My Food Bag vs HelloFresh vs WOOP vs Bargain Box Comparison

Our comparison looks at the costs, calories, portion sizes, preparation time, menu options and other key metrics to find the strengths and weaknesses of each meal kit company.

Updated 20 May 2025

Summary:

Our research team subscribed to the four main meal kit delivery companies available in New Zealand over a number of months in 2021.
We prepared over 50 recipes and evaluated their caloric content, size of portions, utensils required and preparation time.
We compared each meal delivery company's offerings side by side, organised by type of plan (gourmet, meat-free, low calorie, classic and gluten-free).
The criteria we considered for this comparison were price per plate (for 1, 2 and 4 people), average calories and average estimated time to prepare the meal. For specific meat kit provider reviews, please visit HelloFresh, My Food Bag, Woop and Bargain Box.

Our guide covers:

Advertising Disclaimer: MoneyHub may earn a referral bonus for anyone that’s approved through some of the below links. Our research and findings are independent of any offer or promotion. Please see our Advertising Policy for more details about how we make money.

MoneyHub Founder Christopher Walsh shares his views:

Having eaten 100+ meals as part of this research, I can confidently say that each meal kit company has a unique offering and target market. Unlike our reviews of financial products and related services, there is some subjectivity involved when evaluating meal kits.
For this reason, we have focused on key criteria like the calories, portion sizes, preparation time and other key metrics.
I'm pleased to see so many plans on available which offer something for everyone - gourmet, meat-free, low calorie, classic and gluten-free are just some examples.
For full details on each meal kit company, I suggest reading our HelloFresh, My Food Bag, Woop and Bargain Box reviews.

Get up to $175 off across 5 boxes - valid for new and past customers:

Our view: HelloFresh is the most flexible of all the meal kits and offers the best user experience, the ingredients come pre-packed in individual bags per recipe.
Best of all, it is available in most of New Zealand and offers flexibility for delivery dates and times.
If you're deciding between HelloFresh, My Food Bag or anyone else, we're pleased to publish a discounted offer to help you decide if HelloFresh is right for you.
MoneyHub users get up to $175 off 5 boxes (valid on all Classic, Family, Veggie & Calorie Smart plans).

Visit HelloFresh

Summary of Key Features: My Food Bag vs HelloFresh vs WOOP vs Bargain Box Comparison

	Woop	HelloFresh	My Food Bag	Bargain box
Company overview	NZ company, provides pre-made sauces and precisely portioned ingredients	Global company, lets users choose their own recipes regardless of plan	NZ company, offers structured plans and choose-your-meals, 98% of their ingredients are sourced locally	NZ company, (part of My Food Bag) only 2 plans available as focus is on no-frills and best value, only meal kit provider that offers plans for 6 people.
Delivery areas	Only available in : Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Hamilton, Tauranga, Palmerston North, Napier & Hastings and Rotorua	Available in most of New Zealand, full list of delivery areas here. *$ 5 delivery surcharge for the south island	Available in most of New Zealand, check your post code here.	Available in most of New Zealand, check your post code here.
Plans available	Foodie Classic Balance Vegetarian Gluten Free	“Everything” plan. You only choose the number of meals and people to feed per week, then you select from all possible recipes each week	My Gourmet My Classic My Veggie My Plant Based My Family My Gluten Free My Choice Fresh Start Choice	Bargain Box Choice Bargain Box Veggie
Delivery Window	Sunday or Monday, depending on the area	North Island: delivery options between Saturday and Wednesday South Island: Sunday or Tuesday	Boxes are delivered on Sunday or Monday, depending on your location.	Boxes are delivered on Saturday or Monday, depending on your location.
Cut-off for changes	11:59pm Monday before your next scheduled delivery	11:59pm five days before the date of delivery	Account changes: 11:59pm Sunday before your next scheduled delivery. Delivery changes: 07:00pm Wednesday before your next delivery	Same as My Food Bag
Is there an app?	No, but the website is mobile-friendly	Yes	Yes	Yes
Level of detail in Recipe card	Good, lists step by step instructions	Best, lists needed utensils, detailed instructors and pictures of each step of the cooking process	Good, lists step by step instructions	Same as My Food Bag
Contents of Box	Colour-coded ingredients, no cool pouch. Ice packs mixed in with rest of ingredients.	Individual paper bags contain the ingredients for each recipe, plastic cool pouch and gel ice packs for meat and dairy.	No colour code, compostable cool pouch and water ice packs for meat and dairy.	Same as My Food Bag
Can you select the recipes?	Only for 2 plans: Classic and Foodie plan (choose from 6 possible recipes).	Yes, you can choose from a selection of 20+ recipes from their menu every week.	Only for the plans “My choice” (choose from 15 recipes) and “Fresh Start Choice” (choose from 12 recipes)	Only for “Bargain Box Choice” (choose from 8 recipes).
Food allergy Plans available	Gluten Free plan	No special plans, use filters on recipe selection to choose suitable recipes for your dietary needs	"My Gluten Free" plan, "My Plant Based" plan would suit dairy-intolerant diets	No special plans
Pantry items (ingredients not included in the box)	Very few, simple ingredients	Few, common ingredients	More, sometimes not as common. They send out an email prior to the delivery that lists all the pantry items you will need	Same as My Food Bag
Loyalty program	Yes, automatically enrolled	None	Yes, "Foodie club", you must sign up separately.	Same as My Food Bag
Friend referral	30% discount on your first box	$50 off + free delivery for you, $50 credit for your friend	$30 for you, $30 for your friend	Same as My Food Bag
Extras	Add-ons like “heat and eat meals”, dessert kits	Many options available: gourmet upgrades, grill meals, lunches, soup, sides, pudding, fruit boxes, etc. this is covered in the “prices and availability” section of our review.	Pre-made lunches, pre-made meals from sister company "made", donations to community programmes	Same as My Food Bag

Get up to $175 off across 5 boxes - valid for new and past customers:

Our view: HelloFresh is the most flexible of all the meal kits and offers the best user experience, the ingredients come pre-packed in individual bags per recipe.
Best of all, it is available in most of New Zealand and offers flexibility for delivery dates and times.
If you're deciding between HelloFresh, My Food Bag or anyone else, we're pleased to publish a discounted offer to help you decide if HelloFresh is right for you.
MoneyHub users get up to $175 off 5 boxes (valid on all Classic, Family, Veggie & Calorie Smart plans).

Visit HelloFresh

Key Differences - Plan Types, Price Per Plate, Calories and Preparation Time

Our approach:

We compared each meal delivery company's offerings side by side, organised by type of plan (gourmet, meat-free, low calorie, classic and gluten-free).
The criteria we considered for this comparison were price per plate (for 1, 2 and 4 people), average calories and average estimated time to prepare the meal.
Important - The price section often presents a range of values; this is because some plans let you choose 3, 4 or 5 meals per week for the number of people selected, and the prices would vary accordingly (the more meals per week, the lower the price per plate).
For each of the plans below, we highlight the fastest to prepare, lowest caloric content and lowest price (based on price per plate).

Gourmet Plans

Plan / Company	Price for 1 person	Price for 2 people	Price for 4 people	Average calories	Average estimated time
Woop's "Foodie"	$105 - $125 per week $25 - $26.25 per plate	$135 - $209 per week $20.9 - $22.50 per plate	$209 - $309 per week $15.45 - $17.41 per plate	713 calories	20 minutes
HelloFresh "Gourmet" label	N/A	(no weekly plan) $19.98 - $22.65 per plate	(no weekly plan) $15.98 - $17.82 per plate	729 calories	42 minutes
My Food Bag's "My Gourmet"	N/A	$164.99 per week $20.62 per plate	(no plan, order 2 boxes) $329.98 per week $20.62 per plate	645 calories	40 minutes

Notes:

HelloFresh doesn’t offer a gourmet plan per se, but they offer 1 or 2 gourmet meals per week, so that’s the price per plate we have included for this comparison.
My Food Bag only offers this plan for 2 people, if you wanted to feed 4 people, you would need to order 2 boxes
Woop is the only company that offers this plan for all variations 1, 2 and 4 people. Prices and caloric content are quite similar across providers, with My Food bag being slightly less caloric.
Lowest calories: My Food bag
Fastest to prepare: Woop
Lowest price per plate: Woop (plans for 1 and 4 people), My Food Bag (for 2 people)

Meat Free Plans

Plan / Company	Price for 1 person	Price for 2 people	Price for 4 people	Average calories	Average estimated time
Woop "Vegetarian"	$105 per week $26.25 per plate	$121 - $158 per week $19.75 - $20.16 per plate	$179 - $219 per week $13.68 - $14.91 per plate	725 calories	25 minutes
HelloFresh "Veggie"	N/A	$93.93 - $129.89 per week $12.98 - $15.65 per plate	$129.87 - $179.78 per week $8.99 - $10.82 per plate	823 calories	40 minutes
My Food Bag's "My Veggie"	N/A	$138.99 per week $17.37 per plate	$153.99 per week $12.83 per plate	615 calories	35 minutes
My Food Bag's "My Plant Based "	N/A	$138.99 per week $17.37 per plate	$194.99 per week $12.18 per plate	655 calories	35 minutes
Bargain Box Veggie	N/A	$93.93 - $129.89 per week $12.98 - $15.65 per plate	$111.99 - $149.99 per week $7.49 - $9.33 per plate	630 calories	35 minutes

Notes:
For meat-free plans, Woop is the only one to offer a vegetarian plan for 1 person and My Food Bag is the only one that has a plant-based plan. HelloFresh is surprisingly cost-effective and has many recipes to choose from, while Bargain Box is marginally cheaper but doesn’t allow recipe selection.

Lowest calories: My Food Bag, with Bargain Box a close second
Fastest to prepare: Woop
Lowest price per plate: Woop (1 person), HelloFresh (2 people), Bargain Box and HelloFresh (for 4 people)

Low Calorie Plans

Plan / Company	Price for 1 person	Price for 2 people	Price for 4 people	Average calories	Average estimated time
Woop's "Balance"	$112 per week $28 per plate	$137 - $179 per week $22.37 - $22.83 per plate	$212 - $262 per week $16.37 - $17.66 per plate	565 calories	22 minutes
My Food Bag's "Fresh Start Choice"	$109.99 - $121.99 per week $24.38 - $27.49 per plate	$164.99- $179.99 per week $17.99 - $20.62 per plate	$204.99 - 224.99 per week $11.24 - $12.81 per plate	410 calories	35 minutes
HelloFresh "Low calorie" label	N/A	$93.93 - $129.89 per week $12.98 - $15.65 per plate	$129.87 - $179.78 per week $8.99 - $10.82 per plate	509 calories	39 minutes

Notes:
For Low calorie plans, My Food Bag offers the lowest-calorie recipes and is the best value for plans for one person, HelloFresh has the lowest prices for 2 and 4 people.

Lowest calories: My Food bag
Fastest to prepare: Woop
Lowest price per plate: My Food Bag (1 person), HelloFresh (2 and 4 people)

Classic Plans

Plan / Company	Price for 1 person	Price for 2 people	Price for 4 people	Average calories	Average estimated time
Woop's "Classic"	N/A	N/A	$180 - $220 per week $13.75 - $15 per plate	614 calories	25 minutes
HelloFresh (recipes with no special label)	N/A	$93.93 - $129.89 per week $12.98 - $15.65 per plate	$129.87 - $169.79 per week $8.48 - $10.82 per plate	807 calories	38 minutes
My Food Bag's "Classic"	$112.99 per week $22.59 per plate	N/A	N/A	560 calories	40 minutes
My Food Bag's "Choice	N/A	$112.99 - $169.99 per week $16.99 - $18.83 per plate	$153.99 - $215.99 per week $10.79 - $12.83 per plate	606 calories	35 minutes
Bargain Box Choice	N/A	$91.99 - $119.99 per week $11.99 - $15.33 per plate	$111.99 - $149.99 per week $7.49 - $9.33 per plate	665 calories	35 minutes

Notes:
My Food Bag is the only company to provide “classic meals” for one person, Woop again has the fastest preparation, and My Food Bag has the lowest calorie recipes. Bargain Box has the lowest price on this type of plan and allows you to select the recipes for the week.

Lowest calories: My Food Bag
Fastest to prepare: Woop
Lowest price per plate: My Food Bag (1 person), Bargain Box (for 2 and 4 people)

Gluten Free Plans

Plan / Company	Price for 1 person	Price for 2 people	Price for 4 people	Average calories	Average estimated time
Woop's "Gluten Free"	$93 per week $31 per plate	$138 per week $23 per plate	$222 per week $18.5 per plate	768 calories	24 minutes
My Food Bag's "My Gluten Free"	N/A	N/A	$215.99 per week $10.79 per plate	610 calories	37 minutes

Notes:
Woop and My Food Bag are the only companies to offer gluten-free plans. Continuing with the pattern we’ve found on this guide, Woop has the fastest preparation times, and My Food Bag the lowest caloric content.

Lowest calories: My Food bag
Fastest to prepare: Woop
Lowest price per plate: Woop (for 1 and 2 people), My Food bag (4 people)

Get up to $175 off across 5 boxes - valid for new and past customers:

Our view: HelloFresh is the most flexible of all the meal kits and offers the best user experience, the ingredients come pre-packed in individual bags per recipe.
Best of all, it is available in most of New Zealand and offers flexibility for delivery dates and times.
If you're deciding between HelloFresh, My Food Bag or anyone else, we're pleased to publish a discounted offer to help you decide if HelloFresh is right for you.
MoneyHub users get up to $175 off 5 boxes (valid on all Classic, Family, Veggie & Calorie Smart plans).

Visit HelloFresh

Our Conclusion and Strengths of Each Service

The four meal companies offer similar services and we believe all offer an attractive product and service. We summarise below our view of each meal provider’s strengths and most suitable customer.

Woop

Our view: This meal kit service tends to offer marginally higher quality ingredients and their recipes involve slightly less effort than their competitors. However, they are only available in selected cities of New Zealand.

Best for: People in large cities (because of their delivery areas) and plans for one person. Their estimated preparation time is consistently lower than the other companies, and while we didn’t necessarily complete the meals in the estimated time, they were ready quicker than with the other meal providers we tried. All their plans use great quality ingredients but we especially liked their "Foodie" plan as it's the only gourmet option in the market available for 1, 2 and 4 people.

Further details: Woop Review and Woop's website

HelloFresh

Our view: HelloFresh is the most flexible of all the meal kits and offers the best user experience, the ingredients come pre-packed in individual bags per recipe, you can choose all your recipes and the app is very useful to cook along with. It is available in most of New Zealand and offers flexibility for delivery dates and times.

Best for: People without much cooking experience (because the recipe cards are very detailed and the app helps, too), widest selection of recipes to choose from, plus you get access to the HelloFresh cookbook with thousands of recipes. They offer especially good value for low-calorie and vegetarian recipes.

Further details: HelloFresh Review and HelloFresh's website

My food bag

Our View: MyFoodBag offers the largest selection of structured plans and also has two plans that allow recipe selection. From our sample, their recipes are arguably healthier overall, with a lower caloric content per meal than the other providers.

Best for: Weight loss plans and Plant-based recipes, but many plans are available. Wide availability throughout New Zealand (according to their website, they can deliver to 86% of kiwis). We found they use more adventurous seasonings than HelloFresh and Bargain Box, but also tend to require more pantry items for their preparation.

Further details: My Food Bag Review and My Food Bag website

Bargain Box

Our View: Bargain Box offers family-friendly recipes at low prices, and is the only provider to offer plans to feed 6 people (the maximum for all others is 4). The company is part of My Food Bag, so it has the same customer service, is available in most of New Zealand and has the same principles of sourcing local food and reaching out to the community as its parent company.

Best for: Budget-conscious, families with more than 4 members and/or fussy eaters (recipes tend to be kiwi classics).

Further details: Bargain Box Review and Bargain Box website

Get up to $175 off across 5 boxes - valid for new and past customers:

Our view: HelloFresh is the most flexible of all the meal kits and offers the best user experience, the ingredients come pre-packed in individual bags per recipe.
Best of all, it is available in most of New Zealand and offers flexibility for delivery dates and times.
If you're deciding between HelloFresh, My Food Bag or anyone else, we're pleased to publish a discounted offer to help you decide if HelloFresh is right for you.
MoneyHub users get up to $175 off 5 boxes (valid on all Classic, Family, Veggie & Calorie Smart plans).

Visit HelloFresh

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