Huel and Soylent are the biggest meal replacement brands currently available. They are the two brands that most people are aware off, and also the ones battling fiercely in the USA to gain dominance over the market.

Despite both being meal replacement brands that produce plant based complete foods; they are very different from each other.

In this piece, I will try to highlight these differences, and try to help you decide which one is better: Soylent or Huel. Let’s get started with the Soylent vs Huel face-off.

Short Introduction

Meet the Expert

In the past few years, I have tried over 75 different shakes and more than 250 variations of meal replacements. My passion for nutrition made me discover this niche, and since I have been expanding my knowledge about the market. After making my passion my job, I have been fortunate enough to enjoy a variety of complete foods, including both Huel and Soylent products (bars, ready to drinks, and powders). As such, I think that I can provide you with a unique insight into this Huel vs Soylent comparison.

Soylent Intro

Soylent was the first and won the hearts of American customers with its smooth and tasty shakes. After the success of their powder based meals, they soon moved to ready-to drink alternatives, which launched Soylent’s popularity and are now Soylent’s best-selling products.

With a pro-science and pro-GMO stance, Soylent’s meal replacements will contain more processed ingredients than the alternatives. While they will provide you with all the essentials your body needs according to the latest scientific literature, they will not add any probiotics, phytonutrients or other compounds.

Huel Intro

Huel, on the other hand, started in the UK with a nutrition-first approach. The growth of the British giant has been meteoric, mainly based on its star product Huel Powder. With the recent funding rounds, the UK-based brand has expanded their product repertoire, as well as made a more clear effort to establish as the primary brand in the USA.

On the opposite side of Soylent, Huel chooses to use more whole ingredients (not solely, though), like oats. They also have started adding probiotics and kombucha to improve gut health. Huel’s ingredients are not from GMO sources, but they are not organic either.

Before going on, I must say that when people compare Huel vs Soylent, they think that these are the only alternatives; but the truth is that they might not even be the best meal replacement shakes in the market. Always, try to find the one that suits you best.

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Overview of Products

	Soylent	Huel
From	USA	UK
Ships to	USA & UK	Worldwide
Shipping fee	Free	Free
Vegan	Yes	Yes
GMO	Yes	No
	BUY SOYLENT	Buy On AMAZON
	Soylent Powder	Huel Powder v3.0
Energy (C/P/F)	35/20/45	40/30/30
Kcal/serving	400	400
Price/serving	$1.80	$2.12
Gluten Free	Yes	No*
Flavours	2	7*
Minimum Order	$64.00	$72.22
Go to Comparison
Review	Read	Read
	Buy On AMAZON	BUY HUEL
	Soylent Drink	Huel Ready to Drink
Energy (C/P/F)	38/19/43	38/20/42
Kcal/serving	400	400
Price/serving	$3.25	$4.50
Gluten Free	Yes	Yes
Flavours	8	3
Minimum Order	$39.00	$99.00
Go to Comparison
Review	Read	Read
	Soylent Squared	Huel Bar v3.1
Energy (C/P/F)	44/19/37	40/24/36
Kcal/serving	100	200
Price/serving	$1.00	$2.07
Gluten Free	Yes	Yes
Flavours	3	2*
Minimum Order	$30.00	$62.22
Go to Comparison
Review	Read	Read

*Gluten-free in Huel Powder is optional. There are often more flavors available for each product for Huel in the UK, whereas the opposite is true in the USA for Soylent.

Huel also has Huel Black (powder); and Hot & Savoury (chewable complete food). On the other hand, Soylent has Stacked (RTD with nootropics) also for sale in the USA. Prices shown are for the USA without bulk or subscription discounts (most expensive).

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Availability

Both brands mainly sell via their websites, and this is the place we recommend buying them.

Huel offers free next-day delivery in the UK and 2-5 days in the mainland USA.

On the other hand, Soylent only sells to the US, and also offers free delivery.

Soylent is Easier to Find in the USA (Retail)

The American brand used to be available in the UK (only few products and flavours); but now it’s only in the USA and Canada.

In the USA, they have strong retail presence in 7-Eleven, Costco, Target and Walmart (RTDs only). Besides, you can buy all Soylent products in the online store and on Amazon.

Looking at where to buy, soylent.com will be the best place (price-wise) to buy and the more likely you will get a more personalized treatment. You will also be able to get subscriber benefits and loyalty rewards.

Huel on Retail Only In the UK

Contrary to Soylent, Huel is available worldwide with a particularly strong presence in the USA, EU and the UK. Unfortunately, none of the products can be purchased in Canada.

As for Huel RTD, this is sold on Sainsbury’s and Selfridges, as well as on their main website. I strongly recommend buying it online if you can, since you will get a much better deal regarding the price.

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Huel Vs Soylent Product Comparisons

Below, I have made in-depth comparisons of the different Huel and Soylent products. Because, both offer multiple types of meal replacements, I have divided them in different sections:

• Powder-based meals.
• Ready to Drink products.
• Meal replacement bars.

In short, Soylent has the best RTD offering, both in variety and flavors (US). However, Huel’s Powders are more affordable and nutritionally much more complete. Thus, for daily use, Huel will be better suited for most, unless you want the convenience that ready-to-drink products bring.

Huel Powder vs Soylent Powder

Soylent Powder is the original meal replacement option in the US. A fan favourite, which is also relatively low in carbs and high in fats. Soylent Powder is often praised for its flavour and smoothness. Soylent Powder is only available in the US, as for now.

Soylent Powder: Original and Cacao.

Huel has 2 different variations of powder available in the USA and UK: Huel v3.0 and Huel Black. The first is the original formula with more carbs and a more balanced macronutrient profile. Huel Black is a low carb, ultra high protein mixture. Nevertheless, both are complete foods that will offer you all the nutrients you need per meal.

Huel Powder: Vanilla, Chocolate, Banana*, Mint-Chocolate*, Berry, Coffee*, and Unflavoured & Unsweetened. * Flavours currently only available in the UK.

Huel Black: Vanilla, Coffee Caramel, Peanut Butter and Chocolate.

Taste & Texture

Soylent Powder will give you a thinner, smoother shake that will be easier to get used to as a beginner. Furthermore, it is sweeter than Huel, and has a clear background soy taste (like drinking soy milk). The Original mixture is creamy, with a vanilla touch; whereas Cacao is a mild sweet chocolate mixture. Cacao is the best out of both. 7.5/10

In contrast, Huel is known for being a little gritty and also requires more water to be mixed with (about 400-500ml vs 350ml). Hence, many Huel users like to leave their shakes overnight in the fridge to make them smoother. When it comes to taste, you will find that opinions vary. Huel has a more oaty, earthy taste. 7/10

In my opinion, Soylent Cacao tastes better than Huel Chocolate, and it is the best tasting out of all of the options. However, Huel has more choices, and the Vanilla is really good and mixes very well with fruits.

What about Huel Black? Huel Black Chocolate is smoother than the normal Huel, but tastes very strongly like pea protein and it’s inferior to the other flavours. Huel Black Vanilla is slightly better, but taste-wise inferior. It will only be tastier to those that find artificial sweeteners (sucralose) disgusting. 5.5/10

Price

Price	Huel Black	Huel v3.0	Soylent Powder
US ($)
per 400 (expensive)	2.45	2.12	1.82
per 400 (cheapest)	1.73	1.51	1.74

Huel’s price will significantly vary with order size. The bigger the order, the lower the price per meal will be, since they offer bulk purchasing discounts.

Nutrition

All three are vegan. Soylent Powder and Huel Black are gluten-free, while Huel v3.0 (default one) is not.

Ingredients

	Huel Black	Huel v3.0	Soylent Powder
Vegan	Y	Y	Y
GMO	N	N	Y
Gluten	N	Y*	N
Soy	N	N	Y
Maltodextrin	Y	N	Y
Sweetener	Sugar	Sucralose	Sucralose
Probiotics	Y	Y	N
GI	27*	27	55

Soylent Powder is plant based formula from a pro-GMO, pro science approach. As such, many of the ingredients in Soylent Powder are more processed and simple forms (maltodextrin, isomaltulose). Nutritionally, Soylent will provide you with all your dietary requirements, but will not include any probiotics, phytonutrients or extra ingredients.

Huel v3.0′s main ingredients are oats, pea and rice protein, with sunflower oil, flaxseed and MCTs. Huel’s ingredients are not from GMO sources. You can find the whole list here.

Huel Black is a gluten free formula, with pea proteins as main ingredient followed by flaxseed, brown rice protein and tapioca starch. It also contains organic coconut sugar, instead of sweeteners. See the full ingredient list.

What Should I Buy?

If you are looking for a low carb shake, Huel Black is the healthiest, nutritionally better-rounded option of all of them. I also think that it is the better shake if you are looking to lose weight, with the extra protein and fiber.

However, if you are not too bothered about macros, I would recommend you to buy Huel Powder v3.0. There are more flavour options, it is cheaper, tastes better than Black, and it has the best nutritional output of all three.

On the other hand, if you despise oats, or really want a tasty smooth shake, then Soylent Powder will be the ideal choice for you.

Huel Ready to Drink vs Soylent

Soylent was the first company to release a ready-to-drink product, which now has become the best selling and most widely available option in the US: Soylent Drink. They also have Soylent Cafe, the caffeinated version.

Currently, Soylent is transitioning its RTD into a new formula: Optimized. This contains much less sugar (only 1g), and has also changed the flavours slightly.

	Soylent	Huel RTD
From	USA	UK
Ships to	USA & UK	EU & US
$/400kcal	3.25	4.5
C/P/F	38/19/43	38/20/42
Allergen	Soy
kCal/meal	400	400
Serv/day	5	5
Suitable	Vegan	Vegan
Flavours	8	3
Subscription	5%	10%

Flavors

Soylent Drink: Original, Vanilla, Creamy Chocolate, Mint Chocolate, Strawberry, Banana, Cafe Mocha*, Cafe Chai*, Cafe Vanilla*. *Caffeinated drinks.

Huel Ready To Drink: Vanilla, Berry, and Chocolate.

Which Tastes Better: Soylent Drink or Huel Ready to Drink?

Soylent Drink offers more variety, and in my opinion the better taste overall. Both ready to drinks are very smooth and creamy, but Soylent’s are a little sweeter and more pleasant. Particularly, Cacao, Vanilla and Cafe Mocha are great. 9.0/10

The one benefit of Huel RTDs is that they don’t have any background soy taste, unlike Soylent does. Thus, if you do not particularly like this, you might favour the more neutral, less sweet Huel flavour. The best out of the three is Vanilla followed by Chocolate, and Berry is last. 8.0/10

Pricing

Huel Ready to Drink’s price will vary depending on the location (US, UK, EU) and the amount of bottles you buy. For instance, in the US you will start at $4.5/bottle and in the UK at £3.08/bottle (both being equal). While the starting point might be higher, the good news is that the price can be significantly reduced when you buy in bulk at Huel, unlike for Soylent.

Price	Huel RTD	Soylent Drink
US ($)
per 400 (expensive)	4.50	3.50
per 400 (cheapest)	3.19	3.05

Soylent does not ship to Europe and it’s only available in the US and Canada, for now.

Nutrition

Looking at the data, they look pretty similar; fairly high in fats, medium protein and low carbohydrate content. However, there are some main differences:

• Soylent has significantly more monounsaturated fatty acids, and less omega-3 and -6 (polyunsaturated) per bottle (not shown).
• Huel RTD has more saturated fats, due to the inclusion of MCTs.
• They have the same amount of carbohydrates, but Soylent has significantly less fiber.
• Soylent Drink’s GI is 44 (medium-low), while Huel Ready to Drink’s GI is 25.

	Soylent	Huel RTD
Fats	Sunflower oil, canola oil	Canola oil, flaxseed, MCT
Protein	Soy protein isolate	Pea protein, brown rice flour
Carbs	Maltodextrin, Allulose	Tapioca starch, gluten free oat powder

Verdict: Soylent Drink Vs Huel Ready to Drink

In the USA, I would recommend buying Soylent Drink. They are tastier, slightly more affordable and have a better variety, so you never get tired of them. I would only recommend Huel, if you are willing to pay extra for small nutritional upgrades (lower GI, no soy, less processed ingredients).

On the other hand, I think that Huel RTD is a no-brainer choice if you live in the UK. The price discrepancy is too big to ignore. The availability of Soylent also varies too much, and the variety is nowhere near what they offer in the USA. I would recommend trying out Soylent, if you have Amazon Prime, but otherwise stick to Huel.

What about Soylent Bridge and Soylent Stacked?

These are smaller (180kcal) RTDs that Soylent offers. Both are only available in Chocolate flavour and are more expensive than Soylent Drink. Stacked has some caffeine and other nootropics (l-theanine, l-tyrosine) to help you focus. You can read my full thoughts on Soylent Bridge here, but in short I think that it is an overpriced meal, with some extra protein.

Neither of them are truly that great and fill very niche needs.

Huel Bar vs Soylent Squared

Unfortunately, I don’t think that either of the options is among the best meal replacement bars in the market. However, considering the limited options available in the US, you might want to try them.

Soylent Squared	Huel Bar v3.1
100kcal/bar	200kcal/bar
$1.00/bar	$2.07/bar
Vegan	Vegan
44C/19P/37F	40C/24P/36F
Box of 30	Box of 15
3 Flavours	2 Flavours
5% Subscription	10% Subscription

Huel Bars are gluten free with 200kcal per bar and 12g of protein. The new formula is chewy and soft, fairly similar to Soylent’s. In the US, they are available in Salted Caramel and Chocolate; whereas there are another two more flavours in the UK.

On the other side, Soylent Squareds are 100kcal snack bars. While they also have all the nutrients necessary, they are designed to be a complimentary snack and not a full meal. They come in three flavours: Citrus Cherry, Salted Caramel and Chocolate Brownie.

In all honesty, I prefer the flavour of Huel’s bars, and the bigger format also adapts better to my lifestyle.

Alternatives

So that’s all you need to know about Soylent versus Huel.

Still, do neither of the options shown here convince you? Don’t worry since they are not the only meal replacements out there. For instance, there are many keto meal replacement shakes which will suit people following the ketogenic diet better than Soylent or Huel. I will strongly recommend you looking at the following articles:

Recommended Alternatives

However, here are a few meal replacement shakes that I think you might be interested on:

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Conclusion – Soylent vs Huel

Both Huel and Soylent offer multiple meal replacements that will provide you with all the nutrients you need per meal. They are ideal to replace one or two meals a day, to ensure proper nutrition no matter where you are or the time.

When it comes to choosing which one is the best, Huel vs Soylent, these are the major factors to think about:

• Nutritionally, Huel Powder is the better well rounded and healthiest option out of all. Unlike Soylent, it has more whole ingredients, probiotics and phytonutrients giving you even more per meal.
• If convenience is key for you, then you will probably want to look for RTDs. In this case, in the UK Huel RTD will be the answer. On the other hand, due to the pricing, the variety and the taste, Soylent Drink is the way to go in the USA.
• In fact, if you are looking for a beginner friendly, easy shake to drink, and tasty shake, Soylent Drink (or to a lesser degree Powder) is the way to go.

Sources

1. All about Huel.
2. Soylent Powder Nutrition label.
3. Huel Powder Nutrition.
4. Dietary Guidelines for Americans.