Are you in a season of life where it feels like nourishing your body has become the last priority? Or maybe you don’t want to think up another week of delicious meals or drag all the kids into the grocery store again (I know I’ve felt that one lately).
These are great reasons to look into a meal delivery subscription service to help relieve the struggle. Because guess what? Eating nutritious food is not only important, but it’s vital. It’s also a BIG pain point for so many people, and ok to look for an easier, more sustainable way as you navigate the ebbs and flows of life. So now that we’ve established that you’re normal let’s compare two meal delivery services to see which one might be a good fit for you. Sunbasket vs Home Chef.
There are a few differences between these meal kit services with the main one being the sourcing of organic foods. Both strive to provide their customers with high-quality ingredients for their meal kits, but Sunbasket makes it a special focus to provide their clients with organic options. Another key difference is that if you’re on a particular diet plan (keto, gluten-free, pescatarian, etc), you’ll more easily be able to find meal options that work with you through Sunbasket as compared to Home Chef. Sunbaskets price tag reflects these differences, though. Let’s keep going to see which meal delivery subscription service you prefer.
How Do They Work
Let’s see how these two meal delivery subscriptions work…
Sunbasket
Sunbasket is a meal delivery service that helps reduce the time and effort required to make a meal. They prepare the ingredients, package your food, and send your weekly meals straight to your doorstep. This is perfect for those busy go-getters who rarely have time to shop for groceries… or don’t like to cook. Sunbasket sources are mostly organic, high-quality farm-fresh ingredients. It’s easy to set up, the recipes look delicious, let’s check it out to see how they work.
To get started, you’ll head to Sunbasket’s website and click “Get Started.” From there, you’ll be prompted to answer a few questions, such as what types of healthy meals you’d like to receive (fresh & ready or the meal kits), how many meal servings you need per week, and your zip code. Sunbasket ships to most states in the US, but does not ship to AK, HI, MT, ND, and some parts of NM.
If your zip code does have delivery options for Sunbasket, you’ll then get to choose the meals you’d like to receive. They have two different meal options: Fresh & Ready and Meal Kits. The Fresh & Ready meals will come to you fully prepared, and just need to be microwaved or baked. These meals start at $9.99 per serving. The Meal Kits require that you do a small degree of cooking, but Sunbasket sends you everything you need, such as the recipe, pre-portioned spices, and all the ingredients. These start at $11.49 per serving.
Once you have decided which meal types and meals you’d like to get, you can add them to the cart and move on. You’ll then create an account, add in your shipping information, and pay to start your Sunbasket subscription. Shipping is free for your first box! After that, shipping is $9.99 per box. You can make changes to your meal plan before the cut-off, which is Wednesdays at noon. You can also choose the day you’d like to receive your Sunbasket deliveries, and if everything isn’t to your satisfaction, they’ll offer you a 100% money-back guarantee for your box. Just make sure to contact them within 7 days of receiving your meals.
*** Each of the Fresh & Ready meals is for 1 serving only. The meal kits have 2 servings. If you need food for more people, then take that into account when adding each meal to the cart.
A cool thing that Sunbasket does is give a variety of options for the different ways people eat. They have paleo meals, vegetarian meals, gluten-free options, keto, pescatarian, etc. You can also easily skip or cancel your subscription, or when you go on vacation, they may be able to deliver your meals to wherever you are! You can also add some pantry items to your cart before checkout to get healthy snacks and drinks you may want throughout the day.
| Type of Meal: | Number of Servings | Starting Cost per Serving |
|---|---|---|
Fresh & Ready Pre-made meals that just need to be heated. | 1 | $9.99 |
| Meal Kit Pre-proportioned ingredients and a recipe for easy cooking. | 2 | $11.49 |
Home Chef
Home Chef is another meal kit delivery service that delivers easy-to-make meals right to your front door. They also claim to have the largest selection of meals to choose from, and a flexible subscription. Let’s see if this is true as we deep dive into how Home Chef works.
To get started with a Home Chef meal subscription, you’ll first head to their page and hit “Pick Your Meals.” From there you’ll choose your meal preferences, such as: the type of plan you want, dietary preferences, and foods you may want to avoid. You’ll then input your email and zip code to make sure they are able to deliver to your area. Then you’ll build your box, and check out! After you have purchased your first box, and started your subscription, you’ll be able to pick your Home Chef meals for your first box and customize delivery dates.
When your box comes, it’ll be delivered right to your doorstep in an insulated package to make sure all of your ingredients stay fresh. If you decide you don’t need a box for a week, skipping is easy and can be done in your account. You can also easily cancel your subscription whenever you want to, and can make changes to your upcoming meal plan up until Friday at noon.
Home Chef has two different meal plan options: “Home Chef Menus” that take about 30 minutes to make, and “Fresh and Easy” low to no prep recipes for quicker meals.
When I looked at the menu they had listed on their website, everything looked delicious and they really do give you so many options! You have grilling options, family-friendly recipes, culinary recipes, express meals, oven ready meals…. It seems like it goes on and on! Home Chef even has a collaboration going with Rachel Ray, and you can choose some of her recipes for your weeknight meals.
*** Home Chef pricing varies depending on the type of meal you get, and the serving sizes you request. They hold an “estimated amount” for your box, but that price can fluctuate depending on the meals you choose for the week, and the serving sizes you request. But it seems that standard meals start at $9.99 per serving.
Sunbasket vs Home Chef Pros & Cons
Here’s a list of pros and cons for each of these meal delivery boxes. You pay shipping for both of them, which is a major con in my book.
Sunbasket
| PROS | CONS |
|---|---|
| Get free shipping on your first Sunbasket! | Pricier per meal as compared to other meal subscription services, and cooking at home. |
| Great for people looking to spend minimal time or effort grocery shopping and cooking. | Pay $9.99 for shipping for every box after the first. |
| Shop from their market for other goods such as snacks, cheeses, etc. | Can be easy to forget to add more serving sizes per meal. |
| Organic ingredients. | |
| They cater to a multitude of different eating types: pescatarian, gluten-free, etc. | |
| High-quality ingredients. | |
Can ship to a temporary address. |
Home Chef
PROS | CONS |
|---|---|
High-quality ingredients. | Can be pricey depending on the meals you choose, and the serving sizes. |
| A lot of meal options to choose from each week. | Shipping is $10.99 per box. |
| Great options for people who want to spend minimal time grocery shopping or cooking. | Not as many dietary preference options. |
| Also great for people who want to try different recipes and skill levels. | |
| Services 98% of the United States. |
How Much Do They Cost
Let’s break down the cost of each of these boxes…
Sunbasket
Sunbasket is a bit more pricey per serving as compared to other meal delivery subscription services like Hello Fresh or Blue Apron. You’re paying for higher-quality organic ingredients.
The Fresh & Ready meal kit service starts at $9.99 per serving. The Meal Kits start at $11.49 per serving. So if you’re cooking for more than 1 person, you’ll have to take that into account of the overall price.
For your first box, you’ll get free shipping. But every box thereafter you’ll pay shipping costs of $9.99 per box plus taxes.
*** If you decide to get add-ons from the Sunbasket market, you may also be charged the shipping cost of another box.
Home Chef
Home Chef will estimate your weekly subscription cost for you based on the amount of meals you’d like to receive per week, as well as the serving sizes of each meal. For 4 meals a week, with 4 servings, it was estimated to be $150 for the box. This price will fluctuate up or down, however, depending on the meals you pick for the week. As a standard rule of thumb, these meals cost $9.99 per serving.
Home Chef does have a minimum weekly order amount of $49.95 that you have to spend to receive a box. You’ll also have to cover shipping at $10.99 and taxes depending on where you live.
This isn’t part of the subscription, but if you’d like to try a Home Chef meal before starting a subscription, you can find meal kits in some stores. Check out which stores they’re in on their website!
What Will I Receive?
Both of these companies strive to source high-quality ingredients and make cooking a meal as easy as possible for you.
Sunbasket
Sunbasket sends you organic, high-quality, farm-fresh ingredients in your Meal Kits and Fresh & Ready meals. Meats and seafood will be responsibly raised, without added hormones or antibiotics.
In your Meal Kits, you’ll receive a recipe card with easy-to-follow instructions on how to use your pre-portioned ingredients for that meal. Fresh & Ready meals come as just that- fresh & ready to heat in the oven or in the microwave.
Home Chef
In your Home Chef box, you’ll receive pre-portioned ingredients for the meal kits you chose for the week and recipe cards on how to make the meals. Home Chef does not always send organic products, but they do make focus that their products are from high-quality suppliers and in season. If you want to choose an organic item, you can customize your recipe.
Final Thoughts
Preparing delicious and nutritious meals can be an ordeal. You need to plan, make grocery lists, shop, and make the entire meal. If you’re in a season of your life where all this preparation is just not possible, but you want a yummy home cooked meal vs eating out at Chick-fil-a again, a meal delivery subscription service might make sense.
We’ve covered two great meal delivery companies: SunBasket and Home Chef. After comparing everything from how they run, to where they source their food and cost, we’ve decided which one we like better. And that is Home Chef!
Home Chef is accessible to many more people location-wise and price-wise. We also feel that because of their extensive menu (gosh, so many things looked delicious), there are more options for every shape, stage, and size of the family. They’ve even got recipes for people who want to improve their cooking and become a true “home chef!” We understand that if eating organic is important to you, Sunbasket may be a better fit. Both are great companies!
