What’s the Best Value for Your Grocery Delivery Subscription?
Is the era of weekly grocery shopping over? The grocery delivery service might make you think so. Every time you turn around, another truck rushes down your street, packed with everything from cabbage to chocolate bars.
But as convenient as they are, figuring out how much these services charge can be a real headache. There are shipping fees, co-payments for groceries, minimum order requirements and, now, more and more membership options. It’s hard to know if it is worth paying for a membership to deliver groceries if you can’t even figure out how much it costs to sign up.
So we went on a quest, inspired by Walmart’s announcement that it is introducing its own grocery delivery membership this summer. Let’s see how he compares to other big players.
Walmart
Walmart Delivery Unlimited is currently launching a pilot program in Houston, Miami, Salt Lake City and Tampa, a spokesperson told us via email . Membership costs $ 12.95 per month or $ 98 per year on orders of at least $ 30 shipping. Prices for goods are the same as in stores. With no membership fee, each shipping costs $ 9.95.
AmazonFresh
Amazon requires a Prime membership ($ 119) plus a $ 14.99 monthly grocery shipping fee. Orders under $ 35 cost $ 9.99 shipping. Unlike most other services that offer two-week trials, Amazon’s trial is 30 days.
Pea pod
Peapod has the highest minimum order requirements to date. It offers PodPass for $ 119 for unlimited shipping over $ 100. It also has a PodPass MidWeek membership that requires $ 55 per year for Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday delivery. Otherwise, you’ll have to spend at least $ 60 to get the $ 9.95 Peapod shipping.
Ship
The service, now owned by Target, offers free shipping for orders over $ 35 for members and charges a $ 7 shipping fee for small orders for members. Membership costs $ 99 per year or $ 14 per month. Shipt charges more for certain items, explaining in its FAQ that customer orders worth $ 35 cost about $ 5 more than if the customer picked up all of the items in the store.
FreshDirect
DeliveryPass FreshDirect offers unlimited free shipping of $ 30 or more for $ 129 per year. It also has a Midweek program that delivers Tuesday through Thursday for $ 39 billed every six months. Without membership, shipping costs range from $ 5.99 to $ 9.99.
Instacart
Instacart Express offers scheduled deliveries for orders of at least $ 35 if you sign up for a membership, for an annual fee of $ 99. Non-members pay $ 3.99 to $ 9 for shipping with additional hourly shipping charges. The cost of the goods depends on the seller.
So which is better?
Walmart, Shipt and Instacart are by far the most competitive, with the lowest annual fees and minimum orders. Walmart is the only one that promises the same prices as in the store, but it also has the most restricted area for unlimited delivery. But Walmart previously noted that it plans to deliver to 300 cities by the end of the year. If Walmart products fit your needs, you should make sure they become available in your area.