The 8 best online flower delivery services we tested for Valentine’s Day

Shop all bouquets from Farmgirl Flowers

Pros: Whimsical, in-season blooms; each bouquet is unique; moderately priced; offers some rare flowers; some florals are grown in the US 

Cons: Surprise bouquets are not ideal if you have specific flowers you want to include or avoid; some customers report wilting or short-lived blooms

If you’re after an arrangement that looks like it was recently plucked from the garden, Farmgirl Flowers offers inventive and playful bouquets based on what’s in season. Farmgirl’s flagship offerings are the Fun Size, Just Right, and Big Love bouquets (formerly Mini, Midi, and Maxi). You don’t get to choose what you receive; instead, Farmgirl puts together a bouquet based on what’s available and in season. The company’s website and social media give you an idea of what to expect, but every bouquet is slightly different, giving it a special, unique feel. 

We received a Just Right and a Big Love, as well as another Just Right sent to a tester in California. We loved that the arrangements had a whimsical, wild shape to them, and they were gorgeous from every angle. The Just Right and Big Love both appeared the same size when we first received them, but after a few hours in water, the Big Love’s closed buds opened up to create a fuller bouquet. 

If you want your bouquet to include (or avoid) certain flowers, Farmgirl also offers a few dozen specialty bouquets, including some rare blooms like flower breeder David Austin’s Patience roses.

Worth a look:

Shop all flowers on Floracracy

Pros: Completely customizable arrangements, online tool helps you choose the right arrangement, beautiful packaging, thoughtful extras like a petal pressing book and mini shears, letter writing service

Cons: Online tool can be a bit tricky to navigate, lots of packaging (though most options are compostable or recyclable), few budget options

If you really want to wow your giftee with something special, a custom arrangement from Floracracy is perhaps the most personal flower gift you can buy. Every aspect of the design can be customized, from the shape and the colors to the blooms.

If you’re not sure where to start, the company’s design tool walks you through a quiz that lets you select the intended recipient, occasion, and meaning you wish to convey to make a recommendation. Each flower is paired with a meaning from the company’s thorough research of historical flower symbolism. You’re also given the option to write a letter yourself or have the company write one for you based on the information you provide.

The arrangements we received from Floracracy were the lushest and most vibrant we’ve ever seen from a flower delivery service. Each arrangement comes with a coordinating vase, a handbound book for pressing petals, and an illustrated card with each of the flowers and their meaning. Our blooms lasted almost three weeks — longer than any other arrangement. While this service is pricier and requires some of your time to design, it makes for a truly meaningful and memorable flower gift. 

Read our full review of Floracracy here.

Worth a look:

Shop all flowers from FTD

Pros: Orders filled by local florists; a large selection of bouquets, plants, and gifts

Cons: Experience can vary based on which florist fills your order, designs are more traditional and less modern

When you need to send flowers fast, a floral wire service is your best option. Florists’ Transworld Delivery Service (FTD) has been in the flower delivery business for more than 100 years and partners with local florists to fulfill and deliver orders in all 50 states and more than 150 countries. In many cases, you’ll also have the option of same-day delivery. The arrangements lean toward more traditional colors and flowers instead of more modern or unique designs.

Compared to other similar floral wire services, we had a better experience with FTD. The bouquets and plants we received were fuller, fresher, and in better condition than blooms from 1-800-Flowers. Of course, since orders are typically filled by local florists, your experience may vary depending on who ultimately fills your order.

If you need to send flowers quickly, internationally, or to hard-to-reach places, FTD is the best same-day service we’ve found.

Read our full review of FTD.

Worth a look:

Shop all flower subscriptions on BloomsyBox

Pros: Multiple weekly and monthly plans to choose from, offers month-to-month and prepaid plans, bouquets are gorgeous, a la carte bouquets and plants available

Cons: Don’t get to choose which flowers are in your bouquet, which might not be a good option for those with allergies or pets

Flower subscriptions are a great way to brighten someone’s day on a more frequent basis — or to liven up your own home with regularly-scheduled blooms. BloomsyBox offers a robust fleet of weekly and monthly subscription options at reasonable prices. You can pay month-to-month or save a few dollars by prepaying for 3-, 6-, or 12-month subscriptions. While the retailer also sells a la carte bouquets and plants, we think its subscriptions offer the best value.

We tried BloomsyBox’s priciest subscription: Its NYBG Collection. Each bouquet in the subscription is curated by the New York Botanical Garden’s floral experts and features blooms that are in season. A portion of the subscription goes to supporting the NYBG’s plant science and conservation efforts.

We highly recommend BloomsyBox’s subscriptions to anyone looking for a bit of floral cheer on a regular basis. It’s a nice treat each month to get an e-mail saying a new bouquet is on the way. 

Worth a look:

Shop all preserved flowers on RoseBox

Pros: More than 20 rose color options, many container types, smell and look like fresh roses, can last a year or longer with proper care

Cons: Don’t have the same feel as real roses

If you’ve been on Instagram lately, chances are you’ve seen these trendy preserved roses somewhere on your feed. Usually packed into boxes or displayed in a classic ball arrangement, these flowers are incredibly popular with influencers and celebrities. 

We tested three preserved rose brands and found the quality very similar. Ultimately, we chose RoseBox as the best preserved roses for its diverse range of color and display options. We particularly liked that its plentiful display containers had discreet branding or none at all, unlike other preserved rose brands that their cover containers (which can’t be separated from the flowers) with logos.  

Almost all of RoseBox’s 90+ products can be customized with 21 or more different rose color options. One of our testers opted for turquoise, while others chose more classic red and pink varieties. 

Preserved roses are expensive, no matter what brand you choose. A single preserved rose will cost you anywhere from $44 to $89, which is the same price as a full-sized bouquet from most of our other top picks. Expect a medium-sized array of preserved roses to cost about $300. That said, they can end up being an economical alternative to buying flowers every week. We’re eager to see if our arrangements live up to their purported longevity.

Worth a look:

Shop all roses on Roses Only

Pros: Stunning roses; beautiful presentation; long-lasting flowers; available in quantities from six to 100

Cons: Limited product and color choices.

Roses are such a big seller that we made sure every arrangement we received as part of this guide included at least some of them. Having seen the spectrum of what’s out there, we can confidently say that Roses Only delivers the most pristine, long-lasting roses we’ve found.

So much care is put into the delivery: The cartoonishly perfect long-stemmed roses (which you can order in quantities of 6-100) come packaged in a long, elegant box with a linen ribbon, and every rose has its own water reservoir to ensure it arrives pristine. The roses themselves are flawless, with big velvety petals. They lasted about two weeks and gradually opened up until each bud was about palm-sized.

At about $8 per flower, Roses Only sells some of the most expensive roses out there, but if it’s just fresh roses you’re after, no flower delivery service does it better.

Worth a look:

Shop all dried flowers at East Olivia

Pros: Unique and inventive designs, each arrangement comes with a coordinating vase, options change seasonally, arrangements can last a year or longer with proper care

Cons: Order processing can take up to five business days, limited edition collections can sell out quickly

No matter how pretty the bouquet, fresh flowers will all eventually wilt. Dried bouquets are a good solution for those who love the look of florals but hate the upkeep. Some of the most creative and beautiful preserved arrangements we’ve seen come from East Olivia.

The offerings change seasonally, but at the time of our testing, the brand featured a winter collection and Valentine’s Day collection, both featuring ornamental grasses and filler flowers dyed dreamy pastel colors. Each bouquet comes fully arranged and delicately packaged with its own matching ceramic vase. We love knowing that we’ll get many, many months of enjoyment out of these.

The fact that East Olivia’s collections change with the season makes each arrangement feel special. Order processing can take up to five business days, so you’ll want to plan ahead if you plan on gifting one of these dried arrangements, especially considering the limited edition collections can sell out quickly.

Worth a look:

To find the best flower delivery service, we conducted hands-on testing of every brand in this guide. We ordered two to three arrangements from each brand, evaluating the selection, ordering, and delivery process. We sent bouquets to testers in different parts of the country — including New York City, Boston, Los Angeles, Seattle, rural Colorado, and suburban Connecticut — to see if quality and delivery time varied based on location. In all, we tested 39 bouquets from 16 brands.

Here’s what we looked for in the best flower delivery service:

Ordering: We scrutinized the ordering process of each service, noting whether the website was simple to navigate, what the product selection was like, and how easy it was to place an order. We also looked at shipping options and estimated delivery times.

Delivery: We noted whether the arrangements arrived when they said they would (all did), evaluated packaging, and looked at the condition of the flowers when they first arrived. Testers across the country compared notes; we found delivery times and quality consistent across the country.

Quality of flowers: We looked for full bouquets of lively-looking flowers that matched the description and photo of the arrangement we ordered online. We read all care instructions and followed them meticulously, noting how long the flowers remained fresh enough to display. 

Consistency: A good flower service should deliver quality blooms no matter the location of your recipient. Our testers across the country took photos and detailed notes about delivery and bouquet quality to compare experiences.