Best Grocery Delivery Services Compared

I tried five different grocery delivery services over the course of about eight months, mostly because I was working from home and the idea of reclaiming two hours on Saturday mornings was appealing. What I found was that the best service depends heavily on what you’re optimizing for — budget, convenience, selection, or dietary preferences — and that the quality differences between them are meaningful once you’re paying for them regularly.

Here’s what I’ve actually experienced with the major players.

Amazon Fresh

The seamless integration with Amazon Prime is the main appeal. If you’re already a Prime member, Amazon Fresh is either included or available at a discounted rate depending on your membership tier and location. The selection is comprehensive — fresh produce, dairy, meat, pantry staples, and a large selection of private-label items (the Amazon Fresh and 365 Whole Foods brands are decent quality).

Delivery windows are flexible, with same-day delivery available in most metro areas. The interface is intuitive if you already shop Amazon regularly. My experience with produce quality has been mixed — some orders arrived in excellent condition, others had items that seemed older than I’d want. Not worse than what I’d pull from a shelf in a hurry, but not reliably excellent either.

One catch: Amazon Fresh is only available in select metro areas. Check availability for your zip code before assuming it’s an option.

Instacart

The most versatile option because it partners with stores you might already shop — Kroger, Costco, Safeway, Whole Foods, Target, and many regional chains. If you have a Costco membership and want bulk items delivered, Instacart is essentially your only option for home delivery from that store.

The personal shopper model means a human is selecting your items. This has real advantages (substitutions can be smart and the chat feature lets you approve or reject them in real-time) and real disadvantages (produce quality is inconsistent, and shoppers vary significantly in how carefully they select items). I’ve had excellent shoppers and mediocre ones. Tipping matters here — shopper quality correlates with how well compensated shoppers are on that order.

Instacart Express (now Instacart+) membership at around $99/year gives you free delivery on orders over $35 and reduced service fees. Worth it if you order twice a month or more. Without the membership, per-order fees can add $5-10 to every shop.

Walmart Grocery

Best value for budget-conscious shoppers. Walmart’s prices are Walmart prices — consistently below alternatives on most packaged and commodity items. The selection mirrors what’s in your local Walmart, which is extensive for most categories. Walmart+ membership ($98/year) includes free unlimited delivery with no per-order minimum, which is the best membership value in this category if Walmart’s inventory meets your needs.

Produce and fresh items have improved in my experience over the past couple of years. It’s not specialty-grocery quality, but it’s perfectly serviceable. Delivery time windows are reliable in my area. The main limitation is that Walmart isn’t the place for specialty, organic, or local items — if those matter to you, you’ll want a supplement.

Shipt

Target-focused, though Shipt also delivers from Kroger and CVS in many markets. If you’re a Target shopper, Shipt membership is worth exploring — the combination of Target’s selection and home delivery is genuinely convenient. Target Circle 360 (their newer all-in-one membership) bundles Shipt delivery for free on orders over $35, so if you were already considering Target’s membership, the delivery benefit comes along for the ride.

Like Instacart, Shipt uses a personal shopper model with similar quality variability. Real-time communication with the shopper works well. The app has improved significantly over the past two years.

Peapod

Primarily available in the northeastern US through Stop & Shop and Giant. A long-running service that has earned loyalty from customers in its coverage area, particularly for its emphasis on fresh produce and its integration with those grocery chains’ loyalty programs. Reliable and consistent — less exciting than some newer entrants but trustworthy. If you’re in its coverage area, worth comparing to Instacart on price and produce quality for the same items.

FreshDirect

New York City and surrounding areas only. The premium option in its market, with a focus on quality that justifies a price premium for many customers. FreshDirect maintains direct relationships with farmers and producers, and the freshness of their produce has been notably better than average in my experience during my years in New York. Their prepared foods selection is also strong.

DeliveryPass membership provides free delivery and is worth it for regular users. For occasional orders, the per-delivery fee is higher than most alternatives — factor that in if you’re evaluating cost.

Thrive Market

Not a traditional grocery delivery service. Thrive is more accurately an online natural food retailer with membership pricing. It’s excellent for stocking up on organic pantry staples — nut butters, oils, snacks, supplements, cleaning products, household goods — at prices that are genuinely 20-30% below what you’d pay at Whole Foods. The membership fee ($60/year) pays for itself quickly if you’re buying this category of product regularly.

Where it falls short: fresh produce, dairy, and anything requiring cold chain management. Use Thrive for pantry staples alongside another service for fresh items.

Misfits Market

I’ve been a subscriber for two years and it’s become my preferred source for organic produce. The premise is straightforward: they sell “imperfect” (cosmetically irregular but otherwise fine) organic and sustainable produce and pantry items at 30-40% below retail. Weekly subscription boxes at different size tiers. You get what they send, which means some weeks you have a lot of one vegetable and have to figure out what to do with it. I’ve found this fun rather than annoying — it’s pushed me to cook things I wouldn’t have otherwise bought.

Quality has been consistently good in my experience. The environmental case is compelling: they’re reducing food waste from farms where produce doesn’t meet retail cosmetic standards. Delivery is weekly, and you can pause or skip weeks easily.

My Actual Setup

I use Walmart+ for weekly household staples and most groceries (the value is hard to argue with), Thrive Market quarterly for pantry restocking, and Misfits Market for weekly organic produce. This covers the vast majority of my household needs at better prices than any single service would provide. The services are complementary rather than competing for the same purchases.