ButcherBox vs Whole Foods (2023 Update) Real World Testing

I’ve been on a carnivore diet for more than ten years. I’ve tried countless delivery services during this time, including ButcherBox and Whole Foods.

Today, I’ll talk about how these two businesses compare and which one has higher-quality meat.

Whole Foods vs ButcherBox: Key Differences

The main difference between ButcherBox and Whole Foods is the way they work. ButcherBox is a meat delivery service that requires a monthly subscription.

Whole Foods is a nationwide a la carte shopping store with both online and offline stores.

Another important difference is the variety of food they offer. ButcherBox's meat delivery only offers meat cuts. You can choose between beef, pork, chicken, and seafood.

Whole Foods is a supermarket that offers everything from produce to dairy, meat, candy, chips, and much more.

The final difference is how you shop at these businesses. ButcherBox is an online business, meaning you must go to their website and place your order.

Whole Foods has both an online website and brick-and-mortar local grocery stores across the US, which means you can go to the store and see the meat you want in person before you buy it.

Comparing Their Features Head to Head

1. Meat Selection

ButcherBox’s meat offerings include beef, pork, poultry, and seafood.

Here’s an example of some of their most popular cuts:

• Ribeye
• Sirloin steaks 
• Ground sirloin
• Pork loin
• Chicken thighs
• Chuck round roast
• Heritage bacon
• Breakfast Sausage
• Sockeye salmon
• Sea scallops
• Lobster
• Boneless chicken breasts
• Boneless pork chops
• Grass-fed ground beef
• New York strip steak

Whole Foods has a larger meat selection that includes beef, pork, chicken, turkey, bacon, hotdogs, and sausages.

Here’s an example of their most popular cuts:

• Tenderloin steak
• Whole chicken 
• Chicken wings 
• Sirloin steak
• Ground pork
• Pork butt 
• Salami
• Turkey bacon
• Boneless New York strip steak
• Organic rotisserie chicken
• Boneless skinless chicken breast
• Boneless pork loin chops

2. Sourcing

Both ButcherBox and Whole Foods have high meat sourcing standards.

Here’s how ButcherBox sources its meat:

• Beef — 100% grass-fed and grass-finished. The cattle are humanely raised without any antibiotics or hormones [1]. The beef comes from Australia, as they have high animal welfare standards.
• Pork — Raised crate-free. They also have heritage-breed pork such as Duroc, Berkshire, and Chester White. Humanely-raised pork has a slower maturation process, resulting in better marbling and richer flavor.
• Free-range chicken — Free-range organic chicken, USDA certified. Chicken are raised without cages or crates and have outdoor access seasonally.
• Wild-caught seafood — All seafood is sustainably harvested to make sure there’s enough for future generations. Includes wild-caught salmon, cod, halibut, and scallops.

Here’s how Whole Foods Sources its meat:

• Chicken — All chicken products have the phrase “Complete traceability to farms,” meaning there are procedures at each supply-chain step [2].
• Beef — Includes organic, grass-fed, dry-aged, and grain-finished selection. The cattle aren’t given any growth hormones and are raised on pastures for at least two-thirds of their lives.
• Pork — Isn’t grown in gestation stalls. All animals have bedding in their housing. The animals aren’t given growth hormones.
• Turkey — Given appropriate litter for comfort and natural foraging. Same as chicken, there are procedures that trace the animals at each step of the supply chain.
• Bacon, ham, sausage, hot dogs — Always made without synthetic nitrates or nitrites.

All meat that Whole Foods offer meets more than 100 animal welfare standards set by the Global Animal Partnership [3].

Stand Out Features

The biggest stand-out feature of Whole Foods is that it's a grocery store, so you can finish all your grocery shopping in one place.

The biggest stand-out feature of ButcherBox is that it's a meat subscription service. You can choose between five boxes:

• Custom Box — You can pick 25 cuts of meat yourself. Comes in two sizes:

1. Classic box $169 per box, 9 to 14 lbs of meat
2. Big box $306 per box, 18 to 26 lbs of meat

• Mixed box — Includes a selection of grass-fed beef, chicken, and pork.

Apart from the custom box, all the other boxes (mixed, two kinds of meat, and all-beef) also come in two sizes:

• Classic — $146, 8 to 11 lbs
• Big — $269, 16 to 22 lbs

Related Articles:

• Blackwing vs ButcherBox
• ButcherBox vs Walden Local Meat
• Grocery Store vs ButcherBox Prices

ButcherBox vs Whole Foods: What’s the Better Option for You?

Overall, both of these companies offer high-quality meat. But even though the meat is almost the same quality, my vote goes to ButcherBox.

ButcherBox focuses on meat only, ensuring their products are high-quality. They are transparent regarding their sourcing, so you know exactly what you eat.

Moreover, ButcherBox has free shipping. They send their meat in recyclable boxes with plenty of dry ice, so it stays frozen. Plus, you’ll get a supply of free ground beef for the duration of your subscription.