Huel vs Soylent – Which is a Better Meal Replacement?

Huel and Soylent are both incredibly popular meal replacement brands that produce plant-based products. They are essentially nutritionally complete so you don’t have to rely on actual food. At least, that’s the concept.

This review takes a look at Huel vs Soylent, including their differences, similarities and benefits of their meal replacement products.

The Brands

Soylent and Huel have both made waves because of their marketing.

Soylent was named after a product in the book Make Room! Make Room!, although most people associate it with the subsequent movie Soylent Green. In the book, Soylent was a combination of soy and lentils, which were used as meal replacements. In the movie, the product is called Soylent Green and is made from human remains.

The real-world version of Soylent has been marketed as a way to bypass the time and energy that goes into making and eating food. The company was also a Silicon Valley startup and the shakes have been incredibly popular.

Huel is the UK equivalent to Soylent (although both brands are now widely distributed) and was developed roughly a year after Soylent. The company has heavily relied on marketing, including the idea that Huel is the ‘fuel of the future’.  

Both Huel and Soylent rely on a minimalistic design and ensure that their product has a wide range of vitamins and minerals ready to drink.

Flavors and Variations

Soylent offers three distinct types of products:

• Soylent Drink – A readymade meal replacement shake (like Premier Protein). Comes in Original, Strawberry and Cacao flavors.
• Soylent Cafe – A similar readymade product that contains caffeine. Comes in Cafe Vanilla, Cafe Chai and Cafe Mocha flavor.
• Soylent Powder – A meal replacement powder. Comes in Original and Cacao flavors.

These are all very similar in terms of nutrition, which is unusual. The main differences are that the readymade shakes contain a little less sugar and fiber compared to the powder.

If we consider all of the products, then the flavor selection is decent. However, the powder is only available in Cacao and Original flavors.

Compared to Soylent, Huel just offers meal replacement powders.

• These are available in two flavors, Vanilla and Unflavored & Unsweetened.
• There are regular and gluten-free versions of each flavor.

The products from both companies are entirely vegan, regardless of type or flavor.

Huel is the best choice for anyone avoiding gluten, as they have two gluten-free options. Soylent isn’t labeled as gluten-free. However, the company’s website mentions that nothing listed contains gluten and there is a low risk of cross-contamination.

Customer Perspectives

Both companies receive mixed reviews, especially for the flavor and texture of their products.

The unflavored powder from Soylent is normally viewed as having a neutral flavor, which is to be expected. The following are all examples of taste perspectives:

• Neutral, similar to soy milk (original powder)
• Tastes chalky and unappealing (cacao powder)
• Similar to raw pancake batter (original powder)
• Doesn’t taste pleasant (original powder)
• Neutral flavor profile (original powder)

The flavored ready made drinks tend to get better reviews, with many people enjoying these.

While customers are often indifferent to Soylent’s flavor, the same can’t be said for Huel. Most reviews about the shake itself (with no flavor additions) are negative. Examples include:

• The consistency is similar to dried oatmeal
• Very gritty
• Tastes like baby cereal
• A cross between wallpaper paste and cold oatmeal
• Feels like drinking mud

Of course, there are exceptions. Some reviewers enjoy the taste, especially for the vanilla version.

• As one person explained, the taste and texture are somewhat similar to semi-sweetened oatmeal. That’s not what most people want in a protein shake, but the style might appeal to some.
• Another mentioned that it depends on previous experience. The taste of the vanilla version by Huel is somewhat nutty and mild, but people who expect something heavily flavored may find it too subtle.

There are also positive reviews for Huel from customers that use the flavor boosts or mix in other ingredients. In fairness, the sale of flavor boosts suggests that the powder isn’t meant to be used on its own anyway.

Still, you may need to add in more ingredients to bypass the texture issues (or use the powder in a smoothie recipe). Having to do so decreases many of the advantages from using Huel in the first place.

Pricing Differences

Soylent can be purchased in a tub (12 servings) or a pouch (5 servings). Pouches must be purchased in multiples of seven. If you go through their site, the prices look like this:

• One-time Purchase: $34.00/tub or $9.14/pouch
• Subscription: $32.50/tub or $7.71/pouch

For a one-time purchase, this works out to either $2.83/serving or $1.83/serving, while the subscription is $2.71/serving or $1.54/serving.

The readymade shakes cost $3.25 each as a one-time purchase or $3.09 on subscription, regardless of type. These can only be purchased in packs of 12.

Huel is sold in pouches only, which contain 14 servings. Customers need to order at least two at a time. The price varies depending on the number purchased at one time:

• One-time Purchase: From $2.64/serving (2 pouches) to $2.28/serving (16 pouches)
• Subscription: From $2.38/serving (2 pouches) to $2.05/serving (16 pouches)

In the end, Soylent is less expensive but only if you’re purchasing the pouches. For Huel, you need to be ordering many pouches at a time to see significant savings. If you plan to use flavor boosts, these would need to be purchased too, adding to the cost.

Nutrition

To compare nutrition, we’re just going to focus on the protein powder. Soylent’s premade shakes are similar anyway, so many of the conclusions apply to them too.

Both brands also contain a wide range of vitamins and minerals.

• For one serving of Huel, these vary from 25% to 130%, with most being somewhere between 25% and 30%.
• For one serving of Soylent, every nutrient contains 20% of the daily requirement. This is true regardless of the flavor or product type.

The best choice will vary a little depending on your needs. But, Huel is clearly the more powerful brand, offering more nutrients, less sugar, more fiber and more protein per serving.

The nutritional profile will change if you choose to add a flavor boost to the Huel shake. Even so, it remains high in protein per serving.

Choice of Ingredients

Both sets of products are designed for meal replacement. As such, they need to use a wide range of different ingredients.

Soylent (Original flavor)

• Protein Source: Soy protein isolate
• Sweeteners: Sucralose, isomaltulose
• Interesting Ingredients: High oleic sunflower oil or canola oil (to provide monounsaturated fats), isomaltulose (releases energy slowly)
• Potentially Concerning Ingredients: Maltodextrin, artificial flavors

Huel (Vanilla flavor, non gluten-free)

• Protein Source: Oats, pea protein, flaxseed, brown rice protein
• Sweeteners: Stevia, sucralose
• Interesting Ingredients: Medium chain triglycerides (sourced from coconuts)
• Potentially Concerning Ingredients: Artificial vanilla flavor

Huel vs Soylent Diets

Huel and Soylent are normally used to replace one or two meals per day. This provides a simple approach to weight loss and health, one that many people find effective to meet their nutritional needs.

Some users have taken a more radical approach – relying on nothing but the shakes for their nutrition. For the most part, they came out fine at the other end. Some even lost weight. Still, the experience isn’t for the faint-hearted.

• Josh Helton wrote about 30 days relying on just Soylent. His experience makes an interesting read. The short version is that he did get the nutrients he needed to be productive, even with substantial exercise. His overall health improved too and he had more free time, but the experience had some incredibly frustrating components.
• Rob Price did something similar for Huel (just for a week) and didn’t enjoy the experience. But, like Josh, he didn’t suffer physically. 
• The same was true for Jared Hill after his week on Huel.

I wouldn’t ever recommend replacing all of your meals with a shake. Still, it’s good to know that the idea to give what the body needs is at least possible.

Huel vs Soylent: The Final Score

Advantages of Huel

• Provides flavor boosts that can make the shakes taste better
• Has some gluten-free shakes
• Can be inexpensive, but you need to purchase a decent number of pouches at one time
• Higher in protein and fiber
• Lower in sugar
• More nutrients per serving
• Uses fewer concerning ingredients and doesn’t rely on soy
• Includes MCTs

Advantages of Soylent

• Offers more types of products. The readymade drinks are more expensive, but they are popular for their flavor
• The powder has a neutral taste and many reviews on flavor are indifferent. In contrast, reviews on Huel’s flavor and texture tend to be negative
• Relatively inexpensive if you purchase the pouches, especially on a subscription