EveryPlate vs Purple Carrot (2026): Budget Kits vs Vegan Kits

Updated June 2026

EveryPlate vs Purple Carrot: The Short Version

EveryPlate and Purple Carrot are both meal kits where you cook at home, but they're built for fundamentally different households. EveryPlate is the cheapest mainstream meal kit available - $5-$7 per serving, simple 5-ingredient recipes, 20+ weekly options including meat and vegetarian. Purple Carrot is a premium 100% plant-based kit at $9-$12 per serving with 8-10 vegan-only recipes per week and more creative cooking. If your household eats vegan, Purple Carrot is built specifically for you. If your household wants low-cost meal kits and eats meat, EveryPlate is the stronger choice by a significant margin.

Budget vs Vegan Specialization

EveryPlate wins decisively on price. At $5-$7 per serving, it costs roughly half what Purple Carrot charges. The trade-off is recipe specialization: EveryPlate is a general-purpose meal kit with basic comfort-food-oriented recipes and no specialized plant-based commitment. If you're vegan, you can filter to vegetarian options - but EveryPlate's vegetarian selections include dairy and eggs, so they're not vegan-friendly. Vegans cannot use EveryPlate in the way that Purple Carrot is designed to be used.

Purple Carrot's value is vegan specialization. Every recipe is 100% plant-based by design, not by filtering. The weekly menu (8-10 options) is smaller than EveryPlate's but each recipe is developed specifically for plant-forward cooking with ingredients that vegan households actually want to cook. Purple Carrot recipes trend toward creative and globally-inspired flavors that reflect the effort of plant-based recipe development rather than simple meat substitution.

The Price Gap

At comparable plan sizes, Purple Carrot costs roughly $4-$5 more per serving than EveryPlate. For a vegan couple ordering four meals per week, that's $32-$40 more per week, or roughly $1,600-$2,000 per year. The premium buys full vegan commitment and better plant-based recipe quality. For budget-conscious vegan households, the question is whether that quality gap is worth the extra annual cost.

Bottom Line

EveryPlate (7.0/10) wins for budget-first households eating omnivore or vegetarian diets. Purple Carrot (7.7/10) wins for vegan households who want a service built explicitly for plant-based cooking. These services don't meaningfully compete for the same customers because the vegan commitment is the deciding factor.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is EveryPlate or Purple Carrot better?

Purple Carrot scores higher overall (7.7/10 vs 7.0/10), but EveryPlate wins on price at $5-$7/serving with 20+ recipes/week. Purple Carrot wins for vegan households - 100% plant-based at $9-$12/serving with 8-10 specialized vegan recipes weekly. The diet requirement drives the choice: non-vegans should choose EveryPlate, vegans should choose Purple Carrot.

Is Purple Carrot fully vegan and EveryPlate isn't?

Yes. Every Purple Carrot recipe is 100% plant-based with no animal products. EveryPlate is primarily an omnivore service with vegetarian options that include dairy and eggs. Fully vegan households cannot use EveryPlate as a vegan meal kit without filtering, and the filtered vegan options are limited.

How much cheaper is EveryPlate than Purple Carrot?

About $4-$5 per serving cheaper. EveryPlate runs $5-$7/serving; Purple Carrot runs $9-$12/serving. Both charge $9.99 shipping. A vegan couple ordering 4 meals/week saves $32-$40 per week with EveryPlate if they can find adequate options - but EveryPlate isn't built for vegan eating, so the comparison is primarily relevant to non-vegan households.

Cancel Guide Links

• How to Cancel EveryPlate
• How to Cancel Purple Carrot

Browse Meals from Each Service

• EveryPlate This Week's Menu
• Browse All Meals on MealFan

Looking for Alternatives?

• EveryPlate Alternatives
• Purple Carrot Alternatives

Menu Variety: Budget Convenience vs. Premium Vegan Cooking

EveryPlate and Purple Carrot serve different ends of the meal kit spectrum, and the contrast is sharpest when you look at menu philosophy. EveryPlate builds its weekly rotation around broadly accessible, familiar recipes - chicken cutlets with roasted vegetables, pasta dishes, beef tacos, and similar weeknight staples. The menu runs about 25 recipes per week across two-person and four-person serving options, with a handful of vegetarian choices included but not emphasized. The cooking style is practical and designed for home cooks who want a reliable weeknight dinner without much adventure.

Purple Carrot is entirely plant-based. Every recipe on the weekly menu is 100 percent vegan, with no meat, dairy, or eggs. The menu rotates through 20 or more recipes weekly and tends toward more inventive, globally-inspired cooking: think Korean barbecue jackfruit bowls, roasted cauliflower shawarma with tahini, black bean mole enchiladas, and miso-glazed eggplant. Purple Carrot attracts subscribers who want to develop their plant-based cooking skills rather than just get dinner on the table quickly. The recipes are more technique-forward than EveryPlate's and assume a slightly higher comfort level in the kitchen.

Pricing Breakdown: The Budget Pick vs. the Vegan Premium

EveryPlate starts at 4.99 per serving and is consistently the lowest-priced major meal kit available. A two-person plan with three recipes per week runs approximately 35 to 40 dollars before shipping, which adds around 10.99. At that price point, EveryPlate is meaningfully cheaper than virtually every competitor. The budget pricing is achieved through simpler packaging, a less curated ingredient supply chain, and a more streamlined weekly menu. First-box discounts frequently bring the per-serving price to under 3.00 for new subscribers.

Purple Carrot starts at 11.99 per serving, reflecting the premium ingredient costs involved in sourcing quality plant-based proteins and specialty produce. A two-person plan with three recipes per week runs approximately 72 to 78 dollars before a 9.99 shipping fee. The per-serving cost is more than double EveryPlate's base price. Purple Carrot also offers a meal prep plan with larger, batch-friendly portions at a slightly lower per-serving rate. The service is owned by HelloFresh, which has helped stabilize its supply chain and delivery reliability in recent years.

Cooking and Delivery Experience

EveryPlate delivers fresh refrigerated ingredients with straightforward recipe cards. Prep time runs 25 to 35 minutes for most recipes, and the instructions assume no advanced cooking knowledge. The ingredients are pre-measured, and the packaging is intentionally minimal - fewer individual wrappers and a lighter insulated liner compared to premium competitors. This reduces waste and keeps costs low, though it means slightly less cold-chain protection than services like Green Chef or Marley Spoon. Produce quality is consistent for the price range.

Purple Carrot puts more effort into its ingredient presentation. The produce selection skews toward specialty items - Japanese sweet potatoes, lacinato kale, za'atar spice blends, cashew cream - that you would not always find at a standard grocery store. Recipes take 35 to 45 minutes on average and often involve multiple cooking techniques in the same dish. The recipe cards are well-written with clear instructions and plating suggestions. Packaging is appropriately insulated to protect delicate produce, and the delivery quality is generally reliable across most major metro areas.

Who Should Choose EveryPlate

EveryPlate makes the most sense for households that prioritize value above all else and are comfortable with a more conventional, omnivore-focused menu. Families feeding three or four people will find the economics particularly attractive, as the per-serving price advantage compounds quickly with larger serving sizes. If you are budget-constrained but still want the meal planning and grocery-shopping friction removed, EveryPlate delivers that core benefit better than any competitor at the same price. It is also an ideal entry point for someone new to meal kits who wants to test the format before committing to a higher-priced service.

Who Should Choose Purple Carrot

Purple Carrot is the right choice for anyone who is vegan or reducing animal product consumption and wants to develop their plant-based cooking repertoire. The menu quality and recipe creativity are a genuine step above what most general meal kits offer on their vegetarian options. Cooking from Purple Carrot consistently produces restaurant-quality plant-based meals that would be difficult to replicate without the pre-measured specialty ingredients the service provides. If you are already committed to a vegan lifestyle and value culinary skill-building alongside nutrition, Purple Carrot justifies its price premium with a stronger weekly menu than EveryPlate's sparse vegetarian options provide.

Dietary Suitability: Which Service Fits Your Eating Style

EveryPlate is designed for households that eat everything - meat, seafood, and vegetables. The weekly menu covers conventional weeknight recipes without any specialized dietary track. A handful of vegetarian options are available each week, but they are not the focus of the service. For households with mixed dietary preferences where most members eat meat, EveryPlate's menu is broad enough to accommodate everyone without compromise. However, if you or anyone in your household is vegan or following a strict plant-based protocol, EveryPlate's limited vegetarian rotation will quickly feel repetitive.

Purple Carrot is 100 percent vegan, full stop. If you are cooking for a fully plant-based household, the entire catalog is available to you without any filtering required. The weekly menu of 20-plus vegan recipes is designed by chefs who specialize in plant-based cuisine, and the variety within that constraint is genuinely impressive - the service spans cuisines and cooking techniques in a way that prevents the menu monotony that vegan cooks often encounter when cooking from general meal kits or even their own recipe repertoire. Purple Carrot is also a strong choice for households where one person is vegan and the rest are not, since the high-quality, creative recipes tend to be appealing even to non-vegans who are curious about plant-based cooking.

Flexibility and Cancellation

EveryPlate operates on a weekly subscription with the ability to skip individual weeks through the account portal. The skip cutoff is typically a few days before your scheduled delivery, and the interface for managing your subscription is user-friendly. There is no cancellation fee, and the process of canceling is done online through account settings. Like all fresh-ingredient meal kits, EveryPlate requires some active subscription management - if you forget to skip during a busy travel week, the box ships and the ingredients may go to waste before you can use them.

Purple Carrot operates similarly to EveryPlate in terms of subscription structure: weekly or bi-weekly deliveries with the option to skip or pause through the account portal. Because the HelloFresh ownership has standardized a lot of the back-end subscription management across its portfolio of services, the Purple Carrot account interface is polished and easy to navigate. Delivery frequency, serving size, recipe preferences, and payment information can all be managed in one place. Cancellation is straightforward and fee-free. New subscribers should note that the promotional first-box discount requires the subscription to continue for at least a second box, which is standard across the industry but worth knowing upfront.

Bottom Line: Which Service Should You Choose

The decision between EveryPlate and Purple Carrot hinges entirely on dietary preference and cooking ambition. If you eat meat regularly, prioritize affordability, and want straightforward weeknight cooking with minimal fuss, EveryPlate is one of the best values in the meal kit industry. The per-serving price is hard to beat, the recipes are reliably good for the price, and the delivery system is dependable. It is not glamorous, but it does exactly what it promises at a price that most households can sustain long-term without significant budget strain.

If you are vegan or working toward a plant-based lifestyle and want to develop your cooking skills while eating well, Purple Carrot justifies every penny of its price premium. The menu quality, ingredient sourcing, and recipe creativity are categorically superior to what any general meal kit offers on its vegetarian or vegan options. The weekly menu rotation provides genuine variety over months of subscribing, and the cooking process itself builds skills and confidence with plant-based ingredients that translate beyond the service into everyday cooking. For plant-based households, no meal kit on the market currently provides a better weekly experience at any price.

Key Differences: EveryPlate vs Purple Carrot Summary

The clearest way to frame the EveryPlate versus Purple Carrot comparison is as a trade-off between price and dietary mission. EveryPlate exists to make meal kit cooking accessible at the lowest possible cost - it does this well, and for households without specific dietary priorities, it is a genuinely strong product. The 4.99-per-serving price is not a reflection of poor quality; it is a reflection of deliberate cost management across the supply chain and packaging. The weekly menu of 25 recipes is sufficient for most households, and the recipes are reliably well-written and achievable for home cooks at any skill level.

Purple Carrot exists to serve vegan and plant-forward households with a premium cooking experience that matches or exceeds what omnivore-focused premium meal kits offer in their own categories. The 11.99-per-serving price is high by meal kit standards, but it is not out of line with what other premium services like Green Chef charge for their organic, diet-specific tracks. What makes Purple Carrot worth that price for the right subscriber is the weekly menu quality: the recipes are genuinely creative, the specialty ingredients are well-sourced, and the cooking instruction is thorough enough to build real plant-based cooking competence over time. For its target audience, it is the best meal kit option available.

Which Service Offers Better Long-Term Value

Long-term subscribers to EveryPlate consistently cite price stability and recipe variety as the primary reasons they stay. At 4.99 per serving with a rotating menu of 25 recipes per week, the service rarely delivers the same combination of meals twice within a single month. For families of three or four, the value proposition is particularly strong - a four-person plan costs less per serving than virtually any sit-down restaurant alternative while providing the experience of a home-cooked meal. Many subscribers note that their overall food spending decreases after starting EveryPlate because the weekly delivery reduces both grocery store trips and unplanned takeout orders driven by a lack of dinner preparation.

Purple Carrot's long-term value is best measured against the alternative: buying specialty plant-based ingredients individually and developing comparable recipes from scratch. The zaatar, lacinato kale, cashew cream, and other specialty items that appear in Purple Carrot's weekly recipes would cost more than 11.99 per serving to source individually at a specialty grocery store, and the recipe development effort required to use them well is substantial. For subscribers who are actively developing their plant-based cooking skills, Purple Carrot functions as both a cooking service and an education platform, which creates a compounding value over time as subscribers learn to recreate dishes and adapt techniques from the weekly recipe cards in their own cooking.

Where to Order in Your City

Both services deliver to most major US cities. Find local availability and the latest deals in your area:

• Meal delivery in New York City
• Meal delivery in Los Angeles
• Meal delivery in Chicago
• Meal delivery in Houston
• Meal delivery in Phoenix
• Meal delivery in Philadelphia
• Meal delivery in San Antonio
• Meal delivery in Dallas

Want the real EveryPlate vs Purple Carrot answer? Start with this week's EveryPlate menu.