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Quality and affordability are key factors when shopping for the best places to buy meat online. Some companies speak to quality by disclosing information about where the meats come from while others focus on the special cuts on offer or the way the products are shipped. All of them work to keep costs low by selling meat in larger quantities through minimum purchase requirements or with free shipping options.
There are also smaller packages and cuts of meats available for individual purchase as well mixed value packs and customizable box options, including subscriptions. Whether you need meat snacks, pasture-raised chicken for a weeknight family dinner, or a variety pack of grass-fed beef, there's a place online to buy meat that will deliver what you need. We assembled a list of the best places that offer meat delivery using factors such as cost, availability, and offerings.
The 7 Best Places to Order Meat Online in 2023
- Best Overall: Omaha Steaks
- Best for Pasture-Raised Meat: Porter Road
- Best for Specialty Beef: Snake River Farms
- Best for Organic Meat: Rastelli's
- Best Farm-to-Table: FarmFoods
- Best for Snacks: Carnivore Club
- Best for Gift-Giving: Goldbelly
Best Overall : Omaha Steaks
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- Delivery Area: 50 states
- Free Shipping: Yes, on some orders
- Products Arrive: Frozen
With Omaha Steaks, you can shop from a long list of meats with numerous combination pack options while taking advantage of regular promotions that will save you money.
Large selection of meats and seafood
Regular sales and promotions
Single meats and mix packs available
Free shipping only for orders over $148.99 to the lower 48 states (or for orders over $79.99 if you're a gold member)
With over a century’s worth of experience in providing high-quality meats, Omaha Steaks offers so much more than its name implies. You can shop for beef, pork, lamb, poultry, bison, fish, and seafood all in one spot. The products range from burgers and brats to high-end steak cuts, ribs, and roasts. One of the company’s selling points is the flexibility it gives its customers. Get creative and build your own box or shop from one of the many combination and value packs. The website regularly runs sale promotions so you can stick to your budget while still stocking your freezer with meats for both everyday cooking and special occasions.
All Omaha Steaks products are shipped frozen. There is a minimum purchase of $99 for all orders, and orders over $148.99 ship for free to the lower 48 states. You can lessen these minimum requirements by joining the Steaklover Rewards Gold program for $19.99 per year. On orders over $79.99, members receive free shipping, double points, and free gifts.
Best for Pasture-Raised Meat : Porter Road
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- Delivery Area: 48 states
- Free Shipping: Yes, in some states on some orders
- Products Arrive: Fresh
Porter Road sources pasture-raised meats from family-owned and operated farms, then ships them fresh, not frozen.
Only pasture-raised meats
Delivered fresh
Single purchase and subscription option
Free shipping only for orders over $125 to certain states
Porter Road sources its meats from small farms in Kentucky and Tennessee, but the company doesn’t simply trust that the animals supplying their pasture-raised meats are cared for to meet their standards. Porter Road representatives regularly visit the farms they work with in person to see things for themselves. This ensures the company can remain true to its founders’ vision of delivering cuts of grass-fed beef and pastured poultry and pork that are humanely raised using sustainable practices.
Porter Road boasts an impressive offering of dry aged steak cuts, ground meats, sausages, hot dogs, and whole birds available either for individual purchase or as part of curated boxes. Delivery timing is flexible: You can subscribe and receive box deliveries every two, four, or eight weeks.
Unlike many other places to buy meat online, Porter Road ships its products fresh, not frozen, using biodegradable insulation. Customers can choose to either cook their meat right away or freeze it for longer-term storage. There is no minimum purchase for orders, and orders over $125 qualify for flat rate shipping. For a portion of the country this means free shipping, for others it means $15 shipping, and for others it means $35 shipping.
Best for Specialty Beef : Snake River Farms
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- Delivery Area: 50 states
- Free Shipping: No
- Products Arrive: Frozen, except dry aged beef
Snake River Farms specializes in American Wagyu beef, a breed of cattle that has one purebred Japanese Wagyu parent and one American breed of cow as the other parent. The company has been in business since 1989, making it very experienced with Wagyu.
Specialize in one type of beef cattle
Many cuts to choose from
Mixed boxes available
Shipping not included
Snake River Farms produces specialty beef unlike the meat available from other farms and stores online. Company founders set out to create a farm with involvement in every step of the meat producing process, from how the cattle are raised to owning their own feedlots and processing facilities. As a part of this initiative, Snake River Farms bred its own type of cattle, American Wagyu, which produces beef with intense fat marbling, giving it a distinctive flavor.
Many cuts of steaks, roasts, and ribs are available along with ground meat, dry aged meat, and hot dogs. Most cuts and styles can be purchased individually, but there are also mixed boxes perfect for meal planning, parties, and gift-giving. All products are shipped frozen except for the dry-aged beef, which arrives fresh. There is no minimum order and shipping is not included. Standard shipping starts at $9.99 per order.
Best for Organic Meat : Rastelli's
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- Delivery Area: 48 states
- Free Shipping: Yes on orders of $200 or more
- Products Arrive: Frozen
For those who don’t have access to a local butcher, Rastelli’s is the next best thing. Organic chicken is available in a number of different cuts, from breasts to Buffalo-style wings along with grass-fed beef, pastured pork, and wild-caught seafood.
Meats raised without hormones and steroids
Partners with longtime family farms
Many different organic chickens cuts
Free shipping only for orders over $200
What started as a small butcher shop has evolved into one of the best places to buy meat online, especially if you are searching for organic chicken. Rastelli’s is passionate about helping customers better trace where their food comes from by partnering with longstanding family farms that prioritize animal welfare and product quality. Rastelli’s meats are certified antibiotic, hormone, and steroid free. The organic chicken comes from chickens that are pasture-raised and fed GMO-free feed.
Rastelli’s meats are vacuum sealed and then blast frozen for peak freshness upon arrival. The meat will stay fresh for up to a year in your freezer. All Rastelli’s meats are available for one-time purchase, but you can also subscribe for deliveries every one, two, three, four, or six weeks. There is no minimum order, but the less you buy, the more you’ll pay for shipping. Only orders over $200 ship free, while orders under $100 cost $25 to ship and orders between $100 and $199 ship for $10.
Best Farm-to-Table : FarmFoods
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Farm Foods
- Delivery Area: 50 states
- Free Shipping: Yes, on orders of $125 in contiguous 48 states
- Products Arrive: Frozen
When you can’t visit a farm yourself, this shopping experience is the next best thing due to FarmFoods’ dedication to highlighting the specific farms where its meats are sourced.
Information on farm partners provided
Individual packs and mixed boxes available
Grass-fed, pasture-raised meats
Free shipping only on orders over $125 to the contiguous 48 states
FarmFoods makes buying meat online a true farm to table experience. The website encourages potential customers to review the list of farms the company works with, and it also includes snippets of information on the history of these multigenerational, small family farms. With FarmFoods, you can shop from a selection of grass-fed and grass-finished beef, pastured heritage pork, and pastured poultry along with wild-caught fish. Within each category, you’ll find a number of steak cuts along with ground meats, sausages, roasts, and hams.
FarmFoods’ box plans include single meats and mixed meat variety options. By subscribing to deliveries every two, four, six, or eight weeks, you’ll save 10 percent on every order. There’s no minimum order, but a $7 handling fee plus shipping is added to all orders less than $125; for orders above that amount, shipping is free. Orders to Alaska and Hawaii are the except. In those states shipping will always cost $59.99. Meats are vacuum sealed and shipped frozen. FarmFoods guarantees the product will arrive frozen or you will be fully refunded.
Best for Snacks : Carnivore Club
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- Delivery Area: 50 states
- Free Shipping: Yes, on boxes
- Products Arrive: Fresh
Carnivore Club is our pick for meat-based snacks, whether you want to stay stocked with gourmet beef jerky or subscribe to a monthly box of cured artisan sausages.
Jerkies and charcuterie available
Single purchase and subscription options
Shipping included on most boxes
No customizable box options
The Carnivore Club’s speciality is its meat subscription box, which delivers premium cured meats such as salami and prosciutto while featuring a different artisan or region each month. You can choose the classic box, a snack box, or upgrade to the complete box which includes accompaniments for designing your own charcuterie board. There is also a Jerky Club for those who want to try new types of gourmet jerkies with each shipment.
Subscription boxes aren’t the only option. There are many options for one-time purchases of cured meats and jerkies that are perfect for gift-giving or simply trying out Carnivore Club’s products. If you do decide to subscribe, you can choose to receive deliveries every month, every other month, or every three months. Most boxes ship for free.
Best for Gift-Giving : Goldbelly
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Goldbelly
- Delivery Area: 50 states
- Free Shipping: Yes
- Products Arrive: Frozen
Goldbelly offers variety boxes of meats to cook at home; the company also has smoked meats and prepared foods that are ready to heat and serve, making ideal gifts for food lovers.
Uncooked and prepared meats available
Meats from top restaurants
Single purchase packs and subscriptions
Not all packs available as subscription
Goldbelly is the place to go when you need a special gift for meat lovers. The company delivers meats from top farms and butchers around the country as well as prepared foods from top restaurants. Those who like to cook will enjoy the varied steak packs, sausage assortments, and even wild game meat packages available. Prepared barbecue and smoked meats such as ribs, pulled pork, beef brisket, and turkey are also among the shopping options.
All orders are one-time purchases unless you choose one of the two meat-focused subscriptions. The Monthly Bacon subscription lets you sample bacon in all its forms, from double smoked to chocolate dipped, while the Monthly Barbecue subscription brings barbeque from the nation’s most acclaimed smokehouses directly to you. Subscriptions can be purchased as a three- or six-month membership. Most items arrive frozen, and most orders ship for free. Details on how the food is delivered and shipped is available within each product description.
Final Verdict
The best place to order meat online overall is Omaha Steaks: The number of meats sold and shopping options for cuts and mixed packs is simply unmatched. Customers can seek out one type of meat and cut, or explore options like burgers, pork chops, and chicken breasts. Meat lovers will find Omaha Steaks’ yearly membership beneficial as it reduces shipping costs and increases rewards.
Compare the Best Places to Order Meat Online
Company | Delivery Area | Free Shipping | Products Arrive | Same-/Next-Day Shipping? | Minimum Purchase |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Omaha Steaks Best Overall | 50 states | Yes, on some orders | Frozen | Yes | $99 |
Porter Road Best for Pasture-Raised Meat | 48 states | Yes on some orders in certain states | Fresh | No | No |
Snake River Farm Best for Specialty Beef | 50 states | No | Frozen | Yes | $49 |
Rastelli’s Best for Organic Meat | 48 states | Yes on some orders | Frozen | No | No |
FarmFoods Best Farm-to-Table | 50 states | Yes, on some orders in the contiguous 48 states | Frozen | Yes | No |
Carnivore Club Best for Snacks | 50 states | Yes, on boxes | Fresh | No | No |
Goldbelly Best for Gift-Giving | 50 states | Yes | Frozen | Yes | No |
Is Buying Meat Online Safe?
The websites we have reviewed take special care to provide high-quality meat that is safe to eat. They use shipping methods that keep products cold during transit to prevent food-borne illness. These companies provide safety instructions for how to assess the quality of the product should shipping be delayed and will work with customers to issue store credit or a refund if the meat is determined unsafe upon arrival.
Where Can You Buy Meat in Bulk Online?
There are numerous websites where you can buy large quantities of meat. These companies include processors that work with a number of different farms to source various types of meats; sites run by small farms which provide meat that can’t be found in store; and others that work with providers who harvest wild game or fish for wild-caught seafood. To start, decide on the kind of meat you want, the quantity, and your budget to determine the best place to buy meat in bulk online.
What Companies Sell Exotic and Wild Game Meat?
Fossil Farms, Wild Fork, and Broken Arrow Ranch are a few companies that sell wild game meat. Some specialize in meats such as bison and elk while others provide rarer game meats such as antelope, kangaroo, and wild boar. Most companies ship meats that are flash frozen. Minimum orders and shipping costs vary.
Is It Cheaper to Buy Meat Online?
The price of meat online may or may not be cheaper than purchasing from a local supermarket. It all depends on the type of meat you purchase and the amount. Most websites that sell meat online require a minimum purchase in order to maintain reasonable prices and efficient shipping. Bulk purchases may work out to be cheaper per pound than purchasing a small amount of meat at your local grocery store. Additionally, online stores give you access to specialty meats from small farms that likely aren’t available to you locally. Shipping is often included in the price and this can definitely save you gas costs for a shopping excursion.
Methodology
We researched over 30 companies to narrow down a list of the best places to buy meat online. Transparency is important, and we looked for companies that openly state where their meats are sourced and how the animals are raised and processed. Both companies that deliver meats fresh as well as those that flash-freeze before shipping were included.
Some sources for meat online specialize in only a few types of meats, while others offer a long list of options that include fish and seafood. Subscriptions and one-time purchase options were considered. When it comes to meat, food budgets are important to consider, and finding the best value for the best quality product was important in our search. The stores included in our list work to keep product and shipping costs low with minimum purchases and free or flat-rate shipping.
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The Spruce Eats / Chloe Jeong