Gousto and Hello Fresh are popular meal kit delivery services that offer convenience and variety to people looking to cook at home. However, the “better” option between the two can depend on your specific preferences and needs. I have tried both – so when it comes to Gousto vs Hello Fresh, here is my honest opinion about which meal kit service is the better of the two (all information is accurate at the time of writing):
Meal Variety and Options
Both services typically offer a variety of recipes that cater to different dietary preferences and restrictions. The two services’ menus are broken down into the following categories:
Gousto | Hello Fresh |
Family Kitchen
New & Limited Edition Save & Savour Quick & Easy Calorie Controlled Healthy Choices Everyday Favourites 10 Minute Meals Prepped in 5 Chicken / Beef & Pork / Fish Vegetarian Plant-Based Gluten-Free Dairy-Free |
Meat & Veggies Chef’s Choice Quick & Easy Family Calorie Smart Carb Smart High Protein Pescatarian Veggie Pork-Free Fish-Free Flexitarian |
I had a look to see how many different (main) meals were available to order at the time of writing, for delivery about a week or so in advance:
Gousto: 100 options, 4 of which were sold out. Starters, sides, desserts and drinks can also be added.
Hello Fresh: 45 options, 1 of which was sold out. Starters, sides and desserts can also be added.
Winner: Gousto had the best choice when it came to meal variety and options, with more than double the options of its competitor.
Recipe Quality
This is very much my personal opinion. I have had three deliveries from Hello Fresh and three from Gousto, totalling about 12 meals from each provider. So this is really based on my limited experience – I’d love to hear from you in the comments below about your own personal experiences, which I can then add here.
Gousto: I have never had a missing ingredient and all the meals I have had have been restaurant-quality and delicious.
Hello Fresh: in about half of the boxes, an ingredient has either been a) totally missing or b) substituted with something else. Both cases are really disappointing as let’s face it, you are paying a premium for convenience so it’s annoying to have to visit a shop or so spend a while poring over a recipe trying to reconcile what’s on the ingredients list vs what you’ve actually been given. To be fair, their customer service has been good, and when I have complained they have given me credit off my next order. But the fact that the same issue occurred in all three boxes is concerning and it seems more than just bad luck. The meals themselves have been tasty, although not as complex flavour-wise as Gousto – which may suit some people. Not me though!
Winner: Gousto by far
Price
A huge consideration when comparing Gousto vs Hello Fresh is cost. I have decided to compare the cost of several comparable recipes at full price i.e. with no new customer discount (note: if you are a new customer I’d love it if you’d sign up to Hello Fresh and/or Gousto via these links, by doing so you will save a lot of money on the below prices – see the bottom of this page for more information). Both services operate a sliding scale model where the cost per portion lowers the more you order. You will see that Gousto has fewer options available in terms of servings. Here is what they are currently charging:
Gousto | Hello Fresh | |
2 recipes each containing 2 servings | £6.25 per serving | £30.47 i.e. £7.62 per serving |
2 recipes each containing 3 servings | N/A | £37.97 i.e. £6.33 per serving |
2 recipes each containing 4 servings | £3.97 per serving | £40.97 i.e. £5.12 per serving |
3 recipes each containing 2 servings | £5 per serving | £39.87 i.e. £6.65 per serving |
3 recipes each containing 3 servings | N/A | £52.07 i.e. £5.79 per serving |
3 recipes each containing 4 servings | £3.56 per serving | £55.77 i.e. £4.65 per serving |
4 recipes each containing 2 servings | £4.37 per serving | £46.37 i.e. £5.80 per serving |
4 recipes each containing 3 servings | N/A | £61.07 i.e. £5.09 per serving |
4 recipes each containing 4 servings | £2.99 per serving | £65.77 i.e. £4.11 per serving |
5 recipes each containing 2 servings | £4.30 | £49.97 i.e. £5 per serving |
5 recipes each containing 3 servings | N/A | £67.07 i.e. £4.47 per serving |
5 recipes each containing 4 servings | N/A | £75.77 i.e. £3.79 per serving |
Winner: you’ll see from the table above that Gousto is considerably cheaper than Hello Fresh. It should also be noted that Gousto charge £3.99 for standard delivery vs Hello Fresh’s £4.99. It is good however that Hello Fresh caters to different sizes of families rather than just the 2 or 4 person options that Gousto offers.
Customer Reviews
At the time of writing, Gousto has a 4.1/5 rating on Trustpilot and Hello Fresh has a 3.4/5 rating.
Winner: Gousto
OVERALL WINNER: Gousto wins on every count – a much bigger choice, for less money and better quality in my experience.
Since circumstances and offerings can change over time, I recommend checking the latest information on both Gousto and Hello Fresh’s websites, reading recent reviews, and comparing their current offerings and features. It might also be helpful to try out both services for a short period to see which one aligns better with your preferences and needs.
If you have found this Gousto vs Hello Fresh comparison useful, I’d be really grateful if you could sign up for Gousto/Hello Fresh via the below links – it means I get a small amount of credit as compensation which helps cover my time and costs. Thanks so much!
Gousto: using this link as a new customer gets you 65% off your first box and 20% off for your first two months – you can cancel at any time.
Hello Fresh: using this link as a new customer gets you 60% off your first box and 25% off for your first 10 weeks – you can cancel at any time.
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