Bean Box vs Trade Coffee
- Prices checked Oct 23, 2026
- We buy what we test with our own money
Verdict: Both send you coffees from US partner roasters without making you pick bag by bag. On bag price they’re in a similar range after intros: Bean Box Single Origin at $21.50 for one 12 oz bag (Duo $20/bag) and Trade Essential at $16.99 or Signature at $21.99 per 10.9 oz bag (Bean Box checked Oct 23, 2026; Trade plan prices match Oct 19). Pick Bean Box if you want to choose a style — including Single Origin or Decaf — and set a 2-to-6-week cadence. Pick Trade if you’d rather take a quiz and start with a Discovery Trial (free first bag, trial ships free). We haven’t tasted either for this page.
How this comparison works: We haven’t tasted coffee from either service for this page. It compares published prices and terms from each brand’s own site, checked on the dates shown. It says nothing about taste or freshness.
Side by side
| Bean Box | Trade | |
|---|---|---|
| How it works | Choose a style (light, medium, dark, espresso, decaf, single origin); coffees from independent US roasters | Short quiz, then coffees matched from partner roasters across the US |
| Price | Single Origin Solo Sipper $21.50/12 oz; Duo $20/bag. Decaf Solo Sipper $19.50/12 oz; Duo $18/bag. Large Solo (2 lb) Single Origin $46 / Decaf $44; Office Duo (2×2 lb) Single Origin $44/bag / Decaf $42/bag (checked Oct 23, 2026). 3-bag plans: not listed | Essential $16.99, Signature $21.99 per 10.9 oz bag; 2-lb bags $39.99 and $49.99 (checked Oct 19, 2026; MATCH Oct 23) |
| Bag size | 12 oz or 2 lb; 1 or 2 bags per delivery | Standard 10.9 oz (310 g); 2-lb Big Bags also offered (checked Oct 19, 2026) |
| Intro offer | One free bag on your third delivery — on 12 oz pay-per-delivery plans (checked Oct 23, 2026) | Discovery Trial: 3 bags from 3 roasters, free first bag, from $33.98 (Trade also shows $55.97); free shipping; cancel anytime (checked Oct 19, 2026; MATCH Oct 23) |
| Shipping | Subscription deliveries have their own flat shipping rate; dollar amount not listed on pages checked Oct 23, 2026 (prior published figures rejected — we do not cite a Bean Box shipping $ here) | Discovery Trial ships free; after that, $3.99 per pay-per-shipment order; pre-paid and 2-lb subscriptions ship free (checked Oct 19, 2026; MATCH Oct 23) |
| Delivery | Every 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6 weeks (checked Oct 23, 2026) | Every 1, 2, 3, 4 or 6 weeks, or every 10 days; every two weeks by default, changeable after the first delivery (checked Oct 19, 2026) |
| Cancel terms | Bean Box’s own pages give two different cancel cutoffs: its FAQ says 5 PM (PST) on the Wednesday the week before your next scheduled delivery, and its plan page says before 1 PM PT on the Wednesday before your shipment (both checked Oct 26, 2026). To be safe, cancel before the earlier time; pause/skip via Reschedule Deliveries with no charge to skip | Cancel anytime from My Subscription on the Dashboard; pause up to 3 months; date changes a full 24 hours before the next order date; pre-paid plans end after the last pre-paid bag. Trade never says “skip” (checked Oct 19, 2026; MATCH Oct 23) |
| Trustpilot | Too few reviews on Trustpilot. | 4.7/5 on Trustpilot (204 reviews, checked Oct 26, 2026) |
| Tried by us? | No | No |
Trustpilot ratings are the brands’ customers’ views, not ours, checked on the dates shown.
Quick picks
Neither link earns us anything. See our affiliate disclosure.
Pick a style, from US roasters
Bean Box
$0.95 per cup, Single Origin Solo Sipper 1×12 oz at $21.50, before shipping (subscription shipping amount not listed Oct 23), 15 g per cup
Price checked Oct 23, 2026
Choose a style (including Single Origin or Decaf) and get coffees from independent US roasters.
Quiz-matched coffee from many roasters
Trade Coffee
$0.82 per cup, Essential 10.9 oz bag at $16.99, before shipping ($3.99 per pay-per-shipment order after the trial), 15 g per cup
Price checked Oct 19, 2026
Take a short quiz and get matched with coffees from partner roasters.
What you get
- Bean Box: coffees from independent US roasters, picked to the style you choose (light, medium, dark, espresso, decaf, single origin). You set bag count (1 or 2), bag size (12 oz or 2 lb), and cadence.
- Trade: you answer a few questions about how you brew and what you like, and Trade matches you with coffees from partner roasters around the country. Trade says it fine-tunes your picks as it learns your preferences.
- Choice: Bean Box gives you a style dial (including a clear Decaf and Single Origin path on configure). Trade picks for you from your quiz answers.
- Bag sizes: Bean Box 12 oz or 2 lb. Trade standard 10.9 oz (310 g), plus 2-lb Big Bags.
Price per cup
At 15 g of coffee per cup (a 12 oz bag makes about 22.7 cups; a 10.9 oz bag about 20.6). We show before shipping for both. Bean Box’s subscription shipping dollar amount is not listed (Oct 23), so we do not invent a “with shipping” column for Bean Box. Trade’s post-trial pay-per-shipment shipping is $3.99.
| Plan | Before shipping | With shipping |
|---|---|---|
| Bean Box Single Origin Solo Sipper (12 oz, $21.50) | about $0.95 | not listed (flat rate; amount unavailable Oct 23) |
| Bean Box Single Origin Duo (12 oz, $20/bag) | about $0.88 | not listed |
| Bean Box Decaf Solo Sipper (12 oz, $19.50) | about $0.86 | not listed |
| Trade Essential (10.9 oz, $16.99) | about $0.82 | about $1.02 (+ $3.99) |
| Trade Signature (10.9 oz, $21.99) | about $1.07 | about $1.26 (+ $3.99) |
- Bean Box Decaf is $2/bag cheaper than Single Origin on every plan we checked Oct 23 (Solo Sipper, Duo, Large Solo, Office Duo).
- Trade’s Help Center lists the Essential / Signature bag prices; the Discovery Trial page does not state the post-trial plan price.
- Pre-paid and 2-lb Trade subscriptions ship free (checked Oct 19, 2026).
- We use 15 g for every brand so the numbers compare fairly. Try your own dose in our price-per-cup calculator.
Intro offers
- Bean Box: “One free bag on your third delivery” for new subscribers on 12 oz pay-per-delivery plans (checked Oct 23, 2026). You pay for the first two deliveries in full and must still be subscribed at the third.
- Trade: Discovery Trial — 3 bags from 3 roasters, free first bag, from $33.98 (Trade also shows $55.97 on the trial page), free shipping, cancel anytime (checked Oct 19, 2026; MATCH Oct 23). The trial page shows one bag up first, then one in 2 weeks and one in 4 weeks.
- Offers change often. Our deals page lists the ones we’ve checked recently.
Renewing and canceling
Both renew automatically until you cancel.
- Bean Box: skip, pause or cancel from your account (Reschedule Deliveries; no charge to skip). Bean Box’s own pages give two different cancel cutoffs: its FAQ says 5 PM (PST) on the Wednesday the week before your next scheduled delivery, and its plan page says before 1 PM PT on the Wednesday before your shipment (both checked Oct 26, 2026). To be safe, cancel before the earlier time. Mark that Wednesday cutoff on your calendar if you’re thinking of stopping.
- Trade: cancel anytime from My Subscription on the Dashboard, or pause for up to 3 months with the Pause Subscription button. Make date changes a full 24 hours before your next order date. Pre-paid plans end after their last pre-paid bag (checked Oct 19, 2026). Trade never says “skip.” The price after the Discovery Trial isn’t stated on the trial page.
Who should pick which
- Pick Bean Box if you want more say over what shows up: choose the style (including Decaf or Single Origin), bag count, and how often it comes, from every 2 weeks to every 6, with coffees from different US roasters. Know that the subscription shipping dollar amount was not listed on pages we checked Oct 23 — confirm it at checkout before you commit.
- Pick Trade if you’d rather tell a quiz what you like and get coffees from different US roasters. Its Discovery Trial is an easy way to see three of them. After the trial, plan on $3.99 shipping per pay-per-shipment order unless you pre-pay or choose 2-lb bags.
More options: our coffee subscription comparison, Atlas vs Bean Box, and Trade vs Atlas. Looking for rotating single origins? Our best single-origin coffee subscriptions guide covers Atlas and Bean Box Single Origin.
FAQ
Which is cheaper, Bean Box or Trade? It depends on bag size and shipping. Trade’s Essential is $16.99 for 10.9 oz (about $0.82/cup before shipping); Signature is $21.99. Bean Box Single Origin Solo Sipper is $21.50 for 12 oz (about $0.95/cup before shipping); Decaf Solo Sipper is $19.50. Trade adds $3.99 per pay-per-shipment order after the free-shipping trial. Bean Box’s subscription shipping amount is not listed (Oct 23) — we will not invent a dollar figure (Bean Box prices Oct 23; Trade plan prices Oct 19 / MATCH Oct 23).
Can I cancel anytime? Both say you can manage from your account. Bean Box’s own pages give two different cancel cutoffs: its FAQ says 5 PM (PST) on the Wednesday the week before your next scheduled delivery, and its plan page says before 1 PM PT on the Wednesday before your shipment (both checked Oct 26, 2026). To be safe, cancel before the earlier time. Trade lets you cancel anytime from My Subscription on the Dashboard or pause for up to 3 months (checked Oct 19, 2026).
Did you taste these coffees? No. This page compares published prices and terms only. If we review either brand hands-on later, we’ll say so clearly and link to it here.
Do you earn money if I sign up? Not right now. Neither link earns us anything. See our affiliate disclosure.