The reference box
What OwlCrate costs and includes
OwlCrate started in 2014 and shipped its first box in March 2015. The flagship is still the monthly YA Fantasy Book & Goodies box: a signed, newly released young adult fantasy hardcover in an OwlCrate-only edition, packed with four or five bookish items built around that month’s theme. The boxes below each keep part of that package, cost less, or cover an age group OwlCrate has stopped serving. The comparison uses the monthly Book & Goodies plan.
- Contents
- One signed new-release YA fantasy hardcover with its own cover design, often with sprayed or stenciled edges, a reversible dust jacket, or foil on the case. Four or five themed items ride along, such as enamel pins, mugs, tote bags, tea, bookmarks, and book sleeves. For ages 14 and up.
- Price and billing
- $38.99 a box billed monthly, or $37.99 a box on a 3-month prepay. Shipping is extra: $11.99 to $13.99 a box in the US and $19.99 to Canada. The Book Only plan sends the same book for $29.99, plus $9.99 to $11.99 US shipping.
- Other plans
- An Adult Fantasy book-only box ($31.99 a month) and quarterly Romance, Romantasy, and Horror boxes ($31.99 each), all 18+. All four currently run through a waitlist, and the quarterlies can’t be skipped.
- Delivery and skipping
- Renews on the 1st and ships within the month, to most countries. Monthly plans can be skipped, paused, or canceled any time before the next renewal. Boxes you’ve already paid for still ship.
- OwlCrate Jr.
- Retired. OwlCrate’s own timeline lists its middle-grade box as ending in 2023.
- On Cratejoy
- No. OwlCrate sells direct. Owl Post Books, below, is a separate company.
The edition is what sets OwlCrate apart. The price is what sends people looking for companies like OwlCrate: with US shipping, a Book & Goodies box comes to about $51 to $53. OwlCrate’s help center has the current rates.
Compare the boxes
| Box | Best fit | Cost and commitment | Delivery |
|---|---|---|---|
| OwlCrate YA Book & Goodies Reference box |
A signed YA fantasy special edition plus themed items | $39 a month, plus $12 to $14 US shipping a box. | Monthly, renews on the 1st. Ships to most countries. |
| Owl Post Books YA Imagination Box | Three new YA hardcovers a month | $40 a month for three books, $20 for one. Shipping included. | First box within 5 business days, then the 1st to the 4th. US, Canada, UK, Australia, Switzerland. |
| SplureBox Fantasy Books Club | Fantasy hardcovers on a budget | $19 a month, less on a prepay. Free shipping. | Ships from Czechia, then around the 15th. |
| Reveal Book Box | One signed romance a month | $14 a month. | Within 10 business days by USPS. US only. |
| beTWEEN the Bookends | Middle-grade novels plus goodies | $55 a month for the full box, less without the extras. | First box within 3 business days, then monthly. Free US shipping. |
| FairyLoot YA Book + Items | The same format, a different house | $36 a month, plus shipping and tax. | Toward the end of each month. Plans can fill up. |
| LitJoy To Bee Read | Choosing your signed edition | $23 a quarter for the book alone, $47 with five items. Shipping set by box size. | Quarterly, after a customization week. |
Every monthly box here renews until you cancel, and most cost less per box on a prepay.
The alternatives
More YA books a month
Owl Post Books YA Imagination Box vs OwlCrate
Best for: The 14-and-up bookworm who finishes one book by the 5th and wants the next two on the shelf.
Owl Post Books trades the special edition for volume. The Box sends three brand-new YA hardcovers a month in an interactive box, and the Mini sends one in a colorful mailer. A short quiz steers the picks, with options such as fantasy, romance, dystopian, mystery, first in a series, or stand-alone, and every book is the reader’s to keep.
What feels familiar
New YA hardcovers, chosen by someone else, on a monthly rhythm. Fantasy is one of the quiz answers, so the genre can stay the same.
What changes
No signed copies, no exclusive covers, and no themed pins or mugs. Three books cost $40 with shipping included, about what one OwlCrate box costs before its shipping is added. Boxes go by USPS Media Mail, which takes three to seven days.
Fantasy for less
SplureBox Fantasy Books Club vs OwlCrate
Best for: Fantasy fans who want a new hardcover each month and don’t collect editions.
SplureBox runs one-genre clubs, and its fantasy club sends handpicked hardcover fantasy along with bookish products, mixing bestselling authors with names you haven’t met yet. At $18.99 a month with free shipping, it costs less than half of an OwlCrate box once US shipping is added.
What feels familiar
Fantasy only, in hardcover, with someone else doing the choosing and a bookish extra in the box.
What changes
The books are regular editions, not signed or redesigned, and the club covers fantasy in general rather than YA. The listing doesn’t say how many books arrive each month. SplureBox ships from Czechia, so expect a longer trip than a domestic box.
A signed book every month
Reveal Book Box vs OwlCrate
Best for: The OwlCrate Romance or Romantasy waitlister who mostly wanted the signature.
Reveal Book Box sends one romance novel a month, signed by its author, matched to the subgenres and tropes you pick at checkout. The list runs from enemies to lovers and small town to rom-com, and it includes YA romance. This is the seller’s no-frills option: the book and nothing packed around it.
What feels familiar
A signed copy in every box. At $13.95 a month, one book costs less than half of OwlCrate’s $31.99 quarterly Romance box, and there’s no waitlist.
What changes
Romance only, and no fantasy guarantee. There are no goodies and no special-edition design. It ships by USPS within 10 business days, and only to US addresses.
After OwlCrate Jr.
beTWEEN the Bookends vs OwlCrate
Best for: A middle-grade bookworm, 8 and up, who loved OwlCrate Jr. or has watched an older sibling open OwlCrate boxes.
OwlCrate Jr. was OwlCrate’s box for middle-grade kids, and beTWEEN the Bookends fills that spot with a themed box of its own. The full box holds two or three middle-grade novels and six to eight items, from stationery and bookish goodies to bath products, jewelry, and sweets. It’s put together by Jillian, a teen who reads every book and tests every product before it ships.
What feels familiar
A themed monthly box where the book comes with things to use while reading it, pitched at an age OwlCrate’s YA boxes skip.
What changes
Books come as a mix of hardcover and paperback, and none are signed editions. The full box leans toward tween girls. The gender-neutral version drops the beauty and jewelry items, and a books-only version sends the novels with a bookmark.
Closest to OwlCrate
FairyLoot vs OwlCrate
FairyLoot’s YA Book + Items subscription is the one to try if you want the same thing from a different curator.
Best for: Collectors who want a second shelf of exclusive YA fantasy editions.
FairyLoot’s flagship box sends an exclusive edition of a newly released YA fantasy hardcover with four or five items built around the monthly theme. It also runs book-only YA, adult fantasy, and romantasy plans, plus quarterly epic and cozy fantasy boxes. US and Canadian subscribers order from a separate store that prices in dollars.
What feels familiar
Nearly everything: the format, the genre, the exclusive editions, and the themed extras.
What changes
A different set of books and designers, and shipping and tax come on top of the monthly price. FairyLoot’s plans can fill up, so you may join a waitlist first. It isn’t sold on Cratejoy.
You pick the special edition
LitJoy To Bee Read vs OwlCrate
LitJoy’s To Bee Read subscription hands you the choice of book.
Best for: A collector who’d rather choose the book than be surprised by it.
Each quarter LitJoy shows two books, and during customization week you choose one. It arrives as a signed LitJoy Edition. The book-only plan stops there, while the Standard box adds five items (you choose three and two are a surprise) and the Deluxe adds eight. LitJoy works across YA and adult titles in fantasy, romance, dystopian, mystery, and more.
What feels familiar
Signed special editions and themed bookish extras, from a company that designs its own editions.
What changes
Four boxes a year instead of twelve, and the choosing happens in a set window each quarter. Miss it on a Standard or Deluxe box and LitJoy picks your items. It isn’t YA-fantasy only, and it isn’t sold on Cratejoy.
The honest part
When OwlCrate is still the better fit
Keep OwlCrate if the edition is the point. Nothing sold on Cratejoy matches a signed, redesigned YA fantasy hardcover with themed goodies packed around it, and if you’re building a shelf of OwlCrate editions, a different house won’t fill the gap. Keep it for the monthly YA theme and the community around it, including OwlCrate’s free app, The Nest. The trade is what shipping adds to every box.
How we chose these boxes
We started from what OwlCrate sends and the reasons a subscriber might look at OwlCrate competitors: the cost with shipping, waitlists on the adult and quarterly plans, the end of OwlCrate Jr., and wanting more books or more say. Then we went through the book listings on Cratejoy with a working buy button and kept the ones that answer one of those reasons. FairyLoot and LitJoy are here because no Cratejoy box sends a new exclusive YA fantasy edition. If you read adult fiction and like choosing from a shortlist, our Book of the Month alternatives cover that. The photo at the top is OwlCrate’s own product photo of its June 2026 YA box.
Questions before switching
Is OwlCrate Jr. still available?
No. OwlCrate’s own timeline lists OwlCrate Jr. as ending in 2023. For a middle-grade bookworm, beTWEEN the Bookends sends two or three novels with themed goodies each month, and Owl Post Books runs an Imagination Box for ages 0 to 13 with three new books and a craft.
Is Owl Post Books part of OwlCrate?
No. Owl Post Books is a separate company that sells on Cratejoy. The names are close, and both lean on owls, but the boxes, books, and prices are different.
Which alternative is closest to OwlCrate?
FairyLoot. Its YA Book + Items plan sends an exclusive edition of a new YA fantasy hardcover with four or five themed items each month, the same format OwlCrate uses. It sells in US dollars through a separate US and Canada store.
What’s the lowest-cost way to keep getting new YA books?
Owl Post Books’ Mini sends one new YA hardcover a month for $19.99 with shipping included. OwlCrate’s Book Only plan is $29.99 before $9.99 to $11.99 of US shipping.
Can I send one of these as a gift?
Yes. Each Cratejoy box has a gift option on its listing page, and each seller ships on its own schedule, so check the listing’s ship window before you plan around a date. OwlCrate sells gift cards that can start a new subscription.
