Thing of taking the plunge with HelloFresh or weighing up whether to continue your existing subscription?
With enticing refer a friend sign-up offers and discount codes trying HelloFresh seems like a no-brainer. But what about after the discount runs out?
Is the full-priced service worth it?
Balancing time, convenience, as well as cost is crucial.
Having personally tried HelloFresh out, I look at the real value beyond the introductory offers to help you decide if it might be worth it for you.
Disclaimer: This post may contain affiliate or referral links that earn me some commission if you sign up through them. However, this is at no extra cost to you. Read more here.
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HelloFresh Recommend a Friend Referral Link
One of the best ways to get a great deal with HelloFresh is to use a HelloFresh refer a-friend invite link which offer huge discounts and potential free boxes.
There are also various other ways to get a discount, for example I used Quidco to get £15 cashback on a £16.20 order and a £15 bonus on top.
(Sign up to via my free money offers if you want to get notified of these kind of free money offers, and in this case almost free food).
Also look out for Hello Fresh promo codes for free boxes.
Is HelloFresh Worth it?
Whether HelloFresh is worth it largely depends on your current lifestyle, priorities, and, of course, the actual cost.
There is no one-size-fits-all answer, as the service’s value can vary greatly from person to person.
It’s not uncommon for the HelloFresh journey to begin with heavy discounts and possibly even free boxes.
These could be through a refer-a-friend discount, a cashback offer, or enticing promo codes, making the initial plunge seem very appealing.
The first few weeks following the initial offer may still carry discounted rates, providing a soft landing to the full price.
However, before long, you’re looking at the full price. That’s when the financial commitment of HelloFresh becomes more apparent, and the original question resurfaces: is it truly worth it?
For most people its a matter of weigh up the price and the convenience and time saved on meal planning and preparation.
HelloFresh Price
When considering the worth of HelloFresh, the initial price point is made attractive through introductory discounts and cashback-type offers.
For example, our first box was over 60% off and I got cashback and bonus on top via Quidco.
The price varies depending on how many people you buy and whether you select meals which cost extra.
In my instance the prices were as follows for 5 meals for 2 people
| Week | Plan | Cost of Plan | Delivery Fee | Total Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Classic (Sign up offer) | £16.80 | £0.00 | £16.80 |
| 2 | Classic (8-week introductory price) | £31.49 | £4.99 | £36.48 |
| 9 | Classic (Full Price) | £42.00 | £4.99 | £46.99 |
In this table, Week 1 shows the discounted price for the Classic Plan, Week 2 represents the 8-week introductory price for the Classic Plan, and Week 9 displays the full price.
If you are potentially new to HelloFresh you can get a great discount on your first via this HelloFresh referral link.
New users often benefit from a massive 60% discount and for some offers almost a free first box, along with significant discounts for the initial eight weeks. These enticing deals offer good value, allowing individuals to sample HelloFresh below the standard prices.
Once these offers expire, the price increases.
At this regular rate, it will depend more on your personal budget as to whether HelloFresh is worth it or not price-wise and how much you value the convenience.
If you typically shop at Lidl because its cheap, you might find it more expensive than someone who regularly shops at Waitrose for example.
Save time on Meal Planning and Shopping
For busy individuals and families, HelloFresh eliminates the need for meal planning and grocery shopping, so if take the view that time is money then its certainly a factor to consider.
Pre-portioned ingredients prevent waste, and easy-to-follow recipes mean anyone can don the chef’s hat. If you have able teenagers, it’s even possible you could say dinners in the fridge and there would be no excuses for them not being able to follow the recipes. Of course, you could also cook with them
However, the cost might be a consideration. The price per serving is typically higher than if you bought ingredients at a supermarket. Yet, it’s competitive compared to dining out or ordering takeaway.
In terms of quality, HelloFresh is committed to sourcing fresh, high-standard ingredients. If you value this and the convenience, it could certainly be worth it.
Remember, HelloFresh offers flexibility. You can pause, change, or cancel your subscription anytime.
HelloFresh does come with a price tag that is generally higher per serving than if you were to buy the ingredients from a supermarket. This additional cost covers the convenience and time saved, but it’s important to assess if it aligns with your budget.
On the other hand, when compared to dining out or ordering takeaway, the cost of HelloFresh is competitively priced. Therefore, if you’re someone who often resorts to these options due to a busy schedule, HelloFresh might be a cost-effective alternative.
The secondary significant factor is indeed the convenience. HelloFresh delivers pre-portioned ingredients straight to your door. This saves substantial time and energy as it eliminates meal planning, grocery shopping, and the need to buy larger quantities than necessary. The service also reduces food waste, potentially saving you money in the long run.
Lastly, HelloFresh offers flexibility—you can pause, change, or cancel your subscription as your needs or circumstances change. Given these considerations, while there’s an upfront cost, the convenience and potential savings from reduced waste and less dining out could make it a worthwhile investment for some.
Portion Size
We order the 2 people-sized recipes portions and found the portion sizes to be ideal.
In some instances, we could a couple of the 2 persons’ meals at a time and shared between the five of us.
Although on numerous occasions the meals were so tasty we might want second helpings, but overall they were just the right amount.
What Do You Get In A Hellofresh Box?
You get all the recipes ingredients and split between into there own recipe bags with the exception of any ingredients which need to be kept cool which are all together in a large insulated bag with ice packs to keep them cool and fresh.
Below you can see the open box and the opened cool bag on the left.
Recipe and Ingredients Cards
You get easy to follow a4 recipe cards for each recipe you orders.
We got 5 as you can see below:
Recipe Ingredients
Each recipe has a separate bag of ingredients. For some recipes there may be additional ingredients in the cool bag.
As you can see the fresh ingredients are actually fresh and good quality, the sort you’d look to pick if doing your own shopping.
Are HelloFresh Recipes Any good?
I absolutely loved the HelloFresh recipes. Such a variety of flavours that we as a family who typically eat a varied diet had not tried before.
Even the cottage pie, which I wasn’t overly looking forward to was by far the best I had ever had.
Easy to Follow
The HelloFresh recipes are so easy to follow. Im not a cook in general, so was surprised how much I enjoyed the cooking experience. All the ingredients to hand, no hunting for spices or making do or going without. Just follow the instructions.
Option for Older Kids Cook?
My kids are teenagers and we found the HelloFresh recipes ideal for them to do. They could have done on their own but as it happens we had two recipes on the go and they had no problems following on.
In fact the recipes and the fact the end result meals tasted so good made for a great overall experience for the kids.
Examples of HelloFresh Cooked Meals
Below are some examples from the first box of meals we ordered. We simply ordered the standard options without paying an extra.
Cooked HelloFresh Harrissa Pilaf Pork:
Close up of the cooked HelloFresh Harrissa Pilaf Pork
Cooked Roasted Pepper and Aubergine Linguine
Close up of the cooked Roasted Pepper and Aubergine Linguine
While Im not a food blogger or pro at taking photos of meals, I hope these examples highlight how good the meals are.
And best of all was the taste
Freshness and Use By Dates
When it comes to freshness, the produce ingredients were good quality and fresh.
The meat however had used by dates of only 4 days so that’s something to bear in mind, 5 meals aren’t going to last 5 days if you don’t eat them in the right order.
HelloFresh Refer a Friend
As well as signing up for a deal via a HelloFresh referral link, you can also recommend other friends and family and earn money for doing so. The payment rates change all the time, but can be enough to get a free box for yourself or family.
Although they state you can offer a hellofresh free box for a friend, it doesn’t work out totally free if you include the postage. However its still a good value deal.
Canceling HelloFresh Deliveries
If you are just giving HelloFresh a try for one box, or potentially free box if taking advantage of an offer make sure to cancel your HelloFresh subscription properly and as soon as possible to avoid extra charges.
HelloFresh charges for the next delivery 5 days before the next delivery date, so if you leave it a couple of days before you know it you are being charged again.
This is trap many people seem to fall into, so to illustrate I have a dedicated post on how to cancel HelloFresh. Its easy enough as long as you follow the instructions and then double check the cancellation has gone through.
If you do get charged, there’s no email support to contact and no humans to contact via the chatbot. The only way to contact them would be to ring them up.
So to avoid all that and the unlikely scenario of getting a refund, cancel properly and double check its canceled.
Would I Use Have HelloFresh Again?
While I am not a weekly subscriber, we have tried the HelloFresh meals a few times when there’s an offer and would consider doing so again in the future.
The main reasons I personally continue to use HelloFresh are.
- Pre-portioned ingredients saves time and effort in tracking them down
- Wide range of meal options and flavours never previously tried
- Recipes are easy to follow with detailed instructions and photos make the cooking process enjoyable even for non-cooks
- Zero waste and no need to store ingredients like herbs and spices you may never use again
Frequently Asked Questions
How Long Can HelloFresh Stay in the Box?
The food can be left in the HelloFresh box for up to 24 hours. The fresh food is packed with ice packs to keep them cool. The ways the foods are vacuum packs keeps the air around the foods cool. When my box arrived on a sunny day around mid-afternoon, the ice packs were still frozen.
