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Best grocery delivery for curated groceries and meal kits
Hungryroot
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Best grocery delivery for those in the Northeast
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Best grocery delivery service to buy from local markets
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Best grocery delivery for weekly deals
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In an age when you can buy almost anything online and have it delivered right to your door at lightning speed, grocery delivery services are a convenient option for those of us who are too busy to go grocery shopping and want to cut down on takeout. The best grocery delivery service takes care of all the time, labor and price matching for you — and it may be more cost-effective than you think.
Many of the most popular grocery delivery services can deliver groceries from local stores, so you can still get your go-to foods and pantry essentials. There are also specialty grocery delivery services crafted for those with more specific food preferences, such as healthy food and organic produce, or those who are passionate about reducing food waste.
To save yourself time and hassle, a grocery delivery service can take one of your big weekly tasks off your hands and allow you to carefully curate your grocery haul from the comfort of your own home. To help you pick the right one, we’ve set out to test all the top players to find the best grocery delivery service for 2024.
What’s the best online grocery delivery service?
If you live in the Northeast, FreshDirect is the best grocery delivery service to try, but the brand has been slow to expand to other parts of the country. For most people, Amazon Fresh is the best way to get fresh produce, meat, pantry staples and other supermarket goods sent to their door. But there are other retail services that offer grocery discounts and deals, those that source and deliver from local supermarkets, and super speedy grocery delivery services that can get the goods to you within an hour — sometimes less.
To curate this list, I tested a flurry of popular options such as Amazon Fresh, Gopuff and Instacart, as well as some smaller upstarts such as Misfits Market and Hungyroot to see which operations excelled with variety, quality brands, fair prices, and easy and timely delivery. All this to help you pick a perfect grocery delivery service and shave one weekly errand off your to-do list with just a few clicks.
If it’s just fruits and veggies you’re after, these are the best places to get produce delivered. I also tested to find the best online butchers and seafood markets too. But to knock out the entire list — or most of it — in one place, these are the best online grocery delivery services for 2024.
Best grocery delivery services in 2024
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Amazon Fresh has a massive selection of groceries at low prices to choose from and speedy delivery for Prime Members. You’ll find just about anything you’d see at your local supermarket. Because Amazon owns Whole Foods you’ll also have access to that store’s proprietary brand, 365, which has quality goods at below-average prices. The Amazon Fresh website is well organized and the ordering platform is easy to use. You can schedule deliveries for the same day in most cases.
A few food categories are somewhat limited: I couldn’t find fresh chicken thighs, for instance, which are a staple on my weekly grocery list. For seafood, there was no option for fresh shrimp, so you’d have to choose frozen. The fresh produce selection is solid but mostly just the staples you’d expect and nothing more. All the food I ordered arrived looking fresh, with no spoiled or overripe fruits and vegetables.
Amazon Fresh also offers a wealth of household products, so you can bang out most of your typical supermarket run in one delivery. In addition to delivery, Amazon Fresh offers in-store pickup for certain ZIP codes.
What we like:
Good selection of fresh and shelf-stable groceries Competitive pricesFree delivery for Prime members
What we don’t like:
There were some grocery items we couldn’t findShipping fees for non-Prime members
Coverage area: Available in 42 cities across eight states and Washington, DC.
Fees and pricing: Amazon Prime costs $15 a month or $139 a year. Amazon Fresh delivery orders from Prime Members with 2-hour delivery windows include a service fee of $7 for deliveries $50 to $100 and $10 for deliveries under $50. Orders over $100 don’t include a service fee for Prime Members. If you aren’t subscribed to Amazon Prime, charges vary between $5 to $4 for 2-hour delivery depending on basket size
Minimum order: None
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For a monthly or yearly membership fee, Thrive Market members can shop via the platform primarily for pantry and frozen staples, which come with a low-price guarantee. The platform also includes other household staples such as beauty, bath and body, vitamins and supplements and even wine. We found that the selection at Thrive was more than sufficient to provide a lot of great options for pantry staples, including its own proprietary brand of more than 700 items, snacks, and especially frozen proteins and meals.
What we like:
Good for ordering pantry and protein staplesWide selection of ethically responsible productsEco-friendly packaging and shipping
What we don’t like:
No fresh produce or dairyMust buy into a membership in order to browse
Coverage area: Available for all contiguous US addresses.
Fees and pricing: Annual membership for Thrive Market is $60, which you pay upfront. Memberships billed monthly are offered for $12. At less than half the cost, the annual membership is really worth it, especially since it works out to only $5 a month, which you will easily save in one order. Based on my experience, you may save $5 with just two items.
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If you don’t mind the occasional oddly shaped orange or citrus that’s fully usable but has a bit of browning on the peel, Misfits Market offers low prices on produce. Misfits may have made a name by selling cheap, ugly produce that is deemed unfit for grocery store shelves, but it’s evolved into a full-service grocery operation with meats, fish, baking supplies and pantry staples.
The convenient subscription service doesn’t require you to pay any subscription fees and has cheap shipping. The one catch is that the inventory changes fairly drastically from week to week. That’s how they keep prices low, but it also means you’ll have to actively curate orders or you might receive items that you don’t like. Here’s our full review of Misfits Market.
What we like:
Low prices and no membership feesCheap shipping starts at $6 depending on your locationGood selection of ethically responsible productsEco-friendly packaging and shipping
What we don’t like:
Inventory is inconsistentSome produce arrives a little past its primeMust actively curate your order each week
Coverage area: Available for all contiguous US addresses.
Fees and pricing: There are no membership fees, but you’ll have a minimum order. There’s also a $6 fee for shipping, which could be more depending on your ZIP code.
Minimum order: Varies by location.
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Hungryroot (full review here) is a grocery subscription service that makes weekly suggestions based on a quiz you’ll take to gauge your eating habits and dietary preferences. One of this service’s unique features is that it offers simple and flexible meal ideas with the necessary groceries to make them. It’s somewhere between a meal kit and a grocery delivery service and is great for those looking for breakfast, lunch and dinner inspiration.
The online grocery market stocks a good amount of quality, organic and specialty items including meat, seafood, produce, snacks and pantry items, but you won’t find as many options as vendors such as Amazon Fresh or FreshDirect.
Once the initial suggested list is formulated, you can remove any grocery items and add others based on a credit system. I priced out a full list from Hungryroot and compared it to an average grocery store. By my calculations, Hungryroot is about 8% to 10% more expensive. The interface and ordering platform are both intuitive and even fun to use.
What we like:
Creative and simple recipe suggestionsUnique and interesting groceriesFun and easy interface
What we don’t like:
A bit more expensive than some other servicesOverall grocery selection is limitedRequires a subscription and minimum weekly order
Coverage area: Most ZIP codes in the continental US and Washington, DC.
Fees and pricing: Hungryroot plans start at $69 a week for meals that net about six servings. The cost per serving gets significantly cheaper if you order more food. Plans under $70 are charged another $7 per delivery. Plans over $70 receive free shipping. You can pause or cancel without penalty at any time.
Minimum order: $69
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With competitive prices, great selection and timely deliveries, FreshDirect is actually my favorite grocery delivery service to use, but because it’s currently only available in the Northeast, it’s hard to tap as the No. 1 overall pick.
FreshDirect has a wide-ranging selection of fresh produce, meats, fish, prepared foods, pantry items, home and paper products. While there are definitely fewer total items than in a brick-and-mortar supermarket, I found just about everything I would normally buy on a trip to the grocery store. FreshDirect stocks plenty of organic and specialty items at similar prices to Stop & Shop or Wegmans.
FreshDirect’s website is easy to navigate and deliveries are almost always on time, in our experience. Customer service is also great and if anything is missing or damaged, they’ll replace it in the next delivery or credit your account — no questions asked.
What we like:
Great selection of groceriesQuality meats and fresh produceCompetitive prices on par with midrange grocery storesTimely delivery and good customer service
What we don’t like:
Only available in the NortheastThe occasional missing item from an order
Coverage area: Most of the New York City metropolitan area, parts of northern New Jersey and southern Connecticut. For summer only, the Hamptons and Jersey Shore.
Fees and pricing: One-time delivery charges start at $6. Memberships for unlimited deliveries (DeliveryPass) start at $39 for six months or $6.50 a month.
Minimum order: $30 (except for deliveries to the Hamptons, which have a $99 minimum).
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Instacart is a local grocery delivery service and operates differently than the first two on our list. This third-party service hires shoppers to head to a local store of your choosing, buy the items and deliver them to your door. The good news is you’ll get to order from your favorite local grocery store if you have one you like. Instacart is available for most grocery chains — Publix, Aldi, Stop & Shop and Costco — but the store options will vary depending on your location.
The downside is that you have to be at attention and check the app for messages from your shopper while they’re shopping in case certain items are out of stock. The shopper will typically send photos of potential replacements in real time for you to approve or reject. It can be a little bit stressful and time-consuming but it’s still a time-saver over going to the store yourself. You can also track the grocery delivery in real time via the mobile app to see when it will arrive.
Instacart also marks prices up on most groceries, sometimes as much as 14%. And there’s a delivery fee and suggested tipping associated with each order, making it one of the more expensive options on our list. In addition to delivery, Instacart offers in-store pickup for online orders at some stores.
What we like:
Includes multiple stores from your local areaA larger total selection of grocery items than most services
What we don’t like:
Real-time shoppers require your attention for replacementsGenerally more expensive than other servicesFewer deals and sales
Coverage area: More than 1,000 cities in North America.
Fees and pricing: Instacart delivery fee starts at $4 but varies based on retailer and region. There is also a suggested driver/shopper tip. A membership for unlimited deliveries over $35 costs $10 a month or $99 per year.
Minimum order: $10
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Gopuff isn’t the one-stop-shop for groceries that some of these other outfits are, but it has one big thing going for it and that’s speed. Gopuff stocks mostly the essentials, including snacks, dry goods, household products, paper goods and pharmacy staples, and can have them to your door in as little as 30 minutes and almost always under an hour.
Gopuff is a great option if you need staples and need them fast but it won’t replace a run to the grocery store and has fewer options than say, FreshDirect or Instacart. You will find a scant selection of fruit, vegetables, meat and dairy products and what you do find, is stocked fairly inconsistently. Gopuff has a large delivery footprint, operating in over 650 US cities via 500 regional microfulfillment centers.
What we like:
One of the speediest grocery delivery services aroundGood selection of paper goods, household products and pharmacy staplesSome specialty itemsFair prices and no extra charge for fast deliveryDelivers booze in certain cities
What we don’t like
Limited options for most grocery itemsVery little fresh produceLimited meat and dairy optionsInventory is inconsistent
Coverage area: More than 650 US cities.
Fees and pricing: Gopuff’s delivery charge varies by region but starts at $4 and goes up from there. You may be charged a small order fee if you don’t meet the minimum order requirements for your location. You can also join Gopuff’s FAM Membership for $8 per month to get free delivery and no fees.
Minimum order: Varies by delivery area.
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Target-owned Shipt is similar to Instacart, offering personal shoppers who will secure your desired list from local supermarket chains and wholesale outlets — Target included. Shipt focuses more on discount area retailers, including Costco, so you’ll find plenty of deals and bulk savings.
Besides the wealth of low prices, another big draw for using Shipt is having groceries delivered same-day, sometimes as quickly as an hour. Other services require you to schedule delivery times days in advance. This is great if you’re not the best at planning your weekly routine and often need groceries in a hurry.
You can also tack on far more than groceries, especially if your order is from Target. Need a pound of potatoes, a table lamp and a smartwatch? Shipt can bring it all to your door.
What we like:
Tons of discounts and deals Same-day deliveryDelivery from pharmacies, pet stores and home supply stores available
What we don’t like:
Not as great of a selection of small, local grocery storesThe website and app aren’t the best
Coverage area: More than 500 cities in North America.
Fees and pricing: A monthly membership for unlimited deliveries is $11 and a yearly membership costs $99. Non-members will have to pay a delivery fee.
Minimum order: None
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To test each grocery delivery service, we placed an order from each with various, typical groceries including produce and meats (when available), dry goods, snacks and paper products. We noted how intuitive each ordering platform was and how good the selection was for various categories.
Here’s everything I received in my Hungryroot delivery.
David Watsky/CNET
We also took notice of delivery options since some grocery services allow for same-day and next-day delivery while others require you to schedule in advance. When the boxes of groceries arrived, we noted how well the items were packed, if everything was included and how fresh — or not fresh — the meats, produce, cheese and other perishable items looked.
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While most of the fresh fruits and vegetables we received were fine, there was the occasional bruised tomato or apple. If you have a local market with a good selection of produce, you may want to pop in for those items and have the rest of your list delivered.
Some of the produce I received from Misfits Market was bruised. But it turns out that one bad tomato doesn’t spoil the whole bunch.
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What are the advantages of buying groceries online?
The most obvious perks to buying your groceries online are the convenience of not driving to the store, wandering through aisles and waiting in checkout lines.
Another bonus for shopping online is the ability to compare prices easily. If you see a box of Cheerios for $5, you can quickly compare that price to other stores and decide if it’s a good price. And before placing your order, you can see the total tab, which is a luxury that in-person shopping doesn’t afford.
Shopping for groceries online also allows you to carefully read the nutritional information and search for any ingredients that may be unfamiliar or read reviews of a product you may not be familiar with. Online grocery services often have reviews of products to help you decide on the best stuff.
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Are grocery delivery services cheaper than buying in the store?
This all depends on which grocery delivery service you purchase from. We did some calculations and buying groceries online is very similar in price to buying in person from a midpriced supermarket. If you shop using one of the discount or bulk retailers such as Boxed.com, you’re probably getting a better deal than you would at the local grocery store.
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Is grocery shopping online easy?
We found using nearly all of the grocery delivery services we’ve tested very easy and intuitive. Services such as FreshDirect, Amazon Fresh and Boxed.com are as simple as any other online shopping experience where you build a cart, select a delivery day, pay for it and that’s it.
Other services with live shoppers such as Shipt and Instacart require a bit more attention and time since you have to respond to your shopper in real time when items are out of stock and confirm or deny replacements. Those services also typically require you to be home when the driver arrives, whereas other services don’t.
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