I love getting groceries delivere directly to my door. It’s convenient. However, if you aren’t careful, grocery delivery fees can really add up. In order to save money, it’s important to make sure that you pay attention to those fees.
Types of Grocery Delivery Fees
The most confusing part about grocery delivery fees is that there are so many different types of charges. Here are some of the most common fees:
- Fee for delivery, which is sometimes higher or lower depending on the length of your delivery window. For example, Safeway charges more for a 1-hour delivery window than for 2 or 4-hour delivery windows. If you want your groceries to arrive at a very specific type then you’ll pay a higher fee.
- Membership fee, which is a monthly or annual fee for being able to use the service. Sometimes this is the only fee that a company charges. However, in other cases, they have additional per-use fees. Make sure to pay close attention to these details.
- Minimum order requirements; if you don’t meet the minimum then you either can’t receive delivery or you have to pay extra for the service
- Produce upcharges, which is the trickiest of all of the fees. Sometimes you’ll pay more for an item by delivery than if you buy the same item in a store. Watch carefully for this.
Comparing Grocery Delivery Fees
Because there are so many different types of grocery delivery fees, it can be challenging to figure out which service is the best one. Recently, though, Lifehacker did a great job of comparing six different grocery delivery services for all of us. Here’s what they found:
AmazonFresh
AmazonFresh allows you to get fresh grocery delivery of Whole Foods items. They offer a 30-day trial period.
- Membership: $119/year for Amazon Prime plus another $14.99 per month (which is ~ $300 per year or $25 per month)
- Minimum order: $35 or you pay an extra $9.99 in grocery delivery fees per order
Fresh Direct
- Delivery fee: $5.99 – $9.99 per delivery without a membership
- Membership fee: $129 per year for unlimited deliveries or $78 per year for Midweek Tuesday-Thursday deliveries
- Minimum order: $30
Instacart
The best thing about Instacart is that you can order groceries from any store where you love to shop.
- Delivery fee: $3.99 – $9 per delivery without a membership, added cos to receive delivery within one hour of ordering
- Membership fee: $99 / year
- Minimum order: $35
PeaPod
- Deliver fee: $9.95 without a membership
- Membership fee: $119 / year or $55 / year for Midweek Tuesday – Thursday deliveres
- Minimum order: $100 for members, $60 for non-members
Shipt
- Membership fee: $14 / month or $99 / year
- Minimum order: $35; smaller orders have an extra $7 delivery charge
- Shipt upcharges some of its items
Walmart
Walmart is just starting to launch their new grocery delivery service. Naturally prices may change or vary some as the service gets on its feet. Currently, however, here’s the deal:
- Delivery fee: $9.95 per month unless you get a membership (see below)
- Membership fees: $12.95 / month or $98 per year
- Minimum order: $30
- No upcharges
Use Coupons to Reduce Grocery Delivery Fees
I almost never get grocery delivery without using a coupon to reduce the fees. For example, Safeway regularly emails coupons offering $15 – $20 off of your order along with free delivery. I only order Safeway grocery delivery if I have a coupon for free delivery. Make sure that you check online for coupons like this before you place any online grocery orders.
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