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 $8.99 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 box contents.
Meal kit services aim to reduce the headache of planning meals, grocery shopping and prepping ingredients. HelloFresh might even help you save money by reducing how often you eat out. But first, you’ll need to learn more about what HelloFresh costs to ensure it fits your budget.
Before you build a budget
NerdWallet breaks down your spending and shows you ways to save.
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 or four people.
You can choose any of the following menu options:
The more recipe types you pick, the more diverse your boxes will be. However, the meal type does not impact 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 (4 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. Upping your order to three meals per week drops the per-serving price to $9.99, while the four-, five-, and six-meal options have a per-serving cost of $9.79.
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.
How much does HelloFresh cost for four people?
Ordering more meals drives down your per-serving cost. For instance, if you order two meals per week for four people, the per-serving cost drops to just $9.79 rather than the $12.49 per serving for two meals for two people.
HelloFresh’s most expensive plan also offers the cheapest per-serving price. This box costs $215.76 before shipping and tax and includes 24 total servings at a per-serving cost of $8.99. It includes six meals for four people. Again, check the “Personalize your plan” display to understand per-serving, per-box and overall costs.
Is HelloFresh worth it?
Whether HelloFresh is worth it depends entirely on your budget, eating habits and meal preferences. Calculate how much you usually spend per meal to get a sense of whether HelloFresh would work for you.
For instance, let’s say you and your partner typically spend about $8 per serving on home-cooked dinners. (You can estimate this from your grocery receipts.) However, you find it hard to fit grocery shopping and meal planning into your busy schedules, and you end up getting expensive takeout several times per week. Average what you’re paying overall, then see whether subbing meal prep kits for some take-out meals might lower your costs.
How to work HelloFresh costs into your budget
You may be able to reduce your costs by watching for deals. Check the HelloFresh site for discounts and offers, which can cut the price of a delivery. For instance, the “Hero Discount Program” offers 55% off and free shipping for your first box, then 15% off subsequent boxes for a year. It’s open to military personnel and veterans, as well as medical providers, nurses and hospital employees.
You can also use discount and coupon apps to check for deals. Note that these often must be used when signing up initially and may not apply to established accounts.
Using discounts to cut the cost could help you fit HelloFresh or another meal kit service into your budget for discretionary purchases. Under the popular 50/30/20 approach to budgeting, 50% of spending goes toward needs (rent, utility bills, etc.), 30% goes toward discretionary purchases (such as eating out or meal delivery), and 20% goes toward savings.