Honest Butcher Box Review (2026)
This post contains affiliate links. Read our disclosure policy.
This is our honest ButcherBox Review. If you’re wondering is ButcherBox is worth it? Check out our ButcherBox Prices Chart Comparison & more. From Pros & Cons, to how to do Butcherbox on a budget- we’ve covered it all.
This post was originally shared in April of 2018.
If you’re curious about ButcherBox, the meat delivery service everyone’s talking about – we’re sharing an unbiased review.
We’ve used the service for 8+ years so we’re clearly fans- but I’m sharing all of tips, info, and honest Butcher Box reviews to answering all your questions below!
What is Butcher Box?
ButcherBox is a meat delivery service that delivers grass fed beef, free range chicken, heritage pork and salmon directly to your door.
All of the meat is free of antibiotics & hormones, and it arrives totally frozen on dry ice so you can just pop it in your freezer + defrost as needed.
Pros of Butcher Box
- Convenience : The box arrives with all of the meat frozen + on dry ice. They deliver it right to you, and all you have to do is put it into the freezer.
- Cost Effective: ButcherBox is cheaper than other grocery stores. Read our ButcherBox Price Comparison charts to see what I mean.
- Taste: The taste of ButcherBox’s meat is unparalleled. Seriously, it’s restaurant quality!
- Quality: You’re getting grass fed, free range, heritage breed pork.. It is the best quality meat you can be finding!
Cons of Butcher Box
- Packaging: I don’t love all the cardboard that gets wasted. Thankfully it is recyclable, but I still wish there was a better way!
- Planning Ahead: We get most of our meat from ButcherBox so it does require some thinking ahead. If we need specific things for a party or holiday- we have to make sure we order in time!
- Freezer space: The meat does take up significant freezer space. It was a tight fit when we lived in a tiny apartment with a small freezer!
When you try ButcherBox right now you can get free ground beef for a year & $10 off! Click here to try it.
Butcher Box Prices
If you’re wondering about cost – they have options that range from $146-$306.
- Signature Box (Choose from full selection)
- Medium – $179, 6 proteins (up to 21 lbs)
- Large – $249, 9 proteins (up to 31 lbs)
- Extra Large– $319, 12 proteins (up to 42 lbs)
- Essentials Box (Limited Selection
- Medium – $159, 6 proteins (up to 21 lbs)
Pro Tip:
Get the smaller box, and shop their member deals page. This is the most cost effective way to do ButcherBox!
The Essentials Box has a limited selection of meats to choose from, I would recommend doing a Signature Box
What comes in a Butcher Box?
Here are some of the options ButcherBox has. They’re constantly adding more products to their offerings!
- Beef: Stew Beef, Sirloin Tips, Ground Beef, Trip Tip, Burgers, Flat Iron Steaks, Beef Brisket, Bottom Round Roast, Shoulder Roast, Sirloin Cap, Eye of Round Roast, Ranch Steaks, NY Strip Steaks
- Chicken: Whole Chicken, Boneless Skinless Breasts, Chicken Tenders, Boneless or Bone-In Chicken Thighs, Ground Chicken, Drumsticks, Chicken Wings
- Pork: Ground Pork, Breakfast Sausage, Center Cut Pork Loin Roast, Boneless Pork Chops, Pork Sirloin Roasts, Bone in Pork Butt, Bacon, Pork Tenderloin
- Seafood: Salmon, Salmon Burgers, Cod, Shrimp
- Other: Ground Turkey, Ground Bison, Uncured Hot Dogs, Cooked Chicken Strips,
ButcherBox offers their members different deals like 10lbs of ground beef for $59.99 or 12 lbs of chicken for $72 on the deals page. Usually I get the chicken one every other month because we eat a lot of chicken!
Liz’s Pro Tip:
Wondering what size to get? Try this hack: get the smaller box!
Even if you think you’ll need more, get the smaller box, and watch the ‘Member Deals’ page on ButcherBox. They’re always posting awesome deals, so you can shop the sales and save $$ there rather than getting a big box!
You can also select every other month for your delivery
Butcher Box Discount Code
We have a ButcherBox coupon link for you! It’s a special offer only for our readers!
When you join ButcherBox right now you can get free ground beef for a year! Click here to try it.
Butcherbox Prices vs Other Grocery Stores
Grass fed/free range/good quality meat isn’t cheap. Buying conventional meat is significantly cheaper, however I wanted to do a cost comparison with ButcherBox
I visited a few local grocery stores near me and found comparable quality meat (organic, free range, etc). ButcherBox was less expensive EVERY single time!
| Meat | ButcherBox | Thrive Market | Whole Foods | Stop & Shop |
| Ground Beef | $6.00 | $10.99 | $8.99 | $8.99 |
| Bacon | $7.00 | $7.99 | $6.99 | $8.99 |
| Ground Turkey | $7.50 | n/a | $9.99 | $7.99 |
| Chicken Breasts | $7.60 | $11.67 | $8.99 | $9.99 |
These prices are calculated off of Butcher Box’s prices for:
- Ground Beef, Ground Turkey, Chicken Breast: 1 lb
- Bacon: 10 oz pack
Whole Foods: I love Whole Foods, but their meat prices were by far the most expensive.
| Cut of Meat | Whole Foods | ButcherBox |
| Ground Beef | $8.99 | $7.00 |
| Bacon | $6.99 | $7.00 |
| Ground Turkey | $9.99 | $7.50 |
| Chicken Breasts | $8.99 | $7.60 |
Thrive Market: We love Thrive Market and shop there all the time (check out this Thrive Market Review) but their meat is much more expensive than ButcherBox.
| Cut of Meat | Thrive Market | ButcherBox |
| Ground Beef | $10.99 | $7.00 |
| Bacon | $7.99 | 7.00 |
| Ground Turkey | n/a | $7.50 |
| Chicken Breasts | $11.67 | $7.60 |
Stop & Shop: Stop & Shop is a local grocery chain. They’re also called Giant, or Hannaford in other areas.
| Cut of Meat | Stop & Shop | ButcherBox |
| Ground Beef | $8.99 | $7.00 |
| Bacon | $8.99 | $7.00 |
| Ground Turkey | $7.99 | $7.50 |
| Chicken Breasts | $9.99 | $7.60 |
Butcher Box vs Costco
I’ve gotten many questions about what the difference are between Costco meat and ButcherBox. I LOVE Costco (see all my healthy costco favorites here) Here are my thoughts on Costco vs ButcherBox:
Costco doesn’t have the same quality of meat as ButcherBox and other grocers so I couldn’t do a true cost comparison.
- Kirkland Organic Ground Beef: $7.70/lb (grass fed but not grass finished)
- Kirkland Organic Chicken Breasts: $7.45/lb (not free range)
- Plainville Organic Ground Turkey: $8.29/lb
Chicken – Costco’s chicken is organic, but not free range. The Costco chicken typically comes with a lot of fat on it, and needs to be pounded to be tender. ButcherBox’s chicken is basically all meat, and super tender. I personally prefer ButcherBox.
Beef – Similar to the chicken, Costco’s beef is organic, but not grass fed/finished. This means that the cows ate some grass, and some grains/other food. Grass finished means that the cows ate nothing but grass and forage for their entire life.
Our Costco’s organic ground beef was over $7 per pound, and on Butcherbox I can get it for exactly $7/lb. This is a no brainer for me.. I skip the crowds at Costco, and have better quality meat delivered to me.
Pork – Our Costco does not sell any organic pork products (ribs, tenderloins, bacon) so I can’t do a true cost comparison. We don’t eat pork that often, so when we do – we always buy from Butcherbox.
Steaks – Our Costco also does not sell organic or grass fed steak. Their steaks are a great price, and taste delicious – but if you want grass fed/organic – ours doesn’t have that option.
How to afford ButcherBox Prices on a budget
- Don’t order a custom box: The custom ButcherBox is the most expensive option, and really.. you don’t need it!
- Don’t order things you can get locally at a better price: I have a hard time finding good quality chicken and pork near me at great prices, so that’s what I fill my box up with.
- Buy Bigger Cuts of Meat: When selecting cuts for your box, you can get 1 tiny pork tenderloin, or a big 5lb pork shoulder! Strategically pick your cuts to get the most bang for your buck!
- Think about what you’re already spending. The price comparisons above really say it all.. grocery stores are expensive! Why wouldn’t you save a few bucks and enjoy the convenience of having your meat delivered?
Pro Tip for Saving $$
Shop ButcherBox’s member deals! Select your 6 cuts for the month and check out the two tabs: ‘Add ons’ and ‘Deals’. Here you’ll find exclusive deals for ButcherBox members.
I like to stock up on ground beef, ground pork, and chicken here wherever I can. I usually will look at these and then strategically pick the other 6 cuts in my box!
Can you cancel ButcherBox?
You can easily cancel or pause your ButcherBox. We had to pause ours for a few months when we moved and it was super easy to do. You can also pause your shipment, or delay it!
You aren’t under contract with them for any amount of time.
Is Butcher Box Worth It?
Yes! Between the convenience, amazing quality, and fair price – it seems like a no brainer to me!
When you join ButcherBox right now you can get free ground beef & $10 off! Click here to try!
ButcherBox Review FAQ
ButcherBox is without question better than Omaha Steaks If you care about the sourcing of your meat and things like organic, free range, antibiotic free ButcherBox is for you! Omaha Steaks are not certified organic and extremely expensive.
ButcherBox’s meat comes from all over the country/world. The beef comes from Australia, while their chicken comes from farms across the US. Their fish is wild caught throughout the country.
Yes, ButcherBox is good quality meat. It’s all organic, grass fed/grass finished ground beef, heritage bred pork, free range chicken.
ButcherBox is good for: people who eat a lot of meat, are looking for some convenience in their life, and want to eat good quality meat!
Yes, ButcherBox is totally trustworthy. If you’re looking for high quality meat that is organic, grass fed, and antibiotic free- I completely trust their sourcing process. They work with amazing farmers to find great quality meat!
You can easily cancel or pause your subscription. We had to pause ours for a few months when we moved and it was super easy to do. You can also pause your shipment, or delay it!You aren’t under contract with them for any amount of time.
YES! ButcherBox is 100% grass-fed and grass-finished. It is guaranteed.
ButcherBox Recipes:
- Cast Iron Steak Recipe
- Instant Pot Beef Barley Soup
- Healthy Beef Stew
- Unstuffed Pepper Bowls
- How to Cook Crispy Bacon
- Turkey Chili (You can sub ground beef here!)
If you’re curious about SmoothieBox, a sister company to ButcherBox- check out this Smoothie Box Review I wrote! You may also be interested in this blog post: Is Thrive Market Worth It .
Hi – thank you for this review. I am trying to understand whether to do this or not and I don’t understand where you got your pricing for the BB cuts? A 6-item custom box is $169 and if I select the ground beef as one of my items, I get 2 pounds – at $169 for 6 items this makes that ground beef over $14/lb (as each item in the 6/box is about $28.1 per item). What am I doing wrong? I see I can get 2 filet mignons in my box and that is worth $14/item but not the ground beef. So when I look at your chart, I don’t understand – you have ground beef listed at $7/lb but in that case they would be including 4 pounds, not 2 pounds in the box. Am I misunderstanding something? Thanks so much!
Hi Marcie – the pricing in the charts is based off of ButcherBox’s ‘add on’ pricing. When you’re a BB member, you get access to purchasing meats in bulk at a discounted/set price. That’s where the prices per pound come from. What we do is get a 6 item custom box and pick the biggest weight/most expensive cuts (whole chicken, pork butt, etc) and then we do add ons for everything else. It’s much cheaper per pound to do it that way if that makes sense.
Hi do any of the meat selections taste gamie? I purchased meat from a local heritage beef farm and it tasted super gamie which I didn’t like.
I don’t think the meat tastes gamey at all! We love it!
Thank you for this review – so helpful and good to know it is not a bad deal. Do Fish Fixe next please!!
Hi! I’m not seeing how you got your price per pound…. If the classic box is $169 for 11 lbs, even with the extra 2 lbs of ground beef, that’s $13 per pound. Not the $7.50 that you say… Am I miscalculating? I want this to be a reasonable deal, but I’m not seeing it…
Hey Jessie! When you’re a ButcherBox member you have the opportunity to access their member deals. One of them is buying ground beef in bulk at a discounted price. That’s where the math comes from. If you give ButcherBox a try you’ll be able to see the member deals page. The prices are so much cheaper. We get the smallest ButcherBox and then select add ons for any additional meat we need, it’s the most affordable way to use ButcherBox
You forgot to mention how great the seafood choices are, Wild Salmon used to be a delicacy that I rarely ate since fish farm salmon sucks and has no color. Im on carnivore and I mostly only eat BB, I live alone and get a big box every month and a half and it works out for me knowing that all the food in my freezer is legit.
Don’t forget the ribeyes under the beef options – I get mostly ribeyes from BB!
I’m confused about pricing. The $137 box with about 10 pounds of meat would come out to $13.70 but you’re saying that a pound of meat is in the $7-8 range. Where did you get those numbers?
Hi Caitlin – the lbs of meat per box varies. You can add on meat in each box and it has a fixed price per pound. That’s where I go the numbers from. They are not the average cost numbers if that make sense.
Can I gift somebody a box .
Yes you can! Check out there site via this link. Click the ButcherBox icon at the top and then click ‘gifts’
Hi,
I want to give your service to my son as a gift. He has a small freezer. Is it possible to deliver smaller meat quanities?
Butcherbox comes in 2 different sizes – a smaller box and a bigger box. Without knowing the size of the freezer I can’t say for sure if the smaller box would work – but we used to live in an apartment with a small freezer and didn’t have an issue with it!
Hello!
I am interested, but will I be charged monthly if I get delivery every 8 weeks? Or is it $129/$149 per delivery?
Hi Brad – You can set the box to come every other month, which would be 8 weeks. You choose whether you want the $129 option (ButcherBox selects your meat) or $149 (you choose the meat)
What is the deal right now with butcherbox? Free meat I mean. Thank you
Hi Cindy, it’s linked in the blog post.
what grade of beef is bb ie usda choice, prime etc and it so marked
Their beef is grass fed and not marked (most, if not all grass fed beef is not graded)
I understand you want customers to join your “club” which sounds great. But our children are at opposite ends of the U.S. . Would I be able to send a gift package without a member ship? That’s what we do with Omaha steaks.
Hi Dorothy – This isn’t a ‘club’. You can send gifts and not purchase a membership.
I see the cuts of meat and they sound wonderful but I do not see things like bacon pork butt a whole loin ribs beef and pork brisket (the whole brisket) Plus there is no ham listed . If a hind quarter was listed I could make my own ham if pork belly was there I could make bacon and cut it how I like it. Is ground pork there? These are questions that I have otherwise it seems to be a great deal. Depending on the fat content of the ground beef making good patties need some fat
Hi Scott – The cuts of meat vary month to month depending on your location/stock. They always have bacon. Pork butt, pork loins and ribs are often there, as is brisket. They have hams available for holidays (usually a round Easter and Christmas) Ground pork is an add on that they offer and their beef is 85/15 – it’s delicioous! Hope this helps!
I appreciate you sent another email because i did not see this review on butcher box and my biggest issue with all meat and chicken for years now is the taste has changed and it’s definitely not appealing to me anymore. We are on a budget since i unfortunately stopped working about 7 yrs ago because of physical and health problems one of them being NASH. Lean meats is what i was looking for and liked the way u described the chicken. I can not make it past 2 bites of the stop and shop or bjs chicken breast lol Thanks again
Glad you found it helpful, Ana!
If you’re in CT, you should really try Walden Local Meat… they’re like Butcher Box, but with all locally sourced meat and seafood from small New England farms. Plus they’re a registered B corp! I get my monthly deliveries from them and can also easily add on bones for stocks and organs for my dog which saves me sourcing them from local farms since Walden does it for me.
That sounds great! We really love ButcherBox though – they have a huge variety of cuts. It seems like they are similar in price and quality though so I’m sure that’s a great option!
How can I trust your review when in the introduction you have an affiliate link…… honest question.
Hi David – I get pitched on average to join 5-10 affiliate programs EVERY day and say no. I’m only an affiliate for the brands I actually use and love, and long before I became an affiliate for ButcherBox – I bought and paid for this as a consumer on my own. I liked the service so much that I reached out to them about being an affiliate. You’ll find that on my site – there aren’t many affiliate posts or links, unless they are for brands or products that I personally use and like. Hope that helps!
Thank you for a great review.
Would you need a huge freezer to keep all the meats? We rent an apartment and the fridge in the unit is tiny.
What carrier to they use to deliver the meats?
Hi Cat- Glad it was helpful! No you don’t need a huge freezer for the meats. We used to do this when we lived in our apartment and had a standard size fridge/freezer. It might require a little shuffling around on delivery day, but you shouldn’t have any issues with it. We get ours delivered through FedEx. I live in CT, and I’m not sure if they change their carrier depending on location throughout the country – but I bet if you contact their customer support they can help!
Hello! Do you happen to know how long the two lbs. of ground beef offer will be available? My CSA has a protein share but they are changing their offerings/price structure and I want to wait till I know which will be the better buy. Thanks!
Hi Beth! The promo lasts until end of September. 🙂
Thanks for the review was helpful for me. Your beef prices are way higher than mine here in Texas, but then again beef is a main food group in Texas. Just doesn’t compare to the prices per pound I can get at my local butcher shop buying in bulk.
You’re lucky!! I wish we could get more options locally, but it is very expensive here (I’m located in CT). That is awesome that it is much more affordable near you!
Hi, I live in Los Angeles and have a lot of choices. However, I don’t always trust the sources. At Cosco, they may say organic or free range, but you don’t know how much range the chicken may have. I feel this service has picked the best sources and don’t have to worry.
I totally agree, Barbara. You really never know! I think ButcherBox has done a great job of finding reliable sources that are great quality!
Once you sign up, can you cancel at any time? If so, any cancellation fees?
Hi Jerry – Yes – you can can cancel at any time and there are no cancellation fees. You can also pause or skip a month if you need to or set up so that your box is delivered bi-monthly.
How do you cancel your membership or auto ship ? Some auto ship programs are not easily canceled.
There is a whole section for how to cancel on their website. It’s very simple. Here’s the link with instructions on how to cancel!
Sounds very good. Could I get a regular box every other month???
Hi Joe – yes you could! Check out Butcherbox’s site to see all the different options for delivery 🙂
Do you know if their steak cuts, ie. NY Strip or Rib Eyes are Choice or Prime cuts?
Hi Dawn – Check out this post on the ButcherBox site: https://www.butcherbox.com/roam/chop-talk/what-do-the-different-meat-grades-mean/ Their meat is actually neither. They explain it all at the end of the post – it’s a good article!
Can you get items such as marrow bones or beef knuckle through them? It’s a pain to make beef stock, because my local Safeway is sad.
Hi Scott – It doesn’t seem like them have that listed in their options but I bet if you reached out to them they could help coordinate it! Typically I just look for a local farm to source that when I need it!
I was able to get a big bag of beef bones through them. I have stock in the fridge now.