Meat Subscription Review: Good Chop vs. Butcher Box
10/27/2021
By Mike Thayer
I love to cook and grill (and bake too thanks to Cindy!), I have a well stocked pantry, I've got a freezer full of goodies, which is mostly meat for grilling.
One thing I don't love however, is grocery shopping. Don't get me wrong, it's not that I hate it, but it's time consumption that doesn't feel all that productive.
So last month, I tried a meat subscription club, Butcher Box and while it was convenient to have meat delivered to the house and the meat was good quality stuff, the price per pound was a bit high at $8.86/lb., which included 2 pounds of 'free' promotional ground beef. Pricing the same cuts at the local grocery store would have been at a cost of $7.26/lb. So even though Butcher Box is 'giving' me 2 pounds of 'free' ground beef per month for life (for as long as I subscribe), that 15 pounds of meat total per month is still coming in at $8.86/lb.
Still drawn to that convenience factor however, this month I tried a different meat subscription club, called Good Chop. A box of meat cost me $100, a mix of beef, chicken and pork, which cost me less than the $133 Butcher Box cost me. Good Chop is running a special right now, a discounted price for my first few boxes of meat that normally cost $149.
Here's what I got delivered today: Two kinds of steak, ground beef, ground Italian sausage, boneless/skinless chicken breast and a pound of bacon.
Like Butcher Box, the shipping was on time, the box was nicely packed, all meats frozen and in great shape, complete with nicely portioned packaging for each meat. So in comparing the two meat subscriptions on that basis, there's no difference, same quality service provided.
Here's where Butcher Box stands out from Good Chop. They're less expensive than Good Chop. I only got 11 pounds of meat in my first Good Chop Box, which breaks down to $9.09/lb. I get more meat at a lower price per pound with Butcher Box. And when this Good Chop discount ends and I have to pay regular price that will be about 10 pounds of meat for $149, or $14.99 per pound! NO THANKS! I don't have to go through a taste testing to know that price difference will or won't be worth it. It just won't be. Besides, neither Good Chop or Butcher Box can beat the prices of buying locally.
I'm giving Good Chop just 2 out of 5 Bachelor on the Cheap stars. While my initial out-of-pocket expense is cheaper than Butcher Box, when you figure in the price per pound, Good Chop is actually more expensive. Neither Good Chop or Butcher Box are wallet friendly options, buying local is the way to go with a far lower price per pound. The convenience of having meat dropped off at your door be damned!
$pend Wisely My Friends...
Related: Meat Subscription Review: ButcherBox and free ground beef
Related: EveryPlate meal kit club vs. going to the grocery store
You need to try Wild Fork Foods (www.wildforkfoods.com). They are not the same as the subscription style meat delivery services. Instead you pick out your items a la carte and they give you an estimated weight on anything that varies. Their quality is awesome, but just like you I am not willing to lose any significant money for some fancy delivery service.
Great deals on chicken, good prices on pork and beef (especially when you account for quality. They have prime brisket for like $5.19/lb and its flavor is unbeatable).
Also strongly recommend throwing in their seasonings that look good to you. Yet to be let down by them.
The business model is like Amazon prime where you pay for an annual subscription (only $29 if I recall) and as long as you order $50 or more delivery is free and fast. (They deliver Wednesday through Saturday and offer two day free shipping)
Hope you try it! I’ve probably spent $1,000 or more with them as a primary source of groceries and I send their mixed box of smoked salmon to relatives as a knockout gift.
Posted by: Rex Lundstrom | 12/03/2021 at 10:08 AM
I've tried both. You're absolutely correct on the very similar meat quality but high per lb prices after the promo prices end. Being disabled "normal" shopping is difficult for me. I get my groceries delivered thru Walmart and Aldi's delivery. My local meat prices are much higher than both meat companies. In my area good (meaning tender & flavorful) steaks are $10-$17 per lb. Ground beef is cheaper at around $5.60lb. Bacon will run you $7.00lb. I only get my beef steaks via the meat companies because ground meats, chicken, pork, and seafood is much cheaper here. Therefore I'll probably continue to get just beef thru the meat companies and save approximately $5.00 per lb. I suggest everyone take advantage of the promotional prices because you can always cancel once the price increases. There are several companies to chose from where you can get initial deals. So far the steaks I've cooked have been yummy.
Posted by: Stacy Haley | 12/05/2021 at 10:32 AM
Very helpful article! Thanks for taking the time to do the research for us.
Posted by: C | 01/04/2022 at 03:38 PM
Thank you for the article and for the people in the comments who also added some helpful info.
Posted by: Victoria | 01/12/2022 at 10:27 PM
FIRST-TIMERS BEWARE. I just received the first AND LAST box from GoodChop that I didn't understand that I ordered. I found their website to be inflexible and confusing. When I saw what their "choices" were, they included cuts I never use, and was trying to order more of the ones I do use. I tried to find out if I could, but got no answers so I (THOUGHT) I closed out of the website without ordering.
The care and quality of their products, packaging, and delivery seems obvious; to some of us, their website was rigid and confusing. BEWARE.
Posted by: Jennifer L Maybery | 03/23/2022 at 12:48 PM
Thanks for the article. I'll stick with Butcherbox. I've tried buying local but beef and pork is not always available where I live. I also do Sizzlefish and Wild Alaskan sometimes.
Posted by: Camille | 04/06/2022 at 10:40 AM
I was with butcher box first. Yes, love their products and price but it doesn’t help when it takes FedEx FIVE days (only 350 miles from our home, so even if they drove 35mph it would only take 10 hours to get here) to deliver your box and all your meat/fish is thawed and spoiled. This happened three times to me. Yes they refunded my money but meanwhile we had nothing in freezer. I tried to tell butcher box they needed an alternative company to ship their product but to no avail. So hopefully I’ll have better luck with Good Chops. As for price, do not mind spending more for organic, hormone free, healthy meat and chicken. You can’t get that at your normal grocery stores
Posted by: Sue | 04/26/2022 at 02:51 PM