The best grocery delivery service is the one that reaches your address, stocks your store and charges in a way you can live with, so the choice starts with a few questions rather than a ranking. This guide walks through the decisions a shopper actually faces when using an app to order groceries: delivery or pickup, what the order will cost, how substitutions work, when it arrives, how age checks work for alcohol and how to pay with SNAP EBT. Examples come from Instacart’s own pages and the USDA, because those publish the details; the same questions apply to any service you try.
Should you choose delivery or pickup?
With delivery, a personal shopper picks your order at a local store and brings it to you. Instacart’s page, which uses San Francisco as its example city, says you can get groceries in as fast as one hour or pick a later time for the day or week, with delivery windows that start as early as 9 a.m. and run as late as midnight, subject to store hours and holidays, so the hours in your own area depend on your local store.[1]
With pickup you shop online, choose a time slot and collect the order yourself, and most stores bring it to your car. Instacart’s pickup page says you pay at checkout, nothing is paid at the store, and there are no tips required for pickup.[2] The same page says pickup fees depend on membership and store, and that small baskets can carry an extra fee. Pickup suits a shopper who has a car and a flexible hour; delivery suits one who does not.
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What does a grocery delivery order cost?
Expect three layers, and check each at checkout. A delivery fee depends on order size and speed. A service fee varies by location and by the number and type of items in the cart, and an order with alcohol can carry a separate service fee. A tip is optional on delivery, and Instacart says all of it goes to the shopper who delivers the order. Membership plans exist to reduce the first two layers. The general rule is to put the same cart in two apps and compare the totals before tax. For a fee comparison, see whether Shipt is cheaper than Instacart.
Tip: Fees can change with the hour and the size of the cart, so compare at the time you would really order, not at a quiet moment.
What happens when an item is out of stock?
Substitutions decide whether a grocery order feels good or frustrating. Instacart’s help center lists three options for an unavailable item: best match, where the shopper chooses and also uses replacements you approved before; a specific item, where you pick up to three options; or a refund.[3] If no preference is set, best match is used. The shopper may still suggest a replacement even when you chose a refund, and you can approve or decline it. These choices carry over to future orders, so set them once on the items that matter, such as a particular brand or a dietary need.
Which items need an ID check?
Alcohol and a few other products are age restricted. Instacart says that in select areas it delivers alcohol, hemp-based CBD and THC items, some over-the-counter products, spray paint and prescription medication, and that ID verification is required at delivery.[4] If the ID cannot be verified, the restricted items are refunded and returned to the store. Alcohol requires you to be 21 or older, only alcohol can replace alcohol, and some states limit how much you can order. Accepted IDs include a U.S. driver’s license with photo, a U.S. military ID and a state ID card, and a passport or green card in some cases but not from every retailer.
Can you pay for grocery delivery with SNAP EBT?
Yes, within limits. The USDA says online SNAP purchasing is available in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, and it lists participating retailers by state on its Stores Accepting SNAP Online page.[5] Three points from the same page matter to shoppers:
- Only eligible food can be bought with SNAP. Delivery fees and other associated charges may not be paid with SNAP benefits.
- Using your EBT card online still requires your personal identification number.
- Delivery depends on the retailer’s own coverage, so the retailer’s site is the way to confirm that your address qualifies.
Instacart’s help page adds how this works in practice. The EBT card must be added to your account before you place the order, EBT covers only EBT-eligible items, and you must add a debit or credit card for delivery and service fees, taxes, tips and non-EBT items.[6] You can adjust the split between the two payment methods up to delivery. Replacements on EBT orders are limited to eligible items, and a pricier eligible replacement is charged to the other card for the difference.
How do you choose a grocery delivery service?
Work through this list with two or three services:
- Coverage. Does the store you actually use deliver to your address?
- Delivery or pickup. Which one fits your car and your schedule, and what does each cost?
- Fees at checkout. What are the totals for the same cart, with and without a membership?
- Substitutions. Can you set preferences that carry over?
- Payment. Does the service accept EBT or the card you want to use?
- Age checks. If the cart includes alcohol, will someone with ID be home?
If you shop mostly at one chain, its own app may beat a multi-store service on coverage; if you shop at several, a multi-store app saves switching. Test each with a real cart before committing. For one chain’s service, see how Walmart delivery works.
