I want to begin this post on Marley Spoon vs Dinnerly on a positive note as it deserves to start, which is that both popular meal delivery services have the same parent company – Marley Spoon. Hence, there are only a few major differences between the two. Now, the tricky part is choosing between them despite having the same parent company and very few differences.
The whole article is dedicated to directly comparing the two subscription-based meal delivery services, and this is an honest review and comparison so you know which one is the most suitable for you.
Whatever the case, just keep in mind crucial factors such as how delicious the meals are, how good and fresh the ingredients are, customer service, packaging, meal customization, diet plan accommodation, and the like.
As for meal delivery services in general, only after experimenting with different companies had I realized that cheaper doesn’t always necessarily mean better, particularly when it comes to food. Nonetheless, it’s always a great idea to strike the perfect balance between cost and quality.
Remember that you not only want nutritious meals but also affordable ones and vice versa. This is where Marley Spoon and Dinnerly come to the rescue, even more so because they’re related! So, both options are equally compelling in my opinion.
Important Benefits of Using Meal Kit Delivery Services
Here are some of the most attractive or convincing advantages of meal delivery services:
- A chance to try out some new, delicious, and exotic recipes and cuisines.
- Saving time that is usually spent or wasted in meal planning and prepping. Time is saved; thus, convenience and comfort are maximized.
- Even food leftovers and wastage are considerably reduced because of the well-portioned, premeasured serving size of the meal kits.
- It makes the entire mealtime experience more exciting and enjoyable, regardless of whether or not you have picky eaters.
- Simple-to-follow recipe cards of the meals upgrade cooking skills.
- You can cancel your subscription any time you want, which is a huge benefit because it means there’s nothing suspicious, tricky, or inauthentic about these meal deliveries.
- Time-saving and convenient – purposely mentioned again because it matters a lot!
Downsides to Using Meal Kit Delivery Services
There aren’t too many disadvantages, to be honest, but here they are below:
- Since many ingredients and other food items or products are involved, more packaging materials are used. Unless these are 100% recyclable, there’s a lot of packaging waste.
- Oftentimes, there’s no option for choosing the most suitable, convenient, or appropriate delivery day for your weekly orders. The day selection window is usually very limited as it all depends on your delivery location.
- You spend slightly more with meal kits in comparison to meal planning, grocery shopping, and cooking homemade meals from scratch.
Marley Spoon vs Dinnerly – Cooking Time
Marley Spoon’s meals demand a bit more cooking skills and time than Dinnerly. The former features plenty of interesting and versatile meal kit recipes – One Pot meals, Under 30 Minute meals, Kid-Friendly meals, and so on. However, their meal kits require a relatively longer cooking time as a majority of the ingredients are not pre-prepped.
Dinnerly’s meals, in comparison, are simpler and quicker to prepare. Dinnerly features plenty of different easy-to-understand meal categories. Also, Dinnerly creates easy-prep meals that you can cook in less than 6 steps, so it matches the 30 minutes or less cooking time.
Marley Spoon and Dinnerly offer similar meal categories like Family Friendly and Under 30 Minutes. Even their recipes have specific user-friendly titles that indicate how healthy and easy the meal kit is to prepare at home.
You’ll see recipes beginning with the titles Easy Clean Up, Speedy Recipe, No Chop, 20-Minute, Oven-Baked, Fast, Easy Prep, and so on.
At a glance, Dinnerly has more beginner-friendly and tailored recipes than Marley Spoon.
In each meal kit, there are a few prepped ingredients for a quick weeknight dinner, and all the ingredients are fresh and easy to prepare. But a majority of the recipes do require some more work than usual, making it slightly difficult for a beginner to follow.
Dinnerly’s meal kits are designed to be easy and beginner-friendly. All the meal kits come with quick and accessible instructions, additional information to make the recipe taste better, and step-by-step cooking instructions and pictures so that you don’t feel intimidated by the cooking process.
The ingredients in each meal kit are in some ways pre-prepared to minimize cooking time. The simplicity and ease with which you can cook a Dinnerly meal compared to Marley Spoon do make Dinnerly a better choice for quick and effortless meals.
Marley Spoon vs Dinnerly – Choosing New Meals Every Week
Both Marley Spoon and Dinnerly have a similar menu format with multiple weeks’ menus starting from the previous week, current week, and 2 weeks in advance. So, you can compare their meal kits to rule out all repetitive recipes and sign up for refreshing, new recipes every week.
Marley Spoon’s menu offers 45 different recipes spread across 5 interesting meal categories:
- Health & Diet
- Vegetarian & Vegan
- Meat & Fish
- Under 30 Minutes
- Family-Friendly meals
The meal kits have several other labels such as Low Carb, Low Calorie, No Added Gluten, Meat, Kid Friendly, Healthy, Nutritious, Poultry, Fish, Optional Spice, One Pot Meal, etc. that give you more information about the meal kit.
The quality and abundance of the ingredients are impressive and consistent every week. The meals taste good once they’re cooked with as-advertised flavors and textured vegetarian and non-vegetarian meals.
Once you select the meals you want for a particular week, you can then proceed to pay for your plan based on the number of meal kits you order. Each meal kit features a preportioned box of ingredients for 2 or 4 people, cooking instructions, allergy information, and nutrition information.
Marley Spoon also lets you know what else you need that’s not already in the meal kit box. This includes basic pantry ingredients like olive oil, salt, pepper, butter, etc. and kitchen utensils such as a skillet, a pan, or a conventional microwave oven.
Pictures with cooking tips and step-by-step instructions are available on every recipe page along with the serving time, cooking level, and basic meal introduction or benefits.
Marley Spoon suits the style and cooking skill of an intermediate who doesn’t mind spending a few extra minutes in the kitchen to whip up an excellent and delicious meal. Though all the ingredients are provided to you, Marley Spoon’s meals are slightly complicated to make, which a beginner may find tedious.
If I were you, I’d pick the simplest meals if I were on Marley Spoon’s menu as every meal kit recipe has its cooking skill level and cooking time. Based on that, find the easiest recipes to cook at home if you do not want to spend a lot of time prepping and cooking. But if that’s not a problem for you, the meals of Marley Spoon are healthy and nutritious.
Moving on to Dinnerly, their menu also offers 45+ meals on their weekly menu. The meal customization process and dietary labels are the same as Marley Spoon. With the same interface and meal selection process.
Each meal kit recipe features specific labels such as No Added Gluten, Low Calorie, Kid Friendly, Dairy Free, Healthy, Under 30 Minutes, One Pot Meal, and so on.
On the recipe page, the serving time, cooking level, nutrition, ingredients list, and allergy information are provided. Dinnerly displays pictures of what they send in the box along with providing a list of things you’ll need and utensils you’ll have to use to prepare the recipe accurately.
Once you select your meals, each meal kit box contains 2 or 4 servings depending on the serving size you pick. You can easily order for 2 or 4 people and 3 to 6 meal recipes per week. There is flexibility in selecting a sizable weekly meal box for any number of people.
Most of the recipes are backed with colorful pictures of the cooking instructions. This makes cooking easier because you can see exactly how to prep the ingredients. All this information is available even before you sign up and place your first order.
Marley Spoon vs Dinnerly – Pricing
Marley Spoon and Dinnerly have different pricing plans.
Marley Spoon features two different weekly plans depending on the size of your box.
The first plan is for 2 people and the second is for 4 people. You can quickly customize a meal based on 2 or 4 servings per meal and 2-6 meals per week – starting from 4 meals in total with 2 meals and 2 servings per meal and ending with 24 meals in total with 6 different meals and 4 servings per meal.
Here’s the breakdown:
For 2 people (2 servings per meal):
- 2 meals per week: $12.99 per serving
- 3 meals per week: $10.99 per serving
- 4 meals per week: $10.49 per serving
- 5 meals per week: $9.99 per serving
- 6 meals per week: $9.49 per serving
For 4 people (4 servings per meal):
- 2 meals per week: $10.49 per serving
- 3 meals per week: $9.49 per serving
- 4 meals per week: $8.99 per serving
- 5 meals per week: $8.99 per serving
- 6 meals per week: $8.69 per serving
A shipping fee of $9.99 is applied to all orders during checkout, and Marley Spoon lets you order 7 weeks in advance plus skips meal deliveries until 5 days before the scheduled delivery date.
Dinnerly’s meal plans are similar to Marley Spoon’s but with a significant drop in cost per serving. There is also a slight difference in the number of meals Dinnerly offers, starting from 6 meals in total up to 24 meals per week.
Here’s the breakdown:
For 2 people (2 servings per meal):
- 3 meals per week: $6.39 per serving
- 4 meals per week: $5.99 per serving
- 5 meals per week: $5.89 per serving
- 6 meals per week: $5.79 per serving
For 4 people (4 servings per meal):
- 3 meals per week: $5.69 per serving
- 4 meals per week: $5.49 per serving
- 5 meals per week: $5.29 per serving
- 6 meals per week: $4.99 per serving
The shipping fee is the same as Marley Spoon – $9.99 on every order. Plus, you can select meals for weeks in advance and skip weeks as and when you like a few days before the scheduled delivery date.
As you can figure on your own already, Dinnerly is a lot more affordable than Marley Spoon. Why is that? Well, it’s mainly because Dinnerly’s meals are simple and home-inspired, while Marley Spoon features tons more variety and cuisines on their menu.
With Dinnerly, you pay for simplicity and ease, which makes it a more convenient and affordable meal kit delivery service than Marley Spoon.
Dinnerly also cuts back on extra packaging and uses fewer ingredients per meal to reduce the cost per serving. Fewer ingredients mean minimal prep time and quick cooking. The packaging is also minimal with digital cooking recipes and instructions and less plastic and paper wastage per week.
Marley Spoon vs Dinnerly – Packaging and Delivery
When we think about packaging and delivery, we think about insulated, recyclable packaging that keeps your meals organized and in good condition.
Before anything else, the first thing I’d like to mention is the delivery cost of Marley Spoon and Dinnerly:
- Marley Spoon: $8.95 per weekly meal box
- Dinnerly: $8.95 per weekly meal box
This is one of the many similarities between the two since both Marley Spoon and Dinnerly belong to one company. Both meal delivery services have the same delivery cost structure, and they use the same delivery or courier service as well.
The same can be said about the deliverable areas – all 48 contiguous states of America are on that list.
Now let’s talk about packaging and recycling, which is something you must factor in when deciding which meal kit delivery service to choose. Quality packaging is very, very important, and so is the recyclability of all that packaging.
With quality packaging, your food remains fresh, and everything is prevented from turning into a big, soggy mess by the time your order arrives at your doorstep.
With that in place, Marley Spoon and Dinnerly have committed themselves to using only minimal and recyclable packaging materials. Each has its own recycling instructions (Marley Spoon Recycle and Dinnerly Recycle). These make it clear that right from the cardboard boxes and paper bags down to the reusable, nontoxic ice packs, everything can be recycled.
Also, just because the packaging is recyclable doesn’t mean Marley Spoon and Dinnerly use excessive packaging materials. A minimal amount of packaging is used, although the ingredients of one meal kit are wrapped separately from the ingredients of another.
Furthermore, let’s assume the weather is warmer where you live. In that case, both Dinnerly and Marley Spoon ensure they include extra insulation liners for keeping your meals fresh and well-guarded against heat-wave-like climactic conditions.
Nevertheless, Dinnerly does a better job of tightly sealing all of its packaging, along with using comparatively fewer packaging materials overall.
Marley Spoon vs Dinnerly – Nutritional Value and Recipes
Basic nutrition information can be found on both Dinnerly and Marley Spoon recipes’ pages. Even the recipe cards delivered with the meals carry the basic nutritional details.
As for the nutrition and taste of Marley Spoon meals, these are mouthwateringly delicious, which means you can have high expectations. Marley Spoon will meet your high standards without breaking a sweat. The fabulous meal descriptions and drool-worthy photographs of the dishes are not only enticing but also genuine. It all tastes as it looks!
Here are the ones that caught my attention instantly:
| Sumac Chicken Thighs | Sesame Beef Noodle Stir-Fry | Apricot-Stuffed Pork Tenderloin | Cajun Blackened Tilapia |
| 20-30 minutes prep time | 10-15 minutes prep time | 30-40 minutes prep time | 30-40 minutes prep time |
| Calories per serving: 680 kcal | Calories per serving: 760 kcal | Calories per serving: 710 kcal | Calories per serving: 710 kcal |
| Proteins per serving: 45 grams | Proteins per serving: 34 grams | Proteins per serving: 45 grams | Proteins per serving: 43 grams |
| Carbs per serving: 38 grams | Carbs per serving: 78 grams | Carbs per serving: 59 grams | Carbs per serving: 62 grams |
| Fats per serving: 40 grams | Fats per serving: 25 grams | Fats per serving: 34 grams | Fats per serving: 37 grams |
All of these meals and more will turn your apartment into a restaurant – the smell of the food is amazing! They’re all professionally and thoughtfully crafted with a fairly healthy nutritional profile. Even the simplest rice-based recipes are well-rounded in terms of nutrition, along with being very comforting, satisfying, and not excessively heavy.
Other unforgettable options on the Marley Spoon menu are the bowls. They’re piled high, which says a lot about how filling they are – all thanks to the grains and beans.
| Beef Banh Mi Rice Bowl | Buffalo Shrimp Bowl | Fast! Korean Pork Rice Bowl | Vegan Macro Quinoa Bowl |
| 20-30 minutes prep time | 20-30 minutes prep time | 15-20 minutes prep time | 30-40 minutes prep time |
| Calories per serving: 1040 kcal | Calories per serving: 450 kcal | Calories per serving: 790 kcal | Calories per serving: 720 kcal |
| Proteins per serving: 37 grams | Proteins per serving: 26 grams | Proteins per serving: 37 grams | Proteins per serving: 23 grams |
| Carbs per serving: 94 grams | Carbs per serving: 15 grams | Carbs per serving: 93 grams | Carbs per serving: 51 grams |
| Fats per serving: 51 grams | Fats per serving: 34 grams | Fats per serving: 29 grams | Fats per serving: 46 grams |
Overall, every meal comes together quickly and easily and offers a delicious flavor. Plus, there are more than enough vegetarian dishes too; Vegetarian & Vegan is a separate menu category altogether!
| Meat-Free Dan Dan Noodles | Fast! Indian Butter Chickpeas | Bean & Cheese Enchiladas | Berbere-Spiced Red Lentil Stew |
| 30-40 minutes prep time | 15-20 minutes prep time | 40-50 minutes prep time | 30-40 minutes prep time |
| Calories per serving: 1010 kcal | Calories per serving: 810 kcal | Calories per serving: 780 kcal | Calories per serving: 730 kcal |
| Proteins per serving: 37 grams | Proteins per serving: 32 grams | Proteins per serving: 28 grams | Proteins per serving: 28 grams |
| Carbs per serving: 92 grams | Carbs per serving: 127 grams | Carbs per serving: 83 grams | Carbs per serving: 115 grams |
| Fats per serving: 54 grams | Fats per serving: 39 grams | Fats per serving: 39 grams | Fats per serving: 25 grams |
As for Dinnerly meals’ nutritional value, carbs, proteins, fats, and calories are clearly listed and labeled properly on every recipe page. Likewise, allergens and tags are also put in place. Once again, just like Marley Spoon, even the Dinnerly menu features plenty of veggie-based meals.
Speaking of which, Dinnerly caters to a regular vegetarian or any other such common diet plan, like keto, low carb, low calorie, dairy-free, and gluten-free. But it doesn’t specifically cater to any particular diet culture.
Let’s have a look at some of Dinnerly’s most favorite meals:
| Sticky Crispy Take-Out Chicken | Keto-Friendly Lemon-Pepper Pork Tenderloin | Saucy Beef Enchiladas | Low-Cal Noodle Stir-Fry (vegetarian) |
| 20-30 minutes prep time | 10-15 minutes prep time | 30-40 minutes prep time | 20-30 minutes prep time |
| Calories per serving: 780 kcal | Calories per serving: 440 kcal | Calories per serving: 840 kcal | Calories per serving: 600 kcal |
| Proteins per serving: 38 grams | Proteins per serving: 40 grams | Proteins per serving: 43 grams | Proteins per serving: 17 grams |
| Carbs per serving: 108 grams | Carbs per serving: 10 grams | Carbs per serving: 60 grams | Carbs per serving: 80 grams |
| Fats per serving: 25 grams | Fats per serving: 26 grams | Fats per serving: 49 grams | Fats per serving: 25 grams |
Marley Spoon Pros:
- Interesting and unique flavors and combinations of ingredients.
- Accommodates basic dietary needs such as low calorie, low carb, vegetarian, kid-friendly, etc.
- You can order meals weeks in advance and skip weeks easily.
- Home-cooked meals that are delicious and healthy.
- Ingredient quality is fresh and sourced directly from local farms.
- The packaging is minimal with limited plastic use.
- Some of the quick recipes feel special and restaurant-inspired.
- All the meals meet basic nutritional needs for weight loss and stamina.
- Nutrition info, ingredients, and allergy information are provided for every recipe.
Marley Spoon Cons:
- Cooking time is longer than 30 minutes for most recipes.
- The meals require more prep time and cooking time than usual.
- Not the ideal choice for people on a busy schedule.
- The meals are expensive.
- Not a lot of add-ons on the weekly menu.
- A flat shipping fee of $9.99 on every order.
Dinnerly Pros:
- The most affordable meal kit delivery service there is.
- You have over 35 different recipes to pick from weekly.
- Tons of dietary customization for vegetarians and omnivores.
- Plant-based meals, breakfasts, and snacks are included.
- The cook time and prep time are less than 30 minutes.
- Even meat-based meal kits are easy and quick to prepare.
- You can edit your order easily, skip a week, or modify the meals.
- Pausing and canceling orders are very easy.
- Minimal packaging with digital recipes and meal information.
- Home-inspired meal recipes that are beginner-friendly.
Dinnerly Cons:
- Most of the meals are very simple and may taste bland.
- A flat shipping fee of $9.99 on every order.
- Limited seafood options.
- No single-serve meal kits. You have to order for 2 or 4 people per meal.
- Does not accommodate strict dietary restrictions for paleo, keto, vegan, etc.
Marley Spoon vs Dinnerly – FAQs
1. Is the Customer Service Responsive and Helpful?
Marley Spoon has a phone number you can call – 866-228-4513. On their Contact Us page, you can ask general questions, report an issue, make an account management request, and more.
Dinnerly too offers the same avenues for getting in touch with them – email, chat feature, phone number, online form, and FAQs. The Help Center of Dinnerly includes multiple topics such as Account Management, Payments & Billing, Delivery, Recipes & Ingredients, etc.
The response time of both Marley Spoon and Dinnerly is not the best, but you can expect your query to get resolved within 24 hours. You get connected to customer service representatives instantly, and the customer service team is very polite, friendly, and helpful.
Phone calls indeed are a much better way to get an issue sorted out than going back and forth via emails, which are often conflicted.
2. Can You Change and Cancel Orders Already Placed?
All of this happens online. Marley Spoon allows you to edit meals, meal plans, and weekly orders the most easily – all thanks to its very intuitive user interface. Pausing your Marley Spoon subscription is also an option, and so is skipping a week or even canceling your account. All this can be done without any customer support agent’s help.
Marley Spoon lets you increase or decrease the number of meals also, provided you do that 5-6 days prior to the scheduled delivery date. In some cases, it could be 6-7 days too – it all depends on where you live. You can check this deadline by logging in and clicking on the “Orders” tab and looking under “Current Orders.”
Not only that but Marley Spoon sends reminder emails at least 9-10 days before the chosen delivery day, which has the cutoff time of that particular order mentioned.
You can do much the same in terms of modifying your meals and orders with Dinnerly. The “Settings” tab is where all the action happens. Pause your Dinnerly subscription, cancel your account, edit the recipes, and more – just make sure it’s all done before the deadline which, once again, is 5-7 days before the weekly box is shipped.
3. What’s So Special About Marley Spoon Meal Kit Delivery Service?
It’s a very straightforward meal delivery service with a culinary team that has created the most enjoyable, healthiest recipes that don’t make you feel stuffed at all. The original, authentic, or traditional dishes are kept intact, while the more nonconventional options also receive a lot of praise. Ultimately, what matters the most is that you get good food!
Marley Spoon seems like the best fit for at-home chefs who have the time or can make the time to cook meals regularly, but without having to go to the supermarket or even do any weekly meal planning.
4. Who Should Choose Dinnerly?
If you’re a fussy eater, you’ll have no complaints with Dinnerly. Equally important to note is that their weeknight meals are packed with fresh, high-quality ingredients, plus they’re affordable too. You get quite a wide-ranging menu to select your weekly meals, and these dishes are not only simple and quick to prepare but also satisfy a variety of palates.
Dinnerly, compared to Marley Spoon, is so much better for beginners since it’s all about easy meals cooked most effortlessly. Complex cooking techniques and recipes are nowhere to be found, which is precisely what someone new to cooking wants to hear.
5. Are Marley Spoon and Dinnerly the Same?
Both Marley Spoon and Dinnerly are owned by the same parent company – Marley Spoon. Despite being siblings, the two meal kit delivery services vary in many ways. The menu categories, customer experience, and even brand reputation – it’s all substantially different!
Dinnerly is often recognized as the better choice for families, more budget-friendly weekly meal plans, and simple, casual recipes. On the other hand, Marley Spoon’s meals are slightly more upscale and inventive, plus organic options are greater (hence the higher price tag).
6. Is Dinnerly A Cheaper Meal Kit Delivery Service Than Marley Spoon?
The per-portion price of Dinnerly meals is lower in cost in comparison to that of Marley Spoon. The latter intentionally features more premium recipes with better, and sometimes also organic, ingredients.
Comparatively speaking, Marley Spoon is around 20-35% more expensive than Dinnerly. Nevertheless, Marley Spoon is much more affordable when compared to fully organic meal delivery services.
The Bottom Line
Marley Spoon and Dinnerly are related since both have the same parent company. This might lead you to assume that both meal kit delivery services are mostly alike. While that is true to a certain extent, there are notable differences between the two.
For example, Dinnerly is more affordable, but Marley Spoon sets a higher benchmark. Dinnerly has on its menu easy-to-cook recipes, whereas Marley Spoon offers more complicated and premium dishes. Either way, you can’t go wrong!
