Pick HelloFresh if you enjoy cooking or are feeding a family and want to keep costs down: it's cheaper per serving but takes 20 to 30 minutes and some washing up. Pick Factor if time and effort are the real problem: meals heat in about two minutes, cover more of the day and keep up to a week, but cost more.
- HelloFresh and Factor are owned by the same company.
- HelloFresh is a meal kit (you cook); Factor is fully prepared meals you reheat, usually in about two minutes.
- As of the video: HelloFresh about $9.99 to $12.49 per serving; Factor about $11.99 to $16.49 per meal.
- Factor meals ship fresh, not frozen, and keep in the fridge for up to seven days.
- Factor shipping is $13.99 per box after the first; both use steep first-box discounts that revert to standard prices.
Some of these are partner links; they cost you nothing extra. How we earn
On this page9 sections
After a long day teaching, our presenter needed dinner that didn't take long and didn't cost takeout money. The search came down to HelloFresh and Factor (often called Factor 75). They're owned by the same company but work very differently, so the fairest test was to use both.
Here's what each one is like to live with, where each falls short, how the prices really compare once the intro deals end, and who should pick which. Prices are approximate and as of the video, recorded in August 2026. We reviewed Factor on its own back in 2023 in our Factor75 review; the menu has grown a lot since.
Quick verdict
The biggest difference is category, not features. HelloFresh is the better fit if cooking is part of what you enjoy, or you're feeding a family and want to keep costs down. Factor is the better fit if your real bottleneck is time, effort or deciding what to make: it costs more, but heating a meal in two minutes with no cleanup is what the presenter reaches for on a rough week.
What they have in common
Both deliver weekly to your door and both aim to solve the weeknight dinner problem without trips to the store. Both change their menus every week, list nutrition information, and let you add extras beyond dinner. Both also use the same promotional playbook, according to the video: a steep first-box discount, a "free item for life" perk that disappears the moment you cancel and won't return if you resubscribe, and a flat shipping fee that kicks in after the first box, or immediately with Factor. Read the fine print on either.
HelloFresh: the meal kit
HelloFresh is the biggest meal kit name in the US. You get portioned ingredients and a step-by-step recipe card, and you do the cooking. According to HelloFresh, most recipes go from fridge to plate in under 30 minutes, it has the most five-star Trustpilot reviews of any meal kit, and USA Today readers have voted it the top meal kit for six years running.
The menu is split into six tracks: meat and veggies, veggie, family, fit and wholesome, quick and easy, and pescatarian. Recipes are labelled to help you choose (quick, seasonal, family portions, extras for leftovers, oven or air fryer versions, high protein and GLP-1 support), and each shows its estimated prep and cook time and full nutrition information. The HelloFresh Market adds snacks, breakfast, lunch and desserts.
Each recipe arrives in its own labelled bag, with meat packed at the bottom on ice. Ingredients come whole, so chopping, slicing and seasoning are on you, and you supply salt, pepper, oil, water and utensils. The presenter didn't mind the prep, liked knowing the ingredients were fresh, and found far less food went to waste than when buying a whole ingredient for one recipe. Favourites like the firecracker meatballs and Gouda pork burgers got made again, the instructions were clear, and friends' kids mostly approved of the family dinners. Pausing over summer and holidays was hassle-free.
The downsides: the big discount applies to the first box, then you pay the regular per-serving rate. Some reviewers feel protein portions have shrunk compared with a couple of years ago. It isn't built for therapeutic diets such as low sodium, renal or diabetic exchange, and there's no dedicated keto or true vegan track.
Factor: dinner's ready
Factor skips the cooking. Meals arrive fully prepared and you heat them, usually in about two minutes. As the video puts it, HelloFresh is "I made dinner" and Factor is "dinner's ready".
There are over 100 rotating meals a week, plus breakfast, smoothies, snacks and shakes, and over 70 add-ons. There are five tracks: keto, calorie smart, protein plus, vegan and veggie, and a premium chef's choice tier with ingredients like filet mignon and sea bass. You can order 6 to 18 meals a week and mix across all five tracks in one order. Meals ship fresh, never frozen, and keep in the fridge for up to seven days. Factor also uploads every meal to MyFitnessPal weekly for macro trackers, and current promotions include nutrition coaching sessions.
The first week included a shredded chicken taco bowl, honey mustard chicken, and bison pork sausage with creamy cilantro rice. After a full day of teaching, not touching a pan felt great.
The downsides: it costs noticeably more per meal, because you're paying for someone else's labour. Vegan and plant-based choice is limited, and the menu leans towards a Western, protein-forward style. Shipping rises after the first box to $13.99 a box. On taste, a couple of meals felt more like a well-made frozen dinner than a restaurant plate, and the shrimp dishes were a miss for the presenter.
Head to head: effort, price and flexibility
| HelloFresh | Factor | |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Meal kit: you cook | Prepared meals: you reheat |
| Time per meal | About 20 to 30 minutes plus washing up | About 2 minutes, no dishes |
| Menu tracks | 6: meat and veggies, veggie, family, fit and wholesome, quick and easy, pescatarian | 5: keto, calorie smart, protein plus, vegan and veggie, chef's choice |
| Meals covered | Mainly dinner, plus Market add-ons | Breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, shakes |
| Price (standard) | About $9.99 to $12.49 per serving | About $11.99 to $16.49 per meal |
| Our first box | About $35 with shipping on the intro deal (2 people, 3 meals); about $72/week before shipping at regular price | About $46 before shipping for 6 meals at 50% off; about $93/week after |
| Shipping | Flat fee after the first box | $13.99 per box after a lower first-box fee |
| Shelf life | Ingredients are time-sensitive | Up to 7 days in the fridge |
| Weak spots | No keto or true vegan track; not for therapeutic diets | Thin vegan range; costs more |
| Skip or cancel | Any time before 11:59pm, 5 days before delivery | Check the cutoff in your account |
On price, HelloFresh is cheaper per serving, and the gap makes sense once you remember Factor includes the labour. With HelloFresh you still chop, follow steps, wash a pan or two and wait 20 to 30 minutes. Factor cuts all of that, along with the midweek fatigue of deciding what to make. After a draining day, the video argues, that matters more than a few dollars a meal.
Factor also fits more of the day, since it covers breakfast, lunch, snacks and shakes, and its week-long fridge life gives you slack when plans change. HelloFresh ingredients are more time-sensitive, so a shifted schedule can mean scrambling to use things before they turn. All prices are approximate and as of the video.
Who should skip each
- Skip HelloFresh if you don't want to cook at all, if your evenings are unpredictable and ingredients might spoil, or if you follow keto, vegan or a therapeutic diet such as low sodium or renal.
- Skip Factor if you love cooking, if you're feeding a big family on a tight budget, or if you eat mostly plant-based: the vegan range is thin. Also skip it if you expect restaurant quality every night.
Which to pick
- Get HelloFresh if cooking is part of the fun, you want lots of weekly variety and kid-friendly family recipes, or you need to keep the cost per serving down.
- Get Factor if time, effort or decision fatigue is the real problem, you track macros or eat keto or high protein, or you want meals that cover more than dinner and keep for a week.
Whichever you choose, put a reminder in your calendar for when the intro pricing ends, so the regular price isn't a surprise.
Pros and cons
What works
- HelloFresh: cheaper per serving, big weekly variety, clear recipe cards.
- HelloFresh: little food waste, and easy to skip or pause.
- Factor: ready in about two minutes with no cleanup.
- Factor: keto and protein plus tracks, covers the whole day, meals keep up to a week.
What doesn't
- HelloFresh: still 20 to 30 minutes of cooking and some washing up.
- HelloFresh: no keto or true vegan track; some say protein portions have shrunk.
- Factor: costs more per meal, and shipping rises after the first box.
- Factor: thin vegan range; some meals taste like a good frozen dinner.
Frequently asked questions
Are HelloFresh and Factor the same company?
They're owned by the same company, but they're different products. HelloFresh sends ingredients and a recipe for you to cook; Factor sends fully prepared meals you reheat.
Which is cheaper, HelloFresh or Factor?
HelloFresh. As of the video, it was about $9.99 to $12.49 per serving against Factor's $11.99 to $16.49 per meal, before shipping. Both start with a big first-box discount that ends after the intro period.
How long do Factor meals last?
Factor meals ship fresh, not frozen, and keep in the fridge for up to seven days, according to the video. They usually heat in about two minutes.
Which is better for keto or high-protein diets?
Factor. It has dedicated keto and protein plus tracks, and uploads meals to MyFitnessPal weekly. HelloFresh has high-protein recipes but no dedicated keto track.
Can I skip a week or cancel?
Yes, with both. For HelloFresh, skip or cancel by 11:59pm five days before your next delivery. Note that both brands' free-item-for-life perks disappear when you cancel and don't return if you resubscribe.
If you can't decide, try one first box of each. The question that settles it is simple: on a typical weeknight, would you rather spend 25 minutes cooking or two minutes heating? Your answer is your pick.
Filed under
