HelloFresh vs. Cook It (2024 Comparison Review)

The comparison of two well-known meal kit delivery services in Canada, HelloFresh vs. Cook it, is significant for Canadians looking to figure out which meal kit best suits their family’s tastes and budget. The main thing to note before we get started is that Cook It only delivers to Ontario, Quebec, and the Maritime Provinces, whereas HelloFresh covers 95% of the population. 

If you are able to choose between the two, then lucky you! Both of these companies have a loyal following and provide pre-portioned meal kits on a weekly subscription basis. Cook It also has a selection of ready-to-eat meals if you don’t want to cook at all. 

While both Hello Fresh and Cook It bring fresh vegetables and ingredients, and great recipes to your door every week, there are a few important distinctions that we go over in this comparison review. Compare and contrast these food subscription box services to determine which meal kit company is an ideal fit for you.


HelloFresh vs. Cook It: Comparison at a Glance

Detailed reviewHellofresh ReviewCook It Review
Established20162014
Delivery areaAB, BC, MB, NB, NL, NS, ON, PE, QC, SKON, QC, Maritime Provinces
Number of meals to choose from each week35+17
Сooking time (min)From 20 minsFrom 25 mins
Groupon Rating
Downloadable App
Price per serving$9.25 – $12.17$9.08 – 13.16
Weekly Total (3 Recipes, 2 people)$82.99$74.83 – $78.93
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Pros & Cons

Let’s look at the pros and cons of each brand to see what their biggest advantages and disadvantages are:

Cook It ProsHelloFresh Pros
✔️ Has a rewards program✔️ Fresh, high-quality ingredients
✔️ Has meal kits and ready-to-eat meals✔️ Low-carb and low-calorie meals available
✔️ Ready-to-eat meals come in single portions✔️ Recyclable packaging
✔️ Option for 7 meal kit recipes per week✔️ Some recipes are customizable
✔️ Recyclable packaging✔️ The most variety on the weekly menu
✔️ Canadian owned✔️ Has faster recipes to cook

 

Chefs Plate ConsHelloFresh Cons
✖️ Limited dietary options✖️ No free delivery

Hello Fresh vs Cook It: Pricing & Meal Plans

Like Chefs Plate, both meal kit delivery provides fresh ingredients. The dishes are effortless to prepare due to the usage of basic ingredients. With Hello Fresh and Cook it, you will save and eat healthy, delicious, and fresh meals at home.

Cook It 

Cookit Canada offers two food plans: the Regular menu and the Vegetarian menu. With each plan, customers pick from 17 ready-to-cook meal kits every week. You can select anywhere from 2 to 7 meals per week, and 2 to 4 servings per meal. Each serving is enough to feed one adult or two young children.

Number of People / RecipesRegular MenuVegetarian Menu
2 People / 3 Recipes$13.16$12.47
2 People / 4 Recipes$12.17$11.40
2 People / 5 Recipes$11.58$11.07
2 People / 6 Recipes$11.28$10.76
2 People / 7 Recipes$11.20$10.69
3 People / 2 Recipes$13.16$12.47
3 People / 3 Recipes$11.73$11.16
3 People / 4 Recipes$11.28$10.76
3 People / 5 Recipes$10.59$10.18
3 People / 6 Recipes$10.31$9.79
3 People / 7 Recipes$10.05$9.52
4 People / 2 Recipes$12.17$11.40
4 People / 3 Recipes$11.28$10.76
4 People / 4 Recipes$10.57$10.12
4 People / 5 Recipes$10.10$9.53
4 People / 6 Recipes$9.74$9.23
4 People / 7 Recipes$9.48$9.08


Sample meals on the ready-to-cook menu:

  • • Arugula and brussel sprouts salad with goat cheese, pecans and croutons (express, vegetarian)
  • • Cheesy and spicy ramen noodles with gochujang paste, spinach, mushrooms and sesame seeds (vegetarian)
  • • Paprika and garlic pork scallops with loaded mashed potatoes and broccoli (family)
  • • Shrimp soba noodles with a maple, sesame and soy sauce, cabbage, edamame and roasted peanuts
  • • Parmigiana-style chicken drumsticks with tomato sauce, parmesan and roasted vegetables
Along with the ready-to-cook meals, Cook It also offers about 12 ready-to-eat meals each week. The distinction is that ready-to-cook meal kits have all the pre-measured raw ingredients needed to prepare the meal at home, while ready-to-eat meals have already been prepared and just need to be warmed up. Heating ready-made meals will obviously save you a great deal of time in the kitchen, although many people enjoy cooking and the control it gives them over how much oil and salt to use, etc.


Sample meals on the ready-to-eat menu:

  • • Beef bourguignon with mashed potatoes, pearl onions, mushrooms and bacon 
  • • Chicken with mushroom sauce and white wine with mashed potatoes and snow peas
  • • Tofu and vegetable curry with a creamy lime and coconut milk sauce (vegetarian)
  • • Trout pave with orange sauce with roasted vegetables with herbs and whole wheat couscous
You can order from 6 to 28 portions and the prices get cheaper the more you order. On the regular menu, they start at $12.95 and go up to $14.30 per meal, and on the vegetarian menu, they start at $11.91 and go up to $13.16 per meal. This isn’t much more than the ready-to-cook meal kits, so a great option if this is what you’re after. Most companies average around $16 for ready-to-eat meals.


HelloFresh

HelloFresh has more than 35 recipes to choose from and bases its plans solely on the number of people you’re ordering for and the number of recipes you want. You can choose from any of the meals available each week. That means that vegetarian vs meat meals don’t differ in price. Here are the prices per serving on the different weekly plans.

3 Recipes4 Recipes5 Recipes
2 People$12.16$11.87$11.50
4 People$10.83$10.31$9.25


Sample meals on the ready-to-cook menu:

  • • Thyme chicken and roasted zucchini with caramelized onion pan sauce and garlic mash
  • • North African-inspired falafel and couscous with blistered veggies and spicy mayo (vegetarian)
  • • Jalapeno popper-stuffed chicken with BBQ-spiced potatoes and green beans (special)
  • • Carb smart beef koftas with veggie hash and garlic hummus (quick prep)
  • • Mexican-inspired shrimp tacos with crunchy coleslaw and garlic-lime crema (quick prep)

Dietary Requirements

In terms of diets, Cook It doesn’t cater to any special diets. They usually have around five vegetarian meal kits on the ready-to-cook menu each week, and occasionally these meals are suitable for vegans

HelloFresh has a better range of meal kits for weight loss, with a selection of Calorie Smart meals (650KCal or less) and Carb Smart meals (less than 50g of carbs). These are quite broad and are suitable for a range of diets. You’ll also find around five vegetarian meals on the menu each week, although there are no guarantees of a vegan meal each week with HelloFresh either. 

Are they environmentally friendly? 

Most customers worry about the effect that packaging has on the environment. In fact, meal kits create less waste and emissions than driving to the supermarket and buying ingredients for dinner there. Also, meal kit companies tend to make an effort to minimize their negative impact on the environment so you’ll find lots of reusable or recyclable packaging options. Let’s look at packaging when it comes to Cook It vs HelloFresh. You’ll be pleased to know that both of these brands value the environment and take great care when it comes to their packaging. 

Cook It are committed to the environment and source at least 50% of its ingredients locally from Quebec farmers, and they try and work with small producers whenever possible. They can do this because their recipes are inspired by the seasons and what’s available. Their fish comes from Ocean Wise-approved fisheries. When it comes to packaging, it’s made of 100% recyclable materials, including the ice packs. HelloFresh is the first global carbon-neutral meal kit company, which is a really great achievement. When it comes to packaging, everything is fully recyclable or compostable. They also try and buy as much produce locally, where possible, and promise to shorten the time between the farmer’s field and your refrigerator.

Customer Reviews

Customer reviews are a great way to get to know a company better before trying them out. They may help you determine which is right for you based on you and your family’s needs. For example, one company might score better on food quality, while another might have more favourable reviews about the delivery service. You probably already have an idea of what’s important to you. Let’s take a look at what customers say about Cook It vs HelloFresh. 

Trustpilot Reviews

Cook It gets an average star rating of 2.3 out of 5, which is very low. But, there are only 10 reviews, which isn’t a large enough sample to get a good representation of all customers’ views. Some customers complained that the ingredients weren’t of a high quality and there were some issues with deliveries. 

HelloFresh Canada got an average of 3.9 stars out of five on Trustpilot, from more than 15,000 reviews. To give you an idea of the most positive and negative ratings, 45% of reviewers gave five stars and 6% gave one star. Most are really happy with HelloFresh and some of the most common positive themes were around the variety of recipes to choose from, the convenience and ease of ordering, and how simple the recipes are to follow. Some of the negative experiences were around ingredients going off before the use-by date, and the plastic packaging some items come wrapped in. 

Boxes arrive on time and are packed well, food is always cold and well cared for. I used to be skeptical when I heard about receiving food in a box but it’s done well and I love that everything is recyclable! The recipe cards are clear on what you need to use and what you need to do. I feel like the step-by-step instructions have also improved my ability to time things when I’m cooking other foods as well. Most importantly, the recipes are DELICIOUS! They’ve got me trying stuff I never would have thought of and I love them!” – A customer review of HelloFresh on Trustpilot

Google Reviews

Cook It gets 4.2 out of 5 stars on Google and that’s out of 1,454 reviews so a much better sample size. It seems that many families use the service and are very grateful for the time-saving nature of the meal kits. Many pointed out that ingredients are fresh and tasty, in stark contrast to the 10 Trustpilot reviews. The ready-to-eat meals get the most negative comments on Google and there are some complaints about issues with deliveries. 

Since I started ordering Cook it my life has changed! The entire process was created to serve better their customers. Starting by the delivery, it is always on time, the preparation is easy and well explained, the food is delicious, the portion is generous. I definitely recommend it.” – A customer review of Cook It on Google

HelloFresh gets 4.1 out of 5 stars on Google out of 4,249 reviews. Here, some customers complained some of the produce wasn’t as fresh as it could be but with such a great rating, most customers were happy with their delivery. Variety is one of the top pros called out by customers. 

We have been ordering for a while now and usually buy 4 meals every other week or so. Quality has been fairly good with quality delivery. Expiration dates have been pretty good. Meals overall have been tasty and you get to try new ideas. I have had a few meals where I just keep saying “wow”. Definitely a good way to not be bored and I am cooking more than ever and not ordering in as much.” – A customer review of HelloFresh on Google

As with all customer reviews, it’s important to remember that people are most likely to write a review when they’re unhappy or extremely happy. It seems that with these companies (and most meal kits), delivery often comes down to the region where people live. For this reason, we’d suggest you try a couple of meal kit companies out to see what works best for your area, so you can try the meals out yourself. 

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Verdict: HelloFresh or Cook it Meal Delivery Service?

HelloFresh and Cook It appear to be very similar meal kit services at first glance. However, upon closer inspection, these meal subscription boxes are distinct. Choosing the right meal kit is a personal decision, defined by your location, situation, and preferences. For starters, if you don’t live in Ontario, Quebec, or The Maritimes, Cook It is out of the question. If this applies to you, try our meal kit finder by postal code, to see who does deliver to you. We also have a selection of other comparison reviews that you might like to browse below. 

If you happen to live in one of these provinces where both companies deliver, why not try each of them. We have a fantastic promo code you can use to try them at discounted rates. Or perhaps, variety is the most important issue for you when choosing a meal kit company, and that’s HelloFresh hands down. HelloFresh should also be your first choice if you’re looking for faster meals to cook. That’s why many families end up opting for HelloFresh. Cook It has ready-to-eat meals which might be just up your alley, plus you can order more portions each week so that’s more meals covered. Ultimately, the decision is yours, and we hope you love your first meal kit or trying a new company if that’s why you’re here. 

Frequently Asked Questions:

Is Cook It or HelloFresh cheaper?
Is HelloFresh the same as Cook It?
Does HelloFresh let you choose your meals?
Does Cook It let you choose your meals?

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