ButcherBox vs Wild Pastures (2024) Which One to Choose?

Finding good quality meat at grocery stores can be an impossible mission.

Luckily, there are several meat delivery services that claim to sell only the highest-quality meat, including ButcherBox and Wild Pastures.

I’ve used countless meat delivery services over the last several years and ButcherBox and Wild Pastures for half a year.

Today, I’ll talk about their similarities, differences, meat quality, and which one you should choose.

ButcherBox vs Wild Pastures: Key Differences

The main difference between ButcherBox and Wild Pastures is the meat origin. Wild Pastures sells meat from local family farms dedicated to regenerative farming. ButcherBox sources its meat from both local farms and Australia, as they have the highest animal welfare standards.

Another difference is that Wild Pastures only sells pasture-raised meat. Their cuts are pasture-raised, grass-fed meat, while ButcherBox sells grass-fed and grass-finished cuts.

Wild Pastures has a zero-waste policy, which means they use the whole animal and distribute the cuts to their membership base (you can choose which cuts you want to get).

ButcherBox meat delivery has five subscription options, while Wild Pastures has four.

The final difference is that ButcherBox has both pre-selected and handpicked boxes, while in Wild Pastures, you have to pick each cut of meat delivered to you.

Comparing Their Features Head to Head

I compared the sourcing methods, shipping, delivery, and meat quality of both of these meat delivery services, and here’s how they compare.

1. Meat Sourcing

The way a meat delivery service sources its meat is extremely important, as this determines if you’ll eat healthy and sustainably sourced meat or something full of hormones and antibiotics. Here’s how ButcherBox and Wild Pastures do it.

ButcherBox

ButcherBox is extremely transparent about its sourcing practices. In fact, they have a whole page on their website dedicated to meat sourcing [1]. Here’s what I found out.

• Beef — 100% grass-fed beef and grass-finished beef. All cattle are humanely raised without any antibiotics or added hormones. Moreover, the animals are pasture-raised and free to roam their entire lives. Most ButcherBox meat comes from Australia, as they have an excellent system of certifying pasture-raised meat and high animal welfare standards.
• Pork — Raised crate-free, without gestation or crates. All hogs are vegetarian feed, without antibiotics or hormones. Hogs are also raised on pasture. Many pork products are from heritage-breed lines such as Chester White, Duroc, and Berkshire, which means they have a slower maturation process and better marbling.
• Chicken — Free-range organic chicken. They sell USDA-certified organic chicken and The Global Animal Partnership (GAP) certified for health, natural living, and emotional wellbeing. The chicken is humanely raised without cages or crates.
• Seafood — Wild-caught and sustainably harvested. The seafood is without artificial coloring and additives. ButcherBox wants to make sure there’s enough seafood for future generations, so they sustainably harvest seafood. Salmon comes from Bristol Bay, Alaska, sea scallops are from Georges Bank, New Bedford, Massachusetts, lobster comes from Maine, and cod and halibut are from the Bering Sea.

Wild Pastures

Wild Pastures is also pretty open about its sourcing and farming practices [2]. Here’s where their meat comes from:

• Beef — 100% grass-fed beef and grass-finished. The cattle eat only grass. Wild Pastures uses rotational grazing to ensure the land remains healthy and the cattle have a natural diet full of nutrients.
• Pork — Pasture-raised. The pigs spend their lives on pastures and forage for food. Their diet mostly consists of grass, apples, and turnips.
• Chicken — Pasture-raised chicken. Chickens eat a diet of bugs and forage, which makes them rich in flavor and nutrients.
• Seafood — Wild-caught seafood that comes from Bristol Bay, Alaska. This is the location of the most sustainable salmon run.

“Wild Pastures is a network of highly principled farmers in the USA raising animals outdoors on lush grass pastures – the way nature intended. No feedlots here!”

- Wild Pastures

Wild Pastures also details their farming practices:

• Pasture-raised meats — Wild Pastures has a pasture-centric operation. All animals are part of the natural ecosystem and are allowed to roam free and graze. The family farms use rotational practices to ensure the land remains in good condition. The farmers don’t use fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides on land, hormones, and antibiotics on animals.
• Locally sourced — All of Wild Pastures' meat is locally sourced and comes from the US. It allows them to have better prices as they don’t have to bring food from around the world.
• Zero waste —Wild Pastures tries to use the entire animal and distribute the cuts to their members. The customers are allowed to choose each cut they want, so they aren’t stuck with pre-selected meat.

2. Subscription Boxes and Pricing

ButcherBox

ButcherBox has five subscription options:

• Custom boxes — You can choose up to 24 cuts of meat. It comes in two versions:
  1. 9-14 lbs, or 30 meals for $169 per month, which comes down to $5.63 per meal
  2. 18-26 lbs of meat, or 60 meals for $306 per month, which comes down to $5.1 per meal.
• Mixed box — Includes a selection of 100% grass-fed beef, pork, and chicken.
• Beef and chicken box — Includes a selection of 100% grass-fed beef and chicken. It can contain ground beef, New York Strip Steak, sirloin steak, boneless skinless chicken breast, and more.
• Beef and pork — Includes 100% grass-fed beef and humanely-raised pork. It can contain New York Strip Steak, sirloin, whole pork tenderloin, boneless pork chops, and more.
• All-beef box — A selection of 100% grass-fed beef cuts. It can contain ground meat, different kinds of steaks, such as filet mignon and sirloin, and steak tips.

Note: The custom box is the only one where you can handpick each cut of meat. The other boxes are pre-selected with high-quality meat.

Apart from the Custom boxes, two kinds of meat and all-beef boxes also come in two sizes:

• Classic box — 8 to 11 lbs of meat, or 24 meals for $146 per month
• Big Box — 16 to 22 lbs of meat, or 38 meals for $269 per month

A classic box is a good option for couples and small families, and the larger one is good if you have a large meat-eating family or plenty of room in the freezer.

Wild Pastures

Wild Pastures has four different kinds of subscription boxes:

• Beef, chicken, and pork
• Beef and chicken
• Chicken and pork
• Beef and pork

Once you choose which Wild Pastures box you want, you must choose the size: standard or plus.

The Wild Pastures price for one-time order is:

• $174 for 15 lbs box
• $274 for 25 lbs box

However, if you subscribe, you’ll get a 12% discount. In this case, the boxes are priced at: 

• Beef, chicken, and pork

1. $153 for 15 lbs
2. $241 for 25 lbs

• Beef and chicken

1. $153 for 15 lbs
2. $241 for 25 lbs

• Chicken and pork

1. $153 for 15 lbs
2. $241 for 25 lbs

• Beef and pork

1. $164 for 15 lbs
2. $252 for 25 lbs

Note: These Wild Pastures prices differ depending on what’s in the box and if you choose any add-ons. For example, I had to order seafood as an add-on, so I had to pay extra for it, which isn’t ideal if you eat a lot of seafood.

3. Shipping and Delivery

ButcherBox

ButcherBox is very flexible when it comes to shipping. You can choose a shipping frequency every 4, 6, or 8 weeks. ButcherBox delivers to all 48 US states except for Alaska and Hawaii.

What I liked best is their free shipping on all food delivery, no matter if you make a one-time order or subscribe. Plus, you’ll get free ground beef for the duration of your subscription.

The first order is shipped within 3 to 7 days. My meat arrived in 3 days, and I could decide on which date I wanted the next order of pasture-raised meat to be sent.

ButcherBox sends a confirmation email once the order is sent and another one when it’s delivered so you can keep track of your meat.

“Our meat is frozen for freshness, safely packaged, and delivered to your door in an eco-friendly, insulated box. Our boxes are specifically designed to keep your meat within the optimal temperature range, with dry ice if necessary.”

- ButcherBox

All their meat arrived in a 100% recyclable cardboard insulated box. Each cut was flash-frozen and vacuum-packed in a freezer bag and packed with plenty of dry ice.

I wasn’t home when the order arrived, so the box was left outside for several hours. The meat was still frozen when I unpacked it so that I could place it straight in the freezer.

Wild Pastures

Wild Pastures also has flexible delivery. You can choose delivery of pasture-raised meat every 4 or 6 weeks or 2 or 3 months. You can pause, change, and modify your order as needed.

In case you opt for a one-time payment, you’ll have to pay $4.99 for the shipping. However, you’ll get free shipping if you subscribe [3].

I decided to subscribe as it has several benefits, such as:

• Lifetime discount of 12%
• Custom box
• Flexible delivery

I was satisfied with the package Wild Pastures uses to send their meat in. It’s 100% recyclable and compostable.

However, Wild Pastures should include more dry ice. I wasn’t home when the order arrived, and it was almost defrosted by the time I returned.

Stand Out Features

Wild Pastures doesn’t have any other stand-out features. They sell 100% grass-fed beef, humanely-raised pork, chicken, and cattle.

But, I did find some stand-out features for ButcherBox. This meat delivery service has a large selection of gift boxes:

• Father’s Day Box: $129
• Premium Grill Box: $175
• ButcherBox Favorites: $159
• Spring Box: $125
• Steak Lovers’ Box: $169
• Ultimate Variety Box: $149
• Graduation Box: $139
• Celebration Box: $139
• Beef variety Box: $155
• Special value Box: $109
• Wild-Caught Seafood Box: $149
• Chicken Sampler: $129

These are a great choice for a meat-loving friend or family member. They’ll be wowed with high-quality meat, 100% grass-fed beef, and pasture-raised meats.

Moreover, these are also a good choice for a special occasion or a party. For example, the Graduation box has everything you need for a delicious cookout to celebrate someone graduating.

Finally, a seafood box or chicken sampler is great when you want a specific kind of food.

Related Articles:

• ButcherBox vs Goldbelly
• ButcherBox vs Good Chop
• ButcherBox vs Walden Local Meat

ButcherBox vs Wild Pastures: Which One Wins?

Although Wild Pastures had some pretty interesting deals, my vote goes to ButcherBox. All their meat is sustainably sourced, so you can be sure you’ll get 100% grass-fed and pasture-raised meat and free-range organic chicken. Moreover, they pay a lot of attention to farming practices and make sure not to harm the environment.

Each time I ordered meat and seafood online from ButcherBox, I received quality pieces. Free shipping meant I could splurge on a seafood delivery or buy extra meat at the lowest price.

Finally, they offer a huge variety of delicious meat. Click here and order your ButcherBox today.