How We Track Prices
DTC beef pricing is deliberately opaque. Here's how we cut through the marketing to find real per-pound costs.
Last Updated: May 2, 2026
Next Update: June 1, 2026
🎭 The Pricing Problem
What Companies Do:
- •Bundle pricing hides true per-pound costs
- •Subscription discounts vary wildly by commitment level
- •Promotional deals inflate perceived value
- •Mixed quality grades make comparisons impossible
What We Do:
- •Normalize to price-per-pound for comparable cuts
- •Track 3 standard cuts: Ground beef (85/15), Ribeye, NY Strip
- •Check prices every 30 days for accuracy
- •Account for realistic volumes (not bulk discounts)
⚖️ Market Baseline
Our universal baseline. Every price comparison starts here:
Ground Beef 85/15
$6.57/lb
Delivered
USDA Choice Ribeye
$18.15/lb
Delivered
USDA Prime Ribeye
$22.69/lb
Delivered
Prime NY Strip
$19.28/lb
Delivered
Why this baseline? These are the best-value delivered prices we've found for each USDA grade tier. Consistent quality, transparent pricing, and nationwide availability make them the fairest comparison point.
💰 Current Price Comparison
All prices normalized to per-pound costs for comparable cuts. Updated monthly.
📊 Our Pricing Methodology
Data Collection Process:
- 1.Visit each company's website monthly
- 2.Add comparable products to cart (realistic quantities)
- 3.Calculate true per-pound cost including shipping
- 4.Account for subscription vs one-time pricing
- 5.Cross-reference with customer-reported prices on Reddit
What We Track:
- •Ground beef 85/15 (most common cut)
- •Boneless ribeye steaks (premium comparison)
- •NY strip steaks (mid-tier option)
- •Shipping costs for realistic order sizes
- •Subscription discounts vs one-time pricing
⚠️ Important Notes
- • Prices change constantly. Promotions, seasonal pricing, and supply chain issues affect costs.
- • Quality varies by cut. A $30/lb ribeye from Company A might be A5 Wagyu while Company B's is Choice grade.
- • Shipping zones matter. Costs vary significantly based on your location.
- • Minimum orders apply. Some companies require $100+ orders, affecting effective per-pound pricing.
- • If you see an error, tell us. We want our data to be accurate but can't catch every price change instantly.
Questions about pricing?
Want to understand how we calculate Value scores or report a pricing error?