The Best Food Delivery Services Of 2022
Over the past few years, you may have noticed that the number of companies offering food delivery straight to your home or office has grown. Now, no matter where you live, you probably have at least one or two food delivery services and meal-kit companies that conveniently bring fresh ingredients and meals to your door.
By 2025, experts predict that the food delivery service industry will skyrocket to a value of $200 billion (via Forbes). The pandemic has been a huge part of the industry's success, allowing restaurants to continue to serve customers even when their dining rooms had to be shut down in favor of social distancing. DoorDash and Uber Eats, especially, saw massive jumps in revenue near the end of 2020 (via MarketWatch).
The number of food delivery services to choose from can feel overwhelming, so we're pointing out some of the best options for fresh food and meal kit deliveries based on your budget, on-the-go eating, and other important elements.
How we selected food delivery services
We narrowed down the options based on several factors in order to choose the food delivery services to include in this guide. Most importantly, we dug into the features of each service, noting how they differ from other similar companies and what, specifically, they offer their customers. This helped us distinguish important characteristics that you might look for in the delivery services you choose to use, such as which service has the easiest-to-use ordering app or which company caters to meals for babies and kids.
After that, we focused on reputation. Consumers readily review the meals they get from food delivery services to help other people who might be on the fence — understandably, they take their food seriously! So, we checked out reviews and the overall popularity of each company to help us weigh our options. We also considered press reviews and releases regarding new features and enhancements to the services that help customers in some way.
Best overall food delivery service: Grubhub
Grubhub consistently ranks as one of the most popular food delivery services among customers and in the press. Why? For starters, it's highly available around the country, serving over 4,000 locations with more than 32,000 restaurant partners. It also offers the Grubhub Guarantee, which ensures that you get the lowest price possible on your order and that your order arrives on time, every time. The company even partners with convenience stores for more than just food delivery, giving you useful connections to places all over town.
Customers love the Grubhub+ plan too. This monthly subscription is just $9.99 per month and gives subscribers free delivery on orders $12 or more plus a free meal each month. They'll also get exclusive deals from participating restaurants. Frequent customers can save a lot on their delivery orders by switching over.
There's a lot to be said about the ease of ordering through the app or website as well. According to a G2 reviewer, "You can sort and filter restaurants based on the type of food that you want as well as price and distance."
Make your order on the Grubhub website or mobile app.
Best budget food delivery service: EveryPlate
If you're not opposed to cooking the food that gets delivered to your home, try EveryPlate. This is one of the most budget-friendly delivery services, with meals as low as $4.99 per serving, a price you'd be hard-pressed to find at any restaurant — even on the kid's menu. Plus, as a first-time subscriber, you can get even more savings on your first box, bringing your potential costs to less than $2 per serving.
When you sign up for a plan, you can choose to order enough food for two or four people, for a total of three to five meals in each box. The more servings you order, the less you pay per serving. You can also choose between family-friendly meals, quick meals, and plant-based meals to suit your preferences.
You're never stuck with stuff your family won't eat, so don't worry about food waste. Each week, you can select the meals you want from that week's menu, choosing only the menus that look most appetizing. Don't want or can't fit a box in your budget this week? Simply skip that week in your online account or with the app.
Order EveryPlate on its website starting at $4.99 per serving.
Easiest to use food delivery service app: DoorDash
DoorDash is a top contender with other food delivery services, like Grubhub and Uber Eats. Although it provides customers with similar features such as a monthly subscription and thousands of restaurant partners to choose from, DoorDash really stands out with its ordering app.
The DoorDash app is available on the App Store and Google Play. Sort the list of local restaurants by what you crave, such as burgers, Mexican food, or comfort food. You can also look for places with specific ratings, those that deliver in under 30 minutes, or those that offer meals within your budget. Or, simply search for the restaurant you want to order from. From there, choose from the items on the menu and follow the quick checkout process which is ridiculously easy.
Use the app to save your favorite restaurants, share the store page with others, and review your orders and restaurants. Even non-techie people can get the hang of the DoorDash app. Countless customers agree, including one on GetApp who says, "The app is helpful and quick and the options are perfect."
Start ordering from DoorDash on its website or mobile app.
Best for ready-to-go meals: Freshly
There's nothing wrong with taking a break from cooking and getting your meals freshly prepared for you once in a while. With Freshly, you don't even have to visit a restaurant to do that. Instead, your prepared meals come to you on a schedule that fits your needs. Select between four and 12 meals every week, with savings of up to $33 when you order more.
Freshly delivers chef-cooked meals, like sausage baked penne, pork carnitas, and Asian-style chicken and noodles. They come individually packaged in ready-to-heat containers that you can pop in the microwave and have on the table in about three minutes. Freshly caters to various dietary needs too, including gluten-free and plant-based. Use the app to change your delivery schedule, swap out meals, and manage your dietary preferences.
Freshly scores high among ConsumerAffairs reviewers with a 4.4-star rating. One reviewer exclaims, "These meals are stunningly delicious! I don't crave junk food anymore, I actually crave my next meal."
Order from the Freshly website starting at $8.99 per meal.
Best for quick grocery delivery: Instacart
Need a last-minute grocery order but don't have time to stop at the store? We get it, which is why we — and so many grocery shoppers — love Instacart. This company sends its independent contractor shoppers to local stores to purchase your groceries and deliver them to your home. Seriously.
Instacart has partnerships with hundreds of retailers, including Aldi, Kroger, and Petco, so that you can shop for all family members. Instacart and Chase are also partnering to offer the Instacart Mastercard® credit card, which gives cardholders extra points earned on Instacart purchases (per Chase).
A Medical News Today review points out that this method of grocery shopping is beneficial for people with health conditions that interfere with their ability to shop and for those who simply need to save some time in their day. Instacart says that delivery windows generally run between 9 a.m. and midnight depending on local partners, making deliveries highly accessible for most schedules.
Use the Instacart website to see what stores are available near you and to start ordering.
Best organic food delivery service: Daily Harvest
To grow organic food, farmers use natural fertilizers to preserve soil quality while practicing sustainable farming techniques (per Mayo Clinic). Organic is more than just a buzzword when it comes to food, and Daily Harvest proves it with its focus on sustainably-sourced ingredients in every one of its meals and products.
Daily Harvest partners with farmers not just to source organic ingredients but also to help them maintain farmlands that suit organic growth and farming practices. Its products feature organic produce — over 185 crops to be exact — and include yummy treats like smoothies, soups, and superfood bites. Its popular Harvest Bowls are filled with nourishing ingredients that keep you feeling full and satisfied throughout the day.
Choose between a small, medium, or large box containing nine, 14, and 24 items respectively. You'll be able to select each product you want to include in your delivery on a weekly basis. Various discounts are offered depending on the size of your order so keep a lookout for deals.
Order from Daily Harvest on its website, with prices starting at $5.99 per item.
Best for produce: Imperfect Foods
If you love having freshly stocked produce in your fridge, try Imperfect Foods. This delivery service isn't just about fruits and vegetables as it also delivers snacks, meat, dairy, pantry items, and other grocery essentials. However, produce is one of its most popular offerings, giving you a prime selection of farm-fresh fruits and vegetables straight to your door.
As its name suggests, Imperfect Foods highlights the quirkiness of your favorite foods. When you order produce, you'll get a variety of misshapen or less-than-perfect-looking produce that might otherwise get picked over at a farmers market or grocery store. Basically, by taking imperfect produce into your home, you're helping to prevent it from going to waste.
You'll still end up with the same high quality you'd expect from farm-to-table produce, it just might look a little unique. If you're looking for novelty, let Imperfect Foods choose the selection for you. The company will send you a box filled with stuff you normally wouldn't order but will be happy to try in your kitchen. Facebook reviewers give Imperfect Foods 4.4 stars, with many customers complimenting the incredible service and ease of ordering.
Check the Imperfect Foods website to see if delivery is available in your area and to place an order.
Best for Amazon subscribers: Amazon Fresh
There's not much that Amazon doesn't have its hands in nowadays, and the grocery sector is just another one of the industries it's excelling in. Amazon Fresh is the company's food delivery service and it lets customers shop Amazon's selection of fresh grocery products to have delivered to their homes. In certain places, shoppers can even receive their Amazon Fresh deliveries less than two hours after ordering.
It's not available everywhere yet, but customers in eligible areas can order everything from wine to toothpaste using the convenient service. In addition to tons of online coupons, deals on specific items, and Amazon-offered savings, Amazon Fresh helps Prime members save even more because it's free for subscribers. In fact, Healthline reports that you need a Prime subscription in order to use the service, unless you have a SNAP EBT card.
Check if Amazon Fresh is available to deliver to your area and place an order on the website.
Best for on-the-go meals: Proper Good
Meal kit delivery services can be helpful for making dinners a little less chaotic each night, while restaurant meals brought to your door can save you lots of time in the kitchen on busy days. But if you're looking for quick and simple foods that you can bring with you to work for lunch, Proper Good has you covered. This food delivery service was featured on Shark Tank in 2021, landing a deal from Mark Cuban (per Cision).
The brand focuses on shelf-stable meals that don't require any refrigeration. Nonetheless, they still include clean ingredients and eliminate anything artificial, so you'll get lots of nutrition in each meal. Plus, the single-serve packaging makes it a no-brainer for quick lunches. Pack your Proper Good box with soup, oatmeal, bone broth, and grains to get a variety of good-for-you meals. Meals heat up in about 90 seconds, so you don't have to miss any of your much-needed break time (via Proper Good).
Visit the Proper Good website to build your own pack of goodies or shop premade bundles, starting at $5.99 per meal.
Best for availability: Uber Eats
Uber Eats is one of the most well-known food delivery services in the country. It offers a lot of unique features, like allowing customers in some cities to order food for dine-in and giving the option of ordering food in advance. But one of its biggest perks is being so widely available.
Currently, Uber Eats is available in 45 countries and more than 6,000 cities and is always on the lookout for more places to set up shop (via Uber Eats). That means that even people in some rural areas can get food delivered to their homes with the service. The company is also prioritizing growing its list of restaurant partners, making a 50% jump in mid-2020 and adding restaurants from Yum Brands and other favorites to its roster (per Restaurant Dive).
The service is great, too, according to consumer comments. G2 reviewers give it 4.1 out of 5 stars, stating its convenience and large restaurant selection as top reasons why they continue to use it.
Visit the Uber Eats website to see if it's available in your area and to start ordering.
Best for super-quick meals: Gobble
When you need dinner on the table quickly, Gobble can help you whip it up. Although it's known for its quick-serve meals that are ready in about 15 minutes, this food delivery service doesn't just give you microwaveable dishes that look like they came from a fast-food restaurant. Instead, you'll get meals like roasted garlic chicken and mashed potatoes, seared steak stir-fry, and corn and black bean enchiladas. These restaurant-quality meals arrive in a box at your door with all the ingredients you need to get dinner started immediately.
The magic behind Gobble is that its chefs do most of the hard work for you. They chop all the veggies and herbs and measure out ingredients so that you can stick to following recipe cards and cooking. Without all the prepping, you can easily save plenty of time in the kitchen each night. Gobble offers a Classic meal plan and a Lean & Clean plan, but either one comes with the same pre-prepped convenience.
Visit Gobble to order your first box starting at $11.99 per serving.
Best for store-to-fridge delivery: Walmart Grocery Delivery
Walmart is one of the few places you can visit to get all your shopping done in one spot, whether you need to restock your fridge, get cleaning supplies for your car, or buy toys for a pet. For many shoppers, the grocery section is one of its most appealing features, offering a wide selection of pantry items, bakery goods, frozen foods, and fresh produce. Since upping its game with grocery delivery, it has become even more valuable for customers.
While some Walmart stores only allow for curbside grocery pickup, many others are expanding into delivery. Walmart employees shop for and pack your order, and a third-party delivery service — this may vary depending on what's available in your area — will pick it up and deliver it to your home (via Walmart).
Some areas even offer a store-to-fridge delivery service through Walmart InHome; store associates not only shop and pack your order, but they'll bring it straight to your home and load it into your refrigerator. Or, opt to have them drop it off in your garage or another safe spot if you aren't home (per Walmart).
Visit the Walmart website or app to place a Walmart Grocery Delivery order.
Best for meal kits from your favorite restaurants: Goldbelly
Goldbelly is a unique take on traditional food delivery services. This company is more like a marketplace for restaurant food, allowing chefs and restaurants across the country to sell on the platform and ship their delicious food to anyone who wants it. Its number one mission is all about helping small restaurants grow and succeed, and one chef who uses the service states, "My growth on Goldbelly is 1,000 percent. No joke. We've been in nonstop Goldbelly production mode" (via Goldbelly).
Several restaurants even have meal kits ready to ship for some of their most popular dishes. For instance, you can order an authentic Ukrainian dinner kit for the family from Veselka in New York City or a box of comfort food from Mother's Restaurant in New Orleans. There's no better way to sample food from around the country unless you're making the trip there yourself.
Visit the Goldbelly website to browse all the restaurants that are ready to ship to your home.
Best food delivery service for picky kids: Yumble
Kids need yummy and nutritious meals too, as do busy parents who are struggling to find dishes to cook for their picky eaters. Enter Yumble, a food delivery service for kids that targets ready-to-heat meals that can go from the box to the table in a couple of minutes. Each meal includes sustainable and regionally-sourced ingredients packaged with 100% recyclable materials (via Yumble).
Meals like Fruity French Toast, Vegetarian A-B-C Sandwich, and Creamy Mac N Trees are sure to make even the pickiest eaters get excited over their breakfasts, lunches, and dinners from Yumble. The service even takes into account common food allergens, crafting a weekly menu with plenty of variety that works with a range of dietary needs.
A 4.0 rating on Trustpilot includes positive comments like, "These meals are great for picky eaters while still introducing new foods. It makes my daughter feel 'grown up'!" and "I'm so glad I found Yumble! Packing my son's lunch is so much easier. It's healthy, and he loves it!"
Purchase Yumble via the website starting at $6.99 per meal.
Best food delivery service for babies: Yumi
Yes, babies can get their tiny hands on food delivery too. Yumi's slogan is "Baby food reimagined" because it focuses on nutritious foods for the littlest eaters without gluten, GMOs, Big-9 allergens, and preservatives. These whole-food meals include purees for babies who are just starting solids, as well as finger foods and snacks for little ones who are graduating to more complex forms of food (via Yumi).
Yumi was founded in 2017 by new-mom Angela Sutherland and her friend Evelyn Rusli, both of whom wanted better food options for babies. "We realized we could help parents connect the dots between what they were feeding their kids and their future health outcomes," Sutherland explains in a Forbes interview. "At 6 months for instance, we point out that your child's natural iron stores are depleted (children are born with a certain amount of iron which is depleted at [this age]) which is why we deliver meals with dark leafy greens, to help boost iron levels." Since starting, the company has landed some incredible funding deals, including a $67 million deal from multiple investors at the end of 2021.
Apparently, there's even more to love than the food itself. Yumi customers also rave about the containers, which are the "perfect size" to feed babies without food waste.
Shop the Yumi website to make an order or start a customized food delivery plan for your baby.
Best for vegans: Sakara
Vegans might feel left out of other food delivery services, but that's not the case with Sakara. This service celebrates veganism in every sense of the word, which is why even vegan celebrities are loving its meals. Model Lily Aldridge says, "I have delicious meals delivered from Sakara Life ... It's so yummy and good for you!" and stylist Brad Goresky raves, "Yum yum yum! This Sakara Life Cobb Salad was so delicious!" (via Sakara).
What's so great about it? Sakara's ingredients only come from organic farms and trusted suppliers and its classically-trained chefs know exactly what to do to make plant-based meals stand out. The brand also focuses on its nine pillars of nutrition, including eating foods from all colors of the rainbow, not counting calories, and offering nutrient-dense foods that are healthy and satisfying (per Sakara).
Visit the Sakara website to start your subscription box or place a one-time order.
Best for customizable meal plans: Sunbasket
Sunbasket has options for just about anyone looking to make their at-home meals easier and healthier. This service gives you the choice of a fresh-and-ready subscription featuring prepared meals to heat and serve, or an easy-to-follow meal kit subscription that you can cook yourself. When you sign up for either service, you'll choose your dietary preferences such as Mediterranean, low-carb, diabetes-friendly, or low-sodium, which triggers Sunbasket to curate the best options to add to your subscription.
Sunbasket also favors organic produce, using fresh and nutritious ingredients in each of its meals. Trained chefs are responsible for preparing your meals and crafting recipes, so you'll get restaurant-quality dishes right in your own kitchen (via Sunbasket). Reviewers agree that this food delivery service is one to try. One customer shared on Reddit, "We have been using Sunbasket for about 6 months now and have nothing but great things to say! I think the flavors can be a little more on the complex side for some of the meal kits (which is precisely why we enjoy it). Overall, the ingredients are great, the food is tasty, and customer [service] is really helpful if there is ever an issue."
Start your fresh-and-ready or meal kit Sunbasket subscription on the website starting at $9.99 per serving.