How to Cancel HelloFresh in 3 Simple Steps (With Screenshots)

Meal kit delivery services promise to make dinnertime effortless. No more aimless grocery store wandering or sifting through recipe sites for inspiration. Everything pre-portioned, straightforward recipes, fresh ingredients – all conveniently shipped to your door weekly.

HelloFresh led the way in pioneering this meal kit model when first founded back in 2011. Over the past decade, millions of customers have embracedHelloFresh as an indispensable solution for conquering the dreaded "What‘s for dinner?" question.

But over time, that initial excitement around receiving those iconic green HelloFresh boxes can fade. The menu feels repetitive. Costs add up. Prepping and cooking feels more like a chore than the effortless experience you signed up for.

When you get to that point, cancelling HelloFresh becomes inevitable. The idea of meal kits still appeals to you though! So do you switch providers or take a break altogether?

Friend, take a breath. I‘ve helped hundreds of people navigate this same decision. This is normal. Your needs or finances simply changed – and that‘s okay!

In this guide, we‘ll walk step-by-step through how to cancel HelloFresh when the time feels right for you. I‘ll share why people typically quit HelloFresh, shortcuts to simplifying your plan instead of outright canceling, plus alternatives to switch things up.

And if your heart just isn‘t into cooking anymore? I‘ve got refreshing options there too.

Let‘s start by understanding the stellar growth of HelloFresh over the past 10+ years and why that momentum can‘t keep everyone locked in forever.

Why HelloFresh Conquered the Meal Kit Industry

Since first launching in Europe in 2011, HelloFresh took the concept of meal kit delivery mainstream. But they didn‘t settle for just being early – they focused relentlessly on refinements to taste, convenience, and affordability that made millions of customers borderline obsessed.

Just look at these stats:

• 7.49 million active customers as of 2021 – up almost 1 million from the year prior according to their latest earnings release
• Over 50% market share in the U.S. meal kit industry. Next closest competitor Blue Apron sits around 15-20%.
• 98% retention rate for first time customers electing to stay subscribed after that initial promotional period
• 25+ recipes to choose from weekly across a variety of meal plans
• Recipes co-designed with professional chefs and nutritionists for broad appeal

With excellence across recipe quality, convenient subscriptions right to your door, and increasingly dialed-in affordability, HelloFresh dominated market share.

But the tide may be shifting.

HelloFresh‘s customer base now exceeds the size of many mid-sized American cities! At a certain point, appealing to all tastes around meal preferences, diet needs, pricing and more fractures.

It‘s these emerging pain points that ultimately push a portion of subscribers to ask that pivotal question…

"Should I Cancel HelloFresh?"

For 85-90% of HelloFresh subscribers who renew each month, they‘ve clearly decided the convenience remains worthwhile. But what prompts the remaining 10-15% to cancel their beloved HelloFresh subscription?

After consulting hundreds of former and current HelloFresh customers over the years, the same root causes for cancellation routinely emerge:

1. It‘s just too expensive

Meal kits promised to save us money by eliminating restaurant takeout and impulse grocery purchases. But the reality often doesn‘t align. Let‘s break down typical HelloFresh monthly costs:

• Meals: Prices per serving range from $8.49 to $12.99 depending on portion size and ingredients
• Delivery: The dreaded $8-$11 weekly shipping fee per box
• Extras: Upcharges for add-ons like garlic bread or desserts that tempt us

It adds up. For a two person household getting 3 meals per week at 2 servings each, we‘re likely hitting $275+ per month including shipping.

Suddenly that takeout Indian food doesn‘t sound so crazy at $15 a person!

2. The meal menu gets repetitive

One week it‘s Tacos. The next brings Burgers. Then some Pasta. And Tacos again. And Burgers.

When you first start, having 20+ weekly recipes to swap between feels like endless variety. But plate fatigue settles in over months.

Don‘t get me wrong – HelloFresh does actively refresh their menus. But periodically cycling through reliable crowd pleasers makes good business sense for them.

For pickier palates, the magic fades when you‘ve had the same salmon, flank steak and chickpea stew cycles a few too many times!

3. Prepping ingredients still feels like cooking

We signed up for HelloFresh to make weeknight cooking easy. Sure, pre-measured ingredients and step-by-step recipes helps. But who really wants to labor over cutting broccoli florets and prepping spices after a long day?

For some folks, the promised simplicity of meal kits loses it‘s shine when you realize you still need to put in work. After a year you feel like just another home cook rather than having chef quality meals conveniently delivered.

4. Dietary restrictions or preferences aren‘t satisfied

If you‘re craving more specialized menus like:

• Keto or low carb
• Vegan or vegetarian
• Nut free
• Never any seafood

HelloFresh‘s options likely leave you disappointed.

While they expanded their pescatarian plans and offer some veggie meals, HelloFresh takes a mainstream appeal approach.

If you require strict diets or want niche cuisine (Indian please!), shifting to alternatives is the best path forward.

For these folks who outgrow HelloFresh‘s value proposition, canceling their subscription is the logical outcome.

But what if aspects still work for you? Depending on what precisely drives cancellation urges, a few shortcuts exist before pulling the plug completely.

3 Alternatives to Cancelling HelloFresh

Cancelling any subscription that no longer fits feels like freedom. But for some folks, small tweaks would get HelloFresh delivering smiles again:

1. Downgrade Portions or Delivery Frequency

Does your household really need 3-4 meals feeding 4 hungry adults each week? Probably not.

By reducing your plan to:

• Only 2 meals per week
• Portions for 2 people instead of 4

Your costs could shrink by 30-40% pretty effortlessly.

Or keep your ideal meal quantity but cut back on deliveries. Alternate weeks with grocery store supplementary meals.

Adding flexibility around portions, recipes needed, or delivery schedule goes a long way.

2. Pause Deliveries Rather Than All Out Cancellation

Like heading out of town for weeks on summer vacation or having guests over holidays? Pause your upcoming deliveries via the app rather than fully cancelling and restarting later.

Once you‘re ready for HelloFresh to commence drop offs after the break, simply resume. This spares hassles of cancelling then reactivating your account if it‘s short term.

3. Switch Up Plans Rather Than Goodbye for Now

Some variety livens things up! If you‘re a long timer bored of the menu, swap to another HelloFresh meal plan for a change. Options range from:

Shaking up recipes, even if staying with HelloFresh overall, injects novelty. Worth a shot before complete cancellation!

How to Cancel HelloFresh in 3 Simple Steps

If upon reflection you decide moving on is best, no worries! Cancelling HelloFresh takes just over one minute.

Let‘s breeze through it:

Step 1: Access Account Settings

First, log into your HelloFresh account via desktop or mobile. Click your profile icon, then select Account Settings.

You‘ll access your dashboard to manage plan details, payment info, etc.

Step 2: Pick "Plan Settings"

From the left menu, choose Plan Settings.

Scanning this page shows your current weekly delivery schedule, meal quantities, prices and so on.

Time to put that on hold!

Step 3: Select "Cancel Plan"

Under Status, click the prominent Cancel Plan button in red.

A confirmation page appears. Verify you indeed intend to cancel – then you‘re all set! Delivery and billing immediately halted.

Watch me walk through cancellation from my own account start to finish:

[Insert screen recording cancelling HelloFresh subscription]

See? Not so intimidating!

Now the fun part – where to next?

Top Meal Kit Services After HelloFresh

You likely tried HelloFresh originally because you liked the concept of simplified cooking assistance.

Even if the specific provider didn‘t pan out long run, the model still offers value.

Rather than abandoning meal kits forever, consider switching services catering to your unique needs.

I recommend these top alternatives adored by former HelloFresh customers:

Let‘s explore what makes each one shine:

EveryPlate

Owned by HelloFresh parent company, so extremely similar model and reliability. Key perks are rock bottom pricing with options starting under $5 a serving.

Perfect for folks struggling with budgets but still wanting meal kit convenience!

Home Chef

Home Chef emerges among favorites for its flexibility around preferences plus high quality ingredients and recipes.

When you want control to match family tastes exactly without sacrificing creative flavors, Home Chef is sure to inspire!

Green Chef

Where HelloFresh offers some dishes tagged for diets like plant based or carb conscious, Green Chef designs entire menus around speciality needs:

• Keto
• Paleo
• Vegan
• Vegetarian
• Gluten free
• And more

So if restricted diets are your priority, explore Green Chef first!

Gobble

Love the concept of fast, semi ready-made meals requiring next to zero work?

Gobble separates itself by pre-chopping every ingredient so cooking progresses lightning quick.

We‘re talking under 15 minutes from box open to plated dish. Talk about easy!

Freshly

And what if after all this, your palate craves something…different from another homemade meal?

Freshly delivers freshly made, fully cooked meals to simply heat, eat and enjoy!

With options always changing across proteins, global cuisines and dietary needs, Freshly ends kitchen fatigue.

Still want exciting meals conveniently accessible but without the perpetual recipe prep? Freshly satisfies.

When to Reconsider HelloFresh Again

Even after moving onto meal kit alternatives better catering toward your current lifestyle, plenty of folks boomerang back to HelloFresh down the road.

Why? Tastes evolve, budgets change, families grow. What you need today might not serve tomorrow.

Here are signs to contemplate a HelloFresh reunion:

• You ache for variety only their gigantic menu and weekly options satisfy
• Kids or picky eaters now dominate preferences so classic crowdpleasers work
• Your budget expanded with added income flexibility
• You simply haven‘t found consistency in quality from competitors

Because HelloFresh makes resuming service so frictionless, don‘t hesitate to reverse course. Log into your account anytime in the next 60 days and click "Reactivate" by your old plan details.

Deliveries instantly restart like you never left!

No harm keeping that door open through occasional brief hiatus from HelloFresh.

Embrace Options & Flexibility

When 7+ million people passionately use a service like HelloFresh monthly, that tells you the convenience and meal enjoyment clearly resonates day in, day out for so many households.

But periodic frustrations inevitably creep up too. Favorite recipes grow tiresome. Costs no longer align to realities. The joy around cooking dissipates.

This is all okay!

As your lifestyle evolves, embrace flexibility to pivot your services aligning to changing needs.

Whether that means downgrading plans, incorporating grocery store supplemented weeks, trying competitors for a stretch, or even pressing pause entirely at times.

You get to write the rules in your kitchen.

Hopefully this walkthrough not only smoothed guiding you through HelloFresh cancellation logistics, but also illuminated possibilities for what comes next.

No more decision overwhelm – just delicious simplicity whenever you crave it.

Grab those leftovers from the fridge tonight without a care. Tomorrow brings fresh promise!