I’ve been on a quest to find the ultimate floral delivery service. I have a few family members and friends that I like to send flowers to on occasion, and it’s something I’d like to make more of a habit of. I like gifts that feel special, don’t require maintenance, won’t end up as clutter, and that people won’t readily buy for themselves—flowers check all of the boxes. I recently ordered flowers from UrbanStems and The Bouqs Co, two boutique flower delivery services, to see how they stacked up.
Long Story Short?
I preferred the quality, longevity, and look of the arrangements from UrbanStems. Their bouquets feel a bit more fresh (pun intended) and modern than the ones from The Bouqs Co. I also had some issues with the flowers in my Bouqs arrangement not all reaching their peak at the same time.
That being said, both companies offer similar pricing and delivery, so the one that you prefer might just boil down to the style of arrangement you’re looking for. The one thing that I think Bouqs does better than UrbanStems is their event flowers—so definitely check them out if that’s something you’re interested in.
UrbanStems vs. Bouqs: Head to Head
Flower Selection: UrbanStems Wins
Both UrbanStems and Bouqs offer a variety of floral arrangements along with a smaller selection of house plants and gift items. The Bouqs Co has a slightly larger collection, though I prefer the variety of arrangements that UrbanStems offers. I also just prefer the arrangements themselves. They tend to be more modern, asymmetrical, and artistic looking with a ton of texture, whereas the Bouqs arrangements are more classic—tight bundles of roses, monochromatic arrangements, and things like that.
Obviously, this is a matter of personal preference, and I don’t dislike the arrangements from Bouqs. My favorites have succulents in them that can be planted once the rest of the bouquet has wilted, which I think is a pretty great idea. They also have a handful of dried flower arrangements that would be great if you’re looking for something that lasts longer than fresh flowers.
Here are a few of my favorite UrbanStems arrangements:
The Unicorn
The Margot
The Flutter
The Parasol
And a few of my favorite arrangements from The Bouqs Co:
Wild About U
Lemonade
Sweet Tea
Exuberance
Selection Beyond the Arrangements: Tie
When I first reviewed them, one of the things I said I’d like to see more of at UrbanStems was a larger selection of gift items. Well, Bouqs has even fewer. Both do have some chocolates, candles, vases, etc. that come with select arrangements, but there aren’t many of them. UrbanStems gives you a short list of gift items you can add to your order when you purchase a bouquet, whereas The Bouqs Co lists their flower/gift bundles as separate items (though I was given the option to add a $28 “birthday in a bag” to my order when I checked out).
That being said, I think Bouqs has a slightly better houseplant selection. They have more than double the offerings of UrbanStems. I also don’t love that five of the ten plants UrbanStems currently has listed are orchids. (I have nothing against orchids—I would just prefer to send a plant that won’t drop its flowers within a week, leaving the recipient with a few leaves and a bare vine for the rest of eternity).
Event Flowers: The Bouqs Co Wins
One of the things that makes The Bouqs Co stand out is that they have a selection of special occasion flowers, which UrbanStems doesn’t carry. They have larger “Party Boxes” of 120 mixed (but coordinated) stems so that you can make your own arrangements (or one giant one…don’t tell me you wouldn’t be tempted).
They also have several options for wedding flowers—you can buy bouquets, boutonnieres, corsages, centerpieces, flower crowns, and ceremony flowers directly on their site. They come in a handful of different popular wedding combinations that are neutral enough to work with a variety of themes (and some cities have a larger selection available than the nationwide offerings). It feels like a good middle-ground between DIYing all of your florals and blowing a huge chunk of your budget on a professional florist.
The Bouqs Co also offers full-service wedding flowers in New York and a handful of cities in California. You can get in touch with them through their site for a consultation.
Prices: UrbanStems Wins (extra points for transparency)
For the most part, UrbanStems and The Bouqs Co have pretty similar pricing structures. Bouqs has a few less expensive arrangements than UrbanStems, but they’re also smaller than any of the arrangements UrbanStems carries. Both companies offer better pricing than a lot of the other “boutique” flower delivery services and comparable pricing to the big names.
One of my favorite things about UrbanStems is that they don’t do the “bait-and-switch” with the prices on their website the way a lot of other companies (including The Bouqs Co) do. They list the price of the exact arrangement pictured rather than pairing the price for the smallest-sized arrangement with a picture of a larger size on their homepage.
Subscriptions: The Bouqs Co Wins
Both companies offer flower subscription services, but Bouqs’ are a bit more customizable. They come in three sizes, and you can choose weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, or bi-monthly delivery. You can pick the flowers each month (or whatever frequency you choose), or you can opt for a “set it and forget it” approach where Bouqs will select and send a new arrangement for each delivery. They also offer three-month subscriptions, which seem like a great idea for a gift that you won’t have to remember to cancel before it renews.
Urban Stems also does subscriptions, but they only offer three types (classic, seasonal, and luxe) with weekly, biweekly, and monthly delivery.
Shipping and Delivery: Tie
Both companies ship nationwide and offer limited same-day and next-day delivery. You may have trouble getting something shipped within 24 hours if you’re not in a major metro area (I did) but both have a lot of variety available with two-day shipping.
Both arrangements arrived in sturdy, well-marked cardboard boxes and were securely zip-tied in place. UrbanStems maybe gets half a point for having slightly flashier branded packaging, but at the end of the day I don’t think that made a difference.
Bouqs
Bouqs
Bouqs
UrbanStems
UrbanStems
UrbanStems
Quality and Longevity: UrbanStems
For both arrangements: I unboxed them immediately when they arrived, trimmed the stems at a 45-degree angle, and put them in water with the included packet of plant food.
I’m not going to sugarcoat it: I was a bit disappointed in the quality of the bouquet I received from The Bouqs Co. When I got my order, the majority of the flowers were still in bud form. That wasn’t really the problem, though. Bouqs does this intentionally so that you get to enjoy your flowers at their peak. According to their website, the flowers should fully open in two to three days. The problem was that some of the accent flowers were already looking about a day or so past their prime. They weren’t brown or anything, but they were already starting to wilt.
My arrangement was mostly closed buds when it arrived
The accent flowers were open but already looking a little deflated
The full bouquet on day one
After about two days, a lot of the alstroemeria buds opened up, but by then, the accent flowers were starting to brown a bit and look pretty deflated. The arrangement still looked pretty—the alstroemeria were gorgeous (honestly, especially because some of them were in different stages of opening), the eucalyptus smelled really nice, and the little succulent looked perfect. I get that shipping flowers in the middle of winter isn’t always an exact science, but I did feel like I didn’t get to fully enjoy the arrangement to its full potential.
My Bouqs Bouquet after two days
Some of the flowers were beginning to brown
On the other hand, my arrangement from UrbanStems was pretty much at its peak when I received it (It was a little thirsty but rehydrated and relaxed after a night in water) and it somehow lasted longer than the Bouqs arrangement. After several days, I started noticing the tiniest bit of brown on the edges of some of the white roses, but other than that everything was perfect.
My UrbanStems bouquet on day one
And after a few days
My Verdict?
At the end of the day, it came down to the arrangements, and I just really liked the look of the ones from UrbanStems more. They look more elegant and expensive than the ones from The Bouqs Co. UrbanStems also earned massive points for how much longer they lasted compared to Bouqs, and when comparing similarly priced arrangements from companies that offer a lot of the same stuff, those are kind of the most important things.
Lauren is also a bona fide mixologist, bringing her professional bartending skills to the table as one of our resident drink testers. In Lauren's world, life is a celebration, and her home is the party hub.