Purple Carrot vs Home Chef (2026): Home Chef Costs Less, Purple Carrot Is All Plants

Compared from each brand's published menus, prices and terms, checked September 2026.

Both brands ship weekly meal kits you cook at home. The core difference is the menu. Purple Carrot sells only plant-based meals. Home Chef sells a general menu, and it adds oven and microwave formats for nights when you do not want to cook from scratch.

At a glance

Price

Purple Carrot meal kits come as three 2-serving meals or two 4-serving meals a week, priced at $13.25 to $14.25 per serving. That puts 6 servings at $79.50 to $85.50 a week, and 8 servings at $106.00 to $114.00. Its Ready to Eat plan is 6 single-serve meals at $13 to $18 each, or $78 to $108 a week. Shipping is free on orders of $120 or more. The help center does not state the fee on smaller orders, and a $15 surcharge may apply in select zip codes.

Home Chef dinner kits start at $7.99 per serving, and standard meals average $9.99. At that average, 6 servings cost $59.94 a week plus shipping, which is $19.56 to $25.56 less than the same 6 servings from Purple Carrot before shipping. Home Chef Family plan boxes come in 4-serving portions with an $82.91 minimum, so an 8 serving week at the average ($79.92) would need a little more added to check out. Premium meals, the Culinary Collection and Customize It protein swaps cost more.

October 20 offer and delivery check: Home Chef: New customers: 30% off boxes 1–3 (up to $30 per box), then 45% off boxes 4–5 (up to $45 per box); first-box shipping free. The 18-free-meals headline requires 10+ meals weekly for five weeks. Unused discounts expire ten weeks after signup. Delivery: Flat rate; amount not published Purple Carrot: No current promotional amount confirmed in this recheck; earlier offers are historical. Delivery: $12 below $120; free from $120; some ZIPs add $15 Home Chef official terms

Menu and formats

Purple Carrot has three plans. Meal Kits include everything you need with a moderate amount of prep. Ready to Eat meals need no prep and are ready in 2 minutes or less. Mix and Match combines Meal Kits, Ready to Eat meals and grocery items in one plan. Each week you can choose from any of the Meal Kits, Ready to Eat meals, sides and grocery items on the menu.

Home Chef offers four ways to cook. Classic meal kits are the standard recipe kits. Express recipes are ready in 30 minutes or less. Oven-Ready meals come in an oven-safe tray, need little prep and leave no cleanup, but they cannot be microwaved. Fast and Fresh meals cook in the microwave or oven. Extras include breakfast from $4.98, lunch from $9.98, dessert from $3.98, snacks from $4.98 and drinks from $6.98. See the current lineup in our Home Chef menu guide.

Diets

Every Purple Carrot meal is plant-based, so vegans and plant-forward eaters never have to filter out meat. Its meal preferences add more control. Gluten-Free delivers only meals created to be 100% gluten-free. High Protein meals have 15g of protein or more per serving. High Fiber meals have at least 10g of fiber per serving and are available in Mix and Match. Less Prep leans on ready-to-eat items and pre-chopped vegetables.

One caution for allergies: Purple Carrot says its food is processed in facilities that share equipment with tree nuts, peanut, sesame, wheat, soy, egg, milk, fish and shellfish, and it does not offer automatic allergen exclusions. You choose meals each week to avoid allergens.

Home Chef is a general menu that includes meat and seafood. This comparison does not list diet filters for it, so check recipes if you follow a strict diet.

Delivery and flexibility

Purple Carrot delivers Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday, based on your location, and it cannot set a specific delivery day for you. You can skip any week without charge up to 11:59 pm ET on the Tuesday before your next delivery, and you can pause for 6, 8 or 10 weeks or cancel in your account or the app.

Home Chef delivers Sunday through Friday on the day you choose, which is the bigger advantage if your schedule is fixed. Our Home Chef cancellation guide covers how to stop a subscription.

Who should pick each

October 20 offer and delivery check: Purple Carrot: No current promotional amount confirmed in this recheck; earlier offers are historical. Delivery: $12 below $120; free from $120; some ZIPs add $15

Pick Home Chef if you want the lower price per serving, cook for meat eaters, want quick formats like Express, Oven-Ready and Fast and Fresh, or need to pick your own delivery day.

Verdict

Home Chef wins for most people on price, format choice and delivery control, and it holds an 8.8/10 MealFan score against Purple Carrot's 7.6/10. Purple Carrot is still the clear choice for anyone who wants every meal to be plant-based. Read our Purple Carrot review and our Is Home Chef worth it? guide before you decide.

Frequently Asked Questions