At Jaunty, we love the convenience of online grocery apps. We began researching the best grocery delivery services about two months back.

First, we focused on the biggest benefits, including:

• Grocery delivery services near me
• Best grocery delivery apps
• Quality food, healthy options
• Convenience, reasonable cost
• Ease of ordering, delivery times
• Access to customer service

Although, as we descend further into Covid19, the best benefit may simply be not going to the grocery store.

Also, as of this writing, the services we’ve reviewed are still making deliveries.  However, the lead times are about 3-5 days out. Certainly, as “grocery hoarding” subsides, delivery times will improve.

Finally, online grocery orders &  doorstep drop-off  might be a valuable tool in reducing community virus spread. The more we can do to protect our family & community, the better!

Jaunty has no financial relationship with these companies

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Best Grocery Delivery Services

Let’s look at 5 online grocery delivery services that we like.

Aggressive Prices

Amazon Fresh

In order  to overtake Walmart, Amazon Fresh is aggressively chasing the grocery delivery services market. As a result, with an Amazon Prime account, additional fees on groceries are nominal.  In this case, access to Amazon fulfillment centers and Whole Foods are both options.

Features:

Areas Served

Prime members can shop for groceries through Amazon fulfillment or Whole Foods stores online, via Amazon.com or app. Click here to see of your area is served

Reduced Cost – Because of a drive to be competitive, Amazon did away with monthly service fees. With an Amazon Prime Account, there are no monthly fees.

No Minimum Order – No minimum, however fees apply for orders under $35.

Grocery costs – It seems like you can expect to pay about 10% more for delivered groceries from Amazon. Therefore, Amazon is one of the most price competitive

Delivery Fee – Free delivery for orders above $35, Delivery in 2 hours free with Prime, otherwise $5 more, One hour delivery, $8.

Tipping – Amazon currently does not accept tips.

Ordering –  Online through Amazon or the Amazon App.

Drop Off options – Attended & Unattended Delivery.

Alcohol – Yes, select cities.

Store Pick Up – Yes.

Customer Service – Yes, through Chat or phone

Healthy Options – Vegan, non-gmo, organic options available.

Personal Shoppers, A Wide Variety of Stores

Instacart

Instacart connects you with personal shoppers, who tackle your grocery list. They deliver or you can arrange for store pickup. Communication is directly with your personal shopper. As a result, out of stock items or last minute adds are simple.

Also, you can track your order progress or provide delivery instructions, through the app. Grocery delivery service can be in as little as an hour.

Best of all, Instacart offers a wide variety of store options. In addition to your local grocery stores, options such as CVS, BEVMo, Petco, Sur La Table, Costco, Sam’s Club and many more are available.

Features:

Areas Served –Across the US. Click here to check  your location

Subscription Cost – If you intend to use Instacart on a regular basis, you can sign up for Instacart Express. For $99 a year (or $10 a month) your delivery fees are waived for orders above $35.

Small Minimum Order –$10

Delivery Fees for speed – $4 to $8, based on delivery time. The fastest is one hour.

Tippings OK – Tipping is encouraged but not required. 5% is the recommended, but it’s up to you.

Variable Grocery Costs – All stores list if they offer “everyday store prices” or “higher than store prices” The policy is listed under each store’s logo.

Service Fee – If you elect to not pay the annual fee, your orders will include a 5% service fee

Ordering –  You can order online from your computer or use Instacart’s phone App

Delivery options – As quick as 1 hour. Faster delivery bumps delivery cost $4 to $8.

Alcohol –  Yes, select cities.

Customer Service – Yes. You can email or call Instacart directly 24/7.

Healthy Options – Vegan, non-gmo, organic options available, dependent upon your store selection.

Lastly, you can provide delivery instructions within the app. You can also text the driver where to leave the groceries if you can’t be there in person.

Bulk Purchases, A little Pricey

Costco

Our research suggests that visiting Costco in person might be the better play. Costco adds 30% to their normally aggressive pricing.

Maybe this makes sense if the sheer bulk of the shop exceeds your car’s capacity. Otherwise, grab a shopping cart, sample a few snacks and join the Costco faithful at the store checkout!

Areas Served – International.

Cost – Costco’s standard membership fee.

Minimum Order –None

Delivery Fee – A minimum order of $75 will waive a delivery fee

Tipping – Optional. Costco adds a recommended tip at checkout, which you can alter or remove.

Grocery Costs – It looks as though Costco adds a 30% bump on it’s delivered products.

Ordering – Online, through your Computer or the App

Delivery options – 2nd day delivery (or you can arrange same day through Instacart).

Alcohol – Yes, select cities.

Customer Service – Yes, live chat or phone support

Healthy Options – Vegan, non-gmo, organic options available.

Lots of healthy supplements & snacks on our Wellness page…

Healthy Hybrid

HungryRoot

HungryRoot is the most health conscious food delivery service in our list. They’re kind of a hybrid between a meal subscription plan and grocery delivery service. After filling out your personal food profile, HungryRoot ships weekly servings of food.

In addition to your order, quick and easy recipes are provided, to mix and match all the interrelated ingredients into tasty creations.

You can change your preferences or number of meal servings at any time. If you’re not a fan of one of their offerings, you can mark that item to be excluded.

In short, HungryRoot is a great program to ensure healthy eating, along with simple recipes to ensure you maximize the flavors of each meal.

Locations – Across the US (Hawaii & Alaska excluded).

Subscription – HungryRoot uses a subscription service. Your subscription cost is based upon how many meals & snacks you’d like to cover, over the course of a week. The more meals you purchase, the cost per meal goes down.

I priced out 6 lunch and dinner servings per week and the per meal cost came out to $8.50 per serving.

You can pause your meal subscription plan at any time.

Here’s how HungryRoot explains subscription pricing:

Small ($69 – 3 or more two-serving meals, plus snacks or other individual items)
Medium ($99 – 4 or more two-serving meals, plus snacks or other individual items)
Large ($129 – 5 or more two-serving meals, plus snacks or other individual items)
Minimum Order: $69 for a weekly order

Delivery Fee – Shipping ground is free, Air shipments are $10

Ordering –  Online, from your computer.  Currently, there’s no phone App.

Delivery options – Ground shipping or Air. Your orders are shipped in cold, insulated boxes

Alcohol – No

Customer Service – Email or texting

Healthy Options –  Healthy is HungryRoot’s thing!

Non GMO, Vegan, Plant based, No Soy, dairy free, gluten free, organic…. These options can all be setup in your preferences from the start. All the food they carry is free of:

•  partially hydrogenated oils
•  artificial sweeteners
•  high-fructose corn syrup
•  artificial colors
•  artificial preservatives

Personal Shoppers, A Wide Variety of Stores

Shipt

Shipt started in Birmingham, AL in 2014 and has expanded rapidly. They now serve 260 cities.. Target recently purchased Shipt. So, we can assume more growth is coming.

Shipt works with your local grocery stores and big box stores. CVS, Petco, Target, Sur La Table & others are available. Shipt uses personal shoppers to curate your grocery experience. From a few items to a large grocery shop, Shipt will accommodate you.

Your personal shopper aims to please.  and can fiast minute texts to change your order. Similar to Uber, Shipt uses a personal shopper rating system to drive customer service.

At a 14% grocery markup, Shipt is about middle of the pack in terms of cost.

Several Cities – 260 cities served and counting. Click here to see if your area is covered.

Cost – Shipt’s membership Fee is $14 per month or $99 Annually.

Minimum Order – No minimum order.

Delivery Fee – Orders over $35 are Free. Under $35 comes with  a   $7 delivery fee.

Tipping – Permitted but not required.

Grocery Costs –  About 14% higher for delivery than in store purchases. Shipt also offers online specials and discounts.

Ordering –  Online from your computer or the Shipt mobile app.

Delivery options – Orders can be placed 24/7 and delivery can be as quickly as one hour.

Alcohol – Available in select locations

Customer Service – You can text or call Shipt 24/7.

Healthy Options – Dependent upon your local grocery stores, however, typically vegan, non-gmo & organic options are available

Lots of healthy supplements & snacks on our Wellness page…

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