Instacart is an online grocery delivery company that is completely changing the way we grocery shop. All you need to do is place an order, then someone does all your shopping, and within a couple hours (or a timeframe of your choice) your groceries will be delivered to your doorstep. It is the perfect solution for a busy lifestyle. I started using Instacart last year and have placed over 30 orders since then. I feel very familiar with Instacart and this is my honest review.
**This post contains affiliate links. I will receive a small commission if you decide to use Instacart – at no extra cost to you. However, this is my completely honest review and you are by no means obligated to use my links. If you do thanks so much for supporting my site.
If you follow my blog then you already know I’m no stranger to purchasing groceries online. I’m a huge fan of Home Chef, Hello Fresh, and Sun Basket meal kit delivery services. I order from one of these companies at least once a month. Also, I order groceries through Thrive Market every other month or so. My time is limited and I take full advantage of all the benefits online grocery shopping has to offer.
Today I’m super excited to talk about InstaCart. I’ve been using Instacart since this past September and, honestly, I believe it’s one of the best things to happen to grocery shopping. By using Instacart I’ve easily put 3-4 hours back into my schedule a week – maybe even more.
If you’re ready to try Instacart, and don’t want to read my entire review, you can sign up here.
I’m not saying Instacart is for everyone but it definitely meets the needs of busy people who want to eat healthier and save time – lots of time.
In this review I’ll give an overview of Instacart and share my personal experience. I’ll take you step by step through the ordering process and what to expect.
I’ll talk about the cost of using Instacart, how to tip your shopper, and offer some money-saving tips.
Last, I’ll share my opinion on who I think would benefit from using Instacart and who I think wouldn’t. Like I said, Instacart isn’t for everyone.
Let’s get started.
What is Instacart?
Instacart is an online grocery delivery service company that works with local stores to deliver groceries to your door. Sweet! Not all areas have Instacart yet. I live in a suburb outside Buffalo, NY and we just got Instacart last year. You can go to their website and check to see if Instacart is in your area. If it’s not available yet don’t worry because it’ll most likely be there soon.
I’ll give a more detailed look, later in this post, into the process of placing an order with Instacart. Here’s a quick snippet for now.
To place an order with Instacart you go on their website, search for the products you want, add them to your grocery list, and place your order. Simple. Then an Instacart employee gets to work shopping for your items and, when their done, delivers your groceries to your door. It’s a beautiful thing.
I’m telling you, ordering groceries online has been a huge game changer for me. Personally, I think it’s a saving grace but of course it’s not for everyone…I’ll get to that in a minute.
All the items you find in the store are found on the Instacart website. Just in case you’re wondering there are employees regularly adding inventory to the Instacart website.
This brings me to the next Instacart question people have…
How much extra money does Instacart cost?
Let’s first start with the cost of items. Depending on the store, and the items you’re purchasing, most are either the same price or have a slight markup. It will say on the Instacart website whether or not you can expect higher prices by shopping through their site.
I shop at Wegmans which states that items are slightly higher than in stores. However, when I compared my Wegmans receipt (they bring you back the Wegman’s receipt too) to my Instacart receipt there was between an $8 and $12 difference in price – and that included the tip. So to me, $12 is an acceptable price to pay for someone to do my grocery shopping and deliver the groceries to my door.
Not all stores have markups so you just need to check ahead of the time before purchasing your items. Keep in mind, Instacart is a service – that also needs to make money – so it should be expected that there will be an extra cost associated with it.
Even though there is a slight markup I do feel that Instacart saves me money for two reasons.. One it prevents impulse shopping. I have my meal plan, grocery list, and only purchase the items I need. Second, I save money in gas because I don’t need to drive to the store. This also save me tons of time and in my self-employed world time is money.
Another financial benefit to purchasing groceries through Instacart is I can see all my previous orders online and this helps with budgeting. I can see, in front of me, the amount of money I spend every week and this helps me stay intentional with my grocery budget.
Last, Instacart does offer online coupons and sales so there’s plenty of opportunity to save money on your favorite items. You can see below the different saving options.
Let’s talk a little bit about the Instacart fees.
I think this is where people get turned off by Instacart – everyone hates to pay extra fees. I get it. But again, remember this is a service. Their whole business is to make it easier for you to get groceries – not necessarily make it cheaper.
Here’s the fee structure. If you spend over $35 and opt for regular delivery (over 1 hour) then the delivery fee is $5.99. Clearly, it’s not difficult to spend over $35. And even if you don’t shop through Instacart all the time, $5.99 isn’t a bad price to pay to have someone shop for your groceries when you’re in a pinch.
I opted to sign up (and pay for) an Instacart Express membership. This was $149 and includes free delivery over $35 all the time. I already made my money back.
It also means never paying for busy pricing and that you can order from multiple stores with no extra fees. This is huge! So if eggs are cheaper at one store and meats are cheaper at another store you can order from both with no worries. I use Instacart weekly so signing up for Instacart Express was a no brainer. They do have a 14-day trial period to see if you’d like it.
However, if you never tried Instacart before then I’d try it once and see what you think.
If you’re ready to try Instacart you can sign up here.
Another fee to consider when shopping through Instacart is their “service” fee and also the tip. Let me first talk about the service fee. Instacart states that the service fee is for their employees and to help cover costs. But it’s not a tip and the shoppers, and drivers, that take care of your order don’t directly see that money.
Therefore you can change the service fee to zero and add in a tip that your shoppers will get. Just click where it says change and then click waive.
Then you can add in the tip – or just give them cash. 100% of the tips go to your delivery person. Of course tipping is optional but I highly recommend tipping your Instacart shopper. This is an amazing service that makes your life better.
Click “add” next to tip at check out and then add in the tip you’d like.
This is what it looks like after the tip is added.
Anyway, this is what you can expect in terms of cost with Instacart.
In my honest opinion, I haven’t experienced my grocery budget exploding since using Instacart and I order 1-2 times a week. I think the extra mark up on some items balance themselves out with items that are on sale or not marked up. Plus ordering my groceries online helps me stick to a meal plan, meal prep, and gives me hours back into my schedule <— this is worth the extra $10 or so.
If you’re ready to try Instacart, and don’t want to read my entire review, you can sign up here.
Who would and wouldn’t benefit from Instacart?
Now that I gave you an overview, and went over the cost, let’s talk about who would and wouldn’t benefit from Instacart. Obviously, I love using Instacart, and recommend it to everyone that’ll listen, but it’s not for everyone.
Let’s start with who wouldn’t benefit from Instacart.
I think that if you’re a coupon queen, and overly concerned with saving money, then Instacart might not be in your best interest. Like I said Instacart does provide coupons, and sales, but there are markups and fees associated with using this service. If you don’t think these extra costs are worth it then Instacart won’t be a good choice.
Also, I don’t think Instacart would work for someone who is very picky about choosing their fruits, vegetables, and meats. I can tell you from my experience I haven’t had any issue with an Instacart employee picking out my food. But I know there are some people who don’t like the thought of someone else picking out these items.
If I have any specific requests then there’s a section under each item to type in instructions. For example, I have given instructions to pick out “ripe bananas” or to make sure “turkey is sliced thin”.
Also, once a shopper starts to pick out groceries you can communicate with each other via chat which helps a lot. I’ll talk more about this in a little bit.
Last, I don’t think this would work for someone who doesn’t have the patience to learn a new way to doing an old habit. The Instacart website is easy to use but it’s still going to be new and different to someone just starting out. We are all used to shopping for groceries the “old-fashioned” way so stepping outside our comfort zone and ordering groceries online might be too outside the box for some people.
If you like to grocery shop, shop the sales, go to different stores, and don’t mind spending the time doing so then most likely you won’t benefit from Instacart.
Now let’s talk about who would benefit.
If you struggle to find time to grocery shop, don’t stay consistent with meal prep, and could use extra time during the week then online grocery shopping is the something you would benefit from.
Prior to online grocery shopping I was having a hard time staying consistent with weekly meal prep – I just didn’t have the time or energy to get to the store. Now I put together a meal plan, shop for the all the ingredients on Instacart, and within 2 hours my groceries are delivered. This has completely streamline my weekly meal prep process. If you see yourself in this scenario then Instacart would work great for you.
Also, if you’re not over concerned with coupons, and shopping around for the best deals, then Instacart will work for you too. Basically if you don’t mind spending a few extra bucks to get more time in your schedule then Instacart will work great.
If you don’t mind someone else shopping for your groceries then you’ll have no problem using Instacart. Like I said earlier, there are ways to communicate with your shopper, and as long as you take advantage of those tools, then you’ll enjoy using Instacart for groceries.
If you’re ready to try Instacart, and don’t want to read my entire review, you can sign up here.
How does Instacart Work?
Now I want to show you how Instacart works. The first thing you do is go into the Instacart website and put in your zipcode. This will show the stores that you can order from. Pick your store and then start ordering groceries.
If you’ve ordered before you’ll see previously ordered items listed. If not, you can simply type into the search bar the item you’re looking for and then add it to your cart.
You can see below the items that are on sale, have a coupon, or deals on eligible items. As you add items to your cart it will show in the right top corner.
After you add items into your cart you can review the items to make changes or add instructions. This is where you will first communicate with your shopper. Be very detailed if you have instructions for certain items. Remember, they can’t read your mind.
To add instructions simply click on instructions and then it will show like this. Type your instructions into the box and click save.
After you checkout, you’ll be prompted to pick your delivery time. Depending on what you order you typically can get items within 2 hours – I placed a big order this time. Also, I knew I wasn’t going to be home until later so I schedule delivery to be later in the day. So when I got home my groceries came 1/2 hour later. It was great!
After you pick your delivery time then you’ll remove the service fee and add a tip. Of course, this is your choice but this is the way I do it.
Then you’ll place your order and the magic begins
From there you’ll be able to see the process of your order on the website.
However, I strongly recommend downloading the Instacart App. This makes it incredibly easy for your shopper to communicate with you.
You’ll get a message immediately letting you know your order was placed.
The next message you’ll get is from your personal shopper. This is when you can communicate any other needs you might have forgot to put in the instructions. It’s important to have your phone near you while they shop so your shopper can ask any questions or get approvals for substitutions.
I just want to talk a little more about the chat function because I think this feature elevates the concerns people might have about “a stranger” shopping for their groceries. From the moment someone starts shopping for your groceries, until they get dropped off, someone is communicating with you. So if there are questions on either end you both can talk to one another. This helps you to be on the same page with your groceries.
You can use the chat function on the website but I think it’s best used on their app.
When your shopper is done you’ll receive a message letting you know.
And my favorite message – when Instacart is on it’s way. I find this to be very helpful because you can still go about your day but also be prepared for when the food arrives.
And last, they send a message when your grocery delivery order is about 5 minutes away.
This is what my last Instacart haul looked like. I know that’s a lot of plastic bags, and could be a turn off to some people, but that’s how they deliver your items. My advice is to ask them to put in as few bags as possible and then make sure to recycle.
Now I’m ready to meal prep for the week!
You might be wondering what happens if Instacart screws up an item or if something is wrong. In my 30 orders I’ve had 3 mistakes. Once they forgot to deliver my chicken and the other two they grabbed the wrong product. In all cases, I emailed Instacart and they had new items brought to me or instantly credited by account. Their customer service was very receptive and helpful.
Overall, I think Instant cart online grocery delivery service is amazing, worth the extra money, and I recommend it to everybody. Like I said it easily put 3-4 hours a week back into my schedule – if not more. Using online grocery delivery has help me organize my time much better, stay consistent with meal planning, and keep weekly meal prep a priority.
If you want to meal prep and eat healthier BUT struggle to get to the grocery store then Instacart online grocery shopping is definitely an option that I think would work for you.
I would love to learn more about your experiences with Instacart or other online grocery delivery services. Share your thoughts, or experiences, in the comments below.
If you’re ready to try Instacart, you can sign up here.
carter says
When you order liquor with Instacart, they scan the back of your drivers license. This leads to identity theft. The date of birth is on the FRONT of the license, so why do they scan the back? This is a dangerous practice for customers. Management could not explain this policy, so I’m out!
Jen says
How do you get to the screen to remove the service fee? I can edit the tip amount but can’t edit that service fee!
Kerwood Foster says
Instacart marked up my order 50%. The receipt was only $50.12 and the receipt showed a $5.42 refund for using a membership card, which I did not receive. They also charged me sales tax on top of the sales tax for the service which is illegal in my state.
Here are how the costs broke down for my grocery trip:
Actual Receipt: $50.12
What I was charged:
Items Subtotal $ 63.42
Delivery Fee $ 3.99
Sales Tax $ 1.94
Tip $ 3.17
Service $ 3.17
Total $ 75.69
I personally will never use them again.
Michael Salisbury says
My experience with Instacart has been a nightmare. I initially placed my order on Thursday, February 21st. Following is a transcript of the messages I received regarding this order:
THURSDAY FEBRUARY 21st
10:30am-“Michael, we received your order!
12:48pm-“Erickson shopping for your order.
12:51pm-“Eric replaced one brand of ham with another.
1:22pm-“Okay, I got all your groceries from Ralph’s.
1:40pm-“Great news, your order will be arriving shortly.
THAT WAS THE LAST COMMUNICATION FROM YOU ON THURSDAY! Needless to say, my order never arrived.
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 22nd
1:26pm-“Yvonne just started shopping. (What happened to the stuff “Eric” was supposed to have purchased and delivered the day before.)
1:50pm-“Instacart is on its way. Delivery estimate, 2:20pm.
1:57pm-“Great news! Your instacart Order will be arriving shortly.
2:29pm-” Thanks for using instacart.
That was the last text I received. The last I heard was that “Yvonne” had been attempting to deliver my order to some house in Lancaster, which is only about 86 miles from my home.
HOW CAN YOU POSSIBLY HOPE TO REMAIN IN BUSINESS WITH THIS ABSOLUTELY PATHETIC DISPLAY OF INCOMPETENCE ON THE PART OF NOT ONLY YOUR DRIVERS, BUT YOUR CSRs AS WELL?!!!
Carl Shuster says
Question: We’re setting up a service in our area to help older adults age in place — that is, remain in their homes as long as they wish. Home delivery of groceries could be an important feature. Can delivery include bringing the groceries into the house? Unpacking and shelving? What would be the cost for this supplementary service?
Paula Powers says
. I am 88 and thought this would be the greatest thing since sliced bread until I went to checkout. Fees and charges seemed reasonable until I noticed in very small print at bottom note regarding a hold fee to your cc. Decided to google reviews and to say the least I find the majority are troubling. Fortunately, I have family close by. Also, you might want to check w/ local aging agencies in your area. I have a Home Makers agency in my area which is affiliated w/our local hospital and visiting nurses assoc. that I use on a biweekly basis which charges on sliding scale—-my payment being $14 hour w/no hidden fees and staff is thoroughly screened. Good luck!!
Dusty Bedford says
Instacart steals your discounts. I have a Safeway reciept (that Instacart gave me) that say Instacart paid $210.62 for my groceries. Yet InstaCart charged me 236.01, that’s after the service charges, tax, and tip are deducted.
So what happened to the $25.39 discounts (that InstaCart took, but I did not recieve).
Instacart pocketed it without notice.
That’s a rip-off, this service rips you off, don’t use it.
I called their customer service and was told too bad you should have read our policy. Look all I did was use my Safeway account, Safeway used Instacart. Safeway would not even discuss this with me. Safeway customer service would not discuss this with me. I have been working on this for hours and have been given the complete shaft. I asked Instacart if I could talk to a supervisor, 1 hours later still waiting, no answer.
I reccomend you never use this service as they take your discounts, they are don’t share what they actually paid (apparently I was given the reciept by accident, and that is a sure sign that InstaCart is intentionally ripping people off of their normal Safeway Discounts).
Again, don’t use Instacart, unless you like being ripped off, plain and simple.
rocky says
I know they mark up the prices on Instacart for HEB, Target and is like 15-20%, so you are paying already $10 extra for buying $50. We recently noticed that the markup is even higher for Costco with ~25-30% prices being high on Instacart than buying at costco. For example we had placed items in our cart that we usually buy and it was showing up around $108.40 but i decided to go to Costco warehouse and get them instead and got them all at $79.30, So here we seem to pay an extra $30 on top of the annual payment. When I called them, they said that these are the prices they could negotiate with Costco. Please review the prices from the other stores too, so your audience will get to know how much they pay extra for markup as well as tips as well as annual fees.
Lee says
My experience with Instacart has been terrible.
I have a disability, and can’t drive. If this service worked it would make my life just easier. Because of that, I’ve kept trying much longer than I should have.
I’m made more than 30 orders with Instacart. Across all those orders, only 2-3 times have they delivered everything I ordered from their were site. Every other time, they have not delivered items. My latest order today of 33 items, they refunded 8 of them as out of stock. 1 out of 4 things I ordered weren’t delivered.
That means I have to find a driver and make a shopping trip I wasn’t planning to make, and paid instant delivery fees to avoid making.
I’m done. No more.
Ina says
Hi there – stumbled upon your post when looking to leave them a review. Well… my order never arrived. And no one is answering support emails. I feel totally scammed, as I cancelled other plans to receive groceries. Will be going with Inabuggy next time, apparently they have no markup.
Alison Hansford says
I tried instacart last night for the first time. Seriously disappointed. Opted for the 2 hour delivery because it was dinner for us and my dogs. At the two hour mark I received a text that it was behind schedule but we’ll be there in half an hour. That half hour came and went and no groceries. Ultimately, after an hour on the phone, being put on hold then hung up on 6 times, i was told the shopper went to the wrong Fred Meyer, there wasn’t one in my area, then there was, then I was put on hold a final time, hung up on again, then got a text from Fred Meyer, not instacart, that said my delivery was rescheduled till this morning. 14 hours later than the 2 hours I opted for. I will never use them again. I feel like I was lied to and avoided. And they did NOTHING to try to make it right.
RJP says
Thank you for the article and all of the comments. I just started working with Instacart as a Full Service Shopper. I completed my first 3 days working 2 hours each day. I enjoyed doing just one huge order per 2 hour shift. This article has given me pointers on what to do and what NOT to do. My only advice is, if your independent contractor that shop and deliver for you did not do a good job, PLEASE contact Instacart so they can weed those people out. And reflect that in your tip. You have a choice.
Please also remember that some people work because they like it (ME) and some people work because they need a check.
Callie Ryder says
Unfortunately the very first time I used InstaCart, wasn’t the best experience. I travel out of town a lot in my job and one particular Friday after getting home I was craving – of all things – graham crackers and I had been thinking of trying this delivery service…so why not that night. I made my order and was excited since the graham crackers were bogo and I would have my meals for the weekend without having to take time to go to the store on Saturday morning. Unfortunately, my food did not arrive at my door until 11:00 pm! I have no idea why. A guy who I had a hard time understanding showed up at my door at the late hour, I took the groceries and thanked him and when I started putting them away, there were mistakes that overall weren’t that bad with the exception of one. Of all things, they messed up the graham crackers! I ordered family size graham crackers (no substitutions) and was delivered four boxes of not family size fat free graham crackers, yuck!
Okay, so things happen but the first time free delivery is to see if the service is for you, or that’s what I thought. So I let all the mistakes go except the graham crackers since it was supposed to be no substitutions AND was the only reason I tried InstaCart out at that particular time. It was difficult, I felt, to communicate the problem but I followed the instructions and got a message that they had credited my account and I could use it on my next order. The only thing was that I could not find it in my account. When I finally reached someone on the phone, they said I was logging in incorrectly and that I had to log into InstaCart directly and not from the grocery store (where I originally signed up). First, that makes no sense to me because I never signed up directly with InstaCart, but I tried what they said and could never get my account to show my credit. By now more than two weeks had lapsed and what I did to save time was now an aggravating colossal waste of my time and potentially money. Also, I began to resent that their mistake was credited to me. I was trying them out and in order to get my money back for their mistake I was going to have to spend more money and pay a delivery fee and a service fee when I was only trying them out! I did eventually get my money refunded but it was WAY too much trouble and wasted my time so I’m hesitant – to say the least – to try them again.
If I could pick who my shopper would be, that would be helpful but I don’t think that is allowed. I really want to try them again because I have friends who use them and overall are satisfied. I just had the worst of everything on my first try with them and so now I’m hesitant. If they allowed me to pick my shopper I think I’d try it again. I don’t know if who delivered my groceries is who shopped for them but there was definitely some language issues that made it difficult to communicate and that didn’t help matters.
So, thank you for your post…maybe I’ll try it one more time. It costs money for those of us who use it and I expect that. However, I also expect InstaCart to do their part and so far, I’ve not seen the benefit or the ROI to warrant the cost.
Wendi says
I have used instacart twice. Twice they got my order wrong. Each time I ordered produce, they sent an amount significantly lower than what I ordered (this time, although I was charged the full amounts, instead of getting 5 lbs of red potatoes I received 1/2 lb; instead of 3 lbs of Yukon Gold potatoes I received 1 lb. another time it was a similar situation but with fruit). I also got a carton of eggs with a broken egg, and a substitution which I did not approve. The online complaint system is lousy and takes diligence, not to mention time.
Carolyn Griffin says
Plus not 1 person has mentioned the fact that they put a 7 day hold on your credit card for twice the amount of your order. This utterly rediculous. My order came to $75 including all there fees and tip and they put a hold on my credit card for $100. And they can take up to 7 days to refund the balance. Plus I added an extra tip after they delivered my food because she did such a great job. A great option by the way. And instead of taking that out of the money left over from the $100 they charged my card again for the amount of the extra tip. Uhgg… Waiting to see how much they refund me next week.
Tammy Kresge says
I never had that happen. They do put a hold on but the correct amount was on the next day.
annieM says
That’s not how credit card pending charges work.
Candis says
Are they required to bring your groceries into the home?
Tammy Kresge says
Only if you ask them too. Mine shopper just hands them to me from the door.
U. says
Thank you so much for the info. I think I will try Insta Cart soon, and will come back to this site to launch my first order.
Debby says
I clearly do not see how to waive the service fee on my order today. I only see the “change” option for the tip. I believe now the service fee is mandatory. Also, 2 hour windows are slowing disappearing. When I first started ordering I could place an order at 3pm for delivery options of 1 hour, 2 hour, or 4. Now, I only see 5 hour window. Not convenient any longer. Sad they need to change something that wasnt broken just because they are greedy.
Beth says
You must have better Instacart service in your area than in Chicago. I placed two orders, got only 70% of what I ordered. The things they said they were out of were ridiculous, like lettuce or steel cut oatmeal! I never was unable to get the things Instacart said were unavailable when I shopped at the very same store myself. Replacements were nonsensical, like hemp protein powder instead of hemp seeds, or a 17.5 oz box of diced tomatoes instead of the 32 oz one my recipe called for. The third time I ordered I ended up cancelling when 35% of what I ordered unavailable. Peapod brought me everything I ordered, including the things Instacart said were unavailable, like a frozen turkey breast. And Instacart refused to refund my $99 fee that I didn’t even remember authorizing! Bad service all around. I’d recommend using only if you like wasting your time ordering online and then still having to grocery shop yourself.
J Aldrich says
I used Instacart for the first time in October out of necessity and at first, was very happy with the delivery and service until I got 5 separate charges I was unclear what they were for. After many attempts at trying to reach out to their Help Center and several snarky emails, I filed a fraud claim on 3 of the charges. I finally received a telephone call from Instacart apologizing (which I’ve since discovered is their way of putting customers off until the next email and round of putting you off) and once again directing me through a bunch of ridiculous steps that after 2 1/2 months has only led me back to refiling my fraud claim against them. After refiling my claim Instacart emailed me again apologizing and asking me to start the original process over again like I’m some kind of an idiot..I guess I am for ever having used their service in the first place!
I will NEVER use Instacart again and would advise to find another way to order your groceries.
Kenyon says
They failed to deliver our thanksgiving meal. There is no amount of refund that can fix that screw up. I will never ever recommend this company to anyone. No excuses. I hope they fail. They suck.