The Ultimate Showdown Between Goodfood vs HelloFresh vs Chefs Plate
By Tuesday night, the fridge looks like a museum of leftovers. You promised yourself you’d “just wing it” this week—then work ran late, hockey pickup ran long, and somehow you’re eating toast for dinner (again). If that’s familiar, meal kits start to sound less like a splurge and more like sanity. But in Canada, three names dominate your options—Goodfood, HelloFresh, and Chefs Plate—and they’re not built the same.
Here’s the short story: HelloFresh has the biggest menu and reach, Chefs Plate is the easiest on your wallet, and Goodfood lands in the middle with unique recipes and quick-cook options—but more complex pricing. Below, I break down what matters (price, plans, speed, delivery, and real-world cooking experience) so you can pick the one that actually makes Tuesday night better.
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| Company | Plan Options | Ideal For | Cost Per Plate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HelloFresh | -Meat & Veggies -Veggie -Family -Quick & Easy -Pescatarian -Flexatarian -High Protein -Calorie Smart Meals | Complete kitchen noobies | $10.33 | Visit Site |
| Chefs Plate | -Meat & Vegetables -Vegetarian -Family | Beginner cooks on a budget | $8.99 | Visit Site |
| Good Food | -Easy Prep -Classic -Family | Adventurous cooks | $11.38 | Visit Site |
The quick decision framework
If you want the lowest bill without thinking too hard
Choose Chefs Plate. It consistently positions itself as Canada’s most affordable kit, with recurring promos and inexpensive add-ons that keep the total in check. Recipes tend to be simpler and faster (15–30 minutes).
If you crave choice and fewer “repeat dinners”
Choose HelloFresh. Broadest weekly selection across themes (High-Protein, Calorie Smart, Quick & Easy, Veggie, Pescatarian), and strong national delivery coverage. “Meals from $9.99/serving” is realistic on larger plans.
If you like adventurous flavours or low-carb done right
Choose Goodfood. Clear standouts: Clean15 (low-carb) within Easy Prep, and a mix of ready-fast options alongside more involved recipes. Delivery fee policy ($0 at $99+) can tip the math for families.
HelloFresh
HelloFresh was founded in Germany, and is known for its fresh, high-quality ingredients. HelloFresh offers a wide variety of chef-curated meal options per week.
Meal Plan Options
This meal kit delivery service offers 8 meal plan options:
- Meat & Veggies
- Veggie
- Family
- Quick & Easy
- Pescatarian
- Flexatarian
- High Protein
- Calorie Smart Meals
Customers also have the option to eliminate beef, pork, fish, shellfish, and seafood from their meal plan.
Regardless of the plan you choose, you can still select any meals from any plans.
Pricing Plans
With HelloFresh, you pick 2–4 servings and 3–5 recipes per week (you can change this any time). Pricing starts from $9.99 per serving on larger plans; smaller plans cost more per serving. Your plan can be changed week-over-week as desired. The cheapest pricing plan is 5 recipes with 4 servings, which costs $9.75 per serving. The most expensive plan is 3 recipes with 2 servings, which costs $13.83 per serving. This means the more servings you order, the cheaper they become.
Delivery Areas
HelloFresh delivers to ~95% of the Canadian population, anywhere in the United States except Alaska and Hawaii as well as in Europe, Australia, and Oceania.
Packaging
HelloFresh meals come in an insulated cardboard box with ice packs. The ingredient packaging is said to be recyclable; however, in my experience the plastic isn’t high-quality enough to be recycled. The ice packs have come to me in two ways: gel-based and water-based. The water-based ice packs are much easier to discard in the sink, whereas the gel-based pack needs to be emptied in the trash and rinsed before being recycled.
Recipe Quality
In my opinion, HelloFresh has the highest recipe quality of the 3 options. The recipes are easy to follow, and many offer the option to swap proteins or add extras. Each week, there are between 40 different recipes to choose from.
Ingredient Quality
Some ingredients from HelloFresh are sourced within Canada. For example, herbs are from Evergreen Herbs, a family run business in Surrey B.C. and Cambridge, ON, bread is from Quebec’s BOULART bakery, and honey is from Canada’s own Bee Maid.
Ease Of Use
Ordering is easy with HelloFresh. They have a website and an app, where you can select meals, skip meals, change delivery details, and edit your account. Changes need to be made on the Wednesday before the following week of meals, but you can select meals/skip weeks up to 6 weeks in advance.
HelloFresh
$11.49Per Serving
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Chefs Plate
Chefs Plate is a Canadian meal kit company that was founded in 2014. Chefs Plate meals are budget friendly and easy to cook, with a similar experience to HelloFresh.
Meal Plan Options
Chefs Plate offers 3 plan options:
- Meat & Vegetables
- Vegetarian
- Family friendly
There is also the option to eliminate pork, beef, fish, and shellfish from your plan; or selecting a poultry-and-veggies-only plan.
Regardless of the plan you choose, you can still select any meals from any plan.
Pricing Plans
With Chefs Plate, you can select the number of servings you want per recipe, and how many recipes you want to receive per week. You can choose between 2 and 4 servings per recipe and 2 – 5 recipes per week. Any plan of 4 servings costs $8.99 per serving and any plan of 2 servings is $9.99 per serving. The pricing plans are only defaults, so you have the option to change your selection as often as desired.
Delivery Areas
Chefs Plate is Canadian-only, and delivers to Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Manitoba. Chefs Plate states it covers ~95% of Canadians and continues to expand.
Packaging
Chefs Plate and HelloFresh come in the same packaging. Both have recyclable insulated cardboard boxes and non-recyclable ingredient packaging. Ice packs also come in gel-based and water-based packs, which changes week-by-week.
Recipe Quality
Recipe quality is high with Chefs Plate but not as high-quality as HelloFresh. Chefs Plate is focused on simplicity and as a result, flavours are not as complex as HelloFresh. Adding extras and swapping proteins are made easy, but there’s an extra charge to do so. Each week, there are between 20 and 24 different meals to choose from. The recipe card with Chefs Plate is simple and the easiest to follow out of the 3 meal kit delivery services and meals take the least time to prepare (as little as 15 minutes).
Ingredient Quality
Chefs Plate ingredients are fresh, but slightly less high quality than HelloFresh. Pricier proteins like shrimp, salmon, and steak are available at an increased fee. Meat and poultry is sourced from national and local businesses to ensure fresh, good quality ingredients.
Ease Of Use
Chefs Plate is very easy to use. You can use the website or their app to make meal selections, change delivery details, and skip weeks. Like HelloFresh, changes to meals need to be made by the Wednesday before each delivery week, but you can select meals and skip weeks up to 6 weeks in advance.
Is Chefs Plate Owned by HelloFresh?
Yes, Chefs Plate is owned by HelloFresh. HelloFresh acquired Chefs Plate in October 2018.
What is the Difference Between Chefs Plate and HelloFresh?
HelloFresh is the premium, international version of Chefs Plate. For a higher price, HelloFresh offers a wider selection of meals, and higher-quality ingredients; however, Chefs Plate is more budget-friendly and has simpler recipes that take less time to prepare. With Chefs Plate, premium ingredients, like with HelloFresh, come at an additional cost.
Chefs Plate
$8.99Per Serving
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