Best Grocery Delivery Services of 2021

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Grocery delivery services can make life in the kitchen, as well as life in general, much easier. If you have a demanding job, kids, get overwhelmed by vast grocery store aisles, hate waiting in line, or all of the above, these services are for you. They can help you get food and necessity shopping done quickly and efficiently. What’s more, you don’t have to lug heavy grocery bags home, which is an undeniable plus.

The best grocery delivery services offer user-friendly online systems, options that fit your lifestyle, quick and easy deliveries, and great deals on products. Here’s a list of our top choices.

Our Top Picks

Best Organic: Thrive Market
Best East Coat: FreshDirect
Best Traditional Experience: Peapod
Best for Whole Foods Lovers: Instacart
Best for Target Lovers: Shipt
Best for Amazon Prime Members: Amazon Fresh
Best for Empowering Shoppers: Dumpling

Our Top Picks

Best Organic: Thrive Market

Why We Chose It: Grocery items are screened to ensure that they are free of genetically modified organisms, or GMOs.

Pros

Prices 25% to 50% off regular retail prices
Curates organic, non-GMO products
Ships to all contiguous US states
Free 30-day trial
Generous return policy

Cons

No free shipping
Choices on bulk orders somewhat limited

Thrive is a market looking to bring people into a more food-accessible community. Touting wholesale prices that save you 25%-50% off retail prices, their direct buying strategy brings you fresh, quality products for less. Grocery items are screened to ensure that they are free of genetically modified organisms, or GMOs.

Customers are offered a 30-day trial to test this option, and shoppers can search based on their “values.” The categories listed include items that are gluten-free, for moms, paleo-friendly, raw, staples, or vegan. And don’t forget about Fido. Thrive also sells pet products for your cat and dog.

The company is also helping others along the way. For each paid annual membership of about $60, the company offers free membership to a low-income family, student, teacher, veteran, or first responder. You can order Thrive from anywhere in the contiguous United States.

Membership: $59 annually or about $10 each month

Delivery Fee: Free shipping on orders over $49 for members

Best East Coat: FreshDirect

Why We Chose It: Customers can order their items a week in advance or at 11 pm the night before a delivery.

Pros

Available in most major
Northeast cities
High quality produce and meats
Reasonable delivery fee
Unlimited free deliveries with pass

Cons

Usually need to order a day in advance
Limited coverage area

Many East Coast residents rely on FreshDirect for their home and office grocery deliveries. The service is available in locations in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Washington D.C. Over the summer, FreshDirect also goes to homes on the Jersey Shore and the Hamptons.

Partnerships with local farms, dairies, and fisheries help you get fresh food fast. They offer more than 3,000 food products and the list of available items changes depending on the season. Because of this focus, there are more food items and fewer home essentials compared to other services. That being said, there is a sizable selection of goods in the “Supplies” tab on the site.

FreshDirect is geared toward solving your time Constraint problems. Customers can order their items a week in advance or at 11 pm the night before delivery.

Membership: $79 for six months or $129 a year

Delivery Fee: Starting at $6

Best Traditional Experience: Peapod

Why We Chose It: Also offers meal kits, so you can order all the groceries needed for a particular dish to prepare for yourself and others in one click.

Pros

Great sign-up deal
Double coupons
Serves 24 U.S. markets
Most efficient delivery service
Offers meal kits

Cons

Limited service area
No free shipping

Started back in 1989, Peapod now serves 24 U.S. markets in Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia, Washington, D.C. and WisConsin.

Peapod looks to be the most efficient delivery service, with filters catered toward matching you with the ultimate grocery list. You can use “Order Genius,” a feature that analyzes your frequent purchases and recommends items you should add to your cart. Peapod also offers meal kits, so you can order all the groceries needed for a particular dish in one click. The Express Shop also allows you to type in your list, submit it, and receive product suggestions.

You can load your e-cart any time of day, from the next day to two weeks beforehand. Your items can be delivered to you, or there are pick-up options in select areas. All new customers get 60 days of free delivery.

Membership: $35 for six months or $119 a year

Delivery Fee: Starting at $7

Best for Whole Foods Lovers: Instacart

Why We Chose It: Have your products delivered in as little as an hour, or you can pick them up at your local store.

Pros

Fast, easy deliveries
Ability to shop from wide array of stores
Membership includes unlimited free deliveries on orders over roughly $35
Option to order from multiple stores with no added fees
Delivery fee only about $4 for non-members

Cons

No free shipping
Limited service area

Residents in cities like LA, Miami, New York City, Washington D.C., Atlanta, and others can enjoy Instacart delivery service for all of their grocery necessities. You can have your products delivered in as little as an hour, or you can pick them up at your local store.

Instacart hires personal shoppers to fulfill each request from whichever store you’ve selected. Whole Foods Market, Fairway, Costco, CVS, and Petco are just a few of the stores affiliated with Instacart. The company also sets itself apart with Instacart Express, a grocery delivery membership that you can sign up for on a monthly or yearly basis. The feature includes unlimited free deliveries on orders over $35, and the opportunity to order from multiple stores for a single order with no added fees.

Membership: About $99 a year or roughly $10 a month.

Delivery Fee: Starts at about $4 for non-members.

Best for Target Lovers: Shipt

Why We Chose It: This more personable option brings your food and everyday essentials to you with same-day delivery.

Pros

Delivery as quickly as within one hour
Can place orders 24/7 (as long as a store is open)
Easy communication with shopper
Free, 30-day trial

Cons

Requires membership
No free shipping

Launched in 2014, Shipt caters to people in 5,000 cities in the U.S. and lets you shop at a variety of different stores near you, but has an exclusive partnership with Target.

Shipt partners with retailers in each of the 72 cities where the service is provided, and Shipt shoppers pick up everything you need. This more personable option brings your food and everyday essentials to you with same-day delivery.

Shipt sells products from Target, so lovers of the retailer will enjoy this delivery option.

Membership: About $99 a year or roughly $14 a month

Delivery Fee: Around $7 for orders below roughly $35

Best for Amazon Prime Members: Amazon Fresh

Why We Chose It: We chose Amazon Fresh because it offers fast, free delivery and a vast inventory. Plus, it's widely available across the United States.

Pros

Available in more than 2,000 cities
Free to Amazon Prime members
Fast delivery times
Free shipping with $35 order minimum
Wide selection of products

Cons

No free shipping
Have to be an Amazon Prime member
Lots of packaging waste

Amazon Prime members have access to fast, free grocery deliveries thanks to Amazon Fresh. Their selection of products is vast, and includes Whole Foods 365 products. If you’re already a fan of Amazon's simple online ordering interface, you’ll appreciate that Amazon Fresh offers the same simple, streamlined system.

You can get free two-hour shipping in most cases, or one-hour shipping for a small fee. Like other grocery delivery services on this list, there’s a “Past Purchases” section where you can easily find products you buy frequently. A nice incentive to use Amazon Fresh is the Amazon Smile program, which donates a portion of your order cost to the charity of your choice. You can access this feature through smile.amazon.com.

Membership: Free for Amazon Prime members

Delivery Fee: Around $10 for orders below roughly $35. Free Over $35

Best for Empowering Shoppers: Dumpling

Why We Chose It: Dumpling provides more autonomy to its shoppers, which translates to more personable service.

Pros

Available in all 50 states
Wide range of local stores
Empowers shoppers
Personalized service
Quick delivery times

Cons

App not user-friendly
Potentially pricey fees

If you’re dubious about how other delivery services treat their shoppers, and appreciate supporting local groceries, Dumpling is the service for you. Dumpling shoppers set their own hours, fees and where they’ll shop for you. Of course, that means service will vary significantly depending on where you are and what time you’re shopping. The app is also not as user-friendly as some of the other apps on this list.

That said because Dumpling shoppers have more autonomy, they tend to be very communicative and efficient because they want you to use them more than once (an option that most other delivery services don’t offer). But with that more personalized service comes higher delivery fees which are set by each individual shopper.

Membership: Not required

Delivery Fee: Varies based on shopper

Final Verdict

All of these grocery delivery services offer the convenience of having someone else go to the store, shop for, and deliver your groceries, but Instacart stands out among the rest. It’s widely available across the U.S., the membership is well-priced, and non-member delivery fees are reasonable. It also allows you the freedom to shop from multiple stores at once, so you’re virtually guaranteed to find what you’re looking for (as long as it’s in stock), all without any additional fees. But at the end of the day, which service you choose will be based on your individual needs.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Do Grocery Delivery Services Work?

For most grocery delivery services, you shop online and select your groceries, rather than going to the supermarket. You then pay for your order, including any additional delivery service fees, and the groceries are delivered right to your door.

How Much Should I Tip?

In general, you should tip in the range of 10% to 20% of the bill or at least $5, whichever is higher. If you used a coupon to get a discounted price, make sure you base the tip on the pre-discount amount.

Is a Grocery Delivery Service Worth It?

Using a grocery delivery service can save you the hassle and time of going to a grocery store. It can be very convenient for busy people who don’t have a lot of time for grocery shopping or parents who don’t want to have to bring young children to a store. Your food choices will be much more deliberate, so you can choose healthier foods and you can avoid making impulse buys because you’re distracted, tired, or hungry.

However, using a grocery delivery service will cost more than if you went to the store yourself. On top of delivery fees and tips, you may find that some items are priced higher than at a supermarket and it can be harder to search for bargains or compare prices. For foods such as produce, you can’t handpick your items, and you may not always get the freshest, highest-quality picks.

If your free time is extremely limited, you only want to purchase exactly what's on your shopping list, or it’s not always convenient for you to get to the store, the extra expense of grocery delivery may be well worth it.

How Much Do These Services Cost?

The cost of grocery delivery services varies, as most retailers offer the option of paying a fee for each order or buying a membership that includes unlimited free orders over a certain amount.

Retailers generally charge in the range of $7 to $10 per order, with some including extra fees for heavy orders or items such as alcohol. You may be able to save some money on delivery fees if you choose less desirable time slots, such as Tuesday to Thursday evenings. Memberships generally cost about $10 to $13 per month, with discounts for longer plans.

Can You Use EBT for Grocery Delivery?

Using EBT (Electronic Benefit Transfer) cards for grocery delivery services is not common, but may be available through certain retailers in some areas. Some retailers may allow customers to pay with EBT for grocery pick-up, but not delivery. Check with your local retailer to see which services are available.

Methodology

To create our list of the best grocery delivery services, we searched for companies that were widely available across the U.S., offered a wide range of products, and had relatively intuitive apps and websites. Pricing and affordability was also prioritized, as was the ability to shop from a number of stores. Finally, companies that made it easy to communicate with shoppers, as well as customer support, were given high marks.