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Chicken is one of the most common proteins eaten in the United States, and it’s easy to purchase at almost any grocery store. But ordering chicken online offers consumers the chance to purchase higher quality or heritage-bred chicken that might not be available at the local store.
Ordering chicken online also offers the convenience of having it delivered right to your doorstep, saving you a shopping trip. Some places even offer a subscription service, making it cheaper and easier for you to get quality chicken in portions that fit your lifestyle. With so many options available, we researched multiple companies and compiled a list of our top picks.
Best Places to Buy Chicken Online in 2023
- Best Overall: Crowd Cow
- Best Variety: Omaha Steaks
- Best Organic: Greensbury
- Best for Buying in Bulk: Farm Foods Market
- Best Farm-to-Table: Rastelli's
- Best Free-Range: ButcherBox
Best Overall : Crowd Cow
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Crowd Cow
•Delivery Area: Continental 48 states
•Free Shipping: Yes, if ordering $149 or more
•Products Arrive: Frozen
Crowd Cow offers a wide range of organic free-range and pasture-raised chickens, as well as other meats like wagyu beef, pork, and seafood. It’s easy to either place an individual order or create a recurring subscription.
Individual orders can easily be turned into recurring subscriptions
Choice of organic free-range, pasture-raised, heirloom, or free-range chickens
Wide selection of other meat including wagyu beef, pork, and seafood
Requires minimum order of $75
No expedited shipping options
Crowd Cow started in 2015 as a delivery service for some of the world’s best beef, including wagyu, but two years after launching, the company expanded its offerings to include pasture-raised chickens from a small farm in California. Now it includes free-range, organic, and pasture-raised heirloom chickens and chicken cuts like breasts, thighs, and drumsticks. There are even deli-carved, thick-cut oven-roasted chicken breasts for added convenience.
All chicken sold by Crowd Cow is raised with no unnecessary antibiotics and no added hormones. Pasture-raised chickens primarily live outside on grass pastures, foraging for bugs, grass, and seeds for most of their life, leading to more flavorful and nutrient-rich meat.
Crowd Cow is also competitively priced with grocery stores, making the chicken an excellent choice for nearly everyone. It’s delivered frozen and once thawed, can be stored in the refrigerator and used within one to two days.
Best Variety : Omaha Steaks
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Omaha Steaks
•Delivery Area: 50 states
•Free Shipping: Yes, if ordering over $149 or with a Steaklover Rewards Gold membership
•Products Arrive: Frozen
Omaha Steaks is one of the giants in the field of meat delivery services and its selection of chicken options, including various chicken cuts, whole chickens, as well as already cooked and prepared chicken dishes, is excellent.
Variety of chicken cuts and whole chickens available
Selection of fully-cooked chicken dishes available
Other meats, side dishes, and desserts available
No subscription option
Selection can be overwhelming
Omaha Steaks is one of the most popular meat delivery services, and with good reason: It offers a wide range of meats and dishes, including chicken. What sets Omaha Steaks apart is its selection of various raw chicken options like spatchcock whole chickens, boneless chicken breasts, and chicken leg quarters, as well as already prepared chicken dishes and meals.
Prepared meals range from air-chilled chicken skewers with vegetables, stuffed chicken with broccoli and cheese, fully cooked chicken wings, and even casserole dishes like baked chicken and dumplings. Dishes are prepared and frozen. They are either fully cooked already or ready to be popped into the oven directly from the freezer. In addition to chicken, Omaha Steaks offers a wide range of other proteins like steak, pork, and seafood, as well as prepared main dishes and side dishes.
Best Organic : Greensbury
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Greensbury Market
•Delivery Area: Continental 48 states
•Free Shipping: No
•Products Arrive: Frozen
Greensbury works exclusively with organic farmers that allow their livestock to range freely on grass pastures. Greensbury’s chickens are raised under a strict regimen without hormones or antibiotics.
Pros and Cons
All chicken is organic, free-range, hormone and antibiotic free
Subscription options for individual orders and curated boxes are available
Other organic meat and sustainably sourced-seafood available
No bone-in, skin-on chicken parts available to purchase
Chicken legs are not available to purchase
Greensbury’s chicken options are carefully curated, mostly focusing on boneless chicken breasts and thighs, whole chicken, chicken wings, and ground chicken. The company only works with organic farmers that allow their chickens to be raised by USDA-certified organic farmers. The birds are allowed to roam outdoors on certified organic land and are raised on vegetarian feed that is free of animal by-products.
The result is chicken and meat that has more nutrients and tastes better. In addition to chicken, it also offers other organic poultry like ground turkey and duck breasts as well as organic lamb, pork, grass-fed organic beef and bison, and sustainable seafood. All orders have the option of becoming subscriptions, with the delivery frequency of your choice. Or you can order one of the curated subscription boxes that has a mix of various types of meat and proteins.
Best for Buying in Bulk : Farm Foods Market
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FarmFoods Market
•Delivery Area: 50 states
•Free Shipping: Yes, if ordering over $125
•Products Arrive: Frozen
If you’re looking to buy quality chicken in bulk, Farm Food Market offers two value pack options: an 11-pound pack or a 40-pound mega value package.
Chickens are pasture-raised and antibiotic free
Bulk purchasing of chicken saves time and money
Subscription options available for orders
Limited offerings of chicken cuts
Bulk purchasing requires storage space
Farm Foods Market offers pasture-raised chicken that is free from antibiotics, with a selection of chicken cuts including drumsticks and chicken breasts, as well as whole chickens. But Farm Foods’ value pack offering is what sets it apart from other companies.
The company offers two different value packs of chicken: The smaller pack includes two whole chickens, two breasts, and one drumstick; totaling 11 pounds, it’s an ideal pick for large families or dinner parties. The second mega value pack includes 11 whole chickens, each ranging from 3 to 5 pounds, totaling over 40 pounds of chicken. For even more convenience, you can opt to create a recurring subscription for bulk chicken to be delivered at the frequency of your choice.
Best Farm-to-Table : Rastelli's
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Rastelli's
•Delivery Area: Continental 48 states
•Free Shipping: Yes, if over $200
•Products Arrive: Frozen
What started as a one-room butcher shop during the 1970s has become a leader in responsible sourcing, keeping that local butcher shop feel even as the company has gone global. Rastelli’s partners directly with small family-owned farms that go back generations and have rigorous standards for all of its products, chicken included.
Family-owned business
Works with small farms that have been owned for generations
Offers chicken cuts, whole chicken, and some prepared dishes
No expedited, next day shipping
Certain chicken selections are often out of stock due to limited supply
Rastelli’s started as a family-run butcher shop over 40 years ago and despite their business expansion, it continues to be owned and operated like a small family business. The company partners with farming and fishing families that go back generations, including poultry farms in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, where the chickens are humanely raised.
Poultry options include humanely-raised and organic pasture-raised chicken in the typical boneless, skinless breasts, and thigh cuts. Chicken wings and drumsticks are also available, as well as ground chicken. There are also a few prepared chicken dishes available to order, including bacon cheddar stuffed breaded chicken breasts and chicken tenders. All orders have a subscription option as well, allowing you to save 5% and have the same order sent to you on a regular basis.
Best Free-Range : ButcherBox
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ButcherBox
•Delivery Area: Continental 48 states
•Free Shipping: Yes
•Products Arrive: Frozen
ButcherBox sources free-range USDA-certified organic chickens that are humanely raised, free of hormones and antibiotics, and given seasonal outdoor access without cages, crates, or crowding. The company also offers highly customizable subscription options that let customers satisfy their protein cravings with a monthly box.
Chicken is organic and free-range
Global Animal Partnership GAP 3 certified
Free shipping
Cannot order à la carte
Subscription only
ButcherBox works with poultry farmers to provide humanely raised free-range chickens that are grown without cages, crates, or crowding. Chickens are Global Animal Partnership certified GAP 3, which is the highest certification for humanely raised livestock. The GAP 3 rating is only given to poultry raised on a farm that focuses on good animal welfare, meaning their health, productivity, natural living environment, and emotional well-being are all taken into consideration.
Customers can select from two different plans: a custom plan featuring 9 to 14 pounds of meat or a curated plan with 8.5 to 11 pounds of meat. Once selected, you can pick the cuts you want for the box as well as the frequency of your delivery. You can also easily pause or cancel the box anytime, which gives you added flexibility.
Final Verdict
There are plenty of places to order chicken online. Some specialize in free-range or pasture-raised chicken, while others offer a wider range of options for everyone’s budget. We looked at a number of companies and found Crowd Cow to be the best overall. It has a large array of options, cuts, and various types of chickens as well as the ability to create ongoing subscription plans.
Compare the Best Places to Buy Chicken Online
Company | Delivery Area | Free Shipping | Products Arrive | Same-/Next-Day Shipping? | Minimum Purchase |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Best Overall: Crowd Cow | 48 states | Yes | Frozen | Yes | $75 |
Best Variety: Omaha Steaks | 50 states | Yes | Frozen | Yes | $99 |
Best Organic: Greensbury | 48 states | Yes | Frozen | Yes | $50 |
Best for Buying in Bulk: Farm Foods Market | 50 states | Yes | Frozen | No | None |
Best Farm-to-Table: Rastelli's | 50 states | Yes | Frozen | No | None |
Best Free-Range: ButcherBox | 48 states | Yes | Frozen | No | $99 |
What do you look for when buying chicken online?
When buying chicken online, pick the meat that fits your budget and your lifestyle choice. All-natural chicken often costs less than free-range or organic. Pasture-raised is usually the most expensive because of the labor that is involved with raising the chicken, which can have more flavor and nutrients. Look for air-chilled chicken for optimum freshness as well as quick delivery with dry ice or other cooling packs in the shipping container.
What is free-range chicken?
The USDA defines “free-range” as meaning birds have outdoor access, which could be as minimal as a peephole with no full-body access. Any chicken labeled with the Humane Farm Animal Care (HFAC) Certified Humane Label® “free-range” is required to have 2 square feet per bird, and hens must be actually outdoors, weather permitting, for a minimum of six hours per day. HFAC Certified Humane Label® “pasture-raised” chicken requires birds to have 108 square feet per bird and birds must be outdoors all year, with additional housing to protect the birds from predators at night.
How long is frozen chicken good for?
For optimum quality and taste, whole frozen chicken can be kept in the freezer for up to 12 months, with individual parts (like legs or breasts) good for nine months. But as long as the chicken has been kept frozen continuously, it will still be safe to eat. However, the texture and taste of the chicken will continue to deteriorate beyond those recommended times.
How long does chicken last in the refrigerator?
Fully thawed raw chicken in the refrigerator should be eaten within one to two days. Cooked chicken can last in the refrigerator for three to four days.
Methodology
We looked at over 30 different companies before narrowing them down to find the best places that deliver chicken. We evaluated the types of chicken sold, additional offerings available to purchase from the company, and how easy it was to navigate the website. We also considered how the chicken was sold, such as individual parts or whole chickens, and if a single order could be turned into a convenient subscription. Finally, we reviewed companies that also had prepared or ready-to-cook chicken dishes in addition to just raw chicken as a convenience for busy cooks.
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