# HelloFresh vs Mindful Chef

HelloFresh and Mindful Chef both sit at 4.7 stars, but that hides the real split: 85% of Mindful Chef's written reviews are positive against 41% of HelloFresh's. HelloFresh's advantage is monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases) and ratings volume (219K vs 5). On price, rating, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for HelloFresh against 4.6 for Mindful Chef. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: HelloFresh has 219K ratings behind it against 5, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 41% of HelloFresh's written reviews are positive against 85% of Mindful Chef's.

HelloFresh ships an update weekly, Mindful Chef every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 13, 2026 and November 11, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | HelloFresh | Mindful Chef |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.7 (219K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/hellofresh-meal-kit-and-recipes/id970107419/reviews)** | [4.6 (5 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mindful-chef/id1498421479/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **219K** | 5 |
| Positive reviews | 40.7% of reviews | **85.4% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Weekly** | Every 3 weeks |
| Monetization | **Free** | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | **#142** | — |
| Size | 500 MB | 64 MB |
| Requires iOS | **16.0** | 16.4 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad** | iPhone |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [HelloFresh](https://appshunter.io/developer/970107418) | [Mindful Chef Ltd](https://appshunter.io/developer/1487979096) |

## What reviewers say

### HelloFresh

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/hellofresh-meal-kit-and-recipes/id970107419)

**Currently charting:** #142 Top Free · Food & Drink (US App Store)

This app delivers pre-portioned ingredients and chef-crafted recipes directly to your door, making home cooking easy and delicious. Explore a wide variety of meal options catering to different dietary needs and preferences, with features like voice-guided instructions and health app syncing.

**Highlights:** 100+ weekly recipes, Dietary preference filtering, Voice-activated cooking instructions, Sync nutrition info to Health App, Modify servings and delivery, Save recipes to Cookbook

**Features:** Apple Wallet, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🍔 Delicious meals
- 👨‍🍳 Easy to cook
- 🕰️ Convenient and time-saving
- 🌱 Healthy and fresh ingredients
- 🤝 Great family bonding experience

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Delivery issues and missing ingredients
- 🤖 Buggy and unintuitive app
- 📦 Poor packaging and quality control
- 🔄 Difficult to cancel or modify subscription
- 💳 Unexpected charges and billing issues

**Reported bugs**

- App crashes and freezes
- Incorrect meal deliveries
- Inability to manage subscription and orders
- Delayed or missing deliveries

**Requested features**

- Larger portion sizes
- More dietary options (e.g., gluten-free, low-carb)
- Ability to customize meals and swap ingredients
- Improved app functionality and user experience
- Better communication and customer support


### Mindful Chef

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mindful-chef/id1498421479)

Easily manage your healthy meal deliveries and subscription preferences. Choose recipes, adjust delivery dates, and update your details to receive fresh ingredients and delicious meals at your doorstep.

**Highlights:** Manage deliveries, Choose recipes, Skip deliveries, Manage subscription, Edit delivery details, Update personal info

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 High quality ingredients
- 😋 Delicious and tasty meals
- 💡 Creative and interesting recipes
- ✅ Easy to follow instructions
- 👨‍🍳 Encourages cooking skills

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Frequent app crashes
- 🐛 App won't open
- 🐛 Frequent logouts
- 🐛 Password reset issues
- 🐛 Login session expiry

**Reported bugs**

- App constantly crashes
- App crashes on startup
- App won't open
- App expires sessions too quickly
- Password reset functionality through app doesn't work

**Requested features**

- Ability to favorite recipes
- Option to favorite recipes
- Improve recipe readability (item by item)
- Show selected meals at top when choosing date
- Display recipe time with description


## Frequently asked questions

### Is HelloFresh free?

HelloFresh is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Mindful Chef free?

Mindful Chef is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, HelloFresh or Mindful Chef?

HelloFresh is rated higher. HelloFresh averages 4.7 out of 5 from 219K ratings, while Mindful Chef averages 4.6 from 5 ratings.

### Do HelloFresh or Mindful Chef have ads?

Neither HelloFresh nor Mindful Chef shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, HelloFresh or Mindful Chef?

HelloFresh ships an update weekly, and Mindful Chef every 3 weeks. Most recently, HelloFresh was updated on November 13, 2026 and Mindful Chef on November 11, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*