I have previously avoided naming Huel’s competitors on my posts, but later I did see a page on this site that compared Huel to Soylent and showed how Huel was different, and better.
I’m just wondering how Huel compares with other brands that are far cheaper, like say, Schmilk for instance (where you have to provide your own protein/base ingredient)
I’ve seen a few Huel users say they used shakes from other companies to supplement their Huel and for variety as well
I have only tried Huel… And only ever want to use Huel. By looking at the ingredients (and macros) of Huel compared to anything else I’ve seen, Huel is the clear victor!
Huel’s own made comparison vs Soylent
My thoughts:
Soylent is lower in proteins, they use soy protein isolate only (which likely equates to have less well rounded amino acid profile). Soylent is also higher in fats and saturated fats. Soylent also has more sugars (but still below the the recommended) and uses maltodextrin (high GI) isomaltulose combo.
Shake wise the rtd is smoother but has a strong soy taste.
Huel vs Jimmyjoy (another EU brand available in US)
Jimmyjoy is cheaper and offers thinner shakes than Huel. However, all Plenny Shakes (except Active) are quite low in protein, higher than Huel in carbs (contains maltodextrin).
Taste wise Jimmyjoy offers more pre-mixed variety and their chocolate is fairly good. Shakes are thinner and smaller (less water needed). However, if left overnight they take a jelly like consistency. I like the Huel Vanilla better because it is a more natural, stronger flavour.
vs Queal (another Dutch company available in the US)
Queal tends to have more pre-mixed flavours and offers a light, athletic and standard version, as well as, a vegan shake.
Queal’s shakes are usually larger (larger serving size) have similar amount of protein but less fats and more carbs. They use whey protein in all except the vegan option.
The shakes tend to be thin and the flavours pretty spot on.
vs Pulve. (Article comparing both in detail: https://latestfuels.com/david-vs-goliath/the-best-european-vegan-shake/)
This is a brand that is very similar to Huel in most aspects. It is EU sourced and produced and contains no soy. Otherwise, nutritionally is very similar to Huel.
Even taste wise and consistency wise is very similar, thick grainny and strong vanilla flavour.
Overall Huel faces very well vs most competitors (there are so many more out there). Huel does not offer an organic shake, so you would have to go for something like Ample or Ambronite; or a keto shake (Sated, Ketochow); or a soy free shake, Pulve; or a thin shake; or a carb heavy shake. Those would be the main reasons (besides price, convenience or specific taste) to choose another shake. Otherwise, Huel tends to be victorious in most 1v1s.
I have utilized and researched meal replacement shakes for the last two decades. I have always come up short. They either have a very low nutritional content or are very overpriced or in many cases both. You’ll usually find the shakes are high in protein but low in other nutritional content. Very very very few have the fiber content of Huel. And as for finding anything cheaper good luck. At $2 a serving you’d be hard-pressed to find any other meal supplement with the protein fiber and nutritional content that this one has at only $2 a serving.
When compared to Soylent powder huel 3.0 tastes worse, has a courser texture, and costs slightly more. That being said huel 3.0 appears to be more nutritionally balanced. The glycemic index of Soylent is still technically considered low so I wouldn’t consider it a deal breaker but it is higher than the glycemic index for huel 3.0 which when combined with differences in the amount of bulk from fiber make huel noticeabley more filling. I personally find that a 50/50 mix of the two takes care of the taste and texture and the nutritional value of Soylent is good enough that I don’t worry about the loss from reducing the huel percentage, most of the solid food I eat is still considering fairly healthy despite significantly further from nutritionally balanced then Soylent. If you only want a convenient nutritionally balanced meal and don’t care about it’s format or cost the hot and savory line from huel has some great options especially among the pasta.
Hey Gareth, thanks for sharing your insights, there’s a lot I agree with there.
I’m going to close this post as the last response before you was back in 2018! If a post is older than a year it’s best to start a new post to avoid cluttering and ensuring that people who are still active on the forum are responding. I hope that’s okay, message me if not.
