Do Gousto or HelloFresh really save you money?

Meal kits like Gousto and HelloFresh sound great when you are fed up with food shopping, meal planning and throwing mouldy bits out of the fridge.

But do they actually save you money, or are you just paying for the ease of having everything turn up in a box?

Let’s break it down in normal person terms so you can see if they work for you.

What do Gousto and HelloFresh really cost?

Prices change quite often, but here is the rough idea for standard boxes at full price:

Gousto says boxes cost between about £18.99 and £61.49, depending on how many people you feed and how many recipes you pick.

For example, a Gousto box for 2 people with 5 recipes comes in at around £48.75, including delivery, which is 10 portions at just under £4.90 each.

HelloFresh has a similar range. A plan of 5 meals for 2 people is around £44.49 before delivery, and delivery usually adds about £4.99, so you are looking at roughly £49.50 for 10 portions, or about £4.95 a serving.

These prices are for “normal” weeks. Intro offers can be much cheaper, and premium recipes can make it more expensive.

So if your box is costing about £40 to £50 for 5 dinners for 2 people, that is a useful starting point to compare with your normal food spend and takeaways.

When meal kits can actually save you money

For some people, meal kits do come out cheaper overall, even though the price per portion is not “budget”. They can help in a few ways:

• Less food waste
You only get the exact amount you need for the recipe. So you are not buying a big pot of something, using one spoonful and binning the rest a month later.

• Fewer random extras
When you shop online or in store, it is easy to throw in snacks, treats and “bargains” you did not really need. With a box, the cost is fixed, so there is less chance to wander and spend.

• Fewer takeaways
If dinner is already planned and ingredients are in the fridge, you are less likely to cave and order a takeaway because you are tired. Swapping one takeaway a week for a home cooked box meal can save a big chunk.

• Easier to track spending
You know what dinner will cost each week, so it is simpler to plan the rest of your food budget around it.

If you normally waste food, forget what you bought, or grab last minute meals from the corner shop, there is a good chance a kit could work out cheaper than your current habits.

When they are more expensive than a normal shop

If you are already pretty good with money, the numbers may not stack up.

Meal kits are usually more expensive per portion than:

• Cooking from scratch with supermarket own brands
• Batch cooking meals like chilli, curry or pasta bake
• Using slow cooker recipes with cheaper cuts of meat
• Planning a full weekly shop for all meals and snacks

Also, boxes usually only cover your evening meals. You still need to buy food for breakfasts, lunches and everything else, so the total food budget can creep up if you are not careful.

If you are someone who:

• Writes a shopping list
• Uses supermarket loyalty cards and yellow-sticker reductions
• Does not throw much away

Then you can almost certainly beat meal kit prices with a normal food shop.

What discounts do you actually get?

The good news is that hardly anyone pays full price at the start.

New customer offers

Gousto and HelloFresh both run regular new customer deals, often along the lines of 50 to 60 per cent off your first box, 40 per cent off your second and around 20 per cent off for a few more boxes.

Check here for the latest Gusto offers | Check here for the latest HelloFresh offers

Existing customer discounts

Officially, Gousto says discount codes are “for new customers only”, but also confirms they offer discounts to existing customers throughout the year, for example, seasonal promotions or rewards.

In real life, many regular users report getting offers when they:

• Pause or cancel a subscription
• Skip several weeks
• Come back after a break

These offers can be things like 10 to 25 per cent off a box, or money off over a few weeks. They are not guaranteed, but worth looking out for.

HelloFresh also runs ongoing promotions and targeted deals, and has a discount codes page where they talk about savings such as 50 per cent off your first box and money off later boxes for a short time.

Quick tip:
Set a reminder before your renewal deadline each week, then log in and see if any “win back” or loyalty offers appear when you think about skipping or cancelling.

How flexible are Gousto and HelloFresh?

Both companies work as flexible subscriptions.

Gousto lets you skip boxes, change recipes or pause, but you need to do it by their cut-off, which is usually midday three days before delivery.

HelloFresh lets you modify, pause or cancel your plan, but you normally need to do this about five days before the delivery date.

If you miss the cut-off, the box will go through and you will be charged, which can be a nasty surprise if money is tight. This is where a simple phone reminder can save you £40 to £60 in one go.

Working out if a meal kit is right for you

A simple way to decide is to look at how you currently shop and compare it to what life is like with a box.

First, think about your normal month.
Do you overspend on top up shops, order takeaways when you are tired, or throw food away because you forgot it was in the fridge? If this sounds familiar, your weekly food costs might be higher than you realise.

Next, try a meal kit for a few weeks using an intro offer.
Pick a plan that fits your household and see how often you still need to buy extra bits. Notice whether you cook more, waste less food and avoid takeaways because the meals are already sorted.

Then compare the two.
If your total spend drops and life feels easier, a meal kit might be worth keeping. If the box costs more and you still do lots of extra shops, it may not suit your routine.

The real test is whether it helps you spend less overall, not just whether the meals look cheap on paper.

Who gets the most value from Gousto or HelloFresh?

You are more likely to benefit if you:

• Hate meal planning and never know what to cook
• Throw away food often
• Regularly buy takeaways or last minute bits from the corner shop
• Want to cook more from scratch but feel too tired to think about it

You might be better sticking to a normal shop if you:

• Already plan meals and cook in batches
• Shop from a list using own brands and offers
• Have time to cook and do not mind planning

There is no single right answer. It is about whether a box helps you cut your bad habits without blowing your budget.

Simple tips to lower the cost

If you do give a meal kit a go, you can trim the cost like this:

• Start with new customer deals and cashback
Use an intro code and see if you can stack it with cashback from sites like TopCashback or Quidco for your first box.

• Treat it as a short term reset
Use a few cheap months to get into better cooking habits, then switch to your own simple meal plan using similar recipes.

• Stretch the meals
If portions are generous, bulk them out with extra veg, rice or pasta and turn some recipes into three portions instead of two.

• Mix and match
You do not have to use a box every single week. Some people alternate between weeks with a kit and weeks with a basic supermarket meal plan to balance cost and ease.

Final thought

Meal kits cost more per portion than cooking the absolute cheapest way. But if they stop food waste, cut back takeaways and help you feel less stressed about dinner, they can still save you money in real life.

The best test is not the price per portion on the website, but what happens to your actual bank balance and stress levels over a month.