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Subscription boxes land right in a good-gift sweet spot of being thoughtful without requiring too much effort. All you have to do is select the one that best matches your recipient’s interests, and your gift will continue to surprise and delight for several weeks or months.
Since there are so many options to choose from, we’ve put together a list of some of the best giftable options out there — many of which we’ve tried ourselves, so they’re actually good, not just boxes of junk. Below, our picks for the best gift subscription boxes for every kind of giftee. Prices are listed as the lowest, one-month plan, unless otherwise noted.
Have a more specific gifting question? Try our new gift search tool here!
For those still in the process of figuring out their coffee preferences, Driftaway’s first subscription box will be a tasting kit of four two-ounce bags of coffee, and after they review those, they’ll be able to tailor future shipments.
But if they already know what they like, Trade Coffee might be a better bet. The company uses a quiz to match recipients with one of more than 400 coffees in its collection, curated from 54 local roasters spread across 38 states, so even the most serious coffee snobs should find something to suit their taste.
Help them expand beyond the offerings at their local Mitsuwa with a Bokksu subscription. Each month, they’ll receive a variety of snacks and teas sourced directly from small family businesses in Japan, like black-sesame cookies and chile-oil chips.
Once a month, they’ll receive a freshly ground small-batch spice blend along with recipes to use it with, with previous blends including garam masala, za’atar, and shawarma seasoning.
Platterful’s charcuterie kits make it easy to create a stunning spread for their next soirée. Each box contains a selection of meats, cheeses, and accompaniments, supplemented with how-to videos and instructions for arranging the most aesthetic display.
With Atlas Tea Club’s tea-of-the-month-club membership, they’ll get to enjoy single-origin teas from around the world. It comes loose-leaf, which tea snobs will love, but newbies won’t be left behind, since each variety comes with steeping recommendations, tasting notes, and a postcard about the history of the region the tea came from.
This isn’t the same matcha you’d find at Starbucks — Sorate sources its ceremonial-grade matcha from small, family-owned farms in Uji, Kyoto. Each monthly delivery consists of a sachet of matcha and a sachet of green tea with different varieties including sencha, genmaicha, gyokuro, or hojicha. If you’re a matcha newbie, there’s also a box for beginners that provide smaller sample sizes.
Yes! Apples will deliver a box of orchard-fresh apples grown in upstate New York right to their doorstep. Varieties are dependent on the season, but the sweet-tart Honeycrisp is available nearly year-round.
If cupcakes are their sweet treat of choice, send them a fresh batch from Sprinkles. The Favorites box contains all the best-selling flavors from the iconic cupcake purveyor, from red velvet to dark chocolate.
Cheerie Lane’s gluten-free, non-GMO heirloom kernels are perfect for the popcorn aficionado. This four-month subscription will allow them to try all of the brand’s fun flavors, including Rosemary Garlic and Tomato Basil.
Strategist’s Vox Media cousin, Eater, has a wine club that curates a monthly selection of either two or four bottles. Your recipient will also be issued an invite to virtual wine parties with the sommeliers behind the picks and receive a newsletter to learn more about each wine.
If they prefer rice wine over regular wine, they’ll be delighted by this subscription service from NYC-based sake brewery Brooklyn Kura. They’ll receive two limited-release seasonal bottles, complete with enclosed tasting notes; you can choose between a two, three, or six month delivery frequency.
With the amount of chile-crisp brands popping up, it was only a matter of time before they got amassed into a subscription service. Crispy Club offers over 60 different varieties of chile crisp sourced from small, independent brands, perfect for spicing up your noodles, stir-fries, and sandwiches.
Lata’s monthly subscription offers a rotating selection of either three or four premium tinned-seafood products, usually from small-batch producers. As a newfound tinned-fish lover, I had to try Lata’s offerings for myself; my shipment included several varieties that I’d never tried before but were absolutely delicious spread over crackers or incorporated into a lemony pasta.
If they’re such a shellfish fanatic that they’re willing to put in the work to shuck at home, Real Oyster Cult, run by a family of oyster farmers, will handpick peak-season oysters from farms around the country to send them every month. Each shipment will be a surprise, but if they’d prefer a sampler, choose the 40- or 60-count option and they’ll get two or three varieties, respectively.
Sitka Seafood Market offers a rotating, seasonal selection of sustainably harvested Alaskan seafood, including sockeye salmon, lingcod, rockfish, and sablefish. Each box is guaranteed to contain two varieties and at least 4.5 pounds of premium-grade fish.
With Cocktail Courier, they’ll receive a monthly cocktail-making kit, with enough mixers and garnishes to create six to eight drinks — and for an extra $25, the alcohol is included too.
Indulge their carb cravings with a subscription from artisanal pasta-maker Sfoglini. In each quarterly shipment, they’ll receive six boxes of the brand’s signature organic semolina pasta, three boxes of specialty pasta, and six recipes so they can make the most of these premium noods. A half-year subscription includes two shipments, for a total of 12 pastas.
Photo: retailer
They won’t be able to find the small-batch sauces included in this subscription at their neighborhood supermarket. Each shipment features two hot sauces from specialty producers across the country, many of which have been won accolades at regional and national culinary competitions.
This entry-level subscription will let them try three cheeses a month, though at the highest level, you can get a full cheese board — perfect for people who entertain regularly.
If they don’t live near a local butcher shop, Porter Road’s curated meat boxes are delivered once a month and contain everything from dry aged steaks to bacon to country sausage. The Best of Porter Road box is a sampler containing an assortment of meats, but there are specialized boxes as well, such as just dry-aged beef or breakfast meats.
Grown and cultivated in Hawaii’s volcanic-rich soil, Maui Gold pineapples are famously sweet with low acidity levels. A monthly delivery straight from the islands would make a great gift for any fruit lover.
The Peach Truck will deliver a box of 13 fresh, juicy peaches hand-plucked from its Georgia orchards. You can choose between a onetime delivery or a recurring delivery every week for four or eight weeks.
Photo: retailer
Each season, your favorite gadget dad, gearhead, or all-around lover of innovative doodads will receive a box of five to eight items including tech devices, kitchen equipment, and fitness gear; recent boxes have included massager roller balls, self-warming mugs, and fabric shavers.
Of course, if your friend is an avowed cat person, they might prefer receiving a subscription to KitNipBox. Each box is filled with toys, treats, and other cat-related products that are sure to delight any kitty.
BarkBox’s monthly subscription box, which comes filled with treats, chew toys, and more goodies for your furry friend, is one of our top gifts for dog lovers.
Crystal collectors will love this monthly shipment containing four to six gemstones or mineral specimens accompanied by info on where each piece is sourced, how it’s formed, and what healing properties it contains.
Bath Bevy’s boxes contain all the products they’ll need to elevate bath time, from whipped soaps to bath bombs to salt scrubs sourced from indie brands. If they love a self-care moment but don’t have the luxury of a tub, Bath Bevy also offers a Tubless option containing lotions, shower steamers, and more.
If they can’t afford real therapy, this care package designed and curated by therapists might help them through a tough time. Each one includes a happiness activity and six to eight wellness items to encourage relaxation and introspection, such as bath salts, candles, and face masks.
Every other month, a box loaded with hydration tablets, energy bars, and other products and accessories geared toward runners — even sneaker detergent — will ship straight to their doorstep.
Help them upgrade from Black Ice with Drift, which sends a new car freshener made of either wood, stone, or metal every month or two months. They can choose from classic scents like coffee or grove, or go with the limited-edition “scent of the month.”
With MightyNest’s MightyFix subscription, each month they’ll receive a sustainable household product, like Swedish dishcloths or all-natural dish soap, so they can start to implement greener choices without feeling overwhelmed.
For three months, your giftee will receive a made-to-order “sustainably and ethically made comfort item.” Past items include the now-famous Cloud Socks, Oaxacan ceramic mugs, and artisanal Ethiopian coffee.
Pipsticks is a monthly sticker subscription that’s perfect for tweens, teens, or adults who enjoy crafting, scrapbooking, journaling, or just adorning every blank space they see. Each mailing includes a reusable storage pouch, 15 sheets of stickers, a postcard, and an activity book.
Gift the relaxing yet stimulating challenge of completing a puzzle with a subscription to Jiggy, which sends out a fresh 500-piece puzzle each month for them to pore over.
Lovepot, an L.A.–based floral service, delivers dried smokable hemp-flower bouquets with relaxing CBD which can be used as tea, as an herbal smoke blend, or for an aromatherapy bath. Gift it all to one friend who needs stress relief on the regular, or change the delivery address every month and send it to whomever needs it most.
They’ll squeal with delight over this quarterly Pusheen subscription filled with apparel, home décor, and accessories emblazoned with the cute cartoon cat’s likeness. (For cat owners, there’s also a box filled with Pusheen-themed cat gear; Strategist sales editor Sam Daly received a neckerchief that amplified her tabby’s “cuteness levels exponentially.”)
Subsidize their high burn rate with a steady delivery of new candles from Vellabox. Every month, they’ll receive an all-natural soy, coconut, or vegetable-based candle made by small-batch artisanal candlemakers from around the country.
Bespoke Post curates products from small under-the-radar brands with a customizable monthly-membership box centered on different themes. The Aged box features cocktail equipment to help build out the perfect home bar, while the Deploy contains a grappling hook and other tactical gear for outdoorsy folks.
Re-up their stash with a subscription to this collab between BIC and the Teacher’s Crate. Each quarterly shipment contains a variety of pens, stationery, and activity books — and for every ten boxes purchased, one is donated to a classroom in need.
Starting at just $20 a month (for an eight-by-ten print or smaller), they’ll work with an Art Crate curator to find a piece of art to fill their walls, and each month they can add more until they’re satisfied with their gallery. The brand also offers framing, which bumps the starting price for prints up to $59 a month.
With Horti’s plant-of-the-month subscription, you can specify whether your giftee will need plants that are newbie-friendly or pet-friendly, or go for a Horti’s Pick selection, so there is something for everyone.
This subscription service exclusively sends succulents, the perfect plant for beginners. For $11 a month, Succulent Studios will mail two eight-week-old succulents from their farm in California right to the recipient’s door along with care instructions so they really can’t mess up.
With a rotating shipment of blooms from Fresh Sends, there’s no guesswork involved in choosing what arrangement to get — the company creates unique arrangements based on what flowers are in season.
One of the preeminent suppliers of garden roses in the U.S., Grace Rose Farm now offers a bouquet subscription, curating a seasonal selection of garden-fresh roses on a weekly, biweekly, or monthly basis.
BloomsyBox offers all sorts of hyperspecific bouquets, from pure hydrangeas to exotic tropical arrangements. The blooms in the New York Botanical Garden subscription are freshly sourced from sustainable flower farms, and a percentage of each purchase supports the NYBG’s work in conservation, horticulture, and plant science.
This quarterly self-care box is filled with sex toys, bath and body items, and books.
Trivia buffs will appreciate History by Mail, which sends detailed replicas of historical documents along with additional information on the context and cultural significance. Past examples include Albert Einstein’s correspondence with FDR and the police report from when Rosa Parks refused to give up her bus seat.
When we talked to theater-lovers about the best gifts for Broadway enthusiasts, playwright and theater critic Marcus Scott recommended this play subscription service, which he calls a “gold mine for theatergoers and scholars alike.” Your giftee will get a box of seven plays quarterly for $58 a box, and the shipments will include a mix of new plays as well as Broadway Book Club’s best from its back catalogue.
Help your bookish friend stay up to date on the latest releases with a Book of the Month subscription. The service releases a monthly curated list of new reads on offer, and for $15 a month, your friend or loved one can pick out the one they’re most interested in.
The staff at San Francisco’s Green Apple Books runs a subscription program in which they read upcoming releases and pick one new indie-fiction title to mail out every month. Each book comes with a review from the person who selected it.
YiLing Chen-Josephson reads hundreds of picture books each month, so you can trust her recommendation. Once you fill out a form with a few details about your giftee and their interests, she’ll handpick one she thinks they’ll enjoy.
Photo: retailer
Clearly they want to show off their socks, so help them keep new ones in the rotation with a monthly delivery of nice-looking patterned options.
If they’re a regular fixture on Asian beauty forums, they’ll appreciate this quarterly shipment from K-beauty brand Joah. Each box contains innovative beauty products such as cushion blush and bubble-forming essence, delivered to their doorstep straight from the labs of Korea.
While Ipsy offers cheaper subscriptions than this $28-per-month “BoxyCharm” option, with this one, you’re getting five full-size products.
Photo: Retailer
Help them stop runs in their tights for good by making sure they always have a new pair on deck. All Les Belles styles are made from recycled materials, and the brand’s offerings include classic sheer and opaque tights in neutral shades, plus patterned socks and polka-dot stockings.
Perfume is expensive — and exceptionally hard to gift — but with ScentBird, they can get a new trial-size fragrance, including cologne, every month for just $16 per month.
Each edition of Dermstore’s Beautyfix box delivers at least six skin-care products valued at over $100. Lots are from Strategist-approved brands, like BioDerma, La Roche-Posay, and First Aid Beauty.
With LeMel’s Stud Club, every month they’ll receive a pair of earrings in fun styles such as hearts, stars, and butterflies. It’s especially well suited for kids with sensitive skin, as LeMel’s earrings are made of hypoallergenic 14-karat gold and high-quality gemstones, cubic zirconia, and enamel.
For the kid with strong opinions on what they want to wear, Kidpik offers a variety of curated outfit boxes, based on your recipient’s answers to a style questionnaire. When Strategist senior editor Jen Trolio let her daughters try the service, they ended up loving every item they received.
Petite ‘n Pretty’s subscription boxes contain age-appropriate and dermatologist-tested makeup for kids who love adorning themselves with glitter and sparkles. Each delivery includes four to six full-size products that match a certain theme, like holiday fun, summer, or back-to-school.
Strategist writer Lauren Ro and her son liked this toy-subscription box the best of the Montessori toy boxes they tested. “While everything was in service of encouraging skills like grasping at objects and eye-tracking,” like a wooden rattle or a rolling bell, “it was all in the name of fun,” Ro says.
Designed for every stage from birth to 24 months, all of Lalo’s Play Boxes are filled with research-backed toys that are sustainably-made and earth-friendly. The boxes were created in partnership with renowned toy manufacturer PlanToys, known for its zero-waste practices and its nice-looking and sturdy wooden toys.
Photo: Katherine Luisa Photography
Bloom & Rise’s subscription box is full of goodies to make life easier for a postpartum mom and her new baby. Every box contains a thoughtfully curated assortment of educational books, developmentally appropriate toys, nutritious snacks, and more.
KiwiCo will occupy your kid with a hands-on project to complete — like a stained-glass kit that teaches you how rainbows are formed, or a felt succulent garden — that nurtures their creativity and curiosity.
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