Let me start with an important fact: EveryPlate is owned by HelloFresh, making this a comparison between two services from the same company. However, after testing both extensively, I can confirm they offer distinctly different experiences.
While both deliver fresh ingredients for cooking at home, EveryPlate operates as HelloFresh’s budget conscious alternative. It maintains the same ingredient quality but offers simpler recipes at a lower price point. This naturally leads to the question most people ask: “Which one is better for me?“
Having cooked over 50 meals from both services, I’ll help you understand exactly what sets them apart and which one suits your needs.
If you’re looking for even more detail, you can also read my complete reviews of HelloFresh and EveryPlate.
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Comparing EveryPlate and HelloFresh
We’ve built this handy interactive comparison tool where you can see all the key facts and features of each service to compare them directly. Feel free to review the information here, or read on for our full comparison between EveryPlate and HelloFresh.
HelloFresh vs EveryPlate: Offering
Let’s start by summarising the offerings from both HelloFresh and EveryPlate to understand their similarities and differences.
HelloFresh Offering
Service Options – With HelloFresh, you can choose box sizes that feed 2, 4, or 6 people. You’ll be able to select between 2 to 5 meals each week.
Meal Variety – HelloFresh offers 38 different unique meals each week, with a minimum of 6 plant-based options. The menu includes premium ‘Gourmet’ dishes featuring specialty ingredients, partially prepared ‘Fast & Fancy’ meals, and international ‘Taste Tours’ options. You can preview upcoming meals for the next month on their online menu.
Meal Customisation – HelloFresh provides customization options on selected weekly meals. Available modifications include protein swaps, extra ingredients, and portion adjustments. For example, you might be able to swap meat for plant-based alternatives or add extra cheese to eligible dishes.
Delivery Options – HelloFresh delivers to major metropolitan and regional areas across Australia. Delivery schedules vary by location, with service available throughout the week. All meal selections must be finalized 4 to 6 days before the scheduled delivery date.
Additional Extras – HelloFresh offers more than standard meal kits, meaning that your weekly deliveries can be supplemented with fresh sides, fruit boxes, soups, and various snacks. Ready-to-heat YouFoodz meals are also available as add-ons to any order.
EveryPlate Offering
Service Options – EveryPlate offers a wide range of sizes available, with boxes for 2, 4 or 6 people. These come with between 3 – 6 meals each week. This makes EveryPlate one of the most flexible services available for larger families and households who want to minimize grocery shopping throughout the week.
Meal Variety – EveryPlate is offering 30+ recipes every week. These meals do seem to return on the weekly menu quite regularly, rotating every 4-5 weeks, so there isn’t quite the variety you might find with more premium services. You’ll find an average of about 6 different vegetarian options available each week, which is a reasonable selection though you won’t get a lot of choice if you’re ordering 4-5 vegetarian meals weekly. EveryPlate also offers premium meal options with a $2.99 surcharge per serving for those who want to occasionally treat themselves to something other than basic meals.
Meal Customisation – EveryPlate does offer strong customisation options across their menu. Options include increasing the amount/upgrading the protein source, switching between meat and plant-based alternatives, swapping ingredients like sweet potato for white potato, or adding extra vegetables. This flexible approach keeps the base price low while letting you upgrade specific meals when desired, providing excellent value for money while still catering to individual preferences.
Delivery Options – EveryPlate is continuing to expand their delivery network every few months, so they are now able to deliver to significant parts of NSW, VIC, ACT, QLD, SA, WA and with hopes of expanding to NT soon. They offer flexible delivery windows across Saturday to Wednesday, with both daytime (09:00-18:00) and overnight (12:00-07:00) slots. If you live in a rural area, it’s worth checking to see if you’re eligible for delivery.
Additional Extras – As part of their standard menu, EveryPlate offers a variety of add-ons including fruit boxes, ready-to-heat meals, soups, smoothies, and desserts that can supplement your weekly meal plan. There are also prepared meals from YouFoodz that are reasonably priced (and reasonable quality).
HelloFresh vs EveryPlate Comparison
There are several key differences to call out between these two services:
Overall, HelloFresh is the premium option with more recipe variety and convenience features, while EveryPlate offers similar quality ingredients at a significantly lower price with some trade-offs in variety and packaging.
HelloFresh vs EveryPlate : The Food
Understanding what arrives in your box is just the beginning. What really matters is how those ingredients transform into your dinner. After trying dozens of meals from both services, I can tell you that food quality and taste vary between HelloFresh and EveryPlate in a few important ways.
Everyone has different preferences when it comes to flavor, so I’ll walk you through my firsthand experiences to help you decide which meal kit you might prefer.
HelloFresh Meals
Ingredients and Packaging – HelloFresh delivers ingredients in separate paper bags for each recipe, color-coded to match the corresponding recipe cards. Some ingredients come partially prepared, such as grated cheese, which lets you start cooking immediately after selecting your meal. The fresh ingredients and meats are packaged in a separate cool bag to maintain freshness.
Recipe Experience – The recipe cards are exceptionally clear and easy to follow. In my experience cooking over 50 HelloFresh meals, I’ve never been confused by what the recipe was asking me to do. The large format cards provide ample space for detailed instructions and helpful tips, making even more complex techniques approachable for average home cooks.
Flavor and Satisfaction – All the dishes I’ve received have been very impressive without exception. Using simple cooking techniques, I’ve been able to create meals that I would have been happy to eat at a restaurant. Dishes like Thai-Style Sweet Chilli Chicken, Mexican Pork Tacos, and Seared Salmon with Mint Pearl Couscous have been particular standouts. Meals typically take less than 60 minutes to prepare, making them practical for weeknight cooking. Portion sizes are quite generous, often leaving me with enough for lunch the following day.
EveryPlate Meals
Ingredients and Packaging – Unlike premium services that separate ingredients by recipe, all EveryPlate ingredients arrive in a jumble within your delivery box, so it can take a bit of sleuthing to find the right ingredients for each meal. This is part of their cost-saving approach, but doesn’t impact quality. Whilst you are expected to provide some standard pantry ingredients, these were all fairly standard across the industry (vinegar, oil, butter etc.) so it’s clear that EveryPlate haven’t skimped on providing lots of great ingredients. My initial inspection of ingredients has consistently shown good quality produce and reasonably sized vegetables in good condition.
Recipe Experience – The recipes come printed on small pieces of card, which makes them slightly harder to read than those from premium services. However, I really appreciate the ability to read from (and keep!) printed recipe cards. In general, the recipes are well written and easy to follow, helped by the fairly simple meals you’re cooking. There were a few times I was confused with the order/timing of certain steps, likely due to the fact they need to squeeze the recipe onto the card. Most meals can be prepared in around 30-40 minutes, making them practical for weeknight cooking.
Flavor and Satisfaction – I haven’t been blown away by any of the EveryPlate meals I’ve eaten. However, all the recipes I’ve tried have created tasty meals that I’d like to eat again. The clever use of some herbs and spices really help elevate some of the dishes, which is fantastic from a budget meal kit service. I was a little disappointed by the portion sizes in general, though I tend to eat big portions so I’m not very representative of our Australian population. For each ‘two-person’ meal, I typically ate about 75% of the food, with just enough remaining for a small lunch the next day. If you’re used to smaller portion sizes or have younger children, you won’t have any problems.
After trying both services for several months, I’ve found some clear patterns in how they compare. The ingredient quality is remarkably similar between HelloFresh and EveryPlate which is no surprise since they share the same parent company and likely the same suppliers. The vegetables, meats and dairy products have been consistently fresh in both services.
The main difference is in the recipes themselves. HelloFresh uses more ingredients per dish and their recipes tend to include more interesting flavor combinations. Their larger recipe cards give clearer instructions for slightly more complex cooking techniques. The end result is meals that taste more like something you’d get at a restaurant.
EveryPlate keeps things simpler with fewer ingredients and more straightforward cooking methods. Their recipes focus on familiar, crowd-pleasing meals that still taste good but don’t have the same “wow factor” as HelloFresh. The smaller recipe cards sometimes mean instructions are a bit condensed.
I’ve also noticed HelloFresh portions are generally more generous, where I often have leftovers for lunch the next day. EveryPlate portions are adequate but more precise, which makes sense given their budget-friendly focus. For bigger eaters like me, this is worth considering when comparing prices.
Interested in HelloFresh or EveryPlate? Check out these discounts for new customers, specially available for Food Box Mate readers!
HelloFresh vs EveryPlate : The Cost
When comparing these two services from the same parent company, pricing shows the clearest difference in their market positioning. EveryPlate was specifically created to target the budget-conscious meal kit consumer, and the numbers make this strategy obvious.
Total price of a weekly meal kit
Looking at the weekly costs across different box sizes, EveryPlate delivers substantial savings compared to HelloFresh:
| People | Meals | HelloFresh | EveryPlate | Savings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 3 | $70.00 | $45.00 | $25.00 |
| 2 | 4 | $90.00 | $56.00 | $34.00 |
| 2 | 5 | $105.00 | $65.00 | $40.00 |
| 4 | 3 | $125.00 | $72.00 | $53.00 |
| 4 | 4 | $150.00 | $92.00 | $58.00 |
| 4 | 5 | $165.00 | $110.00 | $55.00 |
As the table shows, EveryPlate comes in around 38% cheaper than HelloFresh across all box sizes.
For a family of four ordering 4 meals weekly, that’s a savings of $58 per week, adding up to over $3,000 annually if ordered every week.
Cost per portion comparison
Breaking down the cost per serving reveals the value proposition of each service:
- HelloFresh ranges from $7.33-$13.50 per portion
- EveryPlate ranges from $3.98-$7.50 per portion
The price gap is most dramatic for smaller box sizes, where EveryPlate can be nearly $4 cheaper per portion. This makes EveryPlate particularly attractive for couples and small households looking to maximize savings.
Delivery costs
| HelloFresh | EveryPlate |
| $11.99 per Delivery | $9.99 per Delivery |
EveryPlate maintains its cost advantage with a delivery fee that’s $2 lower than HelloFresh. While this might seem small, it adds another $104 in annual savings for weekly deliveries.
Value assessment
When evaluating overall value:
- EveryPlate Strengths: Significantly lower base prices, cheaper delivery fees, and similar ingredient quality to HelloFresh since they share suppliers.
- HelloFresh Strengths: More complex recipes with additional ingredients, larger portion sizes that often provide leftovers, and more premium meal options.
- Best Value Choice: If pure cost-cutting is your goal, EveryPlate is the clear winner. You’re getting 90% of the HelloFresh experience at roughly 60% of the cost. However, if you value recipe variety, larger portions, and more sophisticated flavors, HelloFresh’s premium may be worth it.
For households on a tight budget who still want the convenience of meal kits, EveryPlate represents one of the best values in the Australian market. The trade-offs in packaging simplicity and recipe complexity are thoughtfully implemented to maximize savings without significantly compromising the eating experience.
Should I buy HelloFresh or EveryPlate?
After trying both HelloFresh and EveryPlate extensively over several months, I’ve developed a clear picture of which service works best for different households.
Choose EveryPlate if you:
- Prioritize budget above all else – At 38% cheaper than HelloFresh, the savings are substantial and could add up to thousands of dollars per year.
- Don’t mind simpler recipes – The straightforward, fewer-ingredient meals still deliver good flavor without the complexity.
- Have a larger household – EveryPlate’s 6-person, 6-meal box option is perfect for bigger families or those wanting to minimize grocery shopping.
- Are willing to sort ingredients yourself – The “all-in-one-box” approach requires a bit more organization but contributes to the lower price point.
Choose HelloFresh if you:
- Want more impressive meals – The extra ingredients and more complex recipes result in dishes that taste more like restaurant quality.
- Appreciate clear, detailed recipe cards – Their larger format cards with comprehensive instructions make cooking foolproof.
- Prefer larger portion sizes – HelloFresh consistently provides more generous servings that often yield leftovers.
- Value greater recipe variety – With 38+ weekly options compared to EveryPlate’s 30+, you’ll have more choices and less repetition.
My personal recommendation
The key factor for most people will be budget. If you’re watching your spending, EveryPlate offers remarkable value without compromising on ingredient quality. You’re getting 90% of the HelloFresh experience at about 60% of the price.
However, if your budget allows and you appreciate more sophisticated meals and convenience features, HelloFresh remains the premium choice with its better recipe cards, more generous portions, and wider variety.
Both services offer worthwhile introductory discounts that make trying them quite affordable. I’d suggest starting with EveryPlate if you’re new to meal kits, then trying HelloFresh for a few weeks to see if the premium features justify the higher cost for your household.
If HelloFresh sounds right for you, check out my complete HelloFresh review or take advantage of my exclusive HelloFresh discount.
If EveryPlate seems like a better fit, read my in-depth EveryPlate review or claim the special EveryPlate offer for Food Box Mate readers.
If you’d like to explore other options, check out my reviews of Dinnerly, Marley Spoon and Pepper Leaf as well.
Why not try both services yourself? These discounts make it incredible value to give them a try.
