Sunbasket vs Hello Fresh

Should you pick Sunbasket over HelloFresh? Before you start cooking, compare their customer reviews, menu, and prices.

Food delivery kits can help you eat healthier, save time, and boost your cooking skills.

Sunbasket and HelloFresh are two (of many) companies that claim to make clean eating flavorful and fun.

But is one better than the other? Plus, is the cost worth the effort instead of just eating out?

Let's unpack how these hugely popular meal kits, Sunbasket and HelloFresh, work.

What is Sunbasket?

Founded in 2014 by Chef Justine Kelly, Sunbasket focuses on delivering healthy, organic meals straight to your door.

Sunbasket provides two meal options:

1. Meal kits - all the ingredients you need to create healthy, delicious meals
   
2. "Fresh and Ready meals" - prepared meals that you can heat up and nosh on

You can also add a vast selection of healthy grocery items to your order, such as fresh meats, bread, cheese, seafood, and snacks.

Do you love the idea of a meal delivery kit but are worried about excess packaging?

Sunbasket stands out from the rest with their commitment to sustainability. They're also experimenting with ways to reduce waste in packaging and serving sizes. The company works closely with farms, ranchers, and fishermen to offer high-quality ingredients.

Sunbasket Menu

With Sunbasket, you first choose your meal type based on dietary needs and the number of servings. You can choose from dietary menus like:

• Gluten-free - Organic meals without the gluten
  
• Vegetarian - No meat or seafood
  
• Carb-Conscious - 25-35g net carbs (or fewer) per serving
  
• Diabetes-Friendly - Approved by the American Diabetes Association
  
• Paleo - High in protein, no dairy, gluten, grains, soy or corn
  
• Lean & Clean - Less than 600 calories per serving
  
• Mediterranean - Whole grains, good fats, sustainable proteins
  
• Pescatarian - Healthy seafood and vegetables
  
• Fresh & Ready - Heat up and eat meals (no prep required)

After choosing your meals, you can also add additional grocery items to your order, including:

• Breakfast - sous vide egg bites, yogurt, oatmeal, bread, bars, or juice
  
• Lunch - salads, ready-to-eat proteins, pizza, noodle bowls, soups
  
• Fresh pasta and pasta sauce
  
• Proteins - seafood, chicken, beef, lamb, pork sausage, and plant-based proteins
  
• Snacks - nuts, crackers, cheese, veggies, dips, bars, and sweet treats

Their menu changes weekly; view the current offerings here.

Who is Sunbasket good for?

Now that we discussed their actual meal offerings, let's take a look at who Sunbasket caters to.

Sunbasket is great for people who:

• want to eat healthier and use organic ingredients
  
• don't have the time to meal plan and grocery shop
  
• want to learn how to follow easy recipes
  
• are trying to cut down on meat and want to try plant-based diets

If you're into rich comfort foods, you probably won't find Sunbasket satisfying enough. Also, bargain hunters and coupon clippers are sure to be turned off by the high price point.

Sunbasket Pricing

Sunbasket's pricing for meal kits starts at $11.49 per serving and you can choose two or four servings. Fresh & Ready meals start at $9.99 per serving. You can get free shipping on your first order. There's no commitment, and you can skip a week or turn off your subscription anytime.

Sunbasket Complaints

The biggest issues people had with Sunbasket were:

1. Unreliable delivery
   
2. Unable to use unripe ingredients
   
3. System errors that led to unwanted charges
   
4. Steep pricing

What is HelloFresh?

Since 2011, HelloFresh has been delivering ingredients and recipes to help people cook their own meals. Their meals usually include meat, seafood, and plant proteins in relatively handy sizes.

You get 2-4 meals delivered per week. You can explore a variety of specialized options for multiple diet types and preferences, including vegetarian, low-carb, low-calorie, and more.

The service is pretty customizable, as you can skip a week or cancel the subscription anytime you'd like.

HelloFresh Menu

HelloFresh lets you choose from six different meal plan options:

• Meat & Veggie - Classic hearty but healthy meat and vegetable dishes
  
• Veggie - Plant-based vegetarian meals but not necessarily vegan
  
• Family friendly - Quick meals with kids' taste buds in mind
  
• Fit & Wholesome - low-calorie and Calorie Smart meals with 650 calories or less per serving
  
• Quick and easy - You can cook these meals in 30 minutes or less
  
• Pescatarian - Seafood proteins only and other sides

HelloFresh is much more family-friendly than Sunbasket. If you crave comfort foods, they cover a variety of options. View their expansive and ever-changing menu here.

HelloFresh Pricing

HelloFresh costs about $7.99 - $11.99 per serving and per person. You'll get the biggest bang for your buck when you order the bulk plan size: six recipes per week for four people.

Keep in mind that you will also pay $9.99 for shipping.

In general, HelloFresh is priced similarly or less expensive than other meal delivery kits, including Sunbasket. View their current plans here.

HelloFresh Complaints

The biggest issues people had with HelloFresh were:

1. Packages did not stay cold long enough to safely eat (but HelloFresh offers credit for these issues)
   
2. Late deliveries
   
3. Unwanted or incorrect charges
   
4. Subscription cancellation did not go through

Which is better: Sunbasket or HelloFresh?

If you're feeding a family, prefer richer comfort foods, or are more budget-conscious, then HelloFresh is the way to go. This meal delivery service has more "standard" recipes instead of "gourmet options."

However, more health-conscious folks who want organic or ready-made meals should give Sunbasket a try. Sunbasket also features much more specialized diets than HelloFresh, such as Paleo or diabetes-friendly.

Compare Other Alternatives

Sunbasket and HelloFresh are far from the only meal delivery kits out there. See how they stack up against Home Chef and Blue Apron.

Home Chef
Home Chef meals are generally easier and less time-consuming to prepare. Based on your preferences, you can choose from 30+ new recipes every week. If you want a warm, home-cooked meal with comfort foods, Home Chef can provide the recipes and fresh ingredients to get you started.

Home Chef offers the following specialized diets:

• Vegetarian
  
• Low-calorie
  
• Low-carb
  
• Pescatarian

They use some organic ingredients but they don't use as many hormone-free meats and sustainable seafoods as Sunbasket and HelloFresh.

Price:

• $6.99 per serving
  
• $6.99 shipping

Blue Apron
Blue Apron has pretty unique recipe options but their meals do tend to take longer to prepare. In fact, some recipes require up to 90 minutes in the kitchen.

Blue Apron offers the following specialized diets:

• Vegetarian
  
• Low-calorie
  
• Low-carb
  
• Diabetes-friendly

Price:

• start at $6.99 per serving
  
• $9.99 shipping

However, these options are not offered as part of their complete meal plans. Blue Apron does have some organic ingredients, hormone-free meats, and sustainable seafood.

Blue Apron's price point is similar to Sunbasket but doesn't have as much wild-caught protein or seasonal, organic produce.

Bottom Line

You can choose from many different types of meal delivery services. But you should keep in mind: pricing, complexity of recipes, menus, and whether or not you want sustainable, organic ingredients.

HelloFresh and Sunbasket already carry a lot of farm-fresh items. Sunbasket takes it a little further with their specialized diets and wild-caught or seasonal ingredients.

But if you want old-school comfort foods, HelloFresh is a fair price and includes healthy ingredients.