Erin Elizabeth
Grocery delivery services have a much longer history than you might think! In the early 1900s, items like milk, butter, meat, sugar, coffee, tea, and others were delivered directly to the consumer from the independent store owner.
Since then, there have been massive improvements in the availability, sophistication, and variety of items for consumers to order groceries online from one provider.
These days, the provider is often a food delivery service or a branch of larger retailers, and they are convenient and helpful for those with busy lives.
Grocery Delivery Services
Check out our list of the top 10 best grocery delivery services! We will rank them in terms of ease of use, variety of items, and price.
Amazon Fresh
Amazon Fresh is a food delivery service from Amazon where people can get same-day delivery as quickly as 2 hours from the time they place the order.
Price is based on the items you choose, and it is one of the best grocery delivery services because it is customizable, the price depends on your order, and the convenience of a two-hour window.
There are coupons and offers online for many items each week, so consumers can still save money and use coupons with this online grocery store.
There are also SNAP and EBT options through Amazon Fresh.
Instacart
Instacart is another popular grocery delivery service that people use mostly for convenience.
Unlike Amazon Fresh, Instacart works like other delivery services like DoorDash or UberEats, where independent contractors do the shopping and delivery for you.
Prices are determined based on what you order and the delivery fees associated with that store.
There are many popular stores in your area available for Instacart purchases, and you can communicate with your personal shopper quickly to find substitutions for sold-out or unavailable items.
Payment is easy through the app, and you will get your groceries promptly since the stores and shoppers are nearby.
Boxed
Boxed is a great substitution for bulk places like Sam’s Club or Costco.
There are no membership fees, and you can get free samples in every order, just like at the big bulk stores! Boxed offers free shipping on orders over $79.
Boxed also offers coupons and deals from their online store, so be on the lookout for weekly and seasonal deals to save some cash.
You can easily sort through their many items by filtering by category.
Price is based on what you order, but there is a yearly subscription service called Boxed Up if you want to save money on shipping and obtain exclusive deals.
Shipt
Shipt is similar to Instacart in that you can order through the service, and the items will come from your favorite local stores via a personal shopper.
With Shipt you will get same-day delivery and real-time updates from your shopper.
To shop with Shipt there is a fee. A one-time delivery incurs a $10 fee, but there is no commitment or minimum.
With a membership, you will pay either $9.99 per month or $99 per year, and each order must have a minimum of $35 purchase, otherwise, you will incur a $7 fee.
FreshDirect
FreshDirect is one of the original food delivery services, starting back in 2002.
You can shop on their website or app at any time. The order is then prepared in one of their FreshDirect warehouses where all items are stored, then they are delivered to you promptly from one of their delivery trucks.
One con is that they only cater to the New York City area.
Their easy-to-navigate website makes it easy to filter through the many items they have to offer to find just what you need.
Pricing is comparable to organic and fresh grocery stores like Whole Foods. Some customers may qualify for using EBT benefits with FreshDirect.
Hungryroot
Hungryroot is an all-in-one grocery and meal kit delivery service.
Unlike other services that offer either groceries or meal kits, Hungryroot allows users to take a short quiz about their dietary needs and preferences, then come up with a list of items and recipes for them to make.
Plans start at $65 per week, but you can skip a subscription week if you want. You can also pause or cancel the subscription at any time.
Items from Hungryroot are organic, well-sourced items, so if you like to adhere to a certain diet, this is a good option for you.
Imperfect Foods
Imperfect Foods is a subscription service that delivers a box of groceries to your home weekly.
You can set the day and time of delivery as well as skip weeks if necessary.
You do not pay for the plan, instead, you pay for the items you purchase, and you can earn free delivery if you order over a certain threshold.
Imperfect Foods is a sustainable brand that is B Corporation certified and prides itself on existing solely to cut down food waste.
You can read more about this on their website, but their produce items are generally salvaged from places that would otherwise throw them away due to imperfections like size inconsistencies or discoloration.
This is one of my favorite produce delivery services!
Thrive Market
Thrive Market is a subscription service where customers can order online or through the app for their weekly subscription.
They focus on providing organic foods at a lower price point than other in-store retailers.
They state you can save up to 30% on many items. You can skip or pause autoship deliveries at any time.
Prices start at $59.95 per year or $12 per month. In addition to the membership fee, you pay for each grocery shipment you receive based on the number of items you order. Shipping is quick and carbon-neutral.
Walmart+
Walmart+ is the grocery delivery service offered and operated by Walmart.
They offer a free 30-day trial, but the price is $12.95 per month after the trial.
They offer many grocery and homewares items and other miscellaneous things you can usually buy at Walmart in your delivery. There is no limit to how many orders you can place per month.
One caveat is that you must order $35 worth of groceries from your local Walmart to receive the $0 delivery fee.
However, other items that are not food items available for free shipping at any time with no order minimum.
GoPuff
GoPuff is a grocery delivery service that mainly operates in big cities.
An interesting fact about GoPuff is that you can order alcohol through the service.
It is a grocery delivery service, but many people use it for snacks and other quick eats items.
It is not a fully-stocked grocery service like others on this list.
Though the options are more limited in terms of fresh groceries, it is quick and convenient. It is almost like a convenience store delivery service!
There is no membership fee and you only pay for what you buy.
Grocery Delivery Services
- Amazon Fresh
- Instacart
- Boxed
- Shipt
- FreshDirect
- Hungryroot
- Imperfect Foods
- Thrive Market
- Walmart+
- GoPuff
Get Your Groceries Delivered!
The world of grocery delivery is convenient and, at times, more cost-effective than going to a traditional grocery store!
Try out one of the places on our list of the best grocery delivery services the next time you need to stock your fridge. Did we leave your favorite service off? Let us know in the comments!
Get all of your food and drinks delivered by checking out our favorite meat delivery services and wine subscriptions as well!
I recommend ordering drinks from Mr. Lemonade
They have good prices and fast delivery and a large selection of different products. You can find alternative for plant milks, fizzy drinks or alcohol or kombucha there.