Is Hello Fresh Cheaper Than Grocery Shopping? (We Checked)

Why HelloFresh is Cheaper Than Grocery Shopping:

HelloFresh costs anywhere from $8.99 to $12.49 per serving, depending on your order. HelloFresh can be cheaper than grocery shopping for a single person. However, the service can get expensive, particularly for larger families.

How Much Does HelloFresh Cost Per Meal?

HelloFresh costs anywhere from $8.99 to $12.49 per serving. The exact cost depends on how many servings or meals you order.

In general, ordering more servings and meals will cost less per serving. Of course, the overall cost of the box will be higher due to the larger quantity of food.

The cost per meal also varies based on how many people you’re serving. For example, feeding a family of four can cost anywhere from $35.96 to $39.16.

Oddly enough, HelloFresh charges the same amount whether you order vegetarian meals or meals with meat.

HelloFresh might also be challenging if you or someone in your family has a dietary restriction. HelloFresh offers over 100 meal options, but you may only have a few choices that will work for your entire family.

Does HelloFresh Save you Money on Groceries?

HelloFresh could save you money on groceries because you’re not spending that money at the grocery store.

I can easily wander around the grocery store without a list and buy anything that sounds good.

However, a meal kit service forces you to plan a little bit. You’ll know what meals you’ll be eating, so you’ll have less of an excuse to go to the grocery store.

Now, you may still need to buy groceries for certain meals. If some of your food comes from HelloFresh, you can cut down on your grocery bill.

Is HelloFresh Cheaper than Groceries for a Family of 4?

As of this writing, ordering six meals with four servings from HelloFresh costs $226.76. That comes out to about $37.80 per meal.

These meals mostly cover dinners, so you’ll also have to shop for breakfast, lunch, and snacks.

Depending on the food you get from the grocery store, it may or may not be cheaper to order HelloFresh. For example, if you buy a lot of expensive ingredients, such as meat or fish, HelloFresh could be more affordable.

On the other hand, if you already look for bargains, you might not save much money by using a meal kit.

Are There Any Ways to get Discounts or Vouchers for HelloFresh?

When you first click on the HelloFresh website, it will prompt you with a discount code. That way, you can get 18 meals and free shipping.

I’ve also seen many YouTubers and content creators do sponsored videos with HelloFresh. When that happens, they usually have a specific code to give their followers.

Sometimes, the deal is better than the HelloFresh deal. If you know a creator you like has done a HelloFresh sponsored post, look for it to find the special code.

Is HelloFresh Cheaper than Other Meal-kits Alternatives?

HelloFresh costs about the same amount as Blue Apron, another popular meal kit service. However, it costs less per serving than something like Factor, which costs $77.94 for six servings.

Meanwhile, Green Chef costs $13.49 per serving or $80.94 for six servings. HelloFresh comes in at $70.93 if you need six servings.

So while it may not be the cheapest, it’s also not the most expensive. If you sign up with a special deal, you can save a lot on your first few orders.

Tips to Save Money When Ordering HelloFresh:

You can do a few things to make the most of the money you spend on the meal kit service.

I’d recommend the following tricks to keep from overspending on food:

Customize your Menu

One of my favorite things about HelloFresh is that you can customize your menu.

By doing so, you can save money by avoiding any meals they send that you don’t like – which would ultimately feel like a waste.

I’m a bit of a picky eater, so I like how you can select the meals you want rather than get stuck with a chosen meal plan.

Plus, you can also swap out the proteins in your meals. So if you’re looking to cut down on red meat, you could opt for chicken or fish, even with dishes where red meat is standard.

Similarly, you may be able to choose fish if you’re following a pescatarian diet. HelloFresh is surprisingly flexible, so you can make sure you’ll buy foods you enjoy.

Of course, customizations are also useful if you or a relative has an allergy or dietary restriction. That way, you won’t have to throw out your food and waste money.

Take Advantage of Leftovers

HelloFresh only lets you order meals with two or four servings. That’s great for couples or families with two kids because you’ll have enough food to eat.

However, if it’s just you, I suggest ordering foods you want to eat twice – for dinner and for leftovers.

So if you order six meals, you’ll get 12 servings and have almost a week’s worth of food for yourself!

Unfortunately, not all meals make for the best leftovers. I’d avoid ordering anything that can get super soggy, like rice dishes with a lot of toppings or sauce.

Use a Discount Code

The best way to save money as a new HelloFresh customer is to order with a discount code. If you can get 18 meals for free, you could save hundreds of dollars.

Then, you’ll be able to try a few different meals from HelloFresh without wasting your money. I’d try many options to see what I like the best.

Once your free meals run out, you’ll see how HelloFresh works and what ingredients you do and don’t like in their meal kits. That way, you can place orders for meals you’ll enjoy when you start paying.

Order More Meals at Once

An easy way to save money on HelloFresh is a bit counterintuitive. If you order more meals at once, each one will cost less per serving.

So while your initial food bill will be higher, you can save money overall. You’ll also have to pay less for shipping when more food comes in a single order.

Of course, a family may want to order six meals at a time instead of two. If it’s just you and a partner, you may want to order meals with four servings instead of two.

That way, you’ll have leftovers for lunch the following day. Plus, the per-serving cost goes down when you order larger quantities of food.

Start Small

If I were to start ordering from HelloFresh, I would actually hold off on bulk orders.

Instead, I’d order two servings of two meals simultaneously, especially while I still have free meals available.

Doing this helps you experiment and see if you even like the HelloFresh service. You can determine if you like the delivery process and if the meal kit instructions are easy enough to follow.

If not, you won’t waste as much money or food as you would have if you ordered in bulk.

Plus, if you have a family, you can make sure that the meals you order are ones that your kids enjoy.

Add Cheap Extras

I heard an excellent tip to make the most of your HelloFresh meals is to supplement them with stuff from the grocery store.

You can look for cheap ingredients, like produce, to add to the meal.

That will bulk up the total amount of food so that each meal will offer more servings. So if you have a family of four, you can turn your four-serving meal into five servings so that you have leftovers for lunch.

Depending on the toppings you add, they may cost less than the price of an extra serving from HelloFresh.

If you add extras to every meal, you could see a lot of savings by the end of the month.

Just make sure you choose extras that make sense for the meal. Feel free to shop at multiple grocery stores to find the best deal.

Sources:

Hello Fresh Website