If you’re looking to save a little time when it comes to making dinner this year, there’s a good chance you’ve taken a gander at some of the most popular meal box delivery services on the market today, and if you’ve come across Dinnerly, then you likely have a few questions.
Dinnerly is currently the most affordable meal kit delivery service here in Australia, and that means you might want to know a little more about how the brand gets their meals to your door for so cheap — as well as whether you should choose Dinnerly over the competition.
That out of the way, in the article below, we’ll take a look at the experience with Dinnerly here in Australia and what you can expect when using the service.
The Cost of Dinnerly Here in Australia
As we mentioned above, Dinnerly remains one of the most affordable meal kits out there today — before any discounts are even applied.
This immediately makes Dinnerly a top contender for a lot of Australian families, though, you might have a few questions when it comes to what you’re getting when you sign up for the Dinnerly service.
Off the top, we would like to point out that when compared to both HelloFresh and Marley Spoon — which cost around $70 for three meals — Dinnerly costs just $52. This makes it a whole lot cheaper, and if you’re a routine subscriber with Dinnerly, you can easily save hundreds of dollars over the course of a year.
On top of this, the Dinnerly starting price is a lot cheaper than HelloFresh too, which you’ll be able to sign up to and pay just $45.
That in mind, you may be wondering why or how Dinnerly is so affordable, and the answer to this is quite simple — the brand saves money where it can and hands off these savings to you. There is no suspicious and malicious low-quality foods coming into play here, there is simply less marketing and wasted revenue from the brand.
In all, this means that Dinnerly saves money for themselves, and provides these savings for all of their customers. Keeping healthy meals cheaper!
The Perks of Dinnerly
We know that when it comes to choosing a meal kit delivery service that the perks and solutions it offers are a big part of why you choose a specific brand.
That in mind, we’ve outlined some of our favourite perks that come with Dinnerly, and why you might want to choose this service over the competition. Take a look at the pros of Dinnerly below.
The Ideal Budget Service
For us, the biggest perk, by far, is the affordability of the service.
As we’re sure you will agree, there is nothing like healthy and simple meals for dinner and lunch, and when they cost as low as $8.75 per person, you are on to a winner. This means you can shave hours off your weekly dinner-making routine and get a healthy meal, all without the high cost!
This is also our top choice meal delivery service for students too, being more affordable than most other services out there.
A Wide Selection of Meals
When it comes to the meals you’re getting, there are a tonne to choose from.
Don’t let the low cost of Dinnerly fool you either, the service comes with a large variety of different meals that will have you excited for dinner time each evening, and with 20 different recipes to choose from, you’re in luck when it comes to keeping your nightly dinners diverse and simple.
To compare with some other leading brands, HelloFresh only offers 18 recipes, Marley Spoon comes with 27 and EveryPlate just 8 to choose from! That noted, Dinnerly really is up there with the biggest name in the meal kit delivery service industry.
You can even find some excellent exotic meals on offer here too like the famous Malaysian Chicken Curry as well as Indonesian Tofu Stir-fry.
Simple Cancellation and Order Skipping
We know that you don’t always want to rely on a meal box when it comes to dinnertime, and so we are happy to let you know that cancelling or skipping an order is simple on the service too.
There is a customer-focused soft-subscription service on offer here for those who don’t want to sign up to a full-fledged annual service. With this, Dinnerly will happily deliver your meal boxes on a routine basis, though you can cancel up to 6 days before the next kit arrives.
Ideal Delivery Windows
One of the bigger deciding factors for a delivery service is always the delivery times, as you’ll want to make sure you’re home when the kit comes. Of course, it will be insulated and kept safe if you’re not home — though it’s just a little more convenient if you’re at the house when the kit comes.
That in mind, there are before-7am time slots on offer, as well as plenty of options through the day and into the evening. This means you can nab your delivery kit before work, or simply wait until the day’s over to collect the box from your front door.
The Downsides to Dinnerly
As you would expect, even the best services out there have a few minor letdowns, and the same holds true with Dinnerly. Although there are a tonne of perks, there are a few little things to make a note of that may make your experience with the service just a little lacklustre — however, these aren’t dealbreakers for us.
Packaging is Reduced
This works out to be a pro or a con depending on who you are.
If you’re looking to reduce your environmental impact, this is a major plus, however, for those who like their ingredients nearly organised — you’re out of luck.
The service generally keeps all of your ingredients in one or two packages and bunches everything together rather than keeping them split into lots of little bags that are nice and easy to work with.
This is a major issue if some of your family members are allergic or have intolerances to some types of food because everything will be packed tightly together.
All-digital Recipes
Unlike a lot of the other meal kits out there, Dinnerly only offers their recipes and instructions in a digital format.
What this means is that you will need to either get out your iPad when it comes time to make dinner, or print out sheets of paper with the recipes on it. Though not a dealbreaker in any sense, it is a little easier to have the recipe printed and in the box ready to go like HelloFresh does.
You May Need More Ingredients
To end our list of cons, you might find that some of the meal boxes from Dinnerly lack some essentials – or don’t pack enough for you.
Of course, there are enough ingredients packed in the box to make the recipes you’ve been buying, however, there is sometimes the need for you to add some more of your ingredients and vegetables to beef up your meals a little bit.
For most active Australians, you will find that some of Dinnerly’s meals aren’t large enough to really satiate you – and therefore, you’ll need to add some of your own extras here and there.
Opening the First Dinnerly Box
When you first order a Dinnerly box, we’re going to say that the experience is rather no-frills. This isn’t a bad thing, though there isn’t typically that ‘wow’ factor that comes with HelloFresh for example.
You will see all of your ingredients simply packed into your Dinnerly box, all together, and there isn’t too much else on offer here.
All of your veggies, sauces and other essentials are grouped and easy to pull out, though the lack of individual packaging can make this a bit harder for some people to set up and get their kitchen ready for making a Dinnerly recipe.
Making Your First Dinnerly Meal
Once you pull out all those healthy ingredients, you can then move on to making your first Dinnerly meal, and we’re happy to say that the process remains as simple and straightforward as all of the other excellent meal boxes out there.
Keep in mind you’re going to have to use some of your own pantry essentials like flours, crumbs and other items given that Dinnerly, like HelloFresh, doesn’t pack every single item you will need for a meal.
Some essential information is included in the recipe sheet too, such as:
- Cooking Time
- Nutritional Information
- Difficulty Level
- Any Allergens
With those points, you will know exactly what you’re eating and how much time you’ll have to free up to get cooking!
Delivery Zones
If you’ve decided that Dinnerly is for you, then you’ll want to make sure that you are in the delivery zone for the service.
At current, the states of NSW, QLD, ACT and VIC are supported, though there aren’t too many other places you can get Dinnerly. Keep in mind that you will also have to be located in a major hub, or a regional hub. Smaller towns might be a little bit hit or miss — so make sure to take a look on Dinnerly’s website for the latest information.
There is also an affordable $8.95 fee for delivery, which is a dollar cheaper than HelloFresh.
The Takeaway
With the above pros, cons, pricing and review of Dinnerly out of the way, we hope it is a little easier to decide on which meal box service to choose from, here in Australia.
Keep in mind that Dinnerly does remain our top choice for those who would like the most affordable option out there with a no-frills and all-essentials approach for meal box delivery. You’re not missing too much here, and will still find a healthy, simple and budget-friendly meal landing on your dinner table three or more nights per week.
Be sure to keep an eye out for discounts and other promo codes for Dinnerly that might have you save even more when subscribing to the service.
