HelloFresh is a popular meal kit delivery subscription service that delivers weekly boxes filled with the pre-portioned ingredients needed to make a complete meal.
HelloFresh costs between $10.99 and $12.49 per serving, depending on how many meals you order. In addition, a shipping fee and potentially sales tax, depending on your location, will be added to the meal cost. The amount will vary from week to week, depending on what you add to your box.
Meal kit services aim to reduce the headache of planning meals, grocery shopping and prepping ingredients. It also factors in your goals: Do you want to save money, reduce waste, or try new recipes?
HelloFresh might help you save money by reducing how often you eat out, preventing impulse purchases at the grocery store and helping you avoid duplicate purchases — but you’ll need to make sure it fits into your budget before joining.
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How much is HelloFresh?
HelloFresh costs vary based on how many meals per week you order and the number of people you want to feed. HelloFresh lets you order between two and six meals per week and choose kits for two to six people.
You can choose any of the following menu options:
- Meat & Veggies.
- Vegetarian.
- Family Friendly.
- Fit & Wholesome.
- Quick & Easy.
- Pescatarian.
The more recipe types you pick, the more diverse your boxes will be. Meal types do not affect per-meal pricing.
How much does HelloFresh cost for two people?
HelloFresh offers weekly boxes for two. When building your box, you can choose from two to six meals per week (four to 12 servings).
The cheapest base price before shipping and tax is $49.96 and includes two meals for two people at a per-serving price of $12.49. That’s around $200 for the month, before shipping costs. Upping your order to more than two meals per week drops the per-serving price to $10.99.
The “Personalize your plan” page of the website will break down the per-serving cost, base price of the box and overall price once shipping and any taxes are applied.
Nerdy Perspective
Fresh out of college, I originally signed up for HelloFresh because I was living in a new city and wanted to learn how to cook better, and more interesting, dinners. I found the HelloFresh website super easy to use and the recipes easy to follow — plus, it was tasty! I just ordered them for myself, so the price worked out to be great for making a lunch and dinner out of a single meal.
How much does HelloFresh cost for four people?
Ordering more meals drives down your per-serving cost to $10.99.
HelloFresh’s most expensive plan costs $395.64 before shipping and tax and includes 36 total servings at a per-serving cost of $10.99. It includes six meals for six people. Again, check the “Personalize your plan” display to understand per-serving, per-box and overall costs.
Is HelloFresh worth it? Two ways to decide
Whether HelloFresh is worth it depends entirely on your budget, eating habits, schedule and meal preferences. Calculate how much you usually spend per meal to get a sense of whether HelloFresh would actually work for you.
Here’s a quick way to decide:
- Print out a HelloFresh recipe (they publish full ingredient lists).
- Build a grocery list matching it, using either your grocery app or adding up items from your grocery receipt.
- Do a little math: Total meal cost / servings = cost per serving for your DIY version.
- If your cost is lower than HelloFresh’s per-serving price, you might be able to do it on your own for cheaper.
Want a no-math option?
Compare your total grocery spend for a HelloFresh month to a normal cooking month, using numbers from your bank and credit card statements.
Month A includes your HelloFresh subscription cost plus whatever extras you had to buy to fill in the gaps — snacks, food for your kids and other staples not covered by the subscription.
Month B is just your full grocery bill, no subscription.
The lower number wins.
When paying a little more might be worth it
Spending a little more each month for the convenience of HelloFresh might appeal to people who are finding it hard to fit grocery shopping and meal planning into their busy schedules, or those who are trying to cut back on their takeout budgets.
» Speaking of takeout: Is DoorDash eating into your retirement?
How to work HelloFresh costs into your budget
If you want to make HelloFresh work for your budget, here are some strategies to try:
- Watch for promotions or use the military discount. The “Hero Discount Program” offers 55% off and free shipping for your first box, then 15% off subsequent boxes for life. It’s open to military personnel and veterans, as well as medical providers, nurses and hospital employees.
- Add HelloFresh to the “needs” portion of your budget. It’s likely replacing a chunk of your grocery bill rather than adding to it. If you use a budget app, you might want to re-categorize this from a “subscription” to grocery costs to get a more accurate view of your grocery spending.
- Skip weeks that you will be traveling, celebrating holidays or have guests in town. Pausing your subscription takes a little forethought, but it’s better than getting that unexpected box on your doorstep.
Treat your subscription as a trial. Try it for a set period — maybe a month or two — and compare your actual grocery spending before your subscription. Make your decision to continue HelloFresh based on your real spending, rather than the more theoretical per-serving price.
Freelance writer Sarah Edwards contributed to this article.
