Crowd Cow Review (2024 Update) Is It Really Worth It? 

Crowd Cow is one of the few meat brands that keep an inventory of the entire meat, as well as the ranches and farms it comes from.

Many customers claim that they maintain a high level of professionalism, quality of service, and meat. Ever the skeptic, my team and I decided to try out Crowd Cow for three months and investigate if their service, quality, and sourcing hold up to our professional and experiential rigor.

Here is the information we’ve gathered in this review.

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Crowd Cow

Rated 4.9/5

4.9

Quality

4.9

Price

4.9

Taste

4.9

Variety & Flexibility

4.9

Shipping

4.9

Customer Service

Who is it for?

Who is it for?

• Perfect for those seeking American Wagyu beef and other premium meats.

Who is it not for?

• Not suitable for those seeking affordable meat options.

Final Verdict

Snake River Farms offers American Wagyu beef and other premium meats, perfect for luxury meat seekers. Its high price may not suit budget-conscious consumers.

What Is Crowd Cow?

Crowd Cow iss a subscription-based online meat delivery service company located in Seattle, Washington. It was founded in 2015 by Ethan Lowry and Joe Heitzeberg, and among its investors are Joe Montana and Ashton Kutcher.

Just like its name suggests, Crowd Cow started by letting folks chip in to buy a cow together, skipping the hassle of cramming a year's worth of beef in the freezer. Now, it's not just about cows. This online meat market offers a slew of goodies—from grass-fed meats and fancy Japanese Wagyu to plant-based treats and even seasonal goodies and desserts.

But wait, there's more! Crowd Cow upped its game with a flexible membership, packing perks and savings. And for those one-off cravings or gift-giving moments, single meat deliveries are still on the table.

What Are The Crowd Cow Menu Options?

Crowd Cow menu offers a large selection of meat from local ranchers and independent farmers. As you’ll see on their site, they offer several meat options and cuts.

Some high-quality Crowd Cow options you can order in large quantities are:

• Grass-fed beef - New York strip, filet mignon, boneless Ribeye, dry-aged steak, sirloin steak, bone-in ribeye steak, skirt steak, strip steak, ground beef, etc.
• Seafood - black cod, wild Maine lobster, Alaskan halibut, Atlantic sea scallops, Norwegian salmon, etc.
• Pork - Heritage pork, pork chops, thick-cut bacon, sweet Italian sausage
• American Lamb
• Pasture-raised beef - Ribeye, New York strip steak, tenderloin tips, tomahawk steak, chuck roast, ground beef, dry-aged steak, Kobe beef
• Japanese Wagyu Beef
• Bison - ground bison, ground bison grill box, bison bratwurst
• Pasture-raised chicken - whole chicken, chicken breast, and many more

Upon seeing the meat delivery services menu for the first time, we were impressed with their big inventory of high-quality meat and seafood products as well as curated items. No wonder Crowd Cow became our favorite out of all the other meat delivery services.

How Does The Crowd Cow Quality Compare?

Crowd Cow's quality is excellent, as demonstrated by our taste test of their New York Strip Steak, which compared favorably to local grocery store options in terms of both quality and price.

We tested the New York Strip Steak's taste to confirm our findings. It arrived frozen, measuring between ¾ and 1 inch thick, exactly as expected. Though I usually prefer fresh, this steak was surprisingly high-quality, especially for the price, outdoing my local grocery's options. It featured nice marbling and manageable fat pockets, making it easy to trim and cook. The steak struck the perfect lean-to-fat ratio, and its size was spot-on.

According to Crowd Cow's policy, each specific cut of meat they source must first go through flavor experts to ensure consistency for a good meal experience at home.

We decided to grill the steak after rubbing it with salt, pepper, and a little bit of olive oil, and we ended up with a medium-rare steak with a slight crisp on the outside.

The meat had a strong and bold beefy flavor which we all liked. It is moderately tender and dense, but still with a little bit of chew. Overall, we were satisfied with how it turned out and we will make it a regular in our future boxes/orders.

How Does Crowd Cow Work?

Crowd Cow works by offering both subscription-based pricing and one-off purchases on their website. Their prices depend on whether you get a subscription service for a few months or choose to pick and buy meat per pound or two.

Here are some of the Crowd Cow bundles you can choose from:

Custom Box - This is a great way for you to try cooking your favorite types of meat that you and your family can share at home. You can get and make anything from a list that includes salmon, chicken, sweet Italian sausage made of pork, various types of beef ribs, roast, and ground beef.

Steak Lover’s Share - This is a great box for people who love to eat meat. You can try cooking four different cuts in each package, like flat iron steaks, short ribs, ribeye, sirloin steaks, hot dogs, and New York strip steaks. And yes, they have bone-in Ribeye steak and filet mignon steak, too.

Japanese Wagyu Box - If you want more ground beef, we recommend this as a better and sure option.

This Crowd Cow box comes with 12 oz or 14 oz of different types of Japanese Wagyu. It's a special type of beef that has a lineage traced back to Japan.

It is well-known for its great marbling that gives it a truly tender texture and deliciously juicy, buttery taste that you may love. Based on reviews, the production of Wagyu is heavily regulated to ensure quality. For the highest grade of A5 Wagyu, you can also check out our Holy Grail Steaks review.

For every Crowd Cow meat subscription box, you'd get a 5% discount on the prices plus free shipping for orders above $99. Compared to buying individual meat cuts, this is a much better way to save money.

When using Crowd Cow, keep an eye on their official website and read email alerts for current sale products. You may also avail of special seasonal sales during holidays. Promo codes and coupon codes are also available from time to time.

Crowd Cow Shipping

Like other services, Crowd Cow delivers to all US areas, except Alaska and Hawaii, in as few as 2 days once they leave the fulfillment center. As of the moment, they don’t offer express shipping options. The restrictions on the delivery of agricultural products are also aptly followed (1).

Every time you buy a meat subscription box worth at least $99, you will get free shipping. For all other boxes, the Crowd Cow costs for shipping will change based on the quantity you're ordering and your area.

Our first meat subscription box worth $139, which was shipped for free, arrived after 3 days. It was more cost-effective to buy a meat subscription box since we saved on shipping fees.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there might be changes in their policy. For added information, links are available on their site.

How Are The Crowd Cow Items Packaged?

Our Crowd Cow order was neatly placed in a box with biodegradable, water-soluble foam and dry ice inside to keep the Crowd Cow meat frozen. I appreciate how each package was vacuum-sealed with soup bones and wrapped in butcher paper to preserve its freshness and quality.

Overall, the packaging with dry ice kept the meat frozen while using 100% eco-friendly and recyclable materials (2). In addition, the box included a handwritten note that details the specific sources of the meat I bought which made me feel good for supporting small and independent farms.

"Spread of disease from factory farming is exacerbated when waste products, including manure and the remains of animals who have died, are used to feed livestock being raised for meat."

- Gene Baur, National Geographic

Crowd Cow Pricing

Though reviews highlight Crowd Cow's steep prices, they echo the quality of their meat. The meat costs more because they partner with smaller, quality-focused ranches and farmers. Their selection includes pasture-raised beef and sustainably-caught seafood. The price bump per pound makes sense given the meat's superior taste, ethical sourcing, and free delivery. Essentially, you're shelling out for top-notch flavor, convenience, and clear-cut sourcing, perks you rarely find elsewhere.

Ease of Delivery

Ordering was a straightforward process. We got our meat delivered right to our door, which was handy during the COVID-19 pandemic. No more store runs for days!

We simply order or email every month or two. All it takes is a thumbs-up to their email to confirm our box's contents. Our order's then set. Kudos to their speedy customer service - a real perk of being a crowd cow member!

Crowd Cow Consistency

We tested Crowd Cow and discovered two key perks for dedicated carnivores craving consistently top-notch meat.

It's a breeze, like Snake River Farm and Fossil Farm, offering lean cuts and boxes of ground beef that stretch surprisingly far. They tackle the tough job of sourcing from eco-friendly farms, a notorious headache for meat purists. Our two monthly meat box trials impressed us with seamless ordering, shipping, and standout meat quality both times.

Initially wary about varying quality from four separate farms, we were pleasantly surprised by the consistent excellence, making our Crowd Cow journey both rewarding and fun.

Additional Benefits of Crowd Cow

• Save you extra time by making fewer trips to the grocery store
• You'll see how they use dry ice to keep your order frozen
• Quality meat purchases from small family farms

Our Only Complaint

There is only one drawback we've seen so far, and that’s their pricing. However, with the way this online meat store sources its premium products,  it is natural to expect it to be a bit more expensive than your local grocery store.

After we eat meat from the meat delivery service for a taste test, we believe the variety you get to choose from and how they collaborate with family farms and small farmers balance this cost per box.

Online Meat Delivery Service Alternatives

Crowd Cow vs ButcherBox

ButcherBox’s subscription-based delivery service from Boston offering convenience for regular deliveries without the need for constant reordering. Additionally, they provide free shipping on all orders, whereas Crowd Cow offers free shipping only on subscription boxes or orders exceeding certain amounts.

ButcherBox provides antibiotic, growth hormone, and synthetic-free cuts in each meat box. They work with a range of small family-owned farms to create high-quality beef that has been humanely raised. While Crowd Cow is transparent with their sources, ButcherBox might be slightly stricter when it comes to the quality of their meat.

Crowd Cow vs Moink

Based in Missouri, Moink is another subscription-based delivery service that provides high-quality, ethically-raised, grass-fed beef and lamb, pork chops and chicken, and wild-caught salmon.

It only has one customizable meat box available at $159, but it's worth the money, considering the quality and taste of the meat.

Crowd Cow vs Snake River Farms

Snake River Farms exclusively offers its own Kurobuta pork and American wagyu beef, ensuring top-notch meat quality. On the flip side, Crowd Cow's menu is a global feast, featuring Japanese wagyu, Norwegian seafood, Australian lamb, and more, including US-sourced organic chicken and game meats.

While Snake River Farms delivers to every state, Crowd Cow sticks to the lower 48.

Crowd Cow vs Omaha Steaks

The key difference between Crowd Cow and Omaha Steaks lies in their sourcing and selection. Crowd Cow prides itself on ethically sourced, top-notch meat from independent farms. In contrast, Omaha Steaks takes a classic route with a wider variety of pre-packed meats like steaks, burgers, and ready-to-cook dishes. Though less transparent about their meat sources, they're famed for their longstanding quality and reliability.

What Customers Are Saying

Crowd Cow generally receives good reviews in terms of the quality of all the meat and the responsiveness and fairness of their customer service. Here are some examples:

“We like to grill up the steaks we get from them, and the Wagyu we purchased was simply off the charts.”

- Kwc on Trustpilot 

“The 3.5lbs came wrapped in two individual delicious packages. Excellent quality; very good marbling.”

- Affrebrand on Reddit

FAQs

Is Crowd Cow Worth It?

Crowd Cow is worth it, while some may find ButcherBox's sustainably sourced meat options more appealing and flexible in terms of customization and delivery frequency.

ButcherBox sells sustainably sourced meat. You can get everything from beef to organic chicken, humanely raised pork, and wild-caught seafood. The animals are never given any additives or hormones.

ButcherBox gives flexible delivery frequency, and you can choose between five boxes, including a custom box where you handpick each cut. The delivery is always free no matter the order, and you get a free turkey. Check them out and get affordable, quality meat.

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