Home Bistro VS Blue Apron Comparison

UPDATED Mar. 2024
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Our team of experts identified the most important characteristics of meal deliveries: meal options, variety, nutritional value, portion size, flexibility, and price. We used these 6 criteria to determine which meal delivery service would be a better choice for you – Home Bistro or Blue Apron.

Home Bistro
Gourmet meals for all tastes
VS
Blue Apron
Healthy cooking made fun and easy

Highlights

Home Bistro
Home Bistro offers an impressive selection of restaurant-quality meals cooked by one of the best chefs in America, made of fresh, seasonal ingredients, and ready to eat in no more than 10 minutes.
  • Price Range: $$$
  • Average Price Per Meal: $17.66
  • Shipping Cost: $15.95-$59.95
  • Delivery Area: 48 states
Blue Apron
Blue Apron is a healthy home cooking solution that allows you to cook impressive meals, save time on meal planning and preparation, and even save some cash by getting premium-quality ingredients in just the right quantity at a good price.
  • Price Range: $$
  • Average Price Per Meal: $9.74
  • Shipping Cost: $0 *
  • Delivery Area: 48 states
*free shipping on all orders except for 2-recipe boxes for 2 people

Compare Features

Home Bistro
Best For
Best for fans of gourmet food
Menu/Meal Plans
With Home Bistro, you can choose from 4 categories, including Meal Combos, Chefs Choice, Individual Meals, and SUPERBowls.
Recipes/Meal Options
Home Bistro features more than 50 options on its menu.
Meal & Recipe Variety
Whether you opt for Home Bistro’s individual meals or meal combos, you get to enjoy a vast range of restaurant-grade entrées, including Paleo-friendly, diabetic-friendly, heart-healthy, vegetarian, Mediterranean, low-carb, and gluten-free dishes, as well as meals suitable for weight loss. The meals are often exotic, always gourmet, and sometimes quite luxurious.
Food Quality
Home Bistro carefully chooses its suppliers, making sure that all the ingredients are fresh and natural and that all the meat used to make its meals is humanely raised, vegetarian fed, and free from antibiotics, hormones, and steroids commonly used to induce growth.
Nutritional Value & Portion Size
With Home Bistro, the average calorie count is 500-700 calories per serving. The meals are generally high in protein and rich in superfoods. The portions are not small, but they may not be satisfying enough for individuals with a big appetite. The standard portion size is 14 ounces.
Subscription Flexibility
With Home Bistro, you can order and reorder as many meals as you like whenever you like. If you opt for a subscription, you can modify or cancel it anytime, just make sure to notify the company in advance.
Refunds
Home Bistro has a strict no refund policy.
Blue Apron
Best For
Best for adventurous foodies with little experience in the kitchen
Menu/Meal Plans
Blue Apron offers two menus, including the 2-Person menu and the Family menu.
Recipes/Meal Options
Blue Apron features 8 new recipes on the 2-Person menu and 4 new recipes on the Family menu each week.
Meal & Recipe Variety
Blue Apron's menu focuses on easy-cleanup, quick-prep recipes that are often ready in just 30 minutes. The recipes are suitable for omnivores, vegetarians, and fans of the Mediterranean diet. The chefs aim to strike a perfect balance between meat, seafood, and veggie options and create innovative meals inspired by international classics.
Food Quality
Blue Apron takes pride in offering nothing but the freshest, sustainably sourced seafood recommended by the Seafood Watch, hormone-free, antibiotic-free meat, and nutritious seasonal produce fresh from the farm, free from GMOs, and organic whenever possible.
Nutritional Value & Portion Size
Blue Apron offers optimally balanced meals with portion size based on the rules of healthy eating, thus allowing you to enjoy satisfying meals without overeating or wasting food.
Subscription Flexibility
With Blue Apron, you can switch from one plan to another or pause your delivery whenever you want. All changes to your subscription must be made before the 'Changeable before' date, which you can view in your account.
Refunds
Blue Apron boasts its unique Freshness Guarantee. If you are not happy with your order, you can contact the company and they will gladly resolve your issue.

Compare Plans & Pricing

Home Bistro
Home Bistro Plans & Pricing
Individual meals
Number of servingsLowest priceHighest price
1$14.00$28.99
Meal combos
Number of servingsTotal pricePrice per serving
6 - 14$101.99 - $322.99$16.99 - $23.07
SUPERBowls
Number of servingsTotal pricePrice per serving
7 - 14$85.99 - $149.99$10.71 - $12.28
Blue Apron
Blue Apron Plans & Pricing
2-Serving Signature plan
Meals per weekMeal kit pricePrice per serving
2$39.96$9.99
3$59.94$9.99
2-Serving WW Freestyle Plan
Meals per weekMeal kit pricePrice per serving
2$39.96$9.99
3$59.94$9.99
2-Serving Vegetarian Plan
Meals per weekMeal kit pricePrice per serving
2$39.96$9.99
3$59.94$9.99
4-Serving Signature Plan
Meals per weekMeal kit pricePrice per serving
2$71.92$8.99
3$95.88$7.99
4$119.84$7.49

Suitable For

Home Bistro
Meals For Families
Meals For Kids
Meals For Seniors
Meals For One
Blue Apron
Meals For Families
Meals For Kids
Meals For Seniors
Meals For One

Compare Meal Options

Home Bistro
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
Blue Apron
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

Home Bistro
Blue Apron

Compare Extras

Home Bistro
A La Carte Menu
Gift Cards
Marketplace
Blue Apron
A La Carte Menu
Gift Cards
Marketplace

Compare Ratings

Home Bistro
FINAL RATING
9.5/10
Meal Options
Variety
Nutritional Value
Portion Size
Flexibility
Price
Blue Apron
FINAL RATING
9.2/10
Meal Options
Variety
Nutritional Value
Portion Size
Flexibility
Price

Compare Customer Reviews

Home Bistro
  • Submitted By Catherine Hill on 06/25/2018
    Poor quality meals - meat like rubber, broccoli no flavor and mushy, rice stuck in a blob like glue. All meals flavorless- poor customer service. They clearly do not want feedback on poor quality- don’t waste your money- you would be better off with take out fast food. And by the way I am a healthcare provider that generally councils patients against fast food.
  • Submitted By Maria Jackson on 05/14/2018
    The available cookbooks use simple ingredients I've actually heard about but the meal choices are always elegant and delicious, so I can even prepare them for my friends without feeling like I'm serving them scrambled eggs.
  • Submitted By Ian Cage on 05/12/2018
    Excellent meal delivery for people who try to steer clear of meat as much as possible but still enjoy a good steak from time to time. I'm no cooking wizard by any stretch of the imagination, so the professional service tips I got with every delivery were more than welcome.
  • Submitted By Tina Carlson on 05/05/2018
    A great fusion of rustic and modern recipes really allows me to express my current mood through the meals I eat and serve to my partner after a hard day's work. The wine suggestions are also a neat little addition that saves a lot of time to wine ignoramuses like me
Blue Apron
  • Submitted By George on 07/02/2019
    We have had Blue Apron for over a year now. They have cleaned up alot of mistakes from the past - missing ingredients, etc.. Their food is very good, they know how to spice a dish and great sauces. We will keep using them. However, I have to say, there are now several competitors with fully organic food and a wider choice of meals each week. We are going to check them out. Organic food matters. If BA wants to survive for another year (I hope they do), they are at least going to have to expand their choices to 18 a week.
  • Submitted By LISA on 03/23/2019
    I have tried many different delivery services. I love to cook and have no problems in the kitchen, however sometimes shopping and planning...well there is no time. I love that you can choose which recipes you like which meats ect. Why better than fast food and takes just about the same time. things I would like they change, less pots to clean, and tripe the veggies in each recipe; CUSTOMER SERCVICE IS THE BEST. However I wish they would not send a box unless I order, trying to remember to cancel for the week because I wont be home is something
  • Submitted By Virginia Cole on 11/28/2018
    When I first started using Blue Apron, I was amazed! The meals were delicious, flavorful, and very easy to prepare. We slowly switched to eating Blue Apron meals six days every single week and it was all great until a couple of months ago when they started sending the shipments late and missing the ingredients. Sometimes they don’t pack a garnish or a spice which isn’t a deal breaker but I’ve missed main ingredients a couple of times as well. Hope Blue Apron ups their game since I would really hate to switch companies after such pleasant experiences in the past.
  • Submitted By Jan on 09/04/2018
    I have been using Blue Apron for about 10 months now. The ingredients are always fresh. The recipes have been delicious. And the variety and portion sizes make BA a top meal delivery service. I would recommend BA to anyone looking to cook healthy meal options. I love BA and can't imagine what I'd do without them now. I can't remember how we cooked prior to BA. Our meal planning before BA was so blah now that I think about it. Sign up for BA and you really will be glad you gave them a try.

Winner

Home Bistro allows you to enjoy restaurant-grade delicacies in the comfort of your own home. The highly skilled kitchen team is led by a Certified Executive Chef and the ingredients are handpicked to ensure the highest standards of taste and nutrition. Read more about this company and its meal delivery service in our dedicated Home Bistro review.

Meal Options

Home Bistro doesn’t offer meal plans per se. Instead, it lets you decide how many dishes you want delivered, as well as how often you want to receive them. Home Bistro delivers both individual meals and meal combos and its meals are generally suitable for lunch and dinner.

Blue Apron delivers pre-portioned ingredients and simple instructions for preparation. There are 4 meal plans, including the 2-Serving Signature plan for omnivores, the 2-Serving Vegetarian plan, the 2-Serving WW Freestyle plan created in partnership with WW (Weight Watchers reimagined), and the 4-Serving Signature plan including kid-friendly omnivore recipes.

Variety

Home Bistro takes the lead here since it offers more than just dinner items and covers a wider spectrum of special diets. Its menu is very rich and colorful. It offers about 40 individual meals, around 20 meal combos, and a dozen SUPERBowls designed as convenient lunches on the go. There are special offers for customers with specific dietary needs, like gluten-free, diabetic-friendly, vegetarian, Paleo, low-carb, lower sodium or cancer support meals.

Blue Apron introduces 22 new dinner recipes every week. If you opt for one of the 2-serving plans, you can order 2 or 3 out of 3 to 8 recipes available per week. With the 4-serving plan, you get to choose 2, 3 or 4 out of 5 fresh recipes every week.

Nutritional Value

Meals from Blue Apron are perfectly planned for a balanced and healthy diet. With Home Bistro, you get meals according to your food preferences. They can be low-carb, gourmet or adjusted for a diabetic diet.

Portion Size

Both companies offer meals carefully measured and big enough to satisfy a grown-up.

Flexibility

Flexibility is a big advantage of both companies. With Home Bistro, you can order whenever it suits you. On the other hand, Blue Apron allows you to skip or cancel for free if you inform them on time.

Price

Home Bistro can be a bit pricey, especially when it comes to delivery. They charge for each delivery and the shipping price grows with the price of your order. More expensive shipments cost you more, regardless of the shipping address.

Blue Apron is cheaper and shipping is free on all orders except for 2-recipe boxes for 2 people.

* 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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