I have tried Plated, Hello Fresh and Blue Apron.
They are all very similar, I think the accompanying instructions with Hello Fresh are a little better written and easier to follow than the others. Most of the recipes are pretty straight forward, but there are some good techniques and ideas that can be picked up.
The some of the things to like about any of them are the following: 1) Convenience of not having to shop and/or plan. 2) Variety of tastes that wouldn't necessarily be in my normal repertoire. 3) portion controlled 4) the majority of the recipes took less than 30 mins to prepare.
In terms of the cost $8-10/portion is not extreme. Ordering in pretty much anything is going to cost more. Per portion cost may be slightly less if doing it on your own, but you lose not just the convenience, but the possibility of waste as well. Since each recipe comes with the requested spices, vinegar's, produce, pasta, etc., there is not a percentage of a purchased jar/bottle/package left to spoil, stale, or whatever if not used again.
I cook and I find most of the food enjoyable and tasty. A friend of mine who was not much of a cook before hand, was able to perform the steps and come up with a fairly accurate rendition of the attempted dish. I had a few weeks worth of them sent to my college aged kids and they liked them, though because the smallest portion is for 2 people, they weren't overly enamored with the same meal the next day for lunch or dinner. I heard similarly from single friends.
I think they are a great tool/resource for people who don't cook, but want to try and learn on their own. The step by step instructions make it fairly easy. Even the more "difficult" recipes can be accomplished by a novice. The only drawback is that for a non-cook, some of the techniques or queues that a cook would find second nature are not as obvious or explained as well. So and instruction like "cook for 3-5 minutes", means the possibility of over or under-cooked exists, or cooking rice in a pot and not knowing to add more water if necessary, or the difference between a simmer and a boil can lead to burned/crunchy rice. I think a major improvement for most of them would be to try and foresee some of these issues and offer the visual clues necessary. Maybe more detailed instructions for the "novices"