Getting dinner on the table every night for a family is hard work. The right meal kit takes the planning out of it — fresh ingredients, measured portions, and a recipe that won't take an hour to execute after a full day. But not every Australian meal kit is built with families in mind.
We compared the three most relevant options on the criteria that actually matter for families: portion sizes, recipe variety for picky eaters, weekly cost at 4 servings, and how reliable the service is when you're counting on it. Here's what we found.
What matters most when choosing a family meal kit
1. HelloFresh — Best meal kit for families overall
81% positive sentiment
- 50+ weekly recipes — something for everyone
- Dedicated "Family Friendly" filter in the app
- Pantry staples included — oil, butter, spices
- Delivers to all 7 states including SA and TAS
- Largest review base — most reliable score
- Roughly double the cost of EveryPlate
- Some reviewers flag auto-billing after pausing
- Heavy packaging from pre-portioned ingredients
HelloFresh is the clear choice for families who prioritise variety and reliability. With 50+ recipes per week, it's the only Australian meal kit where a family can avoid rotation fatigue — parents and kids can each pick something they'll actually eat, and the menu changes enough to stay interesting month after month.
The Family Friendly filter surfaces meals specifically designed with children in mind: shorter ingredient lists, familiar flavour profiles (think pasta, tacos, burgers), and 25–35 minute cook times. It won't please every child every time — no meal kit will — but the breadth of options significantly improves the odds.
Portion sizes come up positively in family reviews more than any other service. The 4-person plan is engineered for a proper family serve, not two adults and two small side-dish portions. Reviewers consistently describe having enough food, including leftovers on some meals.
The main barrier is cost. At ~$115/week for a family of 4, HelloFresh is a significant household budget item. If you're primarily motivated by price, EveryPlate offers almost identical quality at roughly half the weekly spend — at the cost of fewer recipe choices and no pantry staples.
HelloFresh's 5-meal plan per week actually lowers the per-serving cost compared to 3 meals. If your family is cooking most nights anyway, the more meals you order, the better the value — and the more you dilute the $9.99 delivery fee across more servings.
2. EveryPlate — Best budget family meal kit
81% positive sentiment
- Half the cost of HelloFresh — saves ~$2,700/year for a family of 4
- Same 4.1/5 score as HelloFresh
- Simple, comforting recipes suit most kids
- Easy recipes — lower stress on weeknights
- Pantry staples not included (oil, butter, salt)
- ~20 weekly recipes vs 50+ at HelloFresh
- Same vegetables repeat heavily week to week
- No delivery to SA or TAS
EveryPlate delivers the same satisfaction score as HelloFresh at half the price — and for a family of four, that gap is substantial. At ~$63/week compared to HelloFresh's ~$115, EveryPlate saves a family roughly $52 every week, or over $2,700 a year.
The trade-off on variety is real but often manageable for families. EveryPlate focuses on simple, comforting recipes — pastas, stir-fries, curries, wraps — which often translate to child-friendly meals by nature. There's no family-specific filter, but the stripped-back recipe style tends to produce the kind of familiar dinners kids actually eat without complaint.
The pantry staples issue is worth planning for before your first delivery. EveryPlate recipes need oil, butter, salt and pepper to be on hand. Build a checklist once and you won't think about it again — but don't get caught empty-handed on delivery day.
3. Marley Spoon — Premium option, significant cautions
46% positive sentiment
- Martha Stewart recipe range — high culinary quality
- 100+ recipe options — widest selection
- Delivers to all 7 states including SA and TAS
- Good dietary variety (vegetarian, low-cal)
- 46% negative reviews — near half of customers unhappy
- Missing ingredients and incorrect deliveries reported
- Complex recipes with long cook times — harder with kids
- Ongoing billing after cancellation reported
Marley Spoon's Martha Stewart recipe range is genuinely impressive — the culinary quality and range of 100+ weekly options surpasses even HelloFresh. But its 3.0/5 ProductReview score, drawn from 5,175 reviews, puts nearly half of customers in the dissatisfied camp. For a couple, a missed ingredient or late delivery is annoying. For a family relying on the box for dinner, it's a real problem.
The recipes also skew more complex — techniques, multi-stage preparations, and longer cook times that work well for food-curious adults but are harder to execute with children in the kitchen or a 6:30 pm hunger crisis in progress.
We'd recommend starting with HelloFresh or EveryPlate. If you want Marley Spoon specifically for its recipe quality, treat it as an occasional treat rather than a weekly family staple — and subscribe with a credit card to give yourself easy recourse if cancellation issues arise.
Side-by-side family comparison
| Feature | HelloFresh | EveryPlate | Marley Spoon |
|---|---|---|---|
| Score (ProductReview) | 4.1 / 5 | 4.1 / 5 | 3.0 / 5 ⚠ |
| 4-person plan available | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Weekly cost (4 people, 3 meals) | ~$115 | ~$63 | ~$118 |
| Kid-friendly filter | Yes | Implicit | No |
| Weekly recipe choices | 50+ | ~20 | 100+ |
| Pantry staples included | Yes | No | Yes |
| Avg. cook time | 25–35 min | 20–30 min | 30–45 min |
| Delivers to SA / TAS | Yes | No | Yes |
| No lock-in contract | Yes | Yes | Yes, but read terms |
Our verdict: which family should choose what?
Most families → HelloFresh. The combination of variety, reliability, dedicated family-friendly recipes, and consistent 4.1/5 satisfaction makes it the safest choice when multiple people with different tastes need to be fed every night. The cost is real, but so is the value — everything is included, it's delivered to all states, and the recipe range means no one gets bored.
Budget-conscious families → EveryPlate. If HelloFresh's ~$115/week stretches the household budget too far, EveryPlate is the right call. You don't sacrifice quality — the 4.1/5 score is identical. You sacrifice variety and flexibility, which matters less to families who eat simple, consistent dinners anyway. The ~$52 weekly saving is a significant number for most Australian households.
SA or TAS families on a budget → Dinnerly. Neither HelloFresh (via EveryPlate) nor EveryPlate delivers to SA or TAS. If you're in one of those states and budget is a priority, Dinnerly (from $5.99/serving) is the cheaper alternative — but its 3.2/5 score means approaching it with eyes open.
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