The 11 Best Subscription Services for People With Chronic Pain

Living with chronic pain can often mean it’s difficult to leave your house and do everyday activities such as grocery shopping or going to the movies that others might take for granted. That’s why subscription services can be so beneficial for those with chronic pain conditions. Whether a subscription minimizes time, money and energy spent or simply brings a spot of joy and excitement into your life each month, it can make such a huge difference to the person receiving it.

If you have a friend or loved one in your life with chronic pain and are looking for something helpful and meaningful to give them, you might consider gifting them a subscription – which, depending on the type of service, could last anywhere from a month to a year.

To help those looking to treat a friend (or themselves!), we asked our Mighty chronic pain community which subscription services they would most love to have. Of course, everyone is unique and may prefer different gifts, but hopefully the following list can help spark some gift ideas.

Here are our community’s recommendations.

1. Video Streaming Services

Living with chronic illness can mean a lot of “sick days” spent at home in bed. A subscription to a video streaming service such as Netflix, Hulu, Showtime, HBO, etc. would offer plentiful possibilities of shows and movies to keep a chronic warrior entertained (or distracted from their symptoms).

“Definitely Netflix or Hulu,” said Amber Grace.

“Hulu, Netflix, any video streaming…” added Mighty member Jessica.

Subscribe to Netflix‘s Basic Plan for $7.99/month, Standard Plan for $10.99/month, or Premium Plan for $13.99/month. (Prices go into effect after a one-month free trial. For more details about what each plan includes, head here.)

Subscribe to Hulu‘s Limited Commercials plan for $5.99/month for 12 months (after 12 months, it’s $7.99/month), No Commercials plan for $11.99/month, or Hulu With Live TV plan for $39.99/month. (The Limited Commercials and No Commercials plans offer the first month free. The Hulu With Live TV plan offers the first week free.)

2. Amazon Prime

A subscription to Amazon Prime gives you the ability to order… well, just about anything, and have it delivered to your front door in two days. Prime includes free two-day shipping, access to thousands of movies and TV shows on Prime Video, music streaming, free Kindle e-books, and more.

Terri Di Mauro wrote, “Amazon Prime all the way!

Subscribe to Amazon Prime for $39/3 months, or $119/12 months.

3. Meal Delivery

Chronic pain can make meal planning, grocery shopping and cooking difficult and taxing – not to mention painful! Meal delivery services take out the stress of planning, and may save your loved one precious time and energy by delivering perfectly-portioned amounts of fresh ingredients right to their doorstep.

“Probably a food service that has healthy prepped meals that you can just put in the oven or microwave!” suggested Jacqueline Child.

“A meal delivery service!” recommended Mighty member deener. “I have never liked cooking. Now with the pain and exhaustion it is an even worse chore, and we end up eating out in our family way more than we should. If I ever bring it up with anyone they get on my case for not making my (almost grown) boys do more. I know I should… but the fight to administer the ‘tough love’ is too much for me. I’d love food delivery.”

“Hello Fresh or grocery delivery service. I still like the idea of cooking sometimes but I also want to be able to have things that I can just grab and eat when I can’t stand the smell of cooking. And grocery can be a major obstacle,” explained Jennie Clark.

Subscribe to HelloFresh‘s Classic Plan for $7.99/serving (2 or 4 people, 2-4 recipes/week), Family Plan for $6.99/serving (4 people, 2-3 recipes/week), or Veggie Plan for $7.99/serving (2 or 4 people, 3 recipes/week). 

Subscribe to Blue Apron‘s Two-Person Plan for $9.99/serving (2-3 recipes/week) or Family Plan (serves 4) for $8.99/serving (2-4 recipes/week).

4. Pet Supplies

If your loved one has some furry friends, subscription boxes full of pet supplies can be a super fun and helpful gift. It may be difficult for those with chronic pain to go out shopping for food, treats and toys for their pets – but that doesn’t have to stop fur babies from being pampered! Some companies offer fun boxes of goodies every month, while other major pet supplies chains often have delivery and subscription options.

I love the food delivery subscription service Petco offers, because it saves me from having to go to the store and pick up a heavy and bulky bag of dog food. Plus, subscribing to this regular delivery is cheaper than buying a bag at a time from the store!

Kristen Nilsson told us, “I know someone who orders all her pet food, litter, TP, etc. on an online subscribe service. It shows up on her door step so she only has to get it inside if she’s having a bad day.”

“Cat Lady Box is fun if you’re a cat person,” added Mighty member KarenThePhotographer.

Give a Cat Lady Box gift subscription for $34.99/month (includes 2-3 items for cat ladies), or a Crazy Cat Lady Box gift subscription for $39.99/month (includes 2-3 items for cat ladies, plus 2 goodies for cats).

Give a Bark Box subscription for $35/1 month, $89/3 months, $149/6 months, or $249/12 months.

5. Cozy Comfort Items

Living with chronic pain means making yourself comfortable isn’t just a fun thing to do when you’re home on a cold day — it’s often a necessity. Cozy comfort items like fuzzy socks, pajamas or stuffed animals can help a painful day in bed feel a little more manageable.

Kim Hatfield-Patty recommended, “One that sends out different pain creams each month (or longer) along with comfort items like soft socks or clothing, pajamas!”

“Grocery, pharmacy, comfort items like lotions and soft socks,” wrote Amy Kuhn. “Generally my big problem comes from not being able to get to the store myself.” 

Subscribe to Bryt to receive a different pair of socks every month for £8/month, £24/3 months, £42/6 months, or £72/12 months.

Gift a Hygge Box subscription to receive cozy items every month, starting at $25/month for the Standard Hygge Box, and $36.50/month for the Deluxe Hygge Box. (To see what is included in each box, head here.)

6. Cleaning Services

Cleaning can be a pain – but when you live with chronic pain, it can become way more challenging (and at times, impossible). A subscription to a cleaning service could help your loved one keep up with household chores, will also ensuring they have a comfortable and clean home environment to rest in.

“Organizational help and housekeeping assistance would be my choices. The mail just seems to multiply and dust accumulates and this leads to clutter which feels overwhelming,” said Barbara Tunstall.

A food service or cleaning service,” wrote Jenny Lesogor-Coffey.

Buy a gift certificate to Molly Maid (for pricing information, request a house cleaning estimate here).

Buy a gift certificate to Merry Maids (for pricing information, get a free quote here).

7. Massage/Spa Membership

Massage sessions or days at the spa can be incredibly therapeutic for people with chronic pain – and for some, it’s an important part of their pain management plan. Buying your loved one a gift certificate or helping fund a membership to a spa may help them get some of the relief or treatment they need.

“[A] massage subscription,” said Raven Daniels.

Willow Curry wrote, “Definitely chiming in with others for the massage/salon/yoga subscriptions (maybe a magical place where they’re all together?).”

Julie Russo recommended salon or spa services, and Mighty member Audra suggested a rehabilitating massage service.

Buy a gift certificate to Massage Heights (amount can be $50, $75, $100, $180, $360, or $720).

Buy a gift certificate to Elements Massage (amount must be between $50 and $1000).

8. Clothing

When you live with chronic pain and other symptoms, going out clothes shopping can be exhausting and strenuous. Most clothing stores offer online shopping as an option, but you can also subscribe to certain companies and receive regular deliveries of clothes and accessories you love.

One of my favorite subscriptions is MeUndies. They offer underwear, bras, socks and loungewear for both men and women, and the fabric is incredibly comfortable. I love the fun colors and patterns, and always look forward to receiving my delivery every month! Plus it saves me a trip to the store (which can cost a lot of spoons!).

“There’s Stitch Fix which is great if you can’t get out to buy clothing yourself,” KarenThePhotographer told us.

Buy a gift card for Stitch Fix (the price of each “Fix” varies based on the price of the clothing, and how many articles are kept).

Sign up for a MeUndies membership (Men’s Undies are $16/month, Women’s Undies are $14/month, and Socks are $8/month).

9. Reading Material

Does your friend have literary leanings? If so, they might love a subscription that delivers them regular reading material – be it books, newspapers, magazines, journals, e-books or audiobooks.

“I need my news and reads so I’d add in the New York Times, the New Yorker, and Audm and/or Audible!” wrote Willow Curry.

Gift a subscription to the New Yorker‘s print edition for $109.99/year, digital edition for $89.99/year, or print and digital editions for $119.99/year.

Gift an Audible membership for $15/1 month, $45/3 months, $90/6 months, or $150/12 months.

Gift a Book of the Month subscription for $44.99/3 months, $79.99/6 months, or $149.99/12 months (giftee can choose one book out of five new options every month).

10. Snacks and Goodies

Having some snacks around the house to munch on can be super helpful for those with chronic pain on days when they’re perhaps unable to go out for food or do much cooking. There are a variety of snack subscriptions available, depending on the recipient’s preferences and dietary restrictions.

“Maybe include a heathy alternative snack item,” suggested Kim Hatfield-Patty.

“I have a subscription to get international snacks,” Brenda Howard told us. “I love getting them in the mail once a month. It’s a fun way of getting to experience some different cultures from the comfort of my own home.”

Gift a six-month UrthBox subscription for $149.99 for size small (12+ snacks in each box), $209.99 for size medium (18+ snacks in each box), and $269.99 for size large (25+ snacks in each box). A three-month subscription is also available.

Gift a Universal Yums! subscription, starting at $14/box for the Yum Box (6+ snacks), $25/box for the Yum Yum Box (12+ snacks), and $39/box for the Super Yum Box (20+ snacks).

11. Beauty and Personal Care Products

Even if you don’t have plans to leave the house anytime soon, sometimes it just feels good to get done and be pampered. There are a number of subscription services for beauty, bath and personal care products that can be tailored to your loved one’s specific needs. Whether your friend is looking for new makeup to experiment with or some scent-free lotion to massage into aching muscles, a subscription for beauty products might be fun and greatly appreciated.

Kim Hatfield-Patty told us, “Maybe a pamper item like lotion or face cream, nail polish, etc.”

“Ipsy and Boxycharm are great if you like makeup,” recommended KarenThePhotographer.

Subscribe to Ipsy for $10/month or $110/year.

Subscribe to LUSH (pricing depends on which products you subscribe to receive regularly).