HelloFresh vs Goodfood: My Favorite Canadian Meal Kit
I’m a Vancouver-based mom and writer who loves to cook. Hope you enjoy!I’ve tried out a lot of meal kits over the past few months. It’s amazing how much easier they make things—no more endless grocery store trips or last-minute meal planning. They even let you dip your toes into cooking with recipes that are perfect for beginners. With all the options out there, picking the right meal kit for your home isn’t easy. That’s why I decided to put two of the top contenders in Canada, HelloFresh and Goodfood, through their paces to see how they stack up. Here’s what I looked for in each meal kit:
- Delivery Areas
- Affordability & Plans
- Variety
- Health & Dietary Restrictions
- Beginner Friendliness
- Delivery
- Packaging
- Sustainability
- Mobile Apps
These criteria helped me understand the strengths and weaknesses of each service, guiding me to a well-rounded view of what each offers. Let’s see how they did!
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| Meal Kit Service | HelloFresh | Goodfood |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Variety | Affordability Local farmers |
| Delivery areas | USA & Canada | Certain provinces in Canada |
| Diets | Low calorie Vegetarian | Low carb Vegetarian Dairy-free Gluten-free |
| Household size | 2, 3, or 4 | 2 (Couple) 4 (Family) |
| Recipes per week | 3-5 | 2-4 |
| Price per plate | $9.25 - $12.17 | $10.74 - $16.49 |
| Shipping costs | $9.99 | $0 - $3.99 |
| Introductory deal | Up to 20 free meals with code: HELLO20FMS | 6 free meals |
| Visit Site | Visit Site |
Goodfood
$9.46Per Serving
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Delivery Areas
HelloFresh ships across Canada, the United States (and nine other countries). In Canada, HelloFresh and Goodfood share the same delivery area; Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia, and the Maritimes. In Goodfood’s case, if you’re far from urban areas, you should email their support team to check if you’re within their delivery range.
Affordability & Plans
Goodfood has 5 plans: the Easy Prep Basket, Classic Basket, Vegetarian Basket, Clean15 Basket, and Family Basket. The Easy Prep basket reduces your cooking time with pre-chopped veggies—ideal for busy people! The Clean15 Basket contains high-protein, low-carb 15-minute meals, seemingly targeted toward active people or athletes. The Family Basket comes with 4 servings for bigger households.
You can customize the plan to suit your household’s needs by selecting 2 to 4 recipes and servings for 2 or 4 people.
HelloFresh has six meal plan options: Meat & Veggie, Veggie (vegetarian), Pescatarian, Quick & Easy, Smart Meals, and Family. The Smart Meals kit from HelloFresh contains less than 650 calories or 50g of carbs per serving. Their Family kit offers some 20-minute recipes to reduce parents’ cooking time. Regardless of your plan, you pick 3 to 5 recipes and servings for 2 or 4 people.
Is HelloFresh or Goodfood cheaper?
I hate to break it to the HelloFresh fans, but on average, Goodfood is the slightly cheaper option.
The average price for HelloFresh is $10.71, and is calculated depending on the number of recipes and servings – so there are no savings on the vegetarian plan, which is where it differs from Goodfood. Goodfood calculates their rate based on plan, servings, and recipes discounting the serving price for larger orders. Since there is more customization in servings and recipes with Goodfood, their serving prices tend to be lower compared to equivalent plans from HelloFresh.
Your delivery from Goodfood is up to $3.99, whereas HelloFresh has a $9.99 shipping fee.
Winner: Goodfood
Variety
Variety is the spice of life—and HelloFresh wins by a landslide.
Goodfood offers 20-25 new recipes each week, organized by plan for easy selection. You can review recipes up to 4 weeks in advance. I have found Goodfood to have more variety in flavour across recipe options in one week and week-to-week. I also prefer Goodfood’s vegan and vegetarian options.
HelloFresh has more choices at 40 recipes every week to choose from with tons of international influence. No matter what type of food you regularly cook, you can try entirely unique recipes. You can review the menu up to 6 weeks in advance, and review past recipes in their Cookbook. You can even search for specific recipes depending on your country of origin or dietary requirements.
Winner: Goodfood
Health & Dietary Restrictions
Both HelloFresh and Goodfood have their own health-conscious meal plans; the Smart Meal plan and Clean15 Basket, respectively. The Smart Meal plan has a mix of low-calorie and low-carb meals, whereas the Clean15 basket focuses on low-carb, high-protein meals.
Both HelloFresh and Goodfood offer about 3-5 vegetarian recipes per week, but Goodfood’s are more hardy and flavourful.
While HelloFresh doesn’t have meal plans customized for different dietary needs and preferences, their website states that there are plenty of meals that can be customized to your diet by contacting their customer service.
Goodfood is essentially the same, however, they have plenty of keto meals in their archives — hopefully, they will bring them back soon!
When you select meals from either meal kit service, you’ll find vegetarian, keto, and gluten-free options, but they aren’t always labelled as such.
Winner: HelloFresh (barely)
Beginner Friendliness
Most Goodfood recipes range from 15-30 minutes of cooking time, while HelloFresh can range from 20-40 minutes.
In my experience, the cooking process for both GoodFood and HelloFresh is about the same. There are some meals from both meal delivery services that take longer, and some that take less time. I’d say it depends on the meal, not the meal kit delivery service.
After cooking several meals with both meal kits, they’re both relatively easy to follow with the recipe cards, regardless of your cooking skills. The images on the card give you a better expectation of what each step will look like leading to the end result. For both services, there are definitely some meals that are not beginner-friendly, like the Corn & Pancetta Risotto from Goodfood or the Hearty Steak and Potato Hash from HelloFresh.
I like HelloFresh more for beginners because when you select recipes on their website, you can clearly see the difficulty level and prep time estimate, which tend to be more accurate than Goodfood’s. This doesn’t mean that Goodfood meals are by any means difficult or you should avoid them if you’re a novice! I wouldn’t let this category be the deciding factor.
Winner: HelloFresh
Delivery
HelloFresh delivers Sunday through Thursday from 8 am to 8 pm. Your delivery day options depend on your postal code, so check your account settings to see which days are available to you. You can have your meal kit delivered to your workplace or leave instructions if you can’t be there to accept a home delivery. You aren’t required to be there when it’s dropped off—they’ll leave it at your doorstep or as otherwise directed.
Goodfood delivers every day of the week and even offers same-day delivery for its Goodfood WOW members, or (in certain areas) if you order before 11:30 am. Their delivery hours are until 5 pm for offices and 8 pm for private residences. However, their Afterhours program allows for deliveries between 6 pm-10 pm (area-dependent).
Does Goodfood Charge Delivery?
Goodfood delivery is free for orders of $80 or more. For orders below $80, you’ll be charged $10.99 for delivery. A surcharge of $3.99 is added for deliveries to rural areas, identified by a ‘0’ in the first three characters of the postal code.
Winner: Goodfood
Packaging
Both meal kit delivery services use insulated cardboard boxes and disposable ice packs to ensure freshness. They also advise that all perishables be placed in the fridge upon receiving your meal kit delivery.
Goodfood states on its website that meal kits should stay fresh for 24-48 hours in their box, including transit time. HelloFresh mandates that your box remain fresh up to 48 hours after your expected delivery date. HelloFresh also tracks weather patterns to ensure adequate packaging to keep your food cool and fresh.
I would still select Goodfood as the winner for this category since they guarantee 24-hour freshness, whereas HelloFresh’s policy allows for more variability.
Winner: Goodfood
Sustainability
HelloFresh and Goodfood both contribute positively to reducing food waste, a significant problem for grocery stores and consumers. There is nothing more frustrating than throwing out wasted food! Both companies also offer sustainable packaging options.
HelloFresh claims that their meal kits reduce food waste by 36%, although it’s unclear how they came up with that number. They do have a detailed annual sustainability report you can review on their website which outlines their carbon emissions among other metrics for sustainability.
The HelloFresh box is insulated with 100% water ice packs, making it safe for the drain. HelloFresh meals come in their own compostable or recyclable paper bags to keep ingredients organized. Most of the packaging is recyclable.
HelloFresh is also the first meal kit company to be 100% carbon neutral. They offset all carbon emissions made by their internal offices and shipping by working with their partner Planetly. They’ve invested in carbon-offsetting products around the world and locally here in British Columbia!
While Goodfood may not promote the same scope of initiatives for sustainability, its packaging shares sustainability features. The cardboard box, insulation liner, bags, and bottles are made of recycled materials and may be entirely recyclable, depending on your location.
Their ice packs are made of a saline solution that gets colder than ice to preserve all perishables. The plastic bags containing this solution are recyclable, however, the liquid should be discarded in the garbage.
Winner: HelloFresh
Mobile Apps
The two meal kit companies have apps to place orders, select meals, skip a week, and get recipes.
With the Goodfood app, I always receive notifications when my delivery is shipped, but I haven’t had the same experience with HelloFresh (although I do get an email).
In terms of design, both apps are user-friendly and are consistent with their websites. I prefer the Goodfood app because you can track orders in the app and easily add groceries to your meal kit order.
Winner: Goodfood
What Is the Downside of Hellofresh?
The downside to Hellofresh is that it doesn’t cater to those with dietary restrictions like keto, paleo, or vegan diets.
Are Goodfood Vegetables Washed?
Goodfood vegetables are not pre-washed. This means that you should wash the fresh produce yourself before using them to ensure they are clean and safe for consumption. Washing produce thoroughly under running water helps remove dirt, bacteria, and any pesticide residues that might be present.
What I Liked About GoodFood
One of the standout features of GoodFood for me was their diverse range of meal plans. The Easy Prep Basket, in particular, was a game-changer. As someone who often finds themselves short on time, having pre-chopped veggies significantly reduced my cooking time, allowing me to prepare meals quickly without compromising on quality.
I also prefer Goodfood’s variety; their meals explore a large range of flavours and the recipes change more week-to-week than Hellofresh.
What I Disliked About GoodFood
While I appreciated the variety of meal plans GoodFood offered, there were a few aspects that I found less appealing. The first issue was the delivery charge for orders below $80, which added an extra cost to my weekly budget. Another drawback was the need to email customer service to cancel the subscription, which felt unnecessary and less straightforward than other services.
What I Liked About HelloFresh
The Smart Meals plan, focusing on low-calorie and low-carb options, was a great addition for those mindful of their dietary intake. Another feature I loved was the clear display of difficulty levels and prep times on their website, which helped me select meals that fit my schedule and cooking skills perfectly.
What I Disliked About HelloFresh
Despite its many positives, HelloFresh had a few downsides that affected my experience. While they offered various recipes, I’ve gotten bored of their flavours after using them for a while. I also found the lack of real-time delivery notifications through the app inconvenient, as I had to rely on email updates.
Which Meal Kit is Better: HelloFresh or Goodfood?
When it comes down to it, both meal kit companies offer unique benefits, so the best option for you depends on your priorities.
Goodfood is the better option for flavour and variety. They offer more flexibility when it comes to your delivery time and their packaging programs make it easy to be sustainable. However, a lot of their benefits are postal code dependent, so it’s hard to tell what’s available to you until you subscribe and contact their support. Lastly, Goodfood doesn’t just offer meal kits; they have an online grocery store with food products and ready-to-eat meals.
HelloFresh is definitely the choice if you’re looking for a cheaper option, quick preparation, and sustainability in your meals! They’re the leading global meal kit company and will likely keep getting better over time.
