How do you Know Which Meal Kit is Best? Comparison and Reviews of HelloFresh, Marley Spoon, Dinnerly and EveryPlate

Have you wondered if the meal delivery services of HelloFresh, Marley Spoon, Dinnerly, EveryPlate and other options were worth it?

Over the years, I’ve tried a few of them repeatedly to keep the information here current.

I’ve also used them in different locations throughout Australia including Melbourne, Canberra, Wollongong and Noosa as well.

So I know the quality through the different warehouses they use.

This article covers 4 of the major meal kit options in order of least expensive to most expensive.

Disclosure, this post contains affiliate links.

Discounts

The first thing you probably want is the discounts for each. Here they are.

HelloFresh offers your first box FREE and is one of our favourites.

EveryPlate has up to $180 off, split across your first 5 boxes with the code THRIFTYEPLATE for new AND returning customers.

Dinnerly offers up to $144 off. (49% off the first order, then 30% off the next two.)

Marley Spoon offers up to $190 off 4 orders! That’s 53% off your first order, and 20% off your next three.

YouFoodz isn’t reviewed here as they are a different style of healthy, prepared meal kits. Get up to $200 split across your first 5 boxes.

New discounted food: Funky Food is a new delivery service offering boxes of produce that are heavily discounted compared to the supermarkets.

The fruit and vegetables are high quality but all different shapes instead of ‘supermarket perfect’. Check out Funky Food and get discounted fruit and veg now.

This post contains affiliate links and you can read my full disclosure here.

More Ways to Save on Groceries

These meal kits can be a way to save money on groceries. Be sure to also check out:
How to Reduce the Cost of Groceries in 2022
13 Ways to Reduce the Cost of Meat
How to Reduce Food Waste

Price

The prices of meal boxes are usually not as cheap as buying produce from the markets or supermarkets unless you use these discounts.

Lately, though, prices have been all over the place with doing your groceries whereas the meal kits remain consistent with their prices despite the price hikes of some foods.

Most of the meal kits have also guaranteed their prices for the rest of the year.

So you can rest assured if you start and are rotating them to get the discounts, you won’t suddenly be surprised with increased prices.

With meal kits, you are paying for delivery, recipes, the meals being planned, and the service.

For time-poor families or families who want to try new meals but don’t know where to start, these boxes are a great option.

I loved trying them and each had pros or cons plus I regularly use them to ensure this article is up to date and accurate. Here is what I thought.

EveryPlate: Australia’s Most Affordable Meal Kit Plus up to $170 Off

One of the newer meal kit options in Australia, EveryPlate is proudly the most affordable.

This doesn’t mean the quality is any less or anything is compromised.

EveryPlate still has a wide variety of meals to choose from with quality ingredients, great service and of course, a discount of up to $180 off, split across your first 5 boxes with the code THRIFTYEPLATE.

They are simply the budget-friendly version of HelloFresh so you may find ingredients labelled HelloFresh in your box at times.

Price

Starting at $4.44 per plate, EveryPlate is extremely affordable.

The actual cost will vary depending on the plan you select. With the discount, the price drops significantly saving you even more.

EveryPlate also has budget options that are $1 less than others and more gourmet options if you want to spend a little more for steak or specific fish etc.

Allergies

EveryPlate will let you know about allergens but doesn’t offer a wide selection of allergy-friendly meals compared to other services.

They are always improving though and as the recipes are relatively simple, we can usually swap out something to make the meal gluten-free or dairy-free (the 2 allergies in my house).

Variety

International meals, chicken, beef, vegetarian and pork are all common.

Many of the meals are carb-heavy with rice, potatoes, noodles or pasta as the main ingredient.

Carrots feature in most recipes as well. For us, we got bored of the recipes pretty quickly but the flavours and seasonings they provide are delicious.

Quality

The quality of EveryPlate varied depending on where I lived. In Noosa, it was low compared to other meal options but in other areas, it has been great.

I do wonder if that is partially because it seemed people there preferred another option so the turnover wasn’t as high. I’m not sure.

Whenever we had issues with quality and notified customer service, they rectified it quickly without any issues.

If you do have a quality issue, take a photo and contact them immediately. They’ll apply the credit to your account.

Size

The meal portions are average size, although, for my teens, they seemed a bit small. It felt more like 2 adults and 2 kids instead of 4 portions.

Delivery

In most places I lived, delivery was easy and done well.

In Noosa, there were issues with it being left in wet areas instead of dry, also boxes being split open or damaged as if they had been thrown around.

That has not been a problem anywhere else though and when I brought it up with them, they followed up with the logistics team.

It continued to happen there though so I stopped using it.

In Canberra, Melbourne and Wollongong, I did not have any issues with delivery.

There are quite a few delivery times and days to choose from which I like and it always comes on time plus you can track it.

My delivery driver where I currently live is lovely too which is always nice.

Packaging

EveryPlate has minimal packaging. Instead of meals coming in individual bags, all the ingredients are in the box and you sort it out yourself.

Our preference is to have minimal packaging for everything we do so we like this about EveryPlate.

Discount

If you want to try EveryPlate, make sure you use the discount and get up to $180 off, split across your first 5 boxes with the code THRIFTYEPLATE.

Dinnerly – Affordable and the Least Packaging

Dinnerly is owned by Marley Spoon so it is the same quality, just simpler meals.

The same way EveryPlate is owned by HelloFresh.

They still have healthy and dietary options, it’s simply cheaper with fewer steps. Dinnerly offers up to $144 off. (49% off the first order, then 30% off the next two.)

Price

From only $5.49 per plate, Dinnerly is an incredibly affordable option, even more so when you add the discount of up to $144 off.

Even without the discount it’s one of the cheapest options which makes Dinnerly appealing to many.

Allergies

The meals are simple so there are allergy-friendly options and the ones which weren’t allergy friendly were easy to change to suit our needs.

Dinnerly is constantly evolving so new recipes are added regularly and they are conscious of creating more options to suit everyone.

Variety

Originally, Dinnerly did not have much variety but over the past 3 years their selection has grown extensively.

I am quite surprised by how much they have changed and how many recipes they have added over the years.

Dinnerly even have vegan options, various fish options and a couple of budget-friendly ones which are $1 or more cheaper per serve so you can save even more.

We try to have fish each week so love that they have more recipes available now.

Quality

In my boxes, the quality was great as was the quantity. Ingredients were fresh and packed well to reduce the chances of damage without loads of packaging though.

Compared to the other meal kits, I only had an issue with 1 box in all the years I have used the different meal kits (almost 8 years now).

Size

Meal sizing is planned by nutritionists so the portions are the size you should be having.

My kids and I found the meal sizes to be enough for us but there were never any leftovers.

Realistically, most Aussies eat way too much so having the correct portion sizes can save your health as well as your wallet.

Delivery

They delivered to my front door and hid the box from the street which was good.

Every box came within the right timeframe and in good condition.

I’d say out of all the meal kits, delivery with Dinnerly has been the best for me.

Packaging

I love that Dinnerly has minimal packaging as it is much more sustainable.

There is enough packaging for produce to be kept fresh (such as ice packs) but that’s it.

Dinnerly doesn’t use recipe cards or unnecessary papers either.

Recipes are all available online and easy to use that way.

HelloFresh – Up to $200 off Your First 4 Boxes

Meal kits make our life easier and HelloFresh is the one we have used the most consistently over the years due to freshness, preferred recipes and ease of use.

Price

From $8.25 per plate, HelloFresh is the second most expensive option.

There are various plans from classic to family and vegetarian for 3 to 5 meals. HelloFresh offers your first box for free !

Allergies

HelloFresh has significantly more options for various dietary requirements than most of the other meal kits.

You can also swap the protein in various meals to make recipes more suitable.

Variety

With over 25 fresh recipes every week, HelloFresh has a huge variety of meals.

There is even a gourmet option (for an extra fee) and a dinner + lunch option (extra fee applies) as well as sides or other extras you can choose.

You can edit the protein in various recipes as well so you have control over the variety.

When it comes to variety, HelloFresh was one of our favourites.

Quality

My experience with HelloFresh over the years has been mixed and at times it was the worst.

Issues included rotten capsicum, off herbs and spinach, the sauces so bloated they were clearly off, carrots were only as thick as our fingers but were meant to be full-size carrots.

A few years ago, there were issues, particularly with tomatoes and zucchini.

HelloFresh was better in Noosa but this time, I am disappointed.

In some boxes, I had mouldy or unusable items but they quickly credited it.

That happened in Melbourne, Wollongong and a few times in Noosa.

When it happens, take a photo, send it to them and they will credit your account.

We also don’t like HelloFresh or EveryPlate steak strips. They tend to be mushy and not cleanly cut.

Size

Our meal portions from HelloFresh were an average meal size but sometimes we had leftovers.

My family feels the meal sizes from HelloFresh were the best out of all of the meal kits.

Delivery

HelloFresh make it easy to know when your meal kit will be delivered and they take photos of where it is placed in case there are any issues.

Packaging

One of the things I dislike about HelloFresh is the packaging. There is so much compared to other meal kits.

Everything was in little plastic bags, brown bags, in a box and the cooler part with ice packs.

It kept the food fresh, but there was too much packaging and more papers in HelloFresh than other boxes.

However, the paperwork included discounts for elsewhere and sometimes they have freebies so that was ok.

Discount

When you try HelloFresh, be sure to get your free bo x. When you have used your discount, cancel your membership and they will send you another discount later.

Marley Spoon – Fresh and High Quality

Marley Spoon is meant to be the premium option with more organic and fresher produce compared to others.

The meals are nice, customer service is easy to deal with and overall it’s good.

In our experience, Marley Spoon consistently has a wider variety and higher quality.

Price

Starting at $8.49 per portion, Marley Spoon is on the higher end but the options and quality are worth it. Make sure you use the discount to get up to $190 off if you try them.

Allergies

They were the easiest to select allergy-friendly meals with, lots of options and all delicious.

Marley Spoon also caters beautifully to other dietary requirements such as low-carb, keto and similar.

Variety

With over 40 recipes a week, Marley Spoon has the largest variety of all the meal kits.

Select any recipes you like, stick to a specific diet with ease if you want and enjoy new options every week.

Quality

I have tried Marley Spoon multiple times over the past 7 years and it has usually been the best quality out of the meal kits.

In all those years, I have never had an issue I needed to contact them about.

Everything was delivered fresh, meat is definitely better quality than the other meal kits and the other produce is fresher.

Size

Meal sizing is planned by nutritionists so is the size you should be having.

It felt a little on the small side compared to other options though.

The bread which came in one of the meals was so tiny it looked like a mini serving.

Delivery

Marley Spoon will let you track delivery and text when it has been delivered, the same as the other companies.

Packaging

Marley Spoon, as with most of the meal delivery options, has so much packaging.

Little packets of everything, recipe cards and other papers, ice-packs etc.

Although they have reduced this over the years.

Marley Spoon often has items a little more prepared e.g. meatballs compared to other meal kits.

Which Meal Kit Was The Best?

It really depends on what you are after. For lower budgets but still interesting meals, Dinnerly and EveryPlate are your better options.

If you need to cater to dietary requirements or want more variety, HelloFresh and Marley Spoon are better.

HelloFresh offers your fir st box FREE.

EveryPlate has up to $180 off, split across your first 5 boxes with the code THRIFTYEPLATE.

Dinnerly offers up to $144 off. (49% off the first order, then 30% off the next two.)

Marley Spoon offers up to $190 off 4 orders! That’s 53% off your first order, and 20% off your next three.

Common Meal Kit Questions

Since writing this article a few years ago and updating it regularly, I have gotten a few regular questions.

Here they are but let me know if you have any others.

Does it stay fresh if I am not home to get the delivery?

All meal kits are packed well. Fruit and veg are in the boxes while meat, sauces, salads and similar are in cooler bags with ice packs.

In my experience, the food stayed fresh even if I couldn’t get it right away. I’ve experimented with both nighttime and daytime deliveries and left them to see how they went.

Both night and daytime were fine. Obviously, on hot days in summer, it is not advisable to have it sitting in the sun.

When doing your order, you have the option of adding instructions to the driver for it to be placed somewhere so this isn’t an issue.

What if it gets stolen?

This hasn’t been an issue for me in any of the areas I’ve lived.

Even at one location where the whole front of my house was visible to the street or I was in an apartment block and there was nowhere to place deliveries discretely, I never had a box stolen.

If this is a concern where you live, I’d recommend looking at options such as a neighbour who is at home to get it or have it delivered to your workplace.

Are the meals easy?

My kids found them easy so I figure if my kids can cook them from around age 9 on their own, then most adults should find them fairly easy.

Dinnerly and EveryPlate have easier recipes as they have fewer ingredients.

Will my whole family like the meals?

With so many recipes to choose from, you can easily select ones you know they will like.

There is a wide variety in each meal kit and you choose what you get so you can ensure they are family favourites.

Some of the meal kits have some solid family favourite recipes they let you know are popular to help you choose as well.

Have you tried meal boxes? What were your thoughts?

Discounts

The first thing you probably want is the discounts for each. Here they are.

HelloFresh offers your first box FREE and is one of our favourites.

EveryPlate has up to $180 off, split across your first 5 boxes with the code THRIFTYEPLATE for new AND returning customers.

Dinnerly offers up to $144 off. (49% off the first order, then 30% off the next two.)

Marley Spoon offers up to $190 off 4 orders! That’s 53% off your first order, and 20% off your next three.

YouFoodz isn’t reviewed here as they are a different style of healthy, prepared meal kits. Get up to $200 split across your first 5 boxes.

New discounted food: Funky Food is a new delivery service offering boxes of produce that are heavily discounted compared to the supermarkets.

The fruit and vegetables are high quality but all different shapes instead of ‘supermarket perfect’. Check out Funky Food and get discounted fruit and veg now.