CookUnity alternative
CookUnity ships a box. We send a chef who learns your kitchen.
4.9 ★ · 35K+ dinners cooked
Two ways to handle dinner
CookUnity ships chef-made meals from regional kitchens to most of the US. Real chefs, fresh not frozen, around $10 to $12 a meal. If you want the lowest price and the widest menu, it is a strong pick. Livin is different. A chef cooks for your household, dishes are customizable, and every plate carries USDA-verified nutrition data instead of estimates. One is meals in a box. The other is a chef who knows your kitchen.
Who's cooking
- Model
- A chef cooks for your household
- CookUnity: Chef-made meals shipped from regional kitchens
- How it changes
- Sharper every week from your feedback
- CookUnity: Same box logic week to week
What you eat
- Freshness
- Cooked local, eaten fresh
- CookUnity: Fresh, shipped, 4 to 7 day fridge life
- Variety
- Hundreds of dishes, menus that learn your taste
- CookUnity: 300+ dishes, 70+ chefs, rotates weekly
- Nutrition data
- USDA-verified per dish
- CookUnity: Chef-estimated on the label
What it asks of you
- Customization
- Adjust a dish, or request one you do not see
- CookUnity: Eat the dish as built
- Coverage
- Livin service markets
- CookUnity: Most US metros, not all states
What it costs
- Per plate
- Around $25 a plate.
- CookUnity: $10 to $12 a meal Free shipping at 6+ meals
CookUnity details verified June 2026.
Now, the easiest part of your day: dinner.
Fresh, not frozen.
Your chef shops for fresh ingredients, with your household's preferences and needs as their guide.
Cooked in your kitchen.
No commissary. No ghost kitchen. No meal kit box. Your stove, your standards, your table.
This month, your chef is making
Real dishes from the current menu. Customizable, with USDA-verified nutrition on every plate.
“For the first Sunday in like a year, I don't feel exhausted. I actually went outside and played with my boys. It was awesome! This is truly the best thing I've spent money on in a long time! Best. Service. Ever!”
— Crystal, Executive and Mom of Twins, partner_kids
Be honest with yourself
Stay with CookUnity if
You want the lowest price per meal, the widest possible menu, you live outside a Livin market, or you never want to coordinate with a person. CookUnity does shipped-at-scale well, and for that brief it is a strong pick.
Switch to Livin if
You want a chef who adjusts dishes to your household, nutrition numbers that are verified instead of estimated, and fresh-cooked-local over fresh-shipped. You would rather have a match that sharpens every week than a subscription box that stays the same.
It gets better every week
A box is the same on week one and week fifty. Livin learns. You give feedback, your profile updates, next week is sharper. Same chef or a new one.
- 01
We learn your household.
Allergies, picky eaters, the way your Tuesdays go. We build your profile before anyone steps in your kitchen.
- 02
We propose your menu
Each week, dinners built for your household. Keep what we send, swap a dish, or send us a request.
- 03
Your chef handles the kitchen
Shopping, cooking, cleanup. Plus heating notes so the rest of the week is easy.
- 04
We keep tuning
You give feedback. We update your profile. Sometimes a new dish. Sometimes a new chef. Either way, next week is sharper.
Who's behind it
“I built Livin so dinner could feel like an actual part of life again, not a thing to survive.”
Erica
Founder of Livin
A chef who learns your household. Not a box from a menu.
Get StartedFrequently asked questions
Livin is the alternative for people who want a personal chef instead of a shipped box. A chef cooks for your household, adjusts dishes to your taste, and every plate carries USDA-verified nutrition data. CookUnity ships chef-made meals from regional kitchens. Livin cooks them for your home.
Cooked for your household. Not shipped from a warehouse.
Cooked for your household. Not shipped from a warehouse.