We love that Bake Me a Wish was founded by a guy who wanted to send a birthday cake to his mother. It earns the best overall rating for its large selection, ease of ordering, and reasonable shipping costs. Among selections such as strawberry funfetti cake, golden fudge celebration cake, and rainbow cake, you will find the perfect flavor for whoever is celebrating. It’s a premier nationwide bakery for gourmet birthday cakes, made fresh with high-quality ingredients.

If you are throwing a birthday bash, Bake Me a Wish offers cakes with personalized birthday messages. The company also makes bakery towers that include cookies, cupcakes, brownies, and other goodies. Presentation is fun and festive, too: Every birthday cake comes in a colorful gift box with a personalized birthday card.

For extra savings, you can check out the company’s daily deals and sign up for its loyalty program to get rewards and discount codes. Bake Me a Wish also has certified kosher cakes and some gluten-free options. Cakes ship overnight, and there’s no minimum order requirement. 

Starting Price: $48 | Products Arrive: Fresh | Free Shipping: No | Delivery Areas: 50 states 

Goldbelly is the go-to for your friend or family member who fell in love with a specific cake from a famous bakery while traveling, and must now have it for their own. It’s also where you order iconic foods and baked goods from well-known food brands, chefs, and bakeries. 

Goldbelly carries cakes from Ovenly, Carlo’s, Gambino’s, Carousel, We Take the Cake, and Caroline’s, among others. Many bakeries, such as Red Truck, sell exclusively online through Goldbelly. It’s also a great option for anyone who has special dietary needs, whether it’s vegan, paleo, gluten-free, or kosher. The variety is pretty wide, from rainbow and red velvet cakes to myriad chocolate cakes. You can also apply filters and search by criteria such as free shipping, fast shipping, and award winners. 

Starting Price: $48 | Products Arrive: Fresh or frozen | Free Shipping: Varies | Delivery Areas: 50 states

Milk Bar is known for its “naked” cakes. In other words, they look a bit underdressed, with just a thin coating of frosting around the exterior rather than a traditional thick layer. Founded by James Beard Award-winning pastry chef Christina Tosi, Milk Bar’s festive cakes come in three different regular flavors (birthday cake, gluten-free birthday cake, and chocolate birthday cake), a limited-time flavor, and two sizes (a 6-inch or 10-inch round 3-layer cake). 

There may not be a ton of flavors or sizes available, and the price may be steeper than others, but what Milk Bar lacks in range it makes up for in depth of flavor. A lot of research went into the “birthday cake” flavor, which is basically a homemade funfetti cake, and it’s the most festive birthday cake on our list, hands down. We also like that Milk Bar offers birthday cake truffles, which come in a box of 12 and are rolled in a thin layer of white chocolate. 

Shipping isn’t free, but Milk Bar’s website will likely show a pop-up ad for a discount on your order, which might help tip the scales in favor of ordering. 

Starting Price: $62 | Products Arrive: Frozen or partially thawed | Free Shipping: No | Delivery Areas: 48 states

Caroline’s Cakes stands as a nut-free bakery, working very closely with vendors to avoid any cross-contamination within its operations. Keep in mind, however, that the bakery is not always able to determine how a vendor may store ingredients. Caroline’s Cakes also offers gluten-free options and has a toll-free number available for any questions about allergies. 

There are 10 different whimsical options for birthday cakes, each with an exterior coated in rainbow sprinkles. The company is especially known for its multilayered cakes, which include a four-layer cake in vanilla or chocolate, a seven-layer rainbow cake, a caramel cake, and a Southern chocolate cake. But that’s just the birthday cake section—you can order other options from the website, such as strawberry cakes, coconut cakes, lemon cakes, and caramel cakes. If you can’t decide which flavor you want—or if you have two favorites—check out the “half cakes” option, which allows you to combine two different flavors into one cake.

Each 9-inch round cake serves between 14 and 20 people, depending on its richness. For an extra fee, you can add a set of polka dot plates, tableware, and candles that spell out “Happy Birthday,” or a bag of multicolored birthday sprinkles.

Starting Price: $80 | Products Arrive: Frozen | Free Shipping: No | Delivery Areas: 48 states

Carousel is kind of a media darling when it comes to chocolate cakes! The company ships nationally via Goldbelly. Opt for the Chocolate Outrage, a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting, or the Chocolate Chocolate Chip Layer Cake with fudge and chocolate chips. For a silkier cake, the Chocolate Mousse Supreme is another great option. One thing we don’t love? You can’t customize them.

Fun fact: Carousel has been in business since 1965 and makes the famous Oprah Red Velvet cake. You can also order assorted cupcakes if you need more than one kind of chocolate experience. 

Starting Price: $59 | Products Arrive: Frozen | Free Shipping: No | Delivery Areas: 50 states 

We Take the Cake offers stylish layer cakes in a variety of classic flavors delivered in elegant packaging. The company distinguishes itself with a collection of beautifully decorated cakes, including traditional vanilla and chocolate celebration cakes complete with candles and colorful decorative dots, and stunningly gorgeous layer cakes covered in hand-piped rosette swirls. Choose from classic flavors like vanilla, chocolate, coconut, lemon, and carrot, or go with a specialty cake like the brownie-layered cheesecake. The company’s signature key lime bundt cake is one of Oprah’s favorites. 

Each layer cake is 6 inches by 4 inches and serves eight to 10 people, and they are all priced at $89.95. The cakes are shipped nationwide through Goldbelly for free, Monday through Thursday of each week. You can’t customize anything, but if you opt for the celebration cake in chocolate or vanilla, it comes decorated with extra festive colors. Both of those options are available gluten-free as well.

Starting Price: $89.95 | Products Arrive: Frozen | Free Shipping: Yes | Delivery Areas: 48 states

Instacart is available in thousands of cities throughout North America, delivering budget-friendly cakes from just about any supermarket directly to your door. It’s hard to beat that kind of convenience. 

A birthday cake doesn’t always have to be elaborate, expensive, or tough to source. We like that it’s not just grocery stores like Kroger; Instacart has also partnered with national chains like Costco and Target, so birthday cake options can include Kirkland’s signature 12-inch cheesecake and boxes of Little Debbie birthday cakes. Just put “cake” on your shopping list, and search different stores until you find what you want—or at least something close enough.

When compared with overnight shipping costs, Instacart’s delivery fees are minimal. Plus, the company offers monthly and yearly memberships that include free delivery on orders over $35. At the end of the day, you won’t have as many options to choose from as some of our other category winners, but you’ll have a cake that will make the birthday person happy without breaking the bank. 

Starting Price: Varies; but around $6 | Products Arrive: Fresh or frozen | Free Shipping: No | Delivery Areas: 50 states

If you have an immediate or last-minute need for a birthday cake, it doesn’t get much better than DoorDash. With more than 7 million DoorDashers and widespread coverage through all 50 states in more than 7,000 cities, it’s one of the best options for same-day birthday cake delivery. 

With DoorDash you can order your favorite cake from your favorite restaurant or from a local grocery store or bakery. The only caveat, of course, is that the delivery range is limited. If you have your heart set on something a little further afield, you might have to make a different choice. 

Starting Price: Varies | Products Arrive: Fresh or frozen | Free Shipping: Yes, if you’re a subscriber | Delivery Areas: 50 states

Send A Cake offers a personalized cake explosion box, which sounds more dangerous than it actually is. Choose among seven flavor options, a box design, and any additional decorations to customize the experience for your recipient. These can include things like a spinning music cake stand, wind-up butterflies, or original photos on top of the cake. The cakes are miniature—just three inches in diameter—and come in flavors such as chocolate tuxedo, confetti sprinkle, and red velvet sparkle. Boxes can include themes like Disney princesses, Harry Potter, or shooting rainbows.

We like that there’s no minimum order amount, but the base price for many of these boxes starts around $30, and add-ons can easily bring the price to $50 to $70.

Starting Price: $29.95 | Products Arrive: Fresh; larger cakes arrive frozen | Free Shipping: No | Delivery Areas: 48 states