With so many food subscription boxes in the UK with discounted trials, it’s hard not to at least try. However, free or discounted trials, while generous, have a catch. If you forget to cancel, you’ll be charged the full fee when it Auto-renews. Plus, sometimes, it can be difficult to cancel. A customer on Trustpilot gave a food subscription 1 star due to how difficult it was to cancel.
“Do not sign up to this! It is a nightmare to cancel your subscription and even when you do they then use your email to take your payments from paypal ! They’ll even do this months after cancelling your subscription. How they are still operating amazes
Editor’s note: Subscribed to more than one subscription service and looking for a way to manage them without drowning in the stress of remembering payment dates, free trials etc? Check out our ScribePay app that helps you track and manage all your subscription payments, while Premium users can get an instant bank account (UK) and virtual prepaid card (UK) to approve/decline payments on the fly.
We’ve picked the top 5 food subscription boxes in the UK with free or discounted trials. We’ve provided how long they last, how much the service costs, and how to cancel to avoid paying.
1. Hello Fresh
What is Hello Fresh?
HelloFresh is one of the most popular recipe box services in the UK, and it’s ideal if you want to add something new to your recipe repertoire.
HelloFresh’s recipe boxes contain the exact amount of each ingredient, eliminating the risk of food waste and significantly reducing the amount of effort required when cooking. After all, who knows how much pasta to make?
Each week, there are dozens of recipes to choose from, and, like many other recipe boxes, you can refine the selection based on your own preferences (when you sign up, simply select one of ‘Mostly Meat,’ ‘Veggie,’ ‘Family,’ ‘Quick Cook,’ ‘Calorie Smart,’ or ‘Pescatarian’).
Is there a free trial period? No. However, there is a discounted trial. Get 60% off 1st box, 25% off for 2 months + 3 free gifts!
Subscription fee: £4.50 per serving (estimated).
Hidden costs: Yes, when you subscribe to Hello Fresh the first couple of boxes are heavily discounted. When you continue with the subscription you can see your price increase significantly. Also, the cancellation link is not easy to find based on customer sentiments.
Cancellation required? Yes.
2. SimplyCook
What is SimplyCook?
SimplyCook is a subscription-based recipe box service in London. The company provides a monthly box containing four recipes and ingredients that can be added to your cooking to bring flavours. Each box is delivered through your letter box and also includes recipes that can be used with the flavour pots and ingredients when cooking your meals.
Is there a free trial period? Kind of…Try for free (just £1 for p & P). Sometimes, there is a limited free gift offer worth £8 if you join their mailing list
After the first free box, cook new meals as often as you want for £9.99 (per box).
Subscription fee: £9.99 per box
Is it worth it? :
SimplyCook undoubtedly offers its subscribers the ability to spice up meal times by trying different flavour pots and ingredients. But whether or not it’s worth it will depend on your household and lifestyle.
If you are very busy but don’t want to buy take-out meals all the time, SimplyCook provides great flavours and ideas you can add to shop-bought fresh ingredients in 20 minutes. Compared to the average take-out meal costing £33.50 (avg. per household 2-4 people), for £9.99 per box plus shop-bought ingredients this could save you money and make mealtime adventurous.
SimplyCook is generally considered great value for money. The only reason why it’s not excellent is that some customers find it difficult to cancel subscriptions or forget to cancel after the first free trial.
Cancellation required? Yes.
Manage your subscriptions from one app.
Say goodbye to forgotten missed trials, missed payments and unwanted charges.
Manage your subscriptions from one app.
Say goodbye to forgotten missed trials, missed payments and unwanted charges.
3. MindfulChef
What is Mindfulchef?
Mindful Chef make healthy eating easy with a range of delicious recipe boxes, frozen meals, broths and smoothies. All recipes are imaginative and balanced with no refined carbs or fillers to help you feel your best. With options for all lifestyles, Mindful Chef offers one-person, two-person and family meals, and caters for gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan, flexitarian, vegetarian and pescatarian diets. All their meat is 100% British with free-range chicken, turkey and eggs, grass-fed beef, pasture-grazed lamb and sustainably caught fish. Delivery is free nationwide – direct to your front door – so you can spend more time doing what you love, and less time thinking about what to cook.
Launched in 2015, Mindful Chef has now delivered over 12 million meals and donated over 6 million school meals to children living in poverty. They’re also a certified B Corp, balancing people and the planet with profit and are now officially climate neutral.
Is there a free trial period? No. 25% discount on first 4 boxes
Subscription fee:
Minimum 2 recipes for 2 people (option to add up to 5 recipes)
- Price plan- 2 recipes for 2 people
- £31 for 2 recipes (£7.75 per meal per person)
- Price plan- 4 recipes for 2 people
- £48 for 4 recipes (£6 per meal Per person)
- Price plan 4 recipes for family or 4 people
- £99 for 4 recipes (£6.18 per meal per person)
Is it worth it?
Mindful chef is considered the UK’s Highest-Rated Recipe Box Company with over 12 million meals delivered nationwide. No need to be in for delivery – just let us know where to leave your box. Guaranteed freshness with ice packs and eco-friendly insulation.
People need to know when they select a box they are auto enrolled into a subscription to deliver boxes every week except they pause or cancel. Compared with a takeout, this is a cheaper option and guarantees freshness and healthy living.
Mindful chef is generally considered good value for money. The convenience of someone picking out recipe boxes and delivering fresh ingredients to your house is well appreciated by customers. Now, is it cheaper than going direct to the shop and buying the ingredients yourself? probably not, but you don’t have to drive and then queue up to pay. We see this as a convenient way of cooking healthy food, and it definitely delivers on that.
Cancellation required? Yes.
4. Marvin’s Den
What is Marvin’s Den?
Marvin’s Den is a mobile app and is the world’s first marketplace for ordering from meal delivery companies. The app is available on UK’s iOS App Store and Google Play Store for Android. On the app people can find, compare and order meal prep and pre-made meals and deliveries are available UK nationwide and locally as on the app there are both local and larger providers.
Is there a free trial period? No. You can sign up for the newsletter and get 30% off your first order. In addition, shop now with 15% OFF applicable to any of their meal providers. Use coupon code ‘15NOW’ at checkout for 15% off your first order.
Subscription fee: Minimum spend £30. Select a bundle of meals up to that amount
Hidden costs: None
Cancellation required? Yes.
5. Gousto
What is Gousto ?
Gousto, along with HelloFresh, is arguably the largest meal delivery service available – and, with prices starting at £3 per serving, it’s also one of the cheapest.
Gousto publishes over 60 recipes each week, categorising them as ’10-Minute Meals’, ‘Prepped in 5’, and even a collection of favourites chosen by celebrity fitness coach Joe Wicks.
Ingredients are once again precisely measured, and you can even filter the recipes to find those that meet your dietary requirements, whether they are plant-based, gluten-free, dairy-free, or vegetarian.
Is there a free trial period? No. However, there is a discounted trial. Get 60% off 1st box, and 25% off all boxes in the first 2 months.
Subscription fee: £3 per serving
Hidden costs: None
Cancellation required? Yes.
