If you live a busy life (and, these days, who doesn’t?), healthy snacking might sound like a nice idea. But when you’re rushing from place to place, scrounging a few chocolates from the bottom of your purse or tossing back some airline pretzels from your last flight might be closer to reality.
Wouldn’t it be nice if someone could just send you healthy snacks so you wouldn’t have to think too hard about eating right between meals? Enter the world of healthy snack subscription boxes! Home-delivered munchies take the guesswork out of smart snacking (and often expose you to intriguing new foods at the same time).
We’ve gathered up the five best healthy snack box subscriptions for all your noshing needs.
Not every snack subscription service offers foods that are actually good for you. We curated our list by looking at the healthfulness of the snacks each subscription provides. (No highly processed junk wrapped in fancy packaging, please!) We also took into account pricing, availability and variety.
Healthy Me Living offers something for everyone. With boxes tailored to college students, new moms, families and gluten-free eaters, this snack service can fulfill just about any snacking need. Snacks run the gamut from jerkies to crackers to protein bars and more. Plus, multiple subscription options (from a one-time box to a 12-month subscription) mean you can test the waters with a single sample or make healthy snacking a year-round convenience.
Healthy Me Living’s pricing is middle-of-the-road, compared to other services. A monthly subscription for 8-12 snacks is $32.99, a three-month subscription is $93.99, and a 12-month subscription is $352.99. Just note that, compared to some other snack box subscription programs, the savings here aren’t all that remarkable when you subscribe for a whole year. (You’ll save just 15% with a 12-month plan.)
Another aspect that sets this service apart is that for every box purchase, the brand donates 10 meals to children in need. It’s a subscription you can feel good about for yourself and others!
The plant-based movement continues to gain steam — and for good reason! Plant-based diets have been associated with all sorts of health benefits, from better weight management to lower risk of cardiovascular disease. With Elevate, you can keep even your snacks animal product-free. All items in their boxes are made with only plant foods.
If your dietary restrictions extend beyond eating just plants, Elevate has you covered there, too. Gluten-free and allergy-friendly options are available. Their boxes are also a good value: a starter pack contains 22 items for $39.99. This could be a great addition to a vegan meal delivery service or a vegetarian subscription box.
One downside of Elevate, however, is that their boxes are for month-to-month purchases rather than recurring subscriptions. If you’d prefer a service you can “set and forget,” this one might not be right for you. On the other hand, if you can remember to order your box each month, you’ll get loads of healthy plant-based goodies delivered to your doorstep.
Urthbox stands out for its budget-friendly pricing. The “mini” box of six to seven snacks costs just $20.99, while three additional sizes (small, medium and large) round out the brand’s box options. As you increase your size, you’ll dramatically decrease your per-snack price. The large box comes with a 40% savings.
As for the snacks themselves, Urthbox’s offerings are a smattering of protein bars, chocolates, nut butters, crackers and more. Unlike some other subscription services, the boxes may also include unique items like beverages, mini meals or gummies.
Reviews on Urthbox’s site are glowing, but some people are more critical of the brand elsewhere online. Many reviewers say their boxes took longer than expected to ship and that subscriptions are difficult to cancel.
As every parent knows, kids need snacks just as much as grownups (or maybe more!). Great Kids provides tasty munchies for adults and kids alike. Open each box to find a mix of all-natural and organic kid-friendly fruit gummies or Disney-themed chips paired with other items suited to grownup palates, such as roasted chickpeas or energy balls.
This service is a bit more simplistic than some others, featuring only month-to-month subscriptions. Three box options include 20 snacks, 30 snacks or 30 gluten-free snacks for a range of $29.99 to $45.95. But the simplicity of this service doesn’t seem to bother reviewers! Many users rave that the boxes are a convenient, easy way to get kids snacking on healthy foods.
If you share your life with kiddos, Great Kids might be the box to beat. Free shipping and easy cancellation are other bonuses.
Considering that most of us spend eight-plus hours a day at the workplace, it’s probably where we do most of our snacking. You and your co-workers may want to pool the office budget to try Caroo. Started as an employee recognition program, Caroo now offers healthy snack subscription boxes as one of its unique morale builders.
It’s not just breakroom snacking that could get an upgrade from Caroo. Any big group (like multi-person families or sports teams) might prefer this service’s offerings. Besides its large boxes, Caroo also features numerous snacks that can be ordered individually.
Still, Caroo has its downsides. The brand’s website is quite overwhelming, and there’s less of a focus on health here than with other snack services.
To choose the right healthy snack subscription box for you, you’ll want to consider which needs you want it to fill. If you’d like a convenient snack every day, a larger box makes sense. Or, if you have food restrictions, like a Keto diet, a customizable service is probably right for you. Then, of course, it’s important to decide how much you want to spend and how long you’d like to subscribe. Consider adding a pre-made meal delivery service to your snack box for even more convenience.
The worth of a healthy snack subscription box is a matter of your budget and your time. If you feel it’s worth paying a little extra to have someone else select and send healthy snacks your way, you’ll probably feel a subscription service holds its value.
Healthy snack subscription boxes definitely cost more than picking out your own snacks at the grocery store. But that doesn’t mean they’ll break the bank. Many start at around $20 per month for around 10 snacks.
Most subscription snack boxes have a monthly delivery option. Some offer even more variety, with options for weekly or bi-monthly arrival.
Satija A, Hu FB. Plant-based diets and cardiovascular health. Trends Cardiovasc Med. 2018 Oct;28(7):437-441. doi: 10.1016/j.tcm.2018.02.004. Epub 2018 Feb 13. PMID: 29496410; PMCID: PMC6089671. Retrieved from: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29496410/