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With its impressive array of weekly meals suitable for many diets, Editors’ Choice winner HelloFresh is a meal kit delivery service that my household regularly uses. As a result, our expectations were high for Factor, a HelloFresh subsidiary. The prepared meal delivery service lets you receive, heat, and eat near-restaurant-quality food via its affordable, subscription-based plans. Factor is a worthwhile service, but it’s a step behind Fresh N Lean, our prepared meal kit Editors’ Choice winner that offers à la carte options and slightly tastier food.How Much Does Factor Cost?Factor requires a subscription, so you can’t individually order meals. That makes sense for Blue Apron and HelloFresh, meal kit delivery services that regularly send you fresh ingredients. It makes less sense for Factor and other prepared meal delivery services, because you can potentially freeze and store the meals for weeks or months. Balanced Bites and Veestro have à la carte box options.
Factor has many high-quality prepared meals (Credit: Factor)
The good news is that Factor’s prices are reasonable, given its menu quality. Costs fluctuate depending on the plan you pick. If you only want six meals per week, each serving costs $12.99. Go up to 18 meals per week and prices drop to $10.49 per serving. Fresh N Lean slightly edges out these prices, but Factor’s offerings are still a good deal. Factor also lets you purchase add-ons, such as smoothie packs and chicken wings, alongside your regular box. Add-on pricing depends on the item, but it’s generally in line with the normal serving prices.
Factor delivers everywhere in the United States except for Alaska and Hawaii, which is par for the course. Standard shipping costs $9.99. You have until Wednesday to cancel or modify deliveries before the weekly cutoff. Subscriptions also include a 20-minute consultation with a dietitian, if you want Factor to be your gateway to healthier eating. (That said, Green Chef is the meal service you’ll want for switching to a vegetable-focused diet.)
Factor’s menu rotates weekly, giving you roughly 30 new meals to peruse. It lets you directly pick meals, unlike Trifecta. The listings include nutrition and allergen info, and the meals tend to be approximately 500 calories. You can further curate your meals by opting for one of Factor’s specialty plans. Keto, Calorie Smart, and Vegan and Veggie serve those specific dietary needs, while Chef’s Choice includes everything.
Vegan Mushroom Marsala (Credit: Jordan Minor)
My sample meals showcased Factor’s appealing menu. I received three different chicken dishes (Greek Lemon Chicken, Chive and Garlic Chicken, Green Chile Chicken), Smoky Maple BBQ Ground Beef, a Jalapeño Popper Burger, and a Vegan Mushroom Marsala. My wife opted for two seafood dishes: Mango Salsa Salmon and a Peruvian Shrimp Bowl. Those don’t just sound good for a meal kit, they sound good, period. You can put together satisfying meals just by taking advantage of the add-ons. I ordered smoothies and chicken wings, but Factor also sells snacks and individual ingredients. Don’t expect groceries similar to Hungryroot, but you can pick up roasted vegetables, individual pork chops, Keto snickerdoodle cookies, and more. The PackagingFactor uses similar packaging to HelloFresh, except you can pack more prepared meals into a box than you can with fresh meal kit bags. Gel packs keep everything cool before you transfer meals to your fridge or freezer (the meals don’t ship frozen). You can recycle the box and food containers, but Factor recommends putting the insulation and drained gel packs in the trash. At least those pieces are made of recycled materials.
A Factor package (Credit: Jordan Minor)
Cooking and Eating With FactorEnjoying Factor’s prepared meals is as simple as heating them and eating them using whatever appliance you want. The packaging displays recommended heating instructions, such as the proper oven temperature or how long to put the food in the microwave. I cooked most of my meals in the oven.The Factor meals were delicious. The chicken breast was juicy and flavorful. The Vegan Mushroom Marsala reminded me how mushrooms can be the star of a dish. The Smoky Maple BBQ Ground Beef was a bit too sweet, but worked as a chili. When I asked my wife what she thought of her Peruvian Shrimp, she called it “straight-up good,” not just good for a meal kit. We just wished portions were a little bigger, a complaint that speaks to how much we liked the food. We had a similar complaint with the similarly high-quality prepared meal service CookUnity.The add-ons weren’t quite as impressive, but they were pretty tasty. I cooked a generous amount of roasted BBQ chicken wings in my air fryer, where they got a nice crispy exterior. They needed more seasoning, though. I also really enjoyed the tropical smoothies. They weren’t as complex as, say, a Frozen Garden smoothie, but they were still plenty enjoyable.
Roasted BBQ-Rubbed Chicken Wings (Credit: Jordan Minor)
The Deciding FactorFactor brings the excellent omnivore entrées you expect from HelloFresh into the prepared meal space. Editors’ Choice winner Fresh N Lean edges it out in terms of price and menu flexibility, but you can’t go wrong with a Factor subscription. If you have the time and energy to cook, we also recommend Blue Apron, Green Chef, HelloFresh, and Hungryroot.
Factor Meal Delivery Service
Pros
Many high-quality prepared meals
You can pick meals from a rotating menu
Optional add-ons
Subscriptions include a 20-minute dietitian consultation
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The Bottom Line
A subscription to Factor grants you weekly access to a rotating menu of diverse, satisfying, fully prepared meals.
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