The reference box
What Trade Coffee costs and includes
Trade matches you to coffee from independent US roasters. You take a short quiz, and Trade starts you on a Discovery Trial of three bags from three roasters, then keeps sending coffees chosen for your taste. Its Q Graders, who are certified coffee tasters, score the coffees it sells, and Trade says it offers more than 450 coffees from over 55 roasters.
- Price
- About $17 to $31 a bag, most around $22, with larger bags near $50. You can cancel anytime.
- Delivery
- Subscriptions roast and ship every two weeks, and you can change the frequency after the first delivery. Bags ship within 48 hours of roasting to all 50 states, including Alaska and Hawaii, but not to Canada or Puerto Rico.
- Choosing your coffee
- A quiz about how you brew and what you like sets your first three matches, and Trade keeps rotating coffees from there.
- On Cratejoy
- No. Trade sells direct at drinktrade.com, and none of the subscriptions below are Trade products.
One detail worth knowing before you compare: Trade promises to replace a bag you don’t love. Trade’s subscription page has the current terms.
Compare the subscriptions
| Subscription | Best fit | Cost and commitment | Delivery |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trade Coffee Reference box |
Coffee picked for you by a taste quiz | About $22 a bag, from $17 to $31. Cancel anytime. | Every two weeks, adjustable. All 50 states. |
| Bell Lap Coffee | Fresh roast, full control, lower price | About $12 a month for one 12 oz bag. | Roasted Tuesday, shipped Wednesday. US, Canada, UK, Australia, Switzerland. |
| Goodbirds Coffee | A new limited-edition coffee each month | $19 a month plus $5 US shipping. Skip or cancel anytime. | Ships 2 to 3 business days after each renewal on the 1st. |
| Single Cup Club | K-cup brewers who like variety | $20 a month for 15 K-cups. Cancel anytime. | First week of each month. US only. |
| Bean Box | The widest roaster lineup | About $20 to $22 for one 12 oz bag, shipping included. No commitment. | Every 2 to 6 weeks. All 50 states. |
| Driftaway Coffee | Training your palate | $33 Explorer box, then $15 to $22 a shipment. | Explorer box first, then regular deliveries by roast profile. |
Bell Lap can also be prepaid for 3, 6, or 12 months.
The alternatives
Fresher and costs less
Bell Lap Coffee vs Trade Coffee
Best for: The drinker who liked Trade’s freshness and wants to pick the roast and pay less per bag.
Bell Lap roasts to order: place an order before 6 p.m. Central on a Monday, and it roasts on Tuesday and ships on Wednesday. Each month brings one 12 oz bag in the roast you choose, French, Vienna, medium, light, Swiss Water decaf, or the roaster’s pick, whole bean or ground coarse, medium, or fine.
What feels familiar
The coffee reaches you days after it’s roasted, the same promise Trade makes.
What changes
You pick a roast profile instead of taking a quiz, and it comes from one roaster, so the variety is in your roast choice. It costs about half of Trade’s typical bag, and it ships to Canada, the UK, Australia, and Switzerland, which Trade doesn’t.
A new coffee every month
Goodbirds Coffee vs Trade Coffee
Best for: Someone who subscribes for the surprise of a new bag and likes knowing where the money goes.
Goodbirds sends a 12 oz bag of limited-edition coffee each month, chosen for flavor, and both the coffee and the cause it supports change every delivery. The seller gives 100% of its net profits to good causes.
What feels familiar
A different coffee keeps arriving, so the bag in your cupboard doesn’t turn into a routine, and you can skip or cancel anytime.
What changes
Goodbirds picks each month’s coffee rather than matching one to your taste, and it ships monthly instead of every two weeks. US shipping adds a flat $5 a delivery.
For a K-cup brewer
Single Cup Club vs Trade Coffee
Best for: A single-serve household that wants a monthly change of coffee without grinding or measuring.
Each month brings 15 hand-picked K-cups in three blends. You choose flavored, non-flavored, or a mix, and the club chooses the coffees.
What feels familiar
Three blends in every box keep the sampling spirit of Trade, just in a pod.
What changes
You trade fresh whole beans for convenience, and there are no substitutions or special requests. Boxes ship in the first week of the month, so an order placed on the 1st or later waits for the next month’s batch. It ships within the US only.
The most roasters
Bean Box vs Trade Coffee
Best for: The Trade subscriber whose favorite part is meeting a new roaster, and who wants to set the pace.
Bean Box works with 64 independent roasters across the US. You pick from eight profiles, from Light & Bright to Dark & Toasty, single origin, espresso, decaf, or cold brew, and Bean Box tunes later picks to your ratings. Bean Box isn’t sold on Cratejoy, so the link goes to the brand’s own site.
What feels familiar
This is the closest outside match to Trade: many small roasters, profiles instead of a single house blend, and picks that shift with your feedback.
What changes
Deliveries run every two to six weeks, with one or two 12 oz bags, a 2 lb bag, or a 5 lb bag, and shipping is included in the subscription price. You can pause, skip, or cancel, but a cancellation has to be in by 1 p.m. Pacific on the Wednesday before a shipment.
Learn your own taste
Driftaway Coffee vs Trade Coffee
Best for: The curious drinker who would sooner taste side by side than trust a quiz.
Driftaway starts with a Coffee Explorer box, five 2-ounce coffees from around the world for $33. You taste them, pick the profiles you liked, and the subscription follows those profiles. Plans run from $15 to $22 a shipment in 12-ounce, 1-pound, or 2-pound sizes. Driftaway isn’t sold on Cratejoy, so the link goes to the brand’s own site.
What feels familiar
Your taste steers what arrives, and the coffee rotates within the style you like.
What changes
You decide by drinking five samples instead of answering questions, and plans are organized by roast style: light, medium and dark, espresso, or all roasts.
The honest part
When Trade is still the better fit
Keep Trade if the quiz is the point. It matches coffee to your answers, has certified tasters score what it sells, and will replace a bag you don’t love. Keep it, too, if you drink enough to want a bag every two weeks by default. Each Cratejoy box here ships once a month.
How we chose these subscriptions
We started from what Trade does well, fresh roasts, many roasters, and matching to taste, and looked for subscriptions that keep one of those while changing something a Trade subscriber might want changed. We went through every coffee listing on Cratejoy you can buy today and kept three from three different sellers. We added Bean Box and Driftaway because no marketplace listing matches Trade’s roaster network or taste-profile approach. For a broader list, see our guide to coffee subscription boxes. The photo at the top is Trade’s own product image of its mug among bags from some of its partner roasters.
Questions before switching
Which subscription is closest to Trade Coffee?
Bean Box, if you mean the roaster variety: it draws from 64 independent US roasters and adjusts picks to your ratings. On Cratejoy, Bell Lap Coffee comes closest on freshness, since it roasts to order and ships the next day.
Which one costs less than Trade?
Bell Lap Coffee, at about $12 a month for a 12 oz bag, against Trade’s typical bag price of around $22. Goodbirds and Single Cup Club run about $19 to $20 a month, plus $5 shipping for Goodbirds.
Is there a coffee subscription with K-cups?
Single Cup Club sends 15 K-cups a month in three blends, flavored, non-flavored, or mixed. It ships in the first week of each month within the US.
How fresh is the coffee?
Trade ships within 48 hours of roasting. Bell Lap roasts on Tuesday and ships on Wednesday for orders placed by Monday evening. Goodbirds ships each month’s coffee two to three business days after renewal.
