HelloFresh and Dinnerly are two of the most well-known and largest meal kit providers in Australia, each serving thousands of meals each week. Whilst HelloFresh has dominated the market for years since they launched here in 2012, Dinnerly is a recent entrant after launching in 2017 and seeing rapid growth.
There is a stark difference between the way these two position themselves in the market, with HelloFresh offering a relatively premium service and Dinnerly focussing on a low-cost, affordable offering. However, they both fundamentally offer a weekly box of ingredients that can be cooked up into tasty meals at home. This begs the question, “Which one is better for me?”
This review aims to answer that question, helping you work out which meal kit service is right for you. I’ll provide a brief synopsis of each service here, however you can also read my full reviews of HelloFresh and Dinnerly.
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Comparing Dinnerly and HelloFresh
HelloFresh vs Dinnerly : Offering
Let’s start by summarising the offerings from both HelloFresh and Dinnerly to understand their similarities and differences.
HelloFresh Offering
Service Options – With HelloFresh, you get the option of receiving meals for either 2, 4, or 6 people across 3, 4 or 5 meals a week. They also provide a specific vegetarian box as well as a Family Box with meals designed to keep any kids happy.
Meal Variety – On their classic box, you can choose between 13-18 meals a week, including at least 5 different vegetarian variations. HelloFresh also offer ‘Gourmet‘, ‘Fresh & Fast’ and ‘Dinner to Lunch’ options for an additional cost each week. You can see what meals will be available in the next month with their online menu.
Delivery Options – HelloFresh deliver to all Metro areas in Australia, including Perth. Deliveries are made between Saturday and Wednesday each week, with your final meal selections needing to be confirmed by either Tuesday or Wednesday the week before (depending on which state you live in).
Additional Extras – HelloFresh also offer the ability to add on Sides, Fruit Boxes and Snacks.
Dinnerly Offering
Service Options – Dinnerly offer a 2 or 4 person box across 3, 4 or 5 meals per week, the same as HelloFresh. It’s also possible to make this box Vegetarian.
Meal Variety – There are 14 different meals available to choose from each week, with 5 of these being vegetarian. Each dish has between 6-7 ingredients that arrive with your delivery. Dinnerly make their menu available 4 weeks ahead, so you can see what meals will be available on their website.
Delivery Options – Dinnerly deliver to all Australian States except for WA. Dates and times available will depend on your location, but your delivery slot and meal selections must be finalised at least 7 days before your delivery is due.
Additional Extras – Dinnerly don’t provide any options for additional extras.
HelloFresh vs Dinnerly Comparison
There are a few key differences to call out between these two services:
- Recipe Complexity – HelloFresh offer a slightly larger variety of meals that are also more complex in their nature, often using more ingredients. Dinnerly only provide simple recipes that can be completed with 6-7 ingredients.
- Recipe Cards – HelloFresh provide large, detailed recipe cards whilst Dinnerly dispose of recipe cards entirely in favour of digital recipes.
- Optional Extras – Dinnerly only provide a standard delivery box with all meals being the same cost. In contrast, HelloFresh offer a range of different additions including gourmet recipes for special occasions as well as snacks and fruit boxes.
- Meal Size – HelloFresh are offering 6 person meals, suitable for larger families. Dinnerly’s largest box contains just 4 servings per meal.
HelloFresh vs Dinnerly : The Food
Now you’re clear on what you’re receiving, it’s important to talk about the end result – how good will the food be? This definitely comes down to a lot of personal preference, but hopefully I can give you a good idea about what you’ll receive with both meal kits.
The ingredients I have received with both meal kits have always been of equally high quality and freshness, whilst I do recognise that a small number of consumers can have issues with this.
HelloFresh Meals
Ingredients – Ingredients arrive in separate paper bags for each recipe, easily identifiable by a colour that matches one of the recipe cards. Where it makes sense, ingredients have been partially prepared e.g grated cheese. This means that you can get cooking immediately once you’ve decided which meal to cook.
Recipes – The recipes are exceptionally clear and easy to follow, making it very clear when you need to complete different parts of your meal. When a slightly more complex technique is required, the recipe also provides helpful hints & tips on how to complete it.
End Result – I was exceptionally impressed with every dish I tried from HelloFresh, managing to easily create restaurant-quality food that tasted fantastic. With the recipes being very simple to follow and taking between 30 – 45 minutes, this was a real surprise to create such great tasting meals.
In a separate post, I’ve compared the HelloFresh marketing images against what I was able to cook at home as a (very) amateur cook. Check that out at ‘HelloFresh: Expectations vs Reality’
Dinnerly Meals
Ingredients – With Dinnerly pitching as a budget Meal Kit, there are naturally going to be concerns about the quality of the ingredients. However, I’m really glad to say that I didn’t have a single issue with any of the ingredients I received. The meat was of a good quality and all vegetables were fresh. They weren’t separated by meal, so it took a bit of sleuthing to find all the relevant ingredients for each evening. It’s also important to note that there are ingredients that Dinnerly don’t send that you might expect, such as garlic or barbecue sauce. This is part of how they keep their costs low.
Recipes – Recipes for your meals are found on the Dinnerly website or app. These meals are generally very straightforward, although I still found myself confused by some of the instructions. In fact, I found it easier to cook from experience rather than the recipe. Check out my full Dinnerly review for more information.
End Result – Ultimately, this is where Dinnerly does very well. They take a very minimal amount of ingredients and help you turn them into healthy, filling, tasty meals. The meals are basic, without a huge amount of depth to flavour. This is generally down to the fact meals are often ‘one-pot’ and therefore one flavour. However, I’m not sure that’s a negative for a midweek meal that’s quick and easy to make. Each meal only took me 20 – 30 minutes.
HelloFresh are currently offering the stronger welcome offer, providing a massive $200 off your first 5 boxes, just by using our discount link.
Alternatively, Dinnerly are offering $80 off. Considering the already low price for Dinnerly, this makes your first box absolutely unbeatable value, obtainable through our exclusive discount link.
HelloFresh vs Dinnerly : The Cost
I’ve written a lot in this comparison about how Dinnerly positions itself as a budget option within the meal kit market, but how does it compare to HelloFresh? I did a full analysis of costs across the industry but for this comparison we focus on HelloFresh and Dinnerly. Where applicable, I use the HelloFresh Classic box.
Total price of a weekly meal kit
| People | Meals | HelloFresh | Dinnerly |
| 2 | 3 | $70.00 | $50.94 |
| 2 | 4 | $90.00 | $63.92 |
| 2 | 5 | $105.00 | $74.90 |
| 4 | 3 | $125.00 | $83.88 |
| 4 | 4 | $150.00 | $107.04 |
| 4 | 5 | $165.00 | $129.80 |
Dinnerly are, on average, a whopping 38% cheaper than HelloFresh. That’s a massive difference, especially for people who are working to a tight budget. There’s a minor additional cost of ingredients with Dinnerly but this is fairly insignificant against the total price difference.
Cost per portion comparison
As expected, Dinnerly does very well against HelloFresh for its cost per portion, managing to get down to $5.25 per portion. It’s notable that even HelloFresh’s largest box has a higher cost per portion than Dinnerly’s smallest. Also surprising is that the cost for 8 portions is only slightly lower (per portion) than 6 portions at HelloFresh. I think that’s highly unusual and suggests you should get either 6 or 10 portions if buying for 1-2 people.
Delivery Costs
| HelloFresh | Dinnerly |
| $9.99 per Delivery | $10.49 per Delivery |
Dinnerly have slightly higher delivery costs, but the difference isn’t very significant. Remember to factor these costs into your food budget when purchasing a meal kit.
It’s also important to be aware that delivery costs can be as high as $20 to rural areas. If you think this may apply to you, I suggest you check the delivery costs before you submit your order.
So which do I buy?! HelloFresh vs Dinnerly
The key factor here is always going to be Budget. If you’re looking to save money whilst still eating filling, healthy meals then Dinnerly is perfect for you. Potentially, this saves you up to $75 a week over HelloFresh. However, you will need to make sure you have those extra ingredients in your cupboard and be comfortable having more basic style meals.
If you’re interested in Dinnerly, you can read my full Dinnerly review or check out their upcoming menu on their website before ordering.
If you value creating some incredible Meals with a real depth to flavour and impressive aesthetics, then HelloFresh is a fantastic option. They definitely provide a more comprehensive Meal Box experience and create a more exciting dinner time experience. If you’d like to try a HelloFresh without the additional cost, we offer $200 in savings across your first 4 boxes .. making it cheaper than a standard Dinnerly box!
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