Food subscription boxes offer a convenient way to skip grocery shopping, reduce meal prep time, minimize food waste, and try new and exciting foods.
Thinking of joining the 1.7M+ Canadians that subscribe to meal kits? The best way to compare options is by evaluating their variety of meal options, pricing, and flexibility in delivery. Additionally, consider factors such as food quality, portion sizes, and any customization options to find the best fit for your needs.
Key Takeaways
- Meal kits are a great way to make healthy meals efficiently.
- If you have strict dietary needs, it may be hard finding a suitable meal kit.
- Meal kits are much less cost-effective compared to shopping for ingredients and prepping meals at home.
Comparing the top food subscription boxes in Canada
| Food subscription service | HelloFresh | Goodfood | Chefs Plate | Factor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best for… | Dietary restrictions/preferences | Family-friendly meals | Thorough instructions | Convenience |
| Dietary/recipe categories | * Mostly Meat * Carb Smart * Vegetarian * Pescetarian * Family Friendly * Calorie Smart * Quick & Easy * High Protein | * Classic * Vegetarian * Family * Easy Prep * Clean15 | * Meat & Vegetables * Family Friendly * Vegetarian * Speedy & Simple | * Chef's Choice * Protein Plus * Poultry, Fish, & Veggie * Calorie Smart * Keto |
| Number of people | 2, 4, 6 | 2 - 4 | 2 - 6 | 6 - 36 |
| Number of meals per box | 2 - 5 | 2 - 4 | 2 - 5 | 6 - 36 |
| Price per serving range | $9.25 - $12.17 | $9.37 - $18.49 | $8.99 - $11.99 | $11.99 - $14.99 |
| Availability | AB, BC, MB, NB, NL, NS, ON, QC, SK | AB, BC, MB, NB, NS, ON, PE, QC, SK | AB, BC, MB, NB, NS, ON, PE, SK | MB, NB, NS, ON, PE, QC |
| Shipping details | $9.99 per box | $0 (for orders $80+) - $9.99 | $9.99 per box | $9.99 - $20 |
Best food subscription box for people with dietary restrictions: HelloFresh
HelloFresh offers delicious meal options with fresh, pre-portioned ingredients, eliminating the majority of the prep work. Optional add-ons like side dishes and desserts can easily complete your meals.
- Offer for new members
- Environmentally friendly packaging
- HelloFresh+ program
- "Low Carbon Emission" meal options
- Deals of the Week sales
- Not always budget-friendly
- Lack of allergen-free options
$25 GeniusCash + Delicious meal choices with fresh ingredients + Front-door delivery.- Vegetarian, pescetarian, high protein low carb, low calorie, and more specialty-diet recipe options available
- Discounts available for youth, seniors, and essential workers
- Plenty of add-on options, including side dishes, desserts, and fresh produce
$25 GeniusCash + Delicious meal choices with fresh ingredients + Front-door delivery.Why we picked it: With seven main recipe categories, HelloFresh provides variety, quality, and value. With low-carbon emission meal options, completely recyclable packaging, and the low-to-no food waste that meal subscriptions guarantee, clients can feel good about reducing their environmental footprint.
Price per serving: $9.25 - $12.17
| Pros | Cons |
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Best food subscription box for family-friendly meals: Goodfood Canada
Why we picked it: With more than 60 recipe options available each week, Goodfood has an impressive range of options to suit even the pickiest of eaters in your household. Convenient, valuable, and fun add-ons (holiday treats, cold-pressed juice, artisanal baguettes, etc.) add even more subscriber value.
Price per serving: $9.37 - $18.49
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
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Best food subscription box for thorough instructions: Chefs Plate
This high-quality meal subscription service makes meal prep quick, easy, and delicious by sending fresh, pre-portioned ingredients for the recipes you choose right to your doorstep.
- Special offer for new customers
- Among the cheapest of food boxes
- Frequent promos and discounts
- Recyclable packaging
- Step-by-step photos along with instructions
- Special kits for holiday meals
- Few options for specialty diets
- Cost can be steep
$25 GeniusCash + Fresh, pre-portioned ingredients + Step-by-step photo instructions.- Discounts available for youth, seniors, and essential workers
- Family-friendly, vegetarian, 15-minute prep, and other recipe options available
- Easy options to skip a week or pause subscription
$25 GeniusCash + Fresh, pre-portioned ingredients + Step-by-step photo instructions.Why we picked it: With large, double-sided instruction sheets and bright, detailed photos, Chefs Plate is a newbie chef's dream. Frequent promos as well as free shipping for orders of a certain value make this service even more appealing.
Price per serving: $8.99 - $11.99
| Pros | Cons |
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Best food subscription box for convenience: Factor
Have fresh, high-quality meals delivered to your doorstep with Factor. There's no prep required, you simply heat the dish and enjoy the antibiotic-free, dietitian-approved meals. You can also get up to $90 off and free shipping on your first box.*
- Offer for new customers
- Incredibly fast and convenient
- Dietitian-approved, healthy ingredients
- Meal quality is surprisingly good
- Free nutritional coaching session
- Not available in all provinces and territories
- Can be quite costly
$25 GeniusCash + Up to $90 off + Free shipping on your first box*- Full meals delivered to your doorstep, no prep work required
- Complimentary 20-minute dietitian coaching session
- Discounts available for youth, seniors, and essential workers
$25 GeniusCash + Up to $90 off + Free shipping on your first box*Why we picked it: Convenience doesn't get any better than the ready-made meals provided by Factor. There's a variety of diet-specific meal types to choose from, all food is free from preservatives and GMOs, and it takes 3 minutes or less to heat and serve these fresh, protein-rich meals.
Price per serving: $11.99 - $14.99
| Pros | Cons |
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Goodfood vs. HelloFresh
When comparing Goodfood and HelloFresh, it's obvious that HelloFresh has more meal categories available, and definitely more options for those with dietary restrictions.
However, Goodfood offers free shipping for orders over $0. None of the other food subscription boxes we reviewed offer free shipping under any circumstances. However, HelloFresh's per-serving prices are lower.
Users claim that Goodfood has better quality ingredients and larger portion sizes, and the company works hard to improve sustainability whenever possible. Hello Fresh does a better job of providing Canadian-sourced ingredients, though, and it claims to donate any unused ingredients.
It's also worth noting that you have to speak with a representative if you want to cancel your Goodfood subscription. This can easily be done via their instant chat service, but it's still not as easy as HelloFresh, where you only click a few buttons.
Verdict:
- Choose Goodfood if you want the freshest ingredients and to promote sustainability.
- Choose HelloFresh if you require specialty diet options and value Canadian-sourced ingredients.
$75 GeniusCash + Unlimited transactions for $0 + Ding-free non-affiliated ATM usage.
$25 GeniusCash + $50 bonus for funding a new account, and $0 commissions on stocks & ETFs
$12 GeniusCash + Access trusted news coverage 24/7 + Digital and home subscription options.
$25 GeniusCash + Delicious meal choices with fresh ingredients + Front-door delivery.Chefs Plate vs. Goodfood
A side-by-side comparison of Chefs Plate and Goodfood shows that Goodfood has more meal categories – and more dietary-specific categories – than its competitor. You'll note that Goodfood's per-serving prices can be quite high, but this is due to the availability of meals that are safe for various specialty diets and food sensitivities.
Goodfood also offers free shipping for orders over $80, while Chefs Plate charges a flat fee of $9.99 per box. Still, Chefs Plate's price-per-serving is lower, so things may even out for you.
Chefs Plate provides meal kits big enough to feed up to 6 people, with 5 meals per box. Goodfood's numbers are lower.
As previously mentioned, you have to speak with a representative if you want to cancel your Goodfood subscription (which can be accomplished via the instant chat service). You simply have to click through the prompts to cancel your Chefs Plate service.
Verdict:
- Choose Chefs Plate if you have a big family and prefer to order as many meals as possible.
- Choose Goodfood if you have special dietary requirements and/or want a larger variety of meal types.
Factor vs. HelloFresh
Factor wins for convenience against all competitors, including HelloFresh. But convenience comes at a price, of course, and you'll pay more for ready-made Factor meals than for HelloFresh boxes.
All meals prepared by Factor are free from gluten, hormones, GMOs, antibiotics, and preservatives. It's easy to pack in the protein with these heat-and-eat meals, especially if you choose the Protein Plus meal category.
HelloFresh allows you to swap out one protein for a different kind for some meals, but there's no designated protein-rich recipe category. And, overall, it has many more versatile meals the whole family will enjoy.
Verdict:
- Choose Factor if you want absolute convenience and are concerned about additives in your food.
- Choose HelloFresh if you want to save on costs or prefer more family-friendly meal options.
Food subscription box tips
Look for promos and coupon codes
There are always promotional offers for new food subscription box customers, no matter which company you choose to subscribe with. You might get a free meal, several free meals, discounted meals, or other offers.
If you choose to end your subscription, you'll likely receive offers via email and/or text to entice you to return. These are often the same as the promos offered to new customers.
There are often deals and sales to take advantage of, even for current customers. There are Black Friday sales, new recipe promotions, and plenty of other opportunities for saving a few dollars and trying new things.
If you have allergy concerns, meal kits may not be a good option
Most food subscription box services label their meals with allergen notices, but none of them can promise that there's no danger of cross-contamination in their prep kitchens.
If you have a particularly severe allergy, you'll need to check the ingredient labels very closely, or simply not use these services at all.
Most meal kits have no or few gluten-free options
Factor is the only food box provider that guarantees gluten-free ingredients. Even so, if you have Celiac disease or hypersensitivities, you probably should still be cautious about cross-contamination.
Anyone with this type of preference or sensitivity should do significant research before ordering any meal subscription box.
Some meal kits don’t deliver to rural and urban areas
If you live in an urban area, consider using a pickup spot instead of home delivery. It can help cut down on packaging waste and prevent pollution from unnecessary transportation.
In fact, some rural addresses aren't eligible for shipping or delivery at all. You can sometimes get around this by having your food box delivered to a friend’s house, a relative’s place, or maybe even your workplace.
Food subscription box alternatives
If you don't want to spend the money on food subscription boxes, prefer to support local businesses, or simply want other convenient eat-at-home options, here's a list of alternatives to consider:
- CSA subscription box: Community-supported agriculture boxes, or farm market boxes, are fresh, curated fruit and veggie kits put together by local farmers. Some are delivered to your home and some require pickup at a convenient location.
- Grocery apps: Using the right app can save you time and money, but Mealime is an especially useful one; you can save your favourite recipes, plan your weekly meals, and have the accompanying grocery list automatically created for you.
- Grocery delivery/pickup: Whether you prefer curbside pickup or home delivery, there are many services available that make grocery shopping much more convenient. The best one is Instacart Canada.
- Grocery store ready-made meals: Many stores have ready-made, heat-and-eat options available. Costco is especially good for this as they have plenty of meal options available at very reasonable prices.
- Private chef: This certainly isn't a frugal option, but hiring a chef is a much more convenient option than shopping and preparing meals for yourself.
FAQ
What are the best meal kits in Canada?
Factor is the best food subscription box service for those who want the utmost convenience with ready-made meals and prefer foods with no additives. Other top choices for Canadian meal subscription kits include HelloFresh, Goodfood, and Chefs Plate.
How much is HelloFresh per week in Canada?
HelloFresh offers a wide range of meal options, so its prices vary too. Prices range from $9.25 to $12.17 per serving, depending on the meal type, the number of people you're feeding, and a few other factors.
Are there any free food subscription boxes?
We aren't aware of any free subscription boxes, but many such companies offer promo codes and special offers for free boxes and/or free shipping for new and returning customers. Chefs Plate, in particular, is good for high-value promotions.
Which company provides a vegan food subscription box?
Factor has many vegan options, although you may have to sift through the list of weekly recipes to find what you need. Other subscription options for vegans in Canada include Plant Prepped and Power Kitchen.
What are the best healthy food subscription boxes?
Although Factor is the only one to offer gluten, hormone, GMO, antibiotic, and preservative-free meals, all of the subscription options mentioned above provide healthy meals. Nutritional info is provided for most recipes so you can choose the healthiest options.
Is Chefs Plate owned by Hello Fresh?
Yes, Chefs Plate was purchased by the HelloFresh in 2018. The HelloFresh umbrella company actually owns several meal service companies, including well-known names like Factor, Green Chef, Every Plate, Good Chop, Chefs Plate, and more.
Is Green Chef in Canada?
No, Green Chef is U.S.-based and doesn't deliver to Canadian provinces or territories. This meal subscription service company is owned by the HelloFresh, but has not yet broadened its services to include Canadian customers.
How is Factor different from other food subscription boxes in Canada?
At the time of writing, Factor is the only meal subscription box we know of that supplies ready-made meals for one person. Most widely available meal box services provide meal-specific, pre-portioned ingredients, but some prep work is still required.
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