After cooking over 100 recipes from both HelloFresh and Marley Spoon in my own kitchen, I’m ready to settle Australia’s biggest meal kit debate. These two giants dominate the market for good reason, but which one belongs in your weekly routine? Having tested everything from their Thai curries to their premium steaks, I’ve discovered there’s a clear winner for different household needs.
While both services deliver pre portioned ingredients for home cooked dinners, they differ significantly in menu variety, cooking experience and value for money. The question most Aussie households ask remains: “Which meal kit is actually better for me?”
This hands on comparison cuts through the marketing hype to answer exactly that. I’ll break down everything from cost and convenience to taste and flexibility, helping you decide which service genuinely deserves your weekly food budget. For even deeper insights, check out my complete reviews of HelloFresh and Marley Spoon.
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Comparing Marley Spoon and HelloFresh
HelloFresh vs Marley Spoon : Offering
Let’s start by summarising the offerings from both HelloFresh and Marley Spoon 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.
Marley Spoon Offering
Service Options – Marley Spoon provides box sizes for 2 or 4 people, with flexibility to choose between 2 to 6 meals each week.
Meal Variety – The service stands out with an impressive 70+ unique meals available weekly, including a minimum of 8 vegetarian and 10 gluten-free options. The extensive menu consistently rotates, though this can mean favorite dishes only appear every few months. You can browse upcoming menus for the next 4 weeks on their online menu.
Meal Customisation – Marley Spoon offers customization on approximately 20% of weekly meals. Available modifications include protein changes, portion size adjustments, and dietary accommodations such as switching to gluten-free alternatives. While limited in scope, these customizations effectively help reduce food waste.
Delivery Options – Marley Spoon delivers to metropolitan areas across Australia, including Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, Canberra, Gold Coast, Wollongong, Newcastle, Darwin and regional areas. Deliveries run Monday through Friday, with meal selections needing to be confirmed 4 – 7 days before delivery depending on your location.
Additional Extras – The Marley Spoon marketplace extends beyond meal kits with snacks, drinks, side dishes, lunches, and desserts. Premium ready-made meals from ChefGood are also available, offering high-quality convenience options.
HelloFresh vs Marley Spoon Differences
After testing both services extensively, several key differences stand out between HelloFresh and Marley Spoon:
HelloFresh vs Marley Spoon: 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 Marley Spoon in subtle but 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.
You can see how my cooking attempts compared to HelloFresh’s advertising in my ‘Expectations vs Reality’ blog post.
Marley Spoon Meals
Ingredients and Packaging – Ingredients arrive in separate paper bags for each recipe, labelled to make it clear which bag is for which recipe. Where it makes sense, ingredients have been partially prepared (similar to HelloFresh). This means that you can get cooking immediately once you’ve decided which meal to cook.
Recipe Experience – Marley Spoon’s recipe cards have a professional design with clear photography. The large format makes them easy to read while cooking. However, I’ve found some inconsistencies in the instructions that occasionally require adjustments based on personal cooking experience, such as undercooking vegetables or listing steps in a strange order.
Flavor and Satisfaction – I’ve enjoyed the Marley Spoon dishes I’ve tried, though I’ve sometimes been left a little underwhelmed by the end results. The flavors tend to be comfortable and familiar rather than bold or adventurous. Many dishes feature one-dimensional flavor profiles similar to what I could easily cook myself without a meal kit. Portion sizes have varied across my deliveries, with some meals providing generous leftovers and others being just sufficient for a single serving.
After cooking dozens of meals from both services, the differences in their approaches have become clear. HelloFresh excels at delivering bold, restaurant-style flavors through carefully tested recipes that build your cooking confidence. Their portions are consistently generous, and the straightforward instructions help even novice cooks create impressive results. While their menu is smaller, every dish feels purposeful and refined.
Marley Spoon takes a different approach, focusing on variety and dietary accommodation over foolproof execution. Their vast menu showcases creative combinations and premium ingredients, but the cooking experience can be less reliable. Recipes sometimes require more kitchen intuition, and portion sizes can vary. However, their extensive choice of vegetarian and gluten-free options makes them invaluable for households with specific dietary needs.
HelloFresh offers exclusive discounts for readers of Food Box Mate across your first several boxes. These special offers are regularly updated to ensure you get the best available deal when trying HelloFresh for the first time.
Marley Spoon also provides special promotions for new customers through our exclusive link. When you click on our discount link, the promotional offer will be automatically applied to your order. Make sure to verify the discount appears at checkout.
HelloFresh vs Marley Spoon : The Cost
When comparing these two premium meal kit services, pricing plays an important role in your decision. After analyzing both services extensively, I’ve found that HelloFresh consistently offers slightly better value, particularly for smaller households.
Total price of a weekly meal kit compared
| People | Meals | HelloFresh | Marley Spoon |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 3 | $70.00 | $77.94 |
| 2 | 4 | $90.00 | $99.92 |
| 2 | 5 | $105.00 | $119.90 |
| 4 | 3 | $125.00 | $137.88 |
| 4 | 4 | $150.00 | $164.64 |
| 4 | 5 | $165.00 | $190.79 |
HelloFresh generally comes in at a significantly lower cost than Marley Spoon, with the biggest difference being for their larger boxes. On average, across all box sizes, HelloFresh is 10% cheaper than Marley Spoon.
That adds up to quite a lot of money over an entire year ($1,341 for a family of four getting 5 meals a week to save you the maths!). The difference is most pronounced with larger box sizes.
Cost per portion comparison
When breaking down the cost per serving across every box since (including those note shown in the above graph):
- HelloFresh ranges from $7.33-$13.50 per portion
- Marley Spoon ranges from $8.99-$13.99 per portion
HelloFresh maintains a price advantage across all box sizes, with the gap widening for family-sized boxes.
Delivery costs
| Service | Delivery Fee |
|---|---|
| HelloFresh | $11.99 per Delivery |
| Marley Spoon | $10.99 per Delivery |
HelloFresh has slightly higher delivery costs, an additional $1 per week which adds $52 to your annual cost if ordering weekly. Remember to factor these costs into your food budget when purchasing a meal kit.
Value assessment
When considering overall value:
- HelloFresh Strengths: Lower base prices and more generous portions that can sometimes provide leftovers.
- Marley Spoon Strengths: Wider menu selection (70+ vs 38 options), slightly lower delivery fees, more specialized dietary options, and occasionally higher-quality specialty ingredients.
- Best Value Choice: If budget is your primary concern, HelloFresh offers better everyday value. If menu variety and specialty diets are more important, Marley Spoon’s higher cost may be justified.
For a complete analysis of meal kit costs across all Australian providers, check out my comprehensive cost comparison.
So which do I buy?! HelloFresh vs Marley Spoon
After testing both services extensively over several years and cooking more than 100 meal kit recipes, I’ve developed some strong opinions about which service works best for different households.
Choose HelloFresh if you:
- Want restaurant-quality meals – In my kitchen tests, HelloFresh consistently delivers the most impressive flavor profiles. When I’m cooking for friends or want to feel like I’ve created something special without much effort, HelloFresh is my go-to choice.
- Prefer value and predictability – With consistently lower prices (especially for families) and more reliable portion sizes, HelloFresh offers better bang for your buck.
- Appreciate user-friendly recipes – Their recipe cards are the gold standard in the industry – clear, well-tested, and genuinely foolproof. I’ve yet to have a cooking mishap with HelloFresh instructions.
- Are new to meal kits – The more focused menu (38 weekly options) makes decisions easier, and the cooking techniques are more approachable.
Choose Marley Spoon if you:
- Need maximum menu variety – With 70+ weekly options, Marley Spoon is unmatched for households with dietary restrictions or picky eaters. After months of testing, I was still seeing a lot of fresh, new recipes.
- Value specialty ingredients – While slightly more expensive, Marley Spoon occasionally includes premium ingredients you wouldn’t typically buy yourself.
- Want gluten-free or vegetarian options – Their menu consistently offers 10+ gluten-free meals weekly alongside a wide variety of plant-based options, making it easier to accommodate dietary needs.
My personal recommendation
After years of testing meal kits across Australia, HelloFresh remains my personal favorite for everyday cooking. The combination of flavor, value, and reliability gives it the edge for most households. However, I regularly switch to Marley Spoon when I’m looking to break out of a food rut or need specific dietary options.
If HelloFresh sounds right for you, check out my complete HelloFresh review or take advantage of my exclusive HelloFresh discount.
If Marley Spoon seems like a better fit, read my in-depth Marley Spoon review or claim the special Marley Spoon offer for Food Box Mate readers.
I hope you found my HelloFresh vs Marley Spoon Comparison useful. If you did, let me know by following me on Instagram or giving our community a like on Facebook.
