Sunbasket VS Home Chef Comparison

UPDATED Dec. 2024
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Sunbasket and Home Chef are currently at the very top of the meal kit delivery market and picking one over the other hinges on tiny details and hard-to-spot nuances in your personal preferences.

Having said that, our detailed Sunbasket vs. Home Chef comparison explores all the relevant features of both companies in an effort to help you make your final decision as easy as possible.

Sunbasket
Cooking healthy meals in no time
VS
Home Chef
Planet-friendly meal service

Highlights

Sunbasket
With Sunbasket, you can handpick recipes that suit your taste, diet, and lifestyle, decide on the number of recipes you want to order per week, double or triple your order when you need more food, choose between high-quality and premium meat options, and completely personalize your orders and meal plan.
  • Price Range: $$
  • Average Price Per Meal: $11.49
  • Shipping Cost: $6.99
  • Delivery Area: 47 states
Home Chef
Home Chef offers budget-friendly prices, great flexibility, a diverse menu, and time-saving recipes suitable for all cooking skill levels.
  • Price Range: $
  • Average Price Per Meal: $8.97
  • Shipping Cost: $0 *
  • Delivery Area: 48 states
*free shipping on all orders worth $45+

Compare Features

Sunbasket
Best For
Best for home cooks looking for a perfect combination of variety, quality, and customizability
Menu/Meal Plans
With Sunbasket, you can choose between the Classic Menu and the Family menu.
Recipes/Meal Options
Sunbasket features 18 new dinner recipes and dozens of add-ons (including breakfasts and lunches) on the Classic Menu and 6 new dinner recipes on the Family Menu each week.
Meal & Recipe Variety
Sunbasket offers Paleo, lean and clean, gluten-free, vegetarian, vegan, pescatarian, Mediterranean, Heart-Check certified, dairy-free, soy-free, and family-friendly dinner recipes. Most meals are ready in around half an hour and there are plenty of easy-prep, one-pot, stir-fry, and make-ahead options. The recipes are inspired by various world cuisines, including Thai, Italian, Vietnamese, Mediterranean, American, and Mexican. In addition to dinner recipes, the service offers 5-minute salads, signature sauces and dips, and veggie snacks available as add-ons.
Food Quality
Sunbasket sources the best organic produce of the season, its seafood is of the highest quality and recommended by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch, and its meat is humanely raised, grass-fed and free from antibiotics and hormones.
Nutritional Value & Portion Size
The average calorie count for Sunbasket meals is between 500 and 800 calories per serving. All meals are optimally balanced and approved by its in-house nutritionist. The meals on the Classic menu are perfectly portioned for 2 or 4 adults and the ones on the Family menu are designed for 4 adults with leftovers.
Subscription Flexibility
With Sunbasket, you can make changes to your order or skip, pause, and cancel your delivery at any time. All changes must be made by Noon PST / 3pm EST the Wednesday before your delivery is due.
Refunds
Sunbasket boasts an excellent 100% money-back guarantee, so if you are not happy with your order for whatever reason, just notify the company within 7 days of delivery and you will be issued a refund or credit.
Home Chef
Best For
Best for home cooks with a busy schedule
Menu/Meal Plans
Home Chef does not separate its meals into distinct meal plans but instead offers one weekly menu to choose from.
Recipes/Meal Options
Home Chef offers 18 new recipes each week plus 3 add-ons including ready-to-cook protein packs and smoothies.
Meal & Recipe Variety
Home Chef’s weekly selection always includes omnivore, vegetarian, carb-conscious, and calorie-conscious recipes. Depending on your needs and preferences, you can choose to receive recipes that do not contain pork, red meat, gluten, mushrooms, soy, nuts, dairy or shellfish. Lunches and smoothies take just 5 minutes to make and dinners are usually ready in around 30 minutes.
Food Quality
Home Chef sources its ingredients from trusted suppliers and farmers that employ the best sustainability practices. It sources locally whenever possible and makes sure that the food you receive is fresh, natural, and good for you.
Nutritional Value & Portion Size
The calorie count of Home Chef meals significantly varies, from under 200 calories to more than 750 calories. Calorie-conscious meals are clearly labeled. The meals are rich in all valuable nutrients and come in ample portions, keeping you full for hours.
Subscription Flexibility
With Home Chef, you can edit or customize your subscription anytime you want. You can also skip, pause or cancel your order whenever you wish. All changes to your order must be made by 12pm(CST) on the Friday prior to the scheduled delivery day.
Refunds
If you are not satisfied with your delivery from Home Chef, you may be eligible for a refund or credit.

Compare Plans & Pricing

Sunbasket
Sunbasket Plans & Pricing
Classic Menu (2 servings)
Meals per weekMeal kit pricePrice per serving
2$51.96$12.99
3$71.94$11.99
4$87.92$10.99
Classic Menu (4 servings)
Meals per weekMeal kit pricePrice per serving
2$103.92$12.99
3$143.88$11.99
4$175.84$10.99
Family Plan (4 servings)
Meals per weekMeal kit pricePrice per serving
2$87.92$10.99
3$131.88$10.99
4$175.84$10.99
Home Chef
Home Chef Plans & Pricing
2 Servings
Meals per weekMeal kit pricePrice per serving
2$39.80$9.95
3$59.70$9.95
4$79.60$9.95
5$99.50$9.95
6$119.40$9.95
4 Servings
Meals per weekMeal kit pricePrice per serving
2$79.60$9.95
3$119.40$9.95
4$159.20$9.95
5$199.00$9.95
6$238.80$9.95
6 Servings
Meals per weekMeal kit pricePrice per serving
2$119.40$9.95
3$179.10$9.95
4$238.80$9.95
5$298.50$9.95
6$358.20$9.95

Suitable For

Sunbasket
Meals For Families
Meals For Kids
Meals For Seniors
Meals For One
Home Chef
Meals For Families
Meals For Kids
Meals For Seniors
Meals For One

Compare Meal Options

Sunbasket
Vegetarian Meals
Vegan Meals
Paleo Meals
Keto Meals
Low-Carb Meals
Low-Fat Meals
Meals For Diabetics
Gluten-Free Meals
Organic Meals
Weight Loss Meals
Home Chef
Vegetarian Meals
Vegan Meals
Paleo Meals
Keto Meals
Low-Carb Meals
Low-Fat Meals
Meals For Diabetics
Gluten-Free Meals
Organic Meals
Weight Loss Meals

Compare Sample Meals

Sunbasket
Home Chef

Compare Extras

Sunbasket
A La Carte Menu
Gift Cards
Marketplace
Home Chef
A La Carte Menu
Gift Cards
Marketplace

Compare Ratings

Sunbasket
FINAL RATING
9.5/10
Meal Options
Variety
Nutritional Value
Portion Size
Flexibility
Price
Home Chef
FINAL RATING
9.8/10
Meal Options
Variety
Nutritional Value
Portion Size
Flexibility
Price

Compare Customer Reviews

Sunbasket
  • Submitted By Robert Bowser on 05/05/2019
    I have been subscribing to Sun Basket for about a year after trying 3 or 4 other meal / recipe providers. I am very impressed with how Sun basket has continuously improved. Their re pies are well constructed, simple, healthy, delicious, and very easy to execute with most of the heavy lifting (sauces etc) already done. Ingredients are well chosen, organic, and top notch. They contain to work to reduce the u excess Arya packaging, This is by far the best of the meal providers I have experienced. I really enjoy this and as someone who cooks a lot, I learn constantly from the construction of their meals. Most importantly, this is an easy 30 minute dinner for when we just want to eat well without a lot of fuss or preparation. Love it.
  • Submitted By Katherine Sandouk on 03/16/2019
    I am extremely disappointed with this meal subscription service and I have tried a few of them. They have a no-refund policy, which other meal subscription services I have used do because sometimes it's hard to skip every week. On top of that it was hard for me to figure out how to put my account on hold. I tried to get them to cancel my account in November and it didn't work so I had to just skip a bunch of weeks and try to figure out again how to close my account. Then when I finally didn't get the time to skip a bunch more which is also hard to do via your phone and tried over and over to get my account put on hold via desktop and mobile it caught up to me and they charged me over 80$, all they could do was give me 20$ back and say I think that's more than fair, uh no that's horrible customer service. They say they don't have the man power to take your package off the line, well you should figure something out if you want people to return to you in the future. And now I wont be able to pay my bills because of them. If they can afford to give out 80$ coupons, I think they can afford to refund me ALL my money back. I don't recommend them If you want an easy to use, and refund friendly subscription. BTW this happened to me twice with them. I am a busy mom and I promise you I tried several times to straighten this out, it's not easy enough. I've tried home chef, freshly and plated.
  • Submitted By Diana Bryant on 02/15/2019
    I’ve been trying to use much more veggies and healthy foods in my diet recently and I also discovered my love for international cusine and I have Sun Basket to thank for all that. I became a real adventurer when it comes to food and I get to enjoy loads of different recipes every week and share them with my loved ones. As with any meal service, there’s gonna be some repetition but not even close as much as with some other companies I used in the past.
  • Submitted By Denisse Simmons on 02/07/2019
    One of the best things about Sun Basket for me is the fact that it reduces food waste by a lot. I simply get the exact amounts I’ll need to make any particular dish and never end up with an extra head of cabbage or something like that. It has also reduced my visits to to the store to let’s say basically once every week.
Home Chef
  • Submitted By N. Chamousis on 12/05/2019
    My wife and I really enjoy the Home Chef meals. They've come up with some great, easy to prepare recipes that are healthy quite good. It's just unfortunate that they can't get their act together on the delivery service. A real shame.
  • Submitted By Merrie Smith on 09/24/2019
    I have had several shipments from Home Chef and there has been poor quality produce in every box. At first I thought maybe it was just that the shipping service had mishandled the package. But that turned out not to be the case. I have been sent cauliflower that had a strong odor and turning brown, bruised pablano peppers, damaged zucchini on two occasions, and wilted, browning green onions. It's really a shame because the other ingredients and recipes are of good quality. The first occasion that I received bad produce, I called customer service and received very generous credits to my account and was hoping that future shipments would be better. I started avoid ordering the produce that I had issues with. But most of the produce I received from Home Chef was of poor quality and I have decided that it's just not worth the cost.
  • Submitted By Barbara II on 06/18/2019
    Only 3 weeks in, 6 dinners, but have been able to make third and fourth servings from leftovers. Have added some veggies of our own to be able to do that and remain on healthy portions. Everything delicious! We are ready to see some repeat offerings because they were so good. Starting with easy courses because it has been a while since we have cooked, but an accidental inclusion of one rated intermediate confirmed there are good things to come. I’m not sure that I won’t ‘steal’ some recipes to make again soon. There have been items cooked together we would not have put together and were surprised by how good they were together as well. Everything fresh, nicely packaged, beautiful. THANKS!
  • Submitted By Julie Patterson on 02/20/2019
    A lot of my friends had very positive experiences with Home Chef and they recommended it highly when I started looking for a good meal delivery after getting a new job and having way less time to shop for groceries, plan the meals and cook. The food is great and the customer service answered every single question I had regarding the company and the service in general. The delivery driver is also very nice, which is a very refreshing change.

Winner

Home Chef is a meal kit delivery service that supplies you with only the freshest, highest quality ingredients. What sets it apart is the amazing variety of recipes you can choose from. To discover how the service works, what kind of recipes it offers, how much it costs, and whether it is right for you, read our detailed Home Chef review.

Meal Options

Sunbasket offers 2 weekly menus and 11 meal plans designed for different dietary preferences and lifestyles. You can choose your meals from the Classic menu or the Family menu. The plans at your disposal include the Mediterranean, Vegetarian, Pescatarian, Vegan, Paleo, Gluten-Free, Lean & Clean, Diabetic-Friendly, Carb-Conscious, Quick & Easy, and Chef’s Choice plans.

Home Chef does not offer specialized meal plans. Instead, it asks its customers to state which ingredients they do not or cannot eat and offers recipe recommendations based on the stated preferences. Both vegetarian and omnivore recipes are available.

Variety

Sunbasket offers 18 fresh meal ideas every week, plus add-ons such as 5-minute salads, sauces, dips, and veggie snacks. With the Classic menu, you can choose 2, 3 or 4 out of 18 recipes and as many add-ons as you want and cook for 2 or 4 people. With the Family menu, you can choose 2, 3 or 4 out of 6 recipes and cook for a family of 4.

Home Chef offers 16 new recipes every week, along with 2 lovely add-ons, including a smoothie and a fruit basket. You can order 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6 recipes for 2, 4 or 6 people.

Nutritional Value

Both Sunbasket and Home Chef are known for the high quality of their ingredients and their optimally balanced meals. No matter which one you choose, you are getting wonderfully nutritious meals that are providing your body with all the energy and nutrients it needs. However, Sunbasket does score some extra points in this department, as it uses organic ingredients whenever possible.

Portion Size

No one hates small portions more than we do and we are happy to say that Sunbasket and Home Chef are two services that know how much customers value ample portions. Both companies offer portions large enough to satisfy those with greater appetites and in some cases, there may even be some leftovers to enjoy later.

Flexibility

Sunbasket and Home Chef offer perfectly flexible subscriptions. Both services allow you to skip a delivery or end your subscription whenever you want, easily and quickly.

Price

Sunbasket meals come at the price of $10.99 to $12.99 per serving with the Classic menu and $10.99 with the Family menu. Your first delivery comes with free shipping. All subsequent deliveries come with a $6.99 shipping fee. The food you receive from Sunbasket comes with a 100% money-back guarantee.

Home Chef meals normally cost $9.95 per serving, unless otherwise indicated. In some cases, the price may be even lower. Add-ons cost $4.95 each. Shipping is free of charge on orders over $45. Orders that cost less than $45 come with a $10 shipping fee.

* All the prices on this website are subject to change without notice. While we put a great deal of effort into making sure that all the prices are accurate, one or more products may have outdated prices. Please visit the specific product’s official website for exact prices.
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