The UK’s Leading Healthy Meal Delivery Services Compared

How We Compared the UK’s Leading Healthy Meal Delivery Services
Competitor Overview Snapshot
Comparison Table
Where Calo Stands Out
When Another Brand Might Be the Right Fit

Meeting the new standard for healthy eating at home

The UK’s healthy meal delivery market has transformed over the past few years. What began as a convenience-led service has evolved into a sophisticated ecosystem of chef-designed, nutrition-focused brands helping busy people eat better without compromise.

With so many names now in the space - from Hello Fresh and Mindful Chef to newer players like Calo, Frive and Simmer - it can be hard to know which one best fits your lifestyle and goals.

This comparison brings together the UK’s leading healthy meal delivery services to compare Calo with alternate offerings on the market.

How We Compared the UK’s Leading Healthy Meal Delivery Services

To provide a fair, balanced overview, we looked at seven key factors drawn from publicly available brand information, reviews, and customer insights:

Value for Money – balancing quality, portion size, and pricing
Meal Quality & Ingredients – freshness, sourcing, and chef input
Personalisation & Control – ability to choose, customise, and adjust meals
Variety & Options – breadth of menu and rotation frequency
Dietary Inclusivity – suitability for specific diets or health goals
Delivery & Subscription Flexibility – ease of scheduling, pausing, and managing orders
Customer Experience & Service – support quality, transparency, and responsiveness

All comparisons are based on information available as of October 2025.

Competitor Overview Snapshot

Calo

Calo creates personalised, nutritionist-designed menus for the customer based on their individual tastes, nutritional needs and health goals. They deliver fresh chef-crafted meals, ready to eat. Offering the convenience of prepared food with the quality and variety of restaurant dining.

Frive

Frive focuses on healthy, ready-to-heat meals prepared by chefs and nutritionists. Their core appeal lies in balanced, calorie-controlled dishes designed for fitness and weight management.

Simmer (Simmer Eats)

Simmer offers nutritionally balanced, single-portion meals that can be microwaved in minutes. Their model prioritises convenience and speed, often catering to those looking for quick, comfort options.

Prep Kitchen

Positioned as a fitness-oriented brand, Prep Kitchen provides high-protein, macro-counted meals for gym-goers and athletes. Menus rotate regularly, but personalisation beyond macro targets is limited.

Hello Fresh

A household name, Hello Fresh delivers recipe boxes with raw ingredients and step-by-step cooking instructions. It appeals to those who enjoy cooking but want to remove meal planning and shopping.

Mindful Chef

Mindful Chef sits in the premium healthy recipe box segment, focusing on sustainably sourced, gluten-free ingredients and ethically minded customers.

Gousto

Gousto is a large recipe-box service that emphasises variety and accessibility. It offers a wide menu selection, frequent new recipes, and a focus on value. Gousto suits those who enjoy cooking but want choice and convenience; nutritional customisation is improving but generally less clinical than nutritionist-led providers.

Cook

Cook specialises in chef-prepared frozen meals, offering convenience with a home-cooked feel. Its strength lies in batch-cooked comfort dishes made with quality ingredients, ideal for freezer storage and last-minute dining. However, nutritional targeting and personalisation options are more limited compared with newer, fresh-prep services.

Comparison Table

BRAND	PRICE POINT	QUALITY	PERSONALISATION	VARIETY	Deliveries	FLEXIBILITY	DIETARY INCLUSIVITY	What this means for you
Calo	Affordable Premium (£9-10 a meal)	High (chef & nutritionist-led, unprocessed ingredients, delivered within 24 hours, daily)	High (custom macros, swap meals, edit ingredients, different portion sizes, high protein options)	20+ daily options, 100+ weekly options and regularly updated menu (new dishes every 2-3 weeks)	Daily	Make changes up to 48 hours before delivery	- All-inclusive (balanced, high-protein, gut and IBS friendly and vegetarian options everyday.) - Halal-friendly. - Ability to exclude ingredients for allergens, dairy-free, gluten-free, meat-free, etc.	Personalised nutrition made effortless
Frive	Mid-Range (£8 a meal)	Good (all-natural ingredients)	Moderate (fixed meals)	Moderate (30-35 options a day)	5 x a week (every day except Tuesday and Sat)	Make changes 8 pm on Tuesday for deliveries on Sunday & Monday. 8 pm on Friday for deliveries on Wednesday & Thursday.	- Balanced options. - Varied cuisines. - Mostly hot meals.	Reliable everyday nutrition with weight-focus
Simmer	Low (£7.50 a meal)	Moderate	Limited (6 options a day, 2 x days a week)	Small (per day)	2 x a week (Sun & Thurs)	Make changes up until Tuesday at 1 pm each week.	- Balanced options. - Specialises in hot food. - Lots of asian inspiration - Lots of curries and stews.	Fast, simple meals for busy schedules
Prep Kitchen	Low (£7 a meal)	Good	Moderate (fixed meals)	Moderate (20 options a week)	2 x a week (Sunday and Monday)	For subscriptions, payments are taken Tuesday at midday each week. Changes (such as pause or cancel) must be done before Tuesday midday to take effect for that week.	- High-protein focus. - Balanced comforts and classics with better macros	Best for structured training and macro goals
HelloFresh	Moderate (£5 a serving)	Good (you cook it)	Moderate (caters for all diets but can't modify the recipes)		7 x days a week	Skip/cancel by 11:59 pm PST 5 days before your next scheduled delivery	- Balanced. - Good for vegetarian and vegan.	Perfect for those who enjoy cooking with convenience
Mindful Chef	Premium (£7.50 a serving)	High (and you cook it)	Moderate (caters for all diets but can't modify the recipes)	Moderate (30 x options a day)	7 x days a week	4-days-before rule for editing your delivery.	- Specialises in gluten and dairy free. - Ethical sourcing.	For sustainability-minded & premium-foussed home cooks
Gousto	Premium (£7 a serving)	Good (you cook it)	Moderate (caters for all diets but can't modify the recipes)	Large (193 recipes available on one day)	7 x days a week	You can change your delivery date or cancel your upcoming box up until 12 noon (midday), 3 days before your delivery date.	- Everything.	Great variety and frequent novelty for home cooks
Cook	Moderate (£6 a meal)	Good (frozen)	Low (fixed dishes)	Large (between 50-100 meals available every day)	7 x days a week	COOK orders can be edited up to 2 full days before the order is due.	- Traditional options - Comforting classics.	Ideal for freezer planning and quick home comfort meals

Where Calo Stands Out

1. Exceptional Value Without Compromise

Calo’s mission is to make premium nutrition accessible and sustainable. Meals are designed by nutritionists and crafted by professional chefs, offering quality comparable to dining out. It comes at a slight cost that represents genuine value when compared with eating the same quality elsewhere, eg. restaurant dining or takeaways.

Calo’s monthly plans also reward consistency, offering savings compared to weekly subscriptions while ensuring continuous support toward health goals.

“Our approach to pricing is simple — quality ingredients, portion accuracy, and balanced nutrition should never mean paying restaurant prices every day.”

— Calo Nutrition Team

2. Quality You Can Taste and Trust

Every Calo meal is freshly prepared and delivered within 24 hours of production - never frozen, never mass-produced. We use whole, minimally processed ingredients and avoid ultra-processed additives commonly found in pre-packed meals.

Menus evolve seasonally, ensuring variety and freshness while meeting the highest nutritional standards.

3. Personalisation and Control

Unlike fixed-plan services, Calo allows customers to fully customise their menu. Whether you’re following a high-protein, balanced or plant-based plan, you can adjust meals, portions, and schedules at any time.

Plans and menus adapt with your goals - whether you’re training, managing weight, or simply maintaining a balanced lifestyle.

4. Flexibility and Service Designed for Real Life

Calo customers can pause, skip, or modify deliveries easily from their account dashboard. Deliveries are timed to suit you, and the support team ensures swift responses to any queries - a standout point in an industry where service flexibility can vary.

This approach means no wasted meals, no rigid contracts. Just effortless, ongoing support.

5. Inclusive Options for Every Goal

Calo’s menu is designed to serve a diverse range of needs - from gut friendly, gluten and dairy-free to vegan and high-protein. While some competitors specialise narrowly (e.g., high protein or gluten-free only), Calo’s approach is holistic: nourishing food that’s inclusive and abundant, not restrictive.

For dedicated athletes with very specific macro targets, Calo’s Custom Macros plan allows you to enter your bespoke macro requirements and we will build a menu aligned with the exact numbers for best results.

When Another Brand Might Be the Right Fit

Calo’s approach is built for customers who value quality, nutrition, and convenience in equal measure.

However, if your priority is the lowest possible cost per meal, or if you prefer to cook from scratch, services like Hello Fresh or Simmer might suit you better.

Recognising these distinctions helps every customer find the service that best supports their lifestyle. But for those seeking an integrated, premium and flexible experience, Calo stands ready.

Conclusion: Designed for the Way You Eat Today

As healthy eating becomes an essential part of modern life, healthy meal delivery services are no longer just about convenience - they’re about quality, and care.

Among the UK’s leading providers, Calo stands out for its refined balance of chef-crafted flavour, personalised nutrition, and effortless flexibility - helping customers feel in control and build lasting, healthy habits without compromise.

Learn more about our plans and explore the Calo Blog for more insights into nutrition, wellness, and performance.