Green Chef and Hello Fresh are two meal delivery services, each with something unique to offer. Green Chef is great if you’re looking for wholesome, organic and delicious meals, but Hello Fresh tops the charts for variety. They’re also different in other ways, so we took to the challenge of comparing them, with Green Chef coming out on top.
Green Chef wins for their high quality, dietary meal options, and other reasons you’ll soon discover, but Hello Fresh is great also, making this comparison a close call. Here’s how they compare in all the important categories.
Table of Contents
Green Chef
Green Chef claims to be the number one meal kit for eating well. Each week you get to choose from several recipes within your chosen plan. Pre-portioned ingredients are delivered to your door, fresh in a box every week. After trying Green Chef, here are a few pros and cons of the service.
Pros
- Three health-centered meal plan options, including Balanced Living, which seems to have something for everyone
- Caters to special dietary needs with gluten-free, dairy-free, and paleo meal plans
- Good, consistent flavor
- Saves time in the kitchen, with most meals taking 30 minutes or less
- Quality, recyclable packaging
- Offers meals with fresh, organic ingredients
Cons
- Slightly more costly than other services
- Some customers might not be satisfied with the number of menu choices per week.
- If you want a refund, you must request one within five days of receiving your order
Hello Fresh
Hello Fresh is right up there with other popular meal delivery services like Blue Apron, as being one of the most recognizable names in the industry. Customers love the variety and quality they offer at a reasonable price.
Pros
- Six different plans to choose from
- Lots of variety to choose from each week
- Known for adding a little excitement to home-cooked meals
- Focuses on providing fresh ingredients that you can’t always find in your local grocery store
- Economical option
Cons
- Pricing structure largely based on the size of your order, so not always best for singles or couples
- Takes a few hits in the customer service department
- Doesn’t cater to many special dietary needs or to those with food allergies
Dietary Options
Green Chef
Diets
- Vegetarian
- Vegan
- Paleo
- Keto
- Whole30
- Mediterranean
- Gluten-Free
- Dairy-Free
- Diabetic-Friendly
- Weight Loss
Hello Fresh
Dietary options are often one of the first considerations when choosing a meal kit service, especially for those with food sensitivities, allergies, or are following special diets. There’s not much point in signing up for a meal delivery subscription if there are only a small handful of meals that fit your needs. Here’s how Green Chef meals stack up against Hello Fresh.
Green Chef starts out good right out of the gates by offering three distinct meal plans, each catering to different dietary lifestyles. Customers can choose from their Ket0 + Paleo Plan, the Balanced Living Plan, or the Plant-Powered Plan for vegan and vegetarian meals.
Each plan typically offers between 9 – 12 meal options each week. If you choose one plan but decide another better fits your dietary needs, you’re free to change plans and order from a different menu at any time, simply by going into your settings.
Green Chef offers some meals for gluten-free eaters, which are easily identified by their gluten-free tag. Vegan meals are also suitable for those avoiding dairy.
Hello Fresh offers six meal plans: Quick & Easy, Family Friendly, Calorie Smart, Pescatarian, Veggie, and Meat & Veggies. This is great for variety, but Hello Fresh doesn’t offer meals that are specifically gluten-free, dairy-free, or soy-free. They leave it to their customer’s discretion to decide if their meal kits fit their dietary preferences and needs.
Their Calorie Smart meals are great for people looking to eat healthier and maybe drop a little weight. It’s also nice that they offer a Pescatarian plan since this isn’t something you often see with meal kit delivery services.
Dietary Options Winner
Meal Prep & Variety
Green Chef
- 6-7 in each plan
- 2 meals for 2 people
Diets
- Choose Your Own Meals
- Number of Meals Available
- Minimum Order
Hello Fresh
- 20
- 2 meals for 2 people
There are two main reasons why someone chooses to subscribe to a meal delivery service, and those reasons are to simplify mealtime and add a little variety to the weekly menu rotation. The ease of meal prep and variety offered by meal delivery services are major considerations.
Depending on the plan you choose, Green Chef offers about 9-12 meal options each week, with some crossover between the plans. They offer a nice variety of meal kits with wide appeal. On the surface, their meal kits seem a little standard and not too exciting (which might be exactly what you’re looking for). However, their flavor profiles are known for being interesting and adding a bit of a different twist to some classic favorites.
Most Green Chef meal kits will take about 30 minutes to prepare, some a little less. A few customer reviews say their meals from Green Chef took longer than the estimated time, but this could be due to several different factors.
Hello Fresh offers more than twenty meal choices each week. If you choose one of their plans, they will filter out meals that don’t fit, but you can swap out those meals for others from their large menu if you don’t see anything that tantalizes your tastebuds.
In addition to filtering meals by plan, Hello Fresh also adds special tags to some of their meals. These tags designate meals that stand out, like their Hall of Fame meals that are most popular among their customers. There are also Gourmet recipes, Top of the Line International, Top of the Line Craftburgers, and Surf & Turf. Some of these meals come with an extra surcharge. They also offer oven-ready meals when you don’t want to deal with any prep at all.
Hello Fresh meals offer more of a range in cooking skills and the time it takes to cook and prepare meals. Their meal kits can be ready in as few as 15 minutes, or a more complex meal may take up to 40 minutes.
Recipes are also listed with a skill level, making it easy to choose meals that you can prepare simply or ones that challenge you a bit. This is a nice feature if you want to include the family in on meal prep, so you can choose delicious meals that are easier for either younger or older people to prepare.
Meal Variety Winner
Ingredients
Green Chef
Diets
- Non-GMO
- Organic
- Grass Fed
- Wild-Caught
Hello Fresh
Ingredients are the point where many meal delivery services set themselves apart, either in a good way or a not so very positive light. Both Hello Fresh and Green Chef are known for their fresh, quality ingredients, but a few differences set them apart.
For starters, Green Chef prides themselves on being a certified organic company, using quality, organic ingredients, including organic produce and eggs, whenever possible. Of course, not all ingredients can be sourced organically, but you’ll find more organic ingredients with Green Chef than you’ll find with other meal delivery services.
Overall, Green Chef does a really good job of paying attention to the quality of their ingredients, packing their meal kits full of fresh ingredients that look and taste great.
Hello Fresh also has a good reputation for the quality of their meals offered, delivering fresh ingredients in each box. Unlike Green Chef, Hello Fresh isn’t as focused on organic food but instead wants to provide its customers with the freshest, healthy meals at a reasonable cost. To them, this means focusing on healthy eating and quality; even if affordable, organic options aren’t available.
Hello Fresh does go above and beyond in ensuring ingredient quality by making on-site visits to each of their meat distributors, with products that are mostly sourced in the United States.
Ingredients Winner
Taste & Sample Meals
Green Chef
- Sweet Chili Chicken Thighs
- Shaves Steak Fajita Salad
- Shrimp With Ginger Lime Aioli
Hello Fresh
- Zucchini Pomodoro Penne Bake
- Bulgogi Chicken Tacos
- Harissa Sweet Potato Pockets
Ok, now it’s time to talk about the good stuff. Do these meal kits really taste like a home-cooked meal? How flavorful are they? What types of meals will you find on their menu each week? These are the burning questions, so we have answers.
Being a certified organic company for certain ingredients, Green Chef packs a lot of flavor into each meal kit. Their number of meal options per week isn’t the largest, but most people will easily find meals they enjoy on the menu. Dishes include many classics but with a bit more of a modern approach.
Green Chef meals include tasty recipes like Pork Chops with Truffle Sauce (gluten-free), Cajun Sausage (gluten-free), and Veggie Skillet, and Curried Turkey Meatballs. Mojito Cauliflower and Black Bean Flautas are two examples of what you’ll find on the menu for vegan recipes. Overall, Green Chef offers the right amount of variety and flavor that customers love.
Hello Fresh scores big points for the variety of meals they offer, which means that the taste of their meal kits will appeal to a wider range of flavor preferences. Hello Fresh wants to encourage people to live and eat healthily by making nutritious, great-tasting meals easy, regardless of their level of cooking skills.
A few samples of Hello Fresh meals include Triple Mushroom Gnocchi, Ginger Plum Chicken, and Bacon & Cream Supreme Spaghetti, one of the top choices from the Takeout Favorites menu options. There are also oven-ready meals, like Dijon Onion Crunch Chicken with pan-roasted green beans.
Hello Fresh is a good option for a family plan because they supply a great range of meals each week, so there’s sure to be something for everyone.
Taste Winner
Pricing
Green Chef
MEALS PER WEEK | 2 PEOPLE | 4 PEOPLE | 6 PEOPLE |
2 Meals | N/A | $12.99 | $12.99 |
3 Meals | $12.99 | $12.49 | $11.99 |
4 Meals | N/A | $11.99 | $11.99 |
Hello Fresh
RECIPES PER WEEK | 2 PEOPLE | 4 PEOPLE (Price Per Serving) |
2 | $12.49 | $9.49 |
3 | $9.99 | $9.49 |
4 | $9.79 | $9.29 |
5 | $9.79 | $9.29 |
6 | $9.79 | $8.99 |
Meal delivery service saves you the hassle of grocery shopping and meal planning, but whether the cost is worth it depends on your individual situation and budget. Meal delivery options are available to fit almost any budget, from super economical to a bit more extravagant. Hello Fresh and Green Chef offer meal delivery kits that fall somewhere in the middle of the spectrum.
Hello Fresh costs between $7.49 – $12.49 per portion. The difference isn’t so much in the meals (although some specialty meals cost a bit more) or the plan you choose, but it has more to do with the number of meals/portions you order.
You can choose portions for two or four people and then choose how many meals you want per week. With six meals for four people, the largest package is where you’re going to find the best savings. If you’re ordering for a single person or couple, HelloFresh isn’t as economical. Hello Fresh does charge shipping costs in addition to the cost of your order.
Green Chef’s prices also vary depending on the size of your order, but not as much. Most meals from Green Chef will cost in the $10-$12 range per serving. There are small variances in price between their Plant-Powered and Keto + Paleo meal plan, with the vegetarian menu costing less. Green Chef frequently runs specials, especially for new customers, that cut the cost of their meals, making them more affordable.
Green Chef also charges for shipping costs, but many times you’ll find that they’re offering free shipping offers when you sign up.
Pricing Winner
One or Two Weeks of Three Certified Organic Meals for Two People from Green Chef (Up to 51% Off)
25 Free Meals Across 5 boxes + First Box Ships Free + 3 Surprise Gifts
Packaging & Recycling
Green Chef
Hello Fresh
It’s always exciting when you open a box from Hello Fresh or Green Chef. The unpacking is fun, and enjoying the meals is even better. Still, when it’s all said and done, you have all the packaging to deal with. Plus, you also want to make sure your meal delivery service is packaging your order in a way that preserves freshness and quality.
Hello Fresh uses mostly eco-friendly packaging. Although there are some bits and pieces of plastic packaging materials, almost all can be recycled. You can find instructions on their website that detail what their packaging materials are made of and how to recycle them.
Hello Fresh uses specially designed boxes, gel packs, insulated liners, and other specialized cooling materials to keep your delivery super fresh during transit. They also take extra measures to adjust their packaging based on seasonal factors that may affect food safety and quality.
Green Chef also uses eco-friendly packaging and strives to use the most environmentally friendly packaging available. The only place they step away from their packaging materials being completely recyclable or reusable is when it’s in the best interest of food preservation, taste, and safety.
Even Green Chef’s insulation material is eco-friendly. They use a proprietary material called ClimaCell, plant-based insulation that’s also curbside recyclable. You won’t find any styrofoam insulation here.
Packaging Winner
Customer Service
Green Chef
Diets
- Skip a Week
- Pause
- Cancel
Hello Fresh
This is one area that not everyone stops to consider before choosing a meal delivery service, but it can make a huge difference in your overall satisfaction with a company.
With meal delivery services, things like the ability to switch plans, or to modify, pause, or cancel your subscription are important customer service factors. Green Chef and Hello Fresh are nearly identical in what they claim to offer, with easy customization of your own meal plan and pausing or skipping a week. If you want to request a refund on your entire order or individual meals, each has a limited time frame, usually a week or less, for when you’re able to do so.
What you often find with meal delivery companies and customer service is that experiences vary from one customer to another. It’s always a good idea to check out review sites and just take a peek at what everyone else is saying.
From a customer service standpoint, Green Chef ranks slightly higher among their customers, but neither company is free of complaints.
Customer Service Winner
Winner
Green Chef
These two companies are alike in so many ways that it’s really all about the details when choosing a winner. Both are great, but in HelloFresh Vs. Green Chef, we choose Green Chef as the overall winner.
Reasons for this choice include their commitment to using quality ingredients and organic when possible. We like that they cater to various food preferences by using certified gluten-free ingredients and offering dairy-free and vegan meals. Their packaging standards, meal variety, and customer service are all shining points for Green Chef.
Still, we also really enjoy Hello Fresh and think that each has its own place. If you’re still undecided, we’ve broken it down a little further to help you decide.
- You like classic dishes elevated with newer, more bold flavors
- Food preferences like gluten-free, paleo or keto, or vegetarian meals are important to you
- You enjoy the fact that they have more organic ingredients than other meal kits
- You don’t mind the slightly higher price point for the level of quality they offer
- You don’t need a ton of meal options each week, but a smaller selection of meals you’ll love
- You don’t have special dietary needs or preferences to consider
- You like pre-portioned ingredients that taste super fresh
- You like to experiment with a variety of cooking techniques
- You’re looking for a meal service that offers a family plan
- You like a lot of variety in your weekly meal choices