To Find the Best Cheese Subscription Boxes, My Coworkers and I Ate Our Weight In Gouda and Brie

My husband has been a bad influence on my eating habits because of his love for ice cream and cheese. Before I met him, I was pretty sure I was lactose intolerant and shied away from eating tons of dairy. But nine years and many pints of ice cream and pounds of cheese later, he’s got me hooked—I’m a certified dairy queen.

So when I got the chance to test cheese subscriptions, well, I leapt for it like my husband does when he smells a whiff of nutty aged Gruyère. But because I still think I have a lactose sensitivity, I corralled my colleagues into helping me—I may be the dairy queen ‘round these parts, but even royalty needs a hand. We tasted six cheese subscriptions to find the best ones, be they single-creamery or an around-the-world taste of fromage.

The Best Cheese Subscriptions, at a Glance

The Best Cheese Subscription

Murray’s Cheese Cheese Explorer's Club

View on Murrayscheese.com

This is a fantastic cheese box for the cheese curious—Murray’s cheesemongers select three different cheeses and share a pamphlet with tasting notes and pairings. My box included a fresh goat's milk cheese from Wisconsin, an aged cheddar from Vermont, and a fudgy, soft hunk of St. Nectaire. Everything was delicious, and I learned some great ways to cut and serve cheese via the QR code.

The Best Single-Creamery Cheese Subscription

Jasper Hill Farm Cheese Club

View on Jasperhillfarm.com

Jasper Hill’s cheese subscription is surprisingly varied, considering it’s just one purveyor. It also throws in some accompaniments, like jams, crackers, or dried fruit. I made a lovely little snacking cheeseboard with the brie-like Harbison, Nordic Crisps, and blackberry-blueberry jam.

An Around-the-World Journey Through Cheese

Murray's Cheese Globetrotter's Cheese Club

View on Murrayscheese.com

Do you love to travel? On trips, do you inevitably end up lunching on cheese, bread, and maybe some cured meats? Well, this is the cheese box for you. It takes you on a quick tour di formaggi from the comfort of your home. My box flew me off to Northern Italy, with a peppercorn-laced Rustico wedge, a gooey hunk of gorgonzola cremificato, and a trufflicious sottocenere, a semihard, buttery cheese.

The Best Monthly Cheeseboard Kit

Curdbox

View on Curdbox.com

Curdbox is a thoughtfully curated subscription that sources everything you need to make a monthly cheeseboard and brings it to your doorstep. The one that writer Ashlee Redger received was “Hot Summer”-themed and came with two chile-infused cheeses (plus an all-but-plain aged white cheddar). Curdbox doesn’t stop there, though. All the boxes also include the pairings you’ll need to fill out your board; Ashlee’s came with crisp chile crackers, jarred piquillo peppers, and a sweet-tangy Peruvian pepper jam.

The Best Cheese Subscription from America’s Dairyland

Wisconsin Cheese Mart Wisconsin Cheese of the Month Club

View on Wisconsincheesemart.com

Want to explore what the home of the Cheeseheads has to offer? The Wisconsin Cheese of the Month Club gathers selections from creameries around the state, including small producers whose products are difficult to find outside of the Upper Midwest. The box Ashlee received had two boldly flavored cheeses (a Hatch chile cheddar and a truffle Gouda) as well as a nutty Fontina-inspired Fontinella that she loved both snacking on and cooking with.

The Best Cheese Subscription for Unique Cheeses

Cheese Grotto Monthly Cheese Subscription

View on Cheesegrotto.com

Cheese Grotto—the makers of tiny countertop homes for your fancy cheese—also offers a few monthly cheese subscriptions. Editor Rochelle Bilow tried the Cheese & Pairing subscription and received an array of pantry goodies, including garlic aioli, kalamata olive crackers, and mortadella. The cheeses themselves were hard-to-find gems, including a waxed rind cow’s cheese flavored with a shichimi togarashi Japanese spice blend.

The Tests

• Packaging Inspection: My teammates and I inspected the cheese subscriptions we received to see how well they were packaged, if they arrived warm or nicely chilled, and if they included any helpful information. 
• Taste Test: Was the cheese interesting and something we couldn’t find at our local grocery stores? Did the pamphlets or included information guide the tasting process? Was it good? These were the questions we asked ourselves as we ate our way through our subscriptions.

What We Learned

We Liked Subscriptions With Cheeses You Can’t Get at the Grocery Store

A cheese subscription is a wholly fun thing—and often pricey too. So when my colleagues and I tried them, we wanted ones that felt special. While subscriptions like Curdbox with loads of accouterments were great for making a well-rounded snacking board, we really wanted boxes that introduced us to cheeses we can’t find at our local Stop & Shop. 

Both the Murray’s and Jasper Hill Clubs sent cheese that I’d never had before, and I’d have to go to a specialty cheese store (or at the very least, Whole Foods) to try to find. Murray’s makes you feel like you visited a cheesemonger for some prime wedges, with each piece hand-wrapped in Murray’s branded paper and shipped in a branded box with little frizzy paper stuffing to keep things cushioned. It sent me a “rare” St. Nectaire in the Cheese Explorer’s Club, with commentary from a cheesemonger and cheese pairing suggestions and tasting notes. This is what I’m talking about! It was all about the cheese, and the cheese was fantastic.

Shipping Was Important

Cheese is a hardy food—it was created as a means of preserving milk. Plus, you should take it out of the fridge an hour or so before serving to warm it up a little. This helps bloom the flavors and aromas. But if you’re paying for a cheese subscription and your box arrives with warm, squishy ice packs and cheese that smells like ammonia, then that’s a sad day. In short, shipping is important, and your subscription should have a couple of still-cold ice packs at the very least.

The good news is that every cheese subscription we tried came nicely shipped with insulation and ice packs. When a box did arrive with melted ice packs, the materials helped reassure us: The Wisconsin Cheese Mart box had a helpful slip inside informing Ashlee (who received that box) that her cheeses—in the low 50s—were just fine as long as they made it to the fridge soon. We suffered no truly stinky cheese on our doorsteps.

We Wanted a Munch and Learn Experience

As mentioned, if I’m paying the big bucks to get a hand-picked box of cheese every month, I really want it to be an experience. Murray’s did a fantastic job of providing just the right amount of intel to accompany their cheese selections. The Globetrotters club included an overview of each cheese as well as a nod to the region that it came from. Ditto with the Cheese Explorer’s Club, which featured a brief article on one of the makers, Blakesville Creamery in Wisconsin. The info was wholly digestible, just like the cheese.

The Criteria: What to Look for in a Cheese Subscription

A good cheese subscription should be easy to order, and it should be easy to cancel or adjust your subscription. The box should arrive in pristine condition, neatly packed, ideally with still-frozen ice packs and good insulation. The cheeses should be interesting and not something you can easily find at your local grocery store—you are paying a premium for a subscription, after all! Finally, we appreciated boxes that included pamphlets and informational materials that guided our cheese tastings.

Our Favorite Cheese Subscriptions

The Best Cheese Subscription

Murray’s Cheese Cheese Explorer's Club

View on Murrayscheese.com

What we liked: This box included three hefty pieces that broke down to a little over $23 each, which was fair considering the variety and quality. After all, these aren’t cheeses you can find in your local grocery store. Nay, these be specialty wedges. I tried two boxes, the first featuring Shabby Shoe, a creamy, soft, and fudgy cheese from Blakesville Creamery in Wisconsin; a fantastic, crystal-laden aged cheddar from Jasper Hill in Vermont; and a "pudgy" St. Nectaire, which, according to the pamphlet, is an “ancient predecessor to brie.” Cool! The Blakesville was divine: ultra-creamy with some barn funk and a light tang on the finish that lifts it, making it similar to a sour cream/crème fraîche or cream cheese, but much more nuanced. The second box included a vibrant orange, butterscotch-y raw cow's milk cheese from upstate New York, a smoky, pudgy Murray's cheddar, and a delicate washed-rind Basque-style goat cheese. I loved every cheese in both boxes!

The pamphlet that came with the cheese was super informative without being overwhelming, with write-ups on the creameries, as well as pairing suggestions, like to drizzle the Blakesville with honey and to serve the cheddar with a crisp ale. You can also scan a QR code to get more information.

What we didn’t like: This is a no-frills box; you don’t get any crackers or jams to pair with the cheese, but I think the quality of the wedges outweighs any fillers. It’s pricey per month, but if I were buying a cheese subscription, I’d want the best one I can get.

Key Specs

• What we got: A block of St. Nectaire, a slab of Jasper Hill Cabot Clothbound Cheddar, and a gooey wedge of Blakesville Creamery Shabby Shoe ("a midwest take on French Chabichou”); 5 Spoke Creamery Harvest Moon, Murray's Smoked Cheddar, and Firefly Farms Cabra La Mancha
• Number of cheeses: Three
• Price and frequency: $70 per month for three months, though the price goes down if you prepay for six- or twelve-month plans

The Best Single-Creamery Cheese Subscription

Jasper Hill Farm Cheese Club

View on Jasperhillfarm.com

What we liked: The box the cheese arrived in felt special, with instructions on how to best enjoy them printed on the blue and white packaging. The box was filled with wood shavings, which added a touch of rustic charm. There was a decent variety of cheese, too, though all the ones I received were Jasper Hill's signature soft, creamy varieties. They varied between mild and milky and strong and stinky. The wedge of Caspian was ginormous! It was satisfying to see a big wedge in the box. It’s thick and bright, with a touch of lemoniness and a faint, dank mushroom note. The Eligo was a balanced, creamy, and mild goat cheese, while the Harbison was delightful when I baked it up with some apricots and nuts. 

In addition to cheese, the box came with a jar of blueberry/blackberry jam, coppa, and Nordic crisps. The jam was super blueberry-forward and a nice complement to both stinky and mild cheeses. When I paired them with the coppa and the Nordic crisps, I suddenly had a simple cheeseboard with all the elements: sweet, salty, crunchy.

What we didn’t like: I was a little disappointed that two of the cheeses were the same: a standard-sized Harbison and a mini-wheel of Harbison. That said, I think the mini was basically an extra, as the website states that the subscription includes three cheeses. It’s a pricey subscription! 

Key Specs

• What we got: A 12-ounce wedge of Caspian, a large round of Harbison, a five-ounce round of Harbison, and an eight-ounce brick of Eligo 
• Number of cheeses: I received four, but the standard is three
• Price and frequency: $105 per month for a subscription, or $120 one-time purchase

An Around-the-World Journey Through Cheese

Murray's Cheese Globetrotter's Cheese Club

View on Murrayscheese.com

What we liked: My box showcased three cheeses from Italy: The Rustico black pepper had whole black peppercorns and a mild flavor, while the gorgonzola cremificato was creamy, lightly tangy, and not as pungent as other gorgonzolas I've had. The sottocenere is pegged as hard to find, so that also felt special; it had a mild creamy flavor with heady truffle notes. The amount felt generous, with wedges ranging from half a pound to 1.5 pounds, plenty for a cheeseboard. Like the Explorers club, the Globetrotters club had a detailed pamphlet highlighting where each cheese was from in Italy (in this case, mostly the northern part of the country, with the Rustico from the Florence area). These were cheeses I wouldn’t have necessarily picked for myself, but I really loved them and was blown away by how unique they were.

What we didn’t like: I would have liked more information about pairings and how to use the cheese, especially the gorgonzola; the pamphlet mentioned it’s often used more as an ingredient than as a standalone cheese.

Key Specs

• What we got: A wedge of Rustico Black Pepper, a piece of sottocenere, and a hunk of gorgonzola cremificato
• Number of cheeses: Three
• Price and frequency: $65 per month for three months, though the price goes down if you prepay for six- or 12-month plans

The Best Monthly Cheeseboard Kit

Curdbox Cheese Subscription Box

View on Curdbox.com

What we liked: “Receiving the Curdbox delivery felt like an invitation to a little party, and all I had to do was open the box and lay out its contents to get it started,” says Ashlee, who tried this service. It had everything one could need for making a themed cheeseboard, including a helpful sheet with tasting notes and wine pairings. Her box had a “Hot Summer” motif and came with an Italian chile-infused sheep's milk primo sale (a semi-soft, traditional Sicilian cheese that Ashlee described as mozzarella- or pepper jack-like) as well as two white cheddars—an excitingly spicy one marbled with ghost chile, chipotle, and jalapeño peppers, and a block of Prairie Breeze that was aged until nutty, sweet, and crumbly. 

Along with the cheeses came a box of olive oil- and chile-infused crackers, a jar of piquillo peppers, and a piquant Peruvian pepper jam. In other boxes, these accompaniments have included cured meats, pickles, cookies, chips, nuts, or dried fruits. All in all, the contents worked together to make a cohesive and complementary board that felt approachable to all kinds of cheese lovers. “Curdbox would be the perfect excuse for a standing monthly date night or hangout with a friend. All you need is a bottle of wine,” Ashlee says.

What we didn’t like: The box Ashlee got felt a tad one-note with all the peppery flavors and only the (albeit delightful) Prairie Breeze cheddar to tame the heat. Given the monthly nature of the subscription, though, not every box will be groundbreaking (and the Curdbox we tried in a previous round of testing was more varied), so she took the box’s monotony with a grain of salt. While you could probably gather a similar collection of ingredients from a cheese shop or well-stocked grocery store cheese case (and spend less doing it that way), having it show up regularly without that extra effort makes for a lovely monthly ritual.

Key Specs

• What we got: Three blocks of cheese, about six ounces each (two white cheddars—4 Alarm Cheddar and Prairie Breeze—from Iowa-based Milton Creamery and a Sicilian sheep’s milk chile pepper primo sale), as well as a box of chile and olive oil crackers, a jar of piquillo peppers, and a jar of Peruvian pepper jam
• Number of cheeses: Three, plus three specialty pairings
• Price and frequency: $85 per month, though the price goes down if you prepay for three- or six-month plans

The Best Cheese Subscription from America’s Dairyland

Wisconsin Cheese Mart Wisconsin Cheese of the Month Club

View on Wisconsincheesemart.com

What we liked: There’s a reason why Wisconsin license plates proclaim it as “America’s Dairyland” and why the state’s football fans don massive wedges of cheese on their heads. As California is to wine in the United States, so Wisconsin is to cheese. Wisconsin Cheese Mart works with small and artisan creameries across the state to curate its collections of high-quality cheese blocks for its monthly subscribers. 

Ashlee tried this box, too, receiving three cheeses. The first was a sharp Fontinella that was sweet and slightly funky. While it was tasty on its own and with crackers, it really shone as the covering for a peach-topped white pizza. The second, a mild yet flavorful Hatch chile white cheddar, had the texture of a soft Muenster cheese and would have been fantastic in mac and cheese. Lastly, a robust black truffle-specked Gouda invoked daydreams of fig jam and grilled cheese sandwiches.

While all three cheeses would have been suitable for a fun and funky cheeseboard, they were also a joy to incorporate into prepared dishes throughout the month. The printout that came with the cheeses included ideas for cooking or snacking, as well as wine and beer pairings. “This is a good box for people who want to stock their cheese drawers with selections they may not usually pick up, but are still approachable for every day,” Ashlee suggests.

What we didn’t like: The styles of cheeses that came in Ashlee’s box were more familiar than extraordinary. It’s not really a problem, but if you’re looking for more adventurous or stinky options, you may not get that as regularly with this service as you would with a broader international subscription.

Key Specs

• What we got: Three blocks of cheese (six to seven ounces each) from Wisconsin-based creameries: Stella Fontinella, Henning’s Hatch Chile Cheddar, and Cady Creek Farms Truffle Gouda
• Number of cheeses: Three
• Price and frequency: Starts at $132 for 3 months ($44 per month), though the monthly price decreases if you prepay for six-, nine-, or 12-month plans

The Best Cheese Subscription for Unique Cheeses

Cheese Grotto Monthly Cheese Subscription

View on Cheesegrotto.com

What we liked: “I felt so fancy when I opened this,” says Rochelle. The Cheese Grotto Cheese & Pairing subscription was clearly designed for the adventurous cheese lover. The box Rochelle received came with three unique cheeses, including one flavored with the Japanese seasoning blend shichimi togarashi and a buttery semi-soft German-style cheese made in Wisconsin that Rochelle thought was especially good in a grilled cheese. “I never would have tried the Urbanstead Street Ched, because I’m from Vermont and thus highly skeptical of non-local cheddar. But I loved its sweet-salty nuance and would definitely buy it again,” she says. She enthusiastically noted that the box also came with cheese paper—a breathable alternative to wax paper—that’s meant to extend the life of your cheese when wrapped. There was a generous amount and a wide variety of pairing snacks; certainly enough to host a tasting, although Rochelle ate most of them throughout the week as snacks. The package came with a QR code that brought Rochelle to an unboxing video with Jessica Sennett, the founder of Cheese Grotto.

The cost of the subscription includes express shipping, and Rochelle noted that it arrived just two days after she confirmed her order. It arrived neatly packaged with still-cool ice packs. Not a single cracker was broken in shipping.

What we didn’t like: I asked Rochelle, and she’s still trying to come up with something.

Key Specs

• What we got: Three blocks of cheese (five to seven ounces each): Widmer’s Cheese Butterkase, Urbanstead Street Ched, and Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Tomarashi. Pairing options: kalamata olive crackers, mortadella, jarred piparra peppers, garlic aioli, and Dijon mustard.
• Number of cheeses: Three
• Price and frequency: $95 per month; “Meet the Makers” subscription costs $105 per month, and a basic cheese subscription starts at $264 for three months.

FAQs

Is a cheese subscription worth it?

As with any subscription, it all depends on you, dear reader. Some may find a monthly delivery of cheese excessive, while others might revel in midnight tastings of Tomme.

What is the price range for cheese subscription boxes?

Most cheese subscription boxes range between $65 to $100 per month—they ain’t cheap! Some do offer the option of lower costs with a longer subscription, while you can also buy a one-off box (at a higher price) from some brands.

Why We’re the Experts 

• Grace Kelly is a senior editor at Serious Eats. Last year for Christmas, she gifted many cheese subscriptions to friends and family (including her very own husband—lucky guy!). 
• Rochelle Bilow is an editor at Serious Eats. She’s a former line cook and baker.
• Ashlee Redger is a writer for Serious Eats. She’s written dozens of reviews and articles for the site.