Grocery delivery has become a routine part of many people’s lives, so the question isn’t whether to use a service anymore.
Instead, the question is: Which one should you pick?
Shipt and Instacart — two of the leading grocery delivery platforms in the U.S. — share plenty of overlapping features, but they also differ in important ways. We tested both services and spoke with users to pinpoint what each does well — and where they fall short.
Fees and Membership
Shipt and Instacart resemble each other in many respects, which we’ll detail below, but they take distinct approaches when it comes to membership.
Shipt
To place orders through Shipt, you must have a subscription. Shipt offers these plans:
- An annual plan that breaks down to $8.25 per month with a one-time payment of $99
- A month-to-month option for $14 per month
Both subscriptions provide access to exclusive in-app deals, round-the-clock customer support, free delivery on orders above $35 (orders under $35 incur a flat $7 delivery charge) and “on-the-go convenience,” meaning delivery can be sent not only to your residence but also to your workplace or temporary lodging while traveling.
Instacart
You can use Instacart without a subscription. Non-subscribers generally face higher service fees during busy delivery times and always pay a base $3.99 delivery fee, but many non-member users report still receiving relatively speedy service.
Instacart Express is the app’s subscription tier: you can pay $99 once for an annual membership or $9.99 per month, billed on the same day each billing cycle. Members don’t pay delivery fees on orders of $35 or more and aren’t charged peak-hour surcharges.
The Verdict
Whether a subscription is worthwhile depends on your budget and how often you plan to use the platform. For example, if you don’t expect to use Instacart at least three times a month, the Express plan may not be cost-effective.
The fact that Shipt requires a subscription doesn’t seem to bother its users; none of the people I interviewed complained about having to pay for the membership.
User-Friendliness
An app needs to be intuitive to be useful, and both Shipt and Instacart appear to fit that bill. Each app is colorful, legible and easy to navigate, with straightforward interfaces.
Shipt
When you launch the Shipt app, the top of the screen highlights the last store you browsed and the address you set up for your account. Account and cart icons appear at the top, with a search bar and the next available delivery window beneath them.
Below those elements are vivid, almost cartoonish icons labeled “Buy Again,” “Browse,” “On Sale” and more. These shortcuts make it simple to jump right into a few specific shopping modes: reorder staples, browse discounted items, or explore options for particular needs like fresh produce.
Instacart
Opening Instacart reveals an account link in the top left and an option to view or change account details. Your cart is located in the top right. Under those buttons, icons labeled “Sales” and “Shopping List” appear.
The “Sales” area compiles all items on promotion across Instacart-partner stores in your vicinity, while “Shopping List” helps you build a virtual list for future orders.
Further down, you’ll see a list of local stores compatible with the app. Instacart’s home screen doesn’t always show a search bar, but many users find it convenient to select a specific store first and search within it.
The Verdict
Both apps highlight money-saving options on their home screens, but they nudge users toward different actions.
Shipt tends to bring you back to the last store you used so you can quickly place another order, while Instacart encourages creating a shopping list, discovering the latest deals and potentially trying a different retailer.
I preferred Shipt’s visual layout — it was more engaging and slightly easier to use — though I thought Instacart’s organization felt cleaner overall.
Store Selection
I live in Cheyenne, Wyoming. When I used each app to shop, both displayed a mix of regional and national grocery and specialty chains as options.
Shipt
For me, neither app seemed to have a clearly superior selection, but for Christy Elliott of Stockton, California, Shipt consistently offers more store variety.
“Shipt shops at more stores than Instacart,” she told me, noting she’s noticed similar availability in other areas she’s checked.
On Shipt’s website, the company emphasizes that selection. One of the first lines reads: “We know you have your go-to products from your favorite stores. That’s why we deliver from local and national retailers people love – like Target, Petco, or CVS.”
Instacart
Instacart uses geolocation to connect you with stores near you. The app typically shows three stores it determines are in your area near the top of the screen — though this feature isn’t always flawless; in my case it thought I was shopping in a town four hours away. (Then again, in Wyoming you can’t always trust cell or internet signals, let alone GPS.)
The Verdict
This one’s tough to call because store availability varies widely by location. If you live close to a major city, you’ll naturally see a broader range of retailers on both platforms than someone in a sparsely populated area.
During my research I discovered Shipt isn’t active in my city yet, even though I live in a state capital, so I had to use my childhood home’s Chicago-suburb address for a test order.
That highlights a potential downside of Shipt: its limited city coverage. Shipt currently operates in about 270 U.S. metropolitan areas, while Instacart serves more than 5,500 cities across the U.S. and Canada. Confirm availability in your area before signing up.
Shopping and Ordering
Both Shipt and Instacart provide grocery pickup and delivery, though many users prefer delivery — especially since the pandemic. The ordering flows are largely the same across both apps, with only small differences in features.
Shipt
When I tried Shipt, I used the “Browse” option to shop, which presented categories like “Trending” and “Household Essentials.” I liked the “Trending” section because it quickly shows what other customers are buying — particularly interesting during COVID-19.
However, after looking at “Trending” items the app didn’t provide a back button to return to the category list, so I had to hit the home button and start over.
Instacart
Instacart makes it easy to find items using the search bar (which appears after you select a specific store). You can also scroll through “Coupons” and “Popular” sections near the top.
Less tech-savvy users should note it’s easy to accidentally add items to your cart. I once tapped the plus sign above cilantro and, had I tapped it twice, would have added it immediately. But if you only tap once, a small pop-up usually appears asking for quantity and offering a delete option if you don’t want the item.
The Verdict
Both apps follow the same basic routine: choose a store, browse by product categories or use the search bar to find a specific item.
Differences are minor. For example, I was more likely to unintentionally add multiple bundles of cilantro on Instacart, giving Shipt a slight advantage in my experience.
Communication and Customer Service
Both services let customers communicate with their personal shopper, but the methods differ: Instacart’s messaging is built into the app, while Shipt shoppers are contacted via text or phone call.
Shipt
Most people I spoke to weren’t bothered by Shipt not having in-app messaging.
One user, Mya Widmyer from Sarasota, Florida, mentioned being frustrated about needing her phone available while the shopper was in the store. She acknowledged, though, that out-of-stock items are common right now because of the pandemic, so this inconvenience may not be permanent.
Widmyer still recommends Shipt and plans to keep using it after COVID-19. She even had such a positive experience with one shopper that she consistently gets matched with him for most orders.
“My orders all go to him if he’s working at that time, so it’s nice to have a familiar face and someone who has kind of gotten to know my shopping style,” she said. “He also brought me flowers one time I ordered a bunch of soup and medication because I was sick!”
Instacart
Instacart users generally like that the app includes built-in communication with their shopper.
Sarah Horen of Cheyenne, Wyoming, said she appreciates being told when an item is out of stock and being able to suggest alternatives instantly, rather than only finding out after delivery.
“Every shopper we’ve had has done an awesome job shopping for us, whether it is picking good replacements or grabbing fresh produce,” she said.
Another advantage is that Instacart offers order tracking, which Shipt does not. Instacart customers can see exactly what’s already in the shopper’s cart and where the shopper is in the shopping process.
The Verdict
Your preference will come down to how you like to communicate with your shopper. I gave Instacart extra credit for integrating messaging directly into the app and providing an order tracker that keeps customers updated.
Delivery
The delivery routines are comparable: you choose a time window and ideally receive your order during that span. However, each service defines those windows slightly differently.
Shipt
The most notable difference between the two apps — aside from communication methods — is the length of the delivery window. Shipt typically offers one-hour windows, which has worked well for Boston resident Christina Muscarella.
Muscarella doesn’t own a car in the city, so delivery has always been convenient, but now it’s essential. She praised Shipt’s same-day service.
“I gave it a try and I love it,” Muscarella said. “The fact that I can still get same-day delivery is fantastic to me. An example is that I ordered my groceries around 6:30 p.m. (today) and got them dropped off at my door by 8 p.m.”
Instacart
Instacart usually assigns two-hour delivery windows.
For some users, like Christy Elliott, that’s a benefit.
“Instacart is smart,” she said. “Shipt should do that too. It would limit the customers’ expectations of actually getting [their order] within that one-hour window, on-time, with Shipt.”
The Verdict
Which service performs better here depends on multiple factors, including how many shoppers work in your area and how many people use the app. Some users feel Instacart’s larger delivery window is practical because it gives shoppers more flexibility when delays occur.
Niki Kottman is a contributor to Savinly.
