Blue Apron vs. FreshDirect - Our Comparison for 2020
Blue Apron
Founded in 2012, Blue Apron still keeps the idea of improving culinary techniques and creativity with delivered meal kits! It’s up to you to choose a recipe, unpack Blue Apron box, follow up easy steps and serve a healthy dinner on the table in 45 minutes tops! Besides dinner kits, you can order wine, cheese and other different items from the Market Section on their Site!
- Delivery Area: Enter your zip code and check on their website
- Average Price: $9.53 Per Meal
- Shipping Cost: $0*
*only 2-serving meal twice a week delivery costs $7.99 per shipping.
Fresh Direct
Fresh Direct is an online grocery-delivery business working successfully for 20 years now! Unlike Blue Apron, or other meal kit delivery services, Fresh Direct offers delivery of fresh fruits, vegetables, dairy, meat & poultry, seafood, frozen meals and meal kits! Also, they shipp beer, wines & spirits for customers too lazy or busy to go shopping!
- Delivery Area: Check if your address is on the delivery list
- Average Price: $7.7 Per Meal
- Shipping Cost: $5.99 to $15.99*
*depending on the Area
Meal Options
Blue Apron
- WeightWatchers Meals
- Beyond Meat
- Vegetarian
- Pescatarian
Fresh Direct
- Smart & Simple
- Stir-Fry
- Vegetarian
- Seafood
- Beef & Poultry
Plan & Pricing
Blue Apron
- Signature/Freestyle/or Vegetarian for 2 Plan $9.99
Servings: 2; Meals Per Week: 2, 3; Kit Prices: $47.95 to $59.94
- Signature for 4 Plan $7.49-$8.99
Servings: 4; Meals Per Week: 2, 3,4; Kit Prices: $71.92 to $119.84
Fresh Direct
- Smart & Simple Plan $7.50-$8.99
Servings: 2
- Stir-Fry Plan $6.50-$8.50
Servings: 2+
Flexibility
Popular Meals
Blue Apron
- Creamy Pesto Cavatelli with Mushrooms & Spicy Breadcrumbs
- Buenos Aires Beef Empanadas
- BBQ Pork Burgers
Fresh Direct
- Yogurt Chicken and Roasted Vegetables
- Sustainable Salmon and Green Tea Soba
- Thai-Style Noodles with Basil Chicken Breast
Our Comparison
Meal Plans
Blue Apron’s chefs enriched Menus with flavors of Mexican, Italian and Asian cuisines! Prices are slightly better on a 2-Person Menus! No Dietary Meals, only Weight-Watchers Menu for losing weight. Fresh Direct meal kit options are not as good as Blue Apron’s! They offer beef, poultry, seafood and a vegetarian menu. However, options for already cooked meals and addons are so much better! Prices are more budget-friendly than Blue Apron’s (speaking of meal kits), but is it worth it? Keep reading!
The Quality of the Ingredients
Blue Apron supports the idea of only Non-GMO and healthy ingredients sourced from local farms, ranches! Organic vegetables, meat free of hormones and antibiotics are the basic values of Blue Apron meal kits. Fresh Direct’s short supply chain guarantees freshness of ingredients, since they’re always picked out from nearby ranches, farms, boats and artisan shops. Their food partners are also their friends, who share the same vision of health coming from food!
Nutritional Value
Blue Apron nutritional values of all Weight Watchers meals are simplified into one number, helping you to check in seconds if it’s appropriate for your daily plan! Complete nutritional information is available on each e-recipe and also on the recipe card you get with ingredients! Even though customization of meals is optional, Blue Apron can’t satisfy needs of people with specific dietary nutrition!
Also, if you have severe allergy or gluten intolerance, you shouldn’t order food from neither of these two meal services, due to a shared kitchen facilities for all food!Fresh Direct variety of food offer doesn’t allow us to go for details, like we did with Blue Apron! Nutritional value and quality of a frozen meal differs a lot from fresh meal kit ingredients! Portion size isn’t quite enough for an adult person, according to customer reviews on meal kits!
Recipe Variety
Both Blue Apron and Fresh Direct are offering much more than meal kits! Blue Apron’s Wine & Cheese Menu is budget-friendly and suits their dinner recipes, so you don’t need to bother choosing the perfect wine bottle for each dinner! Company took care of those who are learning to cook with an online kitchen-tools-shop! Recipe card guides customers through easy steps of preparation!
Fresh Direct can save you time and energy from the grocery shopping! Besides meal kits, they feature prepared meals, breakfasts, salads, soups, appetizers, pastries & desserts, etc. But, Fresh Direct’s meal kit recipe variety is very poor – only few of meals to choose from!
The Packaging
Blue Apron packaging includes an insulated card box, plastic bags, jars, containers and a printed recipe card – all recyclable! Food is carefully packed and put on ice/gel packs to keep ingredients intact and fresh! Only one shortcoming – customer reviews showed that it’s much easier for ingredients to be already separated in meal bags, so you don’t need to spend time doing it after opening the box!
Fresh Direct is, as well, very environment-friendly! They even offer to take your delivery bag and recycle it for you (if being too lazy to do it by yourself)! Frozen meals should be put in the freezer immediately after delivery, while other ingredients can stay fresh inside of a bag for two hours after being delivered!
Customer Support & Service
Blue Apron
- Free Trial – Subscribe and get first three meals for free!
- Customizable – Blue Apron doesn’t offer specific dietary meals, but customization of the recipes is always possible!
- Cancellation – Skip, pause or cancel weekly subscription within deadlines free-of-charge!
- Switching plans – Switch to a different Meal Plan by making a change on your account or by phone!
- Gifts – Send a gift card in the minimum amount of $60 to surprise someone! It can be a meal kit or a wine gift card!
- Refunds– In a situation when delivered items inside of a box have been defected/damaged or you aren’t satisfied, contact Customer Service team for a refund!
Fresh Direct
- Free Trial – Redeem free Promotional codes at Checkout! No free trials!
- Customizable – Customization is possible but make sure to update changes before the deadline or you will be charged for that order!
- Cancellation – Cutoff deadline can be found in the email order confirmation.
- Switching Plans – Make changes and switch to a different Meal Program free-of-charge!
- Gifts – Choose a gift card option and customize it as you wish!
- Refunds – If you’re not satisfied with items, use the Customer Assistance form to let them know about details.
Our Verdict
To sum up – we wanted to review both Blue Apron and Fresh Direct only as meal kit delivery services (because Fresh Direct is more than that). Considering shortcomings and advantages, Blue Apron is a little bit more expensive but their meal kits have better quality ingredients and are rich with flavors! Today, with no doubts, our winner is Blue Apron!