Which meal box is right for you?
We compare the UK's most popular meal kit services on price, recipe choice, portions and ease of use — so you can pick the right box first time and grab the best new-customer deal.
Updated August 2026Gousto
Biggest weekly menu, best app
- Huge weekly menu — a recipe for every taste
- The easiest app and service to use
- App shows use-by dates per recipe
- Generous portions, good value
- Prep times can run longer than stated
HelloFresh
The UK's biggest meal box
- Great selection for every taste
- Delicious, family-friendly recipes
- Good value with new-customer offers
- Prep times often underestimated
- Meat use-by dates can be short
Mindful Chef
Quality free-range ingredients
- Great-tasting, health-focused recipes
- Generous portions — fed 2 adults + a child
- Longest use-by dates of any box we tried
- Ready meals, soups & desserts too
- Pricier than most rivals
Green Chef
Keto, vegan, high-protein & more
- Menu built around special diets — keto, vegan, flexitarian
- Lots of high-protein and calorie-conscious recipes
- Pre-portioned, low-waste ingredients
- Recyclable, plastic-light packaging
- Pricier than the big all-rounders
Grubby
100% vegan recipe kits
- Entirely plant-based — no meat or dairy to swap out
- Genuinely inventive veg-forward recipes
- Big, filling portions with real fibre and protein
- Low-waste, recyclable packaging
- Not a fit if you want meat or fish options
Riverford
Organic, ethical, employee-owned
- Certified-organic seasonal veg and recipe boxes
- Employee-owned B Corp with strong ethics
- Flexible boxes — veg only, or veg + recipes
- A veg/grocery box, not a fixed weekly recipe menu
- Pricier than conventional meal kits
Abel & Cole
Organic veg boxes & groceries
- Certified-organic veg boxes and recipe kits
- Plastic-light, returnable packaging
- Full organic grocery range alongside the boxes
- A veg/grocery box, not a fixed weekly recipe menu
- Premium pricing vs the mainstream kits
SimplyCook
Flavour kits — you add the fresh food
- The cheapest box here — you buy the fresh ingredients yourself
- A large catalogue of recipe kits across world cuisines
- Small letterbox boxes — pick exactly what you want
- Great for breaking out of a cooking rut
- Not a full kit — you still do the grocery shop
Pasta Evangelists
Restaurant-quality fresh pasta
- Restaurant-quality fresh pasta at home
- Fastest, easiest recipes of any box
- Letterbox-friendly packaging
- Limited veg in the recipes
- Not a full weekly-shop replacement
Meal kit FAQs
Are meal kits cheaper than a supermarket shop?
Per portion, meal kits usually cost more than cooking from a planned supermarket shop — but less than takeaways or ready meals, and they cut food waste because every ingredient is portioned. The big new-customer discounts (often 50–60% off the first boxes) make the first month genuinely cheap.
Can I pause or cancel easily?
Yes — all the services we review let you skip weeks or cancel online without a phone call. Gousto and HelloFresh both make this straightforward in their apps.
Which box is best for a family?
HelloFresh and Gousto both offer family boxes with kid-friendly recipes. Gousto's larger menu makes it easier to please fussy eaters week after week; HelloFresh's family recipes are particularly quick.
How do the discounts work?
Meal kit companies offer steep discounts to new customers, usually spread across your first few boxes. As of July 2026, Gousto gives 50% off your first box (tapering to 20% off through box 8) and HelloFresh gives 50% off your first box plus free treats for two months. Offers change frequently — the buttons on this page point at the current deal.