Updated on Mar. 05, 2025
Wondering what the difference is between UrbanStems vs Bouqs? We reviewed both flower delivery services to help you make the best decision, whether buying flowers for a special occasion or just for fun.
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Online flower delivery has exploded, giving you several choices for treating yourself—or a loved one—to stunning arrangements no matter the occasion. But with so many options available, it begs the question: Where’s the best place to buy flowers online?
Below, our UrbanStems review and Bouqs review shed some light on the two services to help you choose the best option for sending flowers for every special occasion.
UrbanStems is the definition of modern flower delivery. Whether you’re shopping for birthday gifts or “thinking of you” gifts, you can easily find curated arrangements for any occasion. The Bouqs Co. delivers responsibly sourced, farm-fresh flowers straight to your door, cutting out middlemen and unnecessary handling along the way. Similar to UrbanStems, it’s easy to shop by occasion, flower type, color or speed, like if you need same or next-day delivery.
While both services offer a seamless approach to online flower delivery, UrbanStems and Bouqs are unique in their own way. Bouqs will often send their flowers in bud form so users can watch them grow over a period of a few weeks. On the other hand, UrbanStems ships their flowers partially to fully bloomed, which decreases their longevity in the home but are immediately display-worthy. Both services offer flower subscriptions to keep the blooms coming at a discounted rate.
One of our favorite arrangements from UrbanStems, The Juliet, is perfect for spring and summer gifting. It’s bright and colorful with bold orange roses. “The Juliet is reminiscent of a sunbeam and looks stunning on a kitchen island or table,” says shopping editor Mary Henn. “I ordered the double bunch and split them between two vases. I loved the way they immediately brightened the room.”
You can enhance the arrangement by adding extras like chocolates or a vase, too.
If you prefer potted plants to bouquets, The Orchid Garden includes multiple vibrant orchids in a boat pot. You can add extras to plants, too. A few other add-ons from UrbanStems include a card, candle or lotion bar.
Thinking along the lines of spring and summer floral arrangements, the Wildflower from Bouqs is a warm, charming bouquet of chrysanthemums, snapdragons, sword ferns and more. Plus, you can order a rustic glass vase to go with it. Like The Juliet above, you can order the Wildflower in three different sizes.
Bouqs also offers a variety of giftable plants, too. This perfectly lush Gardenia Blossom arrives in a white, textured ceramic pot and gives off a lovely fragrance when in bloom.
Unlike the UrbanStems selections above, you won’t be able to add on extra gift items. However, Bouqs does offer a few pre-made gift packages with flowers and things like chocolate and candles.
There are two primary differences between UrbanStems and Bouqs’s delivery experience. The first is that UrbanStems uses aesthetically pleasing pink packaging, which is ideal for gifting or Valentine’s Day. Meanwhile, Bouqs has simple and straightforward cardboard packaging that is more durable and functional.
The second is that Bouqs often sends flowers in bud form, while UrbanStems ships their flowers partially to fully bloomed.
When it comes to price, Bouqs is noted for being more budget-friendly than UrbanStems, especially when it comes to larger subscriptions or bouquets. Bouqs also lists specific details regarding the number of stems in each bouquet, which UrbanStems does not. However, UrbanStems definitely gives you more bang for your buck since their arrangements are much more textured and curated than Bouqs. You can also add giftable extras to UrbanStem arrangements, which we appreciate.
Now that you know some key differences, UrbanStems and Bouqs are similar in a few ways. Both services offer flower subscriptions to keep the blooms coming at a discounted rate, and each brand offers floral arrangements in three sizes: single, double and triple bouquets.
Both brands offer a variety of floral arrangements, potted plants and gift packages for added personalization.
To put UrbanStems and Bouqs to the test, we chose three expert product testers, including myself, to evaluate and rate flowers based on online ordering experience, packaging and delivery, assembly and arranging, freshness over 10 days and overall value. We tested three separate bouquets from each brand.
We tested the Grower’s Choice Peonies, The Parade and The Juliet from UrbanStems—all in the “double the stems” size. The Parade boasts sunflowers, snapdragons and roses, while The Juliet features delphinium, lisianthus, roses and asters.
From Bouqs, we ordered: the Farmer’s Choice Peonies (one size available), the Rose Gold bouquet in deluxe and the Dream Date arrangement (one size available). The Rose Gold bouquet features an array of sunflower, peach carnations and roses while the Dream Date features a mix of pink roses, poppies and stargazer lilies. Note: the peony and Rose Gold bouquets are in-season arrangements only available for a limited time during the year.
Unlike traditional flower deliveries from a local florist that arrive pre-arranged in a vase, UrbanStems has a fun DIY component. Flowers arrive arranged and wrapped in a protective covering inside a cardboard box. Vases cost extra. If ordered, the vase arrives in the same cardboard box as the flowers to reduce extra packaging. Flower food and care instructions are also included, so you’re not left in the dark about how to care for your arrangement.
Only one tester received a knock at their door when their UrbanStems flowers arrived. The other two deliveries were left on the porch. The testers were notified to get them inside immediately when they were dropped off.
Our Bouqs flowers arrived in mid-December. The bouquets were carefully packaged inside a cardboard box. Just like UrbanStems, this delivery style is standard. Half the fun is getting to arrange the flowers yourself. The flowers include food, care instructions and a vase for an extra fee.
All three bouquets arrived wrapped with a plastic covering. I was a little disappointed the peonies weren’t wrapped in cardboard paper like they were with UrbanStems. The flower boxes weren’t directly handed to us but left on the porch or in a mail room. One tester notes, “Frankly, I’m not sure my rose gold bouquet was wrapped well enough to survive any time on the porch.” Nevertheless, we were able to unbox the flowers a few hours after they arrived.
Since we tested the “double the stems” size from UrbanStems, we received two individually wrapped bouquets (versus one) inside the same cardboard box. Delicate blooms, like the sunflowers, had protective wraps. Wrapping peonies in cardboard paper or newspaper is recommended for optimal freshness, which is exactly how they arrive wrapped inside the cardboard box. We were surprised there weren’t moist towels or water to keep the other two bouquets fresh in transit. And one of the vases was broken, which was extremely disappointing considering the extra cost.
Now, we’ll be honest: Arranging UrbanStems flowers is a bit of a craft project—but it’s worth it. (Pro tip: try the viral tape trick.) Trimming the stems and removing leaves and thorns before you arrange is essential. The thorns on the roses were not removed before shipping, requiring extra care on our end.
The rose gold and dream date bouquets from Bouqs featured roses. These blooms were thorn-free, which was impressive. Additionally, some leaves on all three bouquets required removal, and the stems needed trimming before plopping in a vase with a flower food mixture.
Overall, our Bouqs arrangements appeared more “neat” upon arrival than Urban Stems. Minimal leaf removal was required. The peonies, however, didn’t boast a tri-color assortment like the UrbanStems peonies. This bouquet included a mixture of light pink and white peonies only.
The Parade and The Juliet bouquets from UrbanStems looked a little dry straight out of the box, but they quickly perked up after plopping in a flower food mixture. The peonies were moist and closed upon delivery, offering several days of enjoyment as they blossomed. Flowers were at their peak by day three and started to turn by day nine. Some of the blooms went faster than the rest, including the sunflowers and delphinium. A few of the peonies never opened, but the ones that did blossom offered an incredible, perfumey aroma.
We were also impressed by the color variety of the peonies, including white, light pink and hot pink. For bountiful arrangements that last more than one week, UrbanStems is an impressive option. The blooms and stems are more diverse than what you can come by at the grocery store. Plus, it’s fun and easy to shop from their large inventory of farm fresh flowers.
Once the flowers from Bouqs were arranged, their overall look—and smell—was impressive. For the most part, the beauty of the pictures online translated in real life, although we would’ve liked to see a few more sunflowers in the Rose Gold bouquet. Sunflowers are listed first in this arrangement, so the name is a bit misleading. The peonies bloomed within a day or two, but some white petals began to wilt faster than the light pink blooms.
All three testers agreed that their arrangements looked better on day three than when they arrived. This allowed for several days of enjoyment and showing off to friends and family. Despite some poppy petals wilting and a couple of peony buds not blooming, our bouquets stayed in beautiful condition until day 10 of testing.
After reviewing both UrbanStems and Bouqs, we can confidently say you can’t go wrong with either service. Both services provide reliable, fresh flowers picked straight from sustainable farms. This ensures longer-lasting arrangements, so you (or a loved one) can enjoy beautiful bouquets for over a week. For peonies, however, we were more impressed by the color assortment and overall freshness of UrbanStems vs Bouqs.
Additionally, the following factors may help guide your decision-making. When shopping on The Bouqs website, we noticed delivery dates fill up fast. We recommend scheduling flower delivery several weeks before the actual date—specifically for popular occasions like Valentine’s Day. If sending flowers last minute, limited bouquets are available, but there are still a handful of wonderful arrangements. The Bouqs delivery fee is more expensive than UrbanStems. We appreciate that UrbanStems calculates the delivery fee before entering the shipping information, providing a transparent picture from the start.
As for overall look and freshness? Compared to Bouqs, the UrbanStems flowers are not as “neat.” They made more of a mess and required more stem and leaf trimming. We also found the Bouqs online picture to be more accurate. The UrbanStems bouquets included many more greens (aka filler) than pictured. Remember that giftees will need to prep the flowers once their blooms arrive, which may not be your best bet for sending them as a sympathy gift.
Overall, the value and price of UrbanStems and Bouqs are somewhat comparable to ordering flowers from a local florist. They’re reliable destinations for long-lasting, bountiful arrangements whether you’re hosting a dinner party or want to put a smile on a loved one’s face.
UrbanStems works directly with their Rainforest Alliance Certified farms. This ensures only the freshest stems and blooms are picked daily, making this flower delivery service a trustworthy destination to order flowers online.
Whether you’re scheduling a special delivery or need next-day delivery, UrbanStems offers a variety of delivery dates to accommodate most shipments.
Flowers arrive wrapped in a protective covering inside a cardboard box with care instructions and flower food. Bouquets are pre-arranged, but it’s necessary to remove excess leaves and trim the stems before placing them in a vase with water and flower food.
Bouqs’ founder and CEO, John Tabis, appeared on Shark Tank in 2014, but he didn’t walk away with an offer. The business still blossomed and is one of the top four most successful businesses on Shark Tank’s top 15 list by lifetime sales.
According to our Bouqs review, flowers last more than one week. While some blooms were on their way out by day nine, the bouquet remained in beautiful condition for almost two whole weeks.
Bouqs flowers arrive wrapped in a protective covering inside a cardboard box, along with two food flower packets. Remove excess leaves and trim the stems of the pre-arranged bouquet before placing it in a vase with flower food.
Madi Koetting is a pioneer of Taste Recipes‘s social media and editorial team. She has hands-on experience testing and reviewing top products and subscriptions for Reader’s Digest, The Everygirl, Stylecaster, Family Handyman and more. During her time with these publications, she has reviewed many subscriptions, including the best flower delivery services. Her extensive experience makes her an excellent candidate to compare UrbanStems and The Bouqs.
Alexandra Mantella, Content Updates Editor at Taste Recipes, updated and contributed research to this piece. She has over five years of experience in product testing, research and commerce writing. Previously, she served as a commerce content update editor at Bob Vila.
