am going to continue on with HelloFresh, the recipes are just so much better and are restaurant quality. Dinnerly the recipes I would equate to a tourist trap restaurant or chain restaurant where food is not bad but not great, just something to fill your stomach.
Dinnerly:
Dinnerly touts itself as one of the most affordable dinner meal kit delivery service, after some research they definitely are. For myself (4 meals for 2 people) it worked out to ~$5/per person per meal. Did not have any packaging or delivery issues over 2 boxes. 2nd was by mistake because I forgot to cancel my membership - will get into that later.
Pros:
- Price - Dinnerly is ~½ the price of the other brands. Rolling in shipping it ends up being a little under $5/per person.
Cons:
- Basic. These meals are as basic as you can get. The most exciting you will get with seasoning is salt and pepper. Meals are 1 protein and 1 side.
- Packaging. The ingredients are not separated by meal so you have to be very cognizant of what goes where. My second box I had two large potatoes, my first meal called for some roasted potatoes and I was unsure if I needed both potatoes or just one, had to review my other recipes to confirm. I don't memorize the recipes so without recipe cards it was back to the app to see which meals had potatoes.
- No recipe cards. They say this is part of how they can keep prices low. It's a pain to have to haul a tablet or laptop and prop it up somewhere where it won't get splashed with food juice/grime/etc. to keep unlocking or waking up to reference a recipe.
HelloFresh:
Cons:
Price. HelloFresh is almost 2x more than Dinnerly. Rolling in shipping it ends up being ~$10/per person. But for a restaurant quality meal at home I am on the verge of justifying this price.
Pros:
- Taste. HelloFresh has you cook with various herbs and spices they provide and the recipes are much more advanced than Dinnerly. Sounds more complicated but in my experience the HelloFresh meals are no more complicated than the Dinnerly meals. Despite not being a cook at all every HelloFresh meal I have made tastes like something you would get out of a mid-priced restaurant.
- Packaging. Unlike Dinnerly, HelloFresh packages all your meal ingredients into a recyclable paper bag labeled with which dinner it goes with. No digging through other recipes to figure out what you need for the recipe.
Overall:
I don't cook and I have never liked to cook so eating out is a way of life for me. Dinnerly was an experiment for me which then transitioned to HelloFresh. After Dinnerly I was intrigued but still did not want to cook, after 2 boxes of HelloFresh I am getting into this cooking thing because it is giving me more education on cooking with herbs and spices. I have cancelled my Dinnerly and am going to continue on with HelloFresh, the recipes are just so much better and are restaurant quality. Dinnerly the recipes I would equate to a tourist trap restaurant or chain restaurant where food is not bad but not great, just something to fill your stomach.
Last edited: