Best Coffee Subscriptions

Best Overall: Bean Box

Price: $20–$24 per delivery
Subscription Options: 3
Bean Origin: South and Central America, Africa

Why We Chose It: Bean Box ticked multiple boxes on our list of criteria for a coffee subscription service. The tipping point was the company’s transparency on fair trade vs. direct trade policies and the ability to read ratings and reviews of the coffees it sells.

Pros
Rewards program
Free shipping
Coffee is roasted to order

Cons
Slow response time from customer service

The Seattle-based Bean Box allows customers to customize their coffee subscriptions based on roast levels and flavor profiles. Each Bean Box is chosen by the company's in-house curator and coffee expert, Maryna Gray.

Single-origin and decaf bans are available, and all beans are roasted to order. You can select whole beans or ground coffee for your subscription. Bean Box guarantees peak freshness and flavor in every bag. Customers choose the delivery frequency—weekly ($20 per shipment), biweeky ($22 per shipment), or monthly ($24 per shipment)—and receive a 12-ounce bag with each delivery that brews 24 to 36 cups. Subscriptions can be paused, skipped, or canceled any time before 5 p.m. PST on Thursday the week before any scheduled shipments.

The extent of customizing your coffees is limited to roast preference (light to dark), and any blends you fall in love with can be purchased in larger bags via Bean Box's online shop. We also appreciate the transparency of the website; both positive and negative reviews appear equally.

Best for Gifting: Driftaway Coffee

Price: Starts at $44 per month
Subscription Options: 24
Bean Origin: Africa, Central America

Why We Chose It: Among the list of companies on our list, Driftaway has the most options for gift-giving. From personalization to coffee gear, this is a one-stop-shop for bringing a smile to any coffee lover's face.

Pros
Gift recipients receive an explorer kit
Uses 100% compostable packaging
Website is ADA compliant

Cons
Coffees aren’t roasted to order
Not a ton of coffees to choose from

Driftaway Coffee is as personalized as it gets, initially sending your gift recipient a Coffee Explorer Kit so they can try out the nuances of four different coffees based on where they’re from and how they were roasted. Customers can personalize their gifts with the recipient’s name, and because gift subscriptions don’t automatically renew, you don’t have to worry about keeping tabs on your account.

Gift subscriptions are the site’s bestsellers, allowing you to have the first delivery shipped to you (so you can present it to the recipient yourself) or shipped directly to them. E-gift cards and gift sets are also available. Pricing varies depending on the size of the bag you choose and your delivery frequency, but it starts at $44 per month.

Apart from the gift subscription, Driftaway offers virtual tasting parties to allow you to sip and learn with your family and friends. The host purchases a date and time for their session, and then Driftaway ships out kits of four unlabeled coffee brews to everyone in your party to taste while guided by the shop's in-house brewmaster.

The "farmer feedback" option on the site is also a nice way to let customers share their opinions on a particular coffee bean with the grower.

Best for Craft Coffee: Trade Coffee

Price: Starts at $14.75
Subscription Options: 6
Bean Origin: Central and South America, Africa, Southeast Asia

Special Offer: Use code SIMPLY20 for $20 off your first three bags plus free shipping.

Why We Chose It: Trade Coffee matches subscribers to roasters who will roast their perfect cup of joe for the ultimate craft coffee.

Pros
You can reorder a favorite coffee
Several choices for shipping frequency
Exposure to new roasters with every delivery

Cons
Difficult to find subscription cost

Trade Coffee actually ships coffee from some of the companies on this list, so its dedication to craft coffee is what landed it in our roundup. The company's mission is to help its customers discover and prepare better coffee at home.

The first step in your Trade craft coffee journey is to get matched with a roaster. First-time buyers will receive 30% off of their first bag and 15% off of every order placed within 30 days from that first order, as well as free shipping. A First Match Guarantee means that if you don’t love your first coffee, the company will replace it for free.

Trade lists its roasters and their blends on the site. Each bag tells the backstory of the roaster in charge of the coffee, so in addition to tasting each product, you get to learn about the folks who roasted it.

Best for Organic Coffee: Conscious Coffee

Price: Starts at $14
Subscription Options: 4
Bean Origin: Southeast Asia, South, and Central America, Africa

Why We Chose It: Conscious Coffee sells nothing but organic, above fair trade coffees. It is fully committed to providing pure, clean coffees to its customers and to helping its farm partners to grow.

Pros
Only sells organic coffee
Coffee is roasted to order
Works with independent farmers

Cons
No FAQ section on the website
Limited coffee selection

This Certified B Corp craft roasting company is a family-owned business that focuses heavily on its social and environmental impact. The beans are 100% organic with no harsh chemicals, and they all come from cooperatives. Conscious coffee imports directly from farmers, which allows them to maintain consistent levels of quality and ensures that farmers can continue to sell their harvests at a fair price.

Biweekly, monthly, and quarterly subscriptions are available, and prices start at $14 per delivery.

We appreciate the simplicity of the beans available, but the smaller selection may result in repeats, which might become an issue—especially for biweekly subscribers. The site itself is also lean on information about the specific blends included in past subscriptions, though the response time to email queries from the company was quick.

Best for Fair/Direct Trade Coffee: Grounds for Change

Price: Starts at $98
Subscription Options: 3
Bean Origin: South and Central America, Southeast Asia, Africa

Why We Chose It: In addition to being a Fair Trade for Life and organic certified, family-owned and operated business, Grounds for Change's commitment to ethics, the environment, and equity really sets it apart.

Pros
Roasts 100% fair-trade organic coffee
Subscriptions include single-origins and blends
Plants trees to offset carbon footprint

Cons
No FAQ section on the website
No customization

Grounds for Change focuses heavily on fair trade because it recognizes that fair-trade certified coffee promotes and sustains a better life for coffee farmers by allowing them to invest back into their farms and families. The company supports fair-trade organic co-ops, uses 100% renewable energy, and composts all of its organic waste.

Since its formation in 2003, the company has promoted fair-trade practices and the exclusive roasting of organic coffees. It requires its producers to have a Fairtrade Labeling Organization Certificate in addition to mandatory minimums of quality standards that are assessed with every lot of beans it purchases.

Customers rave about the fast shipping times, the bean quality, and the company's commitment to supporting partner growers. Decaf coffee drinkers will find a good selection of roasts to choose from.

Best for Single-Origin Beans: Modest Coffee Roasters

Price: $13
Subscription Options: 6
Bean Origin: Africa, South, and Central America

Why We Chose It: Modest Coffee Roasters focuses on single-origin beans and doesn't add any supplemental flavors to them.

Pros
Ethically sourced beans
All bags ship for $1, orders over $35 ship free
Varying price points

Cons
Cold brew options not available in subscriptions
Limited selection

Modest Coffee Roasters specializes in single-origin beans. Because it recognizes that your morning coffee is a global effort, the company is committed to finding ways to support the environment, community, and farmers. Employees constantly sample new lots of coffees to find the best ones to include in subscriptions.

Subscriptions are available in varying roasts and varieties. The Sampler gives you a choice of three basic levels of coffee every month. On the opposite end, The Collector includes the highest quality, award-winning coffees from around the world. Dark roasted and decaf subscriptions are available as well. The only downside is that cold brews are not part of subscriptions; a chat with the company’s owner revealed that's because these beverages are not homogenized.