Whether you’re stuck at home, too busy to shop, or want to save time, it’s convenient to shop online for groceries. We looked at online grocery shopping services and rated each by convenience, selection, quality, ease of use, and cost. Here are our picks for the top eight online grocery shopping sites.
Your online grocery-buying experience can be affected by numerous factors, including stock availability, store hours, purchase restrictions, access to substitutions, and peak busy periods. Stay patient and flexible.
Best Online Grocery for Pickup or Delivery: Walmart
With a wide selection of groceries, personal care items, and home necessities, Walmart likely has everything you need at a great price. Browse by department or search for something specific using the Walmart website or the Walmart app for iOS or Android.
Free pickup at the store.
Excellent prices.
Delivery from local stores.
Also includes non-grocery items.
Pickup accepts SNAP EBT.
Delivery fee per order.
Minimum order limit for delivery.
Walmart offers free same-day pickup at a Walmart location you select. Home delivery requires a minimum of $35 in purchases, and delivery fees vary according to the time slot. If you’re a planner, schedule your grocery delivery or pickup up to three weeks in advance.
Walmart has also introduced a subscription service called Walmart+ for $98 per year or $12.95 monthly after a 30-day free trial. With Walmart+, you’ll get free delivery from your local store for orders of $35 and up, as well as fuel discounts and free two-day and next-day shipping from Walmart.com. With the Walmart+ Mobile Scan & Go feature, you’ll also gain the ability to check out with your phone while you’re shopping.
If you’re looking for additional convenience, and you’re a trusting sort, Walmart is expanding its Walmart InHome delivery service to more than 30 million customers. InHome is a $138-per-year delivery option that has vetted delivery people bring groceries straight into your kitchen when you’re not home. An InHome membership includes all the Walmart+ benefits, including lower fuel prices and free Walmart.com shipping.
Good customer service.
Front door delivery.
Lots of filtering options.
Free access for Prime members.
Only available in select locations.
Additional charges per order.
Excessive packaging used.
Helpful filtering options refine search results to find exactly what you want. For example, if you’re looking for meat, specify only organic or pasture-raised meats, low-fat meat, specific brands of meat, and more.
Best Online Grocery Service for Multiple Stores: Instacart
Instacart lets you shop at various stores in your local area, including Costco, CVS, Ralph’s, BevMo, Petco, and more. Shoppers subcontracted by Instacart deliver your items to your doorstep.
Pickup and delivery options.
Works with several companies.
Delivery in as little as an hour or later in the week.
Delivery fees per order unless you pay for a membership.
Service fees are tacked on to each delivery.
You might be charged more during peak delivery hours.
The Instacart website and apps for iOS and Android are easy to use. Move between stores and create separate shopping carts to get your errands done quickly and easily. Take advantage of each store’s special offers and coupons to maximize savings.
It’s easy to communicate with your shopper, designate substitutions, and add to your order after shopping has begun if you realize you forgot something. Instacart updates you with your shopper’s progress and tells you when they’re on the way.
Delivery fees vary according to time slots, availability, and peak hours, but you’ll get free delivery on all orders over $35 with an Instacart Express $99 (or $9.99 per month) annual membership.
Visit Instacart to see if the service is available in your area.
Best Online Grocer for Fresh and Gourmet Foods: FreshDirect
FreshDirect focuses on delivering quality, fresh, organic food with a short supply chain, working directly with its local farms, dairies, fisheries, and other food partners. FreshDirect shoppers fill your online order from the company’s facility, not local grocery stores, with a vast inventory of items ranging from specialty goods to supermarket staples. Shop from the FreshDirect website or the FreshDirect iOS and Android apps.
Use code LIFEWIRE50 for $50 Off Your First Order of $99+
Guaranteed Freshness dates.
Reliable, on-time service.
Chef-prepared meals.
Good customer service.
Reasonable prices.
100% Happiness Guarantee.
Only available in select locations.
Fee per order or subscription for unlimited delivery.
Delivery slots fill up fast.
Freshness is key to FreshDirect’s service. Items arrive in peak condition, along with information about how long the food will remain fresh. This information is great for weekly meal planning and preparation. Pricing is on par with local grocery stores. While FreshDirect doesn’t accept outside coupons, the service offers regular deals and specials.
FreshDirect is available only in select East Coast locations. Delivery fees vary, but a $79 six-month subscription or $129 12-month subscription to FreshDirect DeliveryPass gets you unlimited free deliveries any day of the week, as well as the ability to reserve future delivery time slots. (FreshDirect sometimes offers a 60-day free DeliveryPass trial.)
Not fussy about when your groceries get delivered? Try FreshDirect’s $39 six-month DeliveryPass subscription for Tuesday through Thursday delivery.
Need your fresh groceries quickly? In some locations, FreshDirect offers Express Delivery for select products, delivering groceries in as little as 60 minutes.
Best Online Service for Finding Seasonal, Local Products: LocalHarvest
LocalHarvest connects people looking for fresh, organic, farm-to-table produce and goods with farmers in their communities. Search LocalHarvest’s online directory to find local food, farm events, and farmer-grown specialty products.
Offers locally grown food.
Many organic options.
Pickup options are often available.
Complicated website.
Unreliable service.
Orders are shipped by local vendors.
Limited payment options.
Shop by category, such as Meats, Fruits, Dairy & Eggs, and Chocolate & Desserts. Or, peruse subscription box options courtesy of Community Supported Agriculture deliveries, which allow you to subscribe to seasonal produce and visit select farms once each season.
LocalHarvest delivery fees vary according to vendor and subscription options.
Best Online Grocery for Hard-to-Find Items: ShopFoodEx
ShopFoodEx offers more than 15,000 grocery and household items to browse by category or search by brand or item. Make lists, find seasonal specials, and shop a limited array of warehouse items.
Excellent packaging practices.
Great customer service.
Reasonable prices.
No minimum purchase price.
Outdated website.
Orders are shipped, not local.
Steep shipping charges.
This isn’t a local delivery site, so shipping rates can be rather high, even up to $16 for an item that costs only a few dollars. However, ShopFoodEx’s shipping rates are clearly stated before you order anything (rates vary depending on location), and the price may be worth it for a hard-to-find item. If you spend $100 or more, ShopFoodEx automatically drops shipping charges by 15 percent.
This grocery shopping site lets you check out as a guest without making a user account, which is helpful if you’re in a hurry. It also supports deliveries to APO/FPO addresses.
Best Online Grocery for Organic Ingredients: GoBio!
Stock up on a massive array of organic and kosher cooking and baking ingredients with GoBio!. Canadian-owned and operated, GoBio! offers high-quality food delivered to the United States and Canada, with free shipping on orders over $85.
All organic.
Free shipping for orders over the minimum limit.
Built-in product comparisons.
Helpful sorting options.
Free recipes.
Only Go Bio! branded products are available.
Orders are shipped, not locally delivered.
Very limited selection.
Must spend $30 minimum.
High shipping costs.
GoBio! helps people cook and bake wholesome, organic meals with its products, ranging from broth powder, gelatin, and bouillon cubes, to dessert mixes and gravy cubes. Check out the GoBio’s recipes page for inspiration for whipping up delicious, organic meals.
Best Neighborhood Online Grocery: Safeway
Safeway offers the convenience of online grocery shopping to many areas in the United States using its online site or iOS and Android mobile apps.
Same-day delivery.
Refrigerated delivery trucks.
Large selection of foods.
Only available in select areas.
Orders aren’t always accurate.
Deliveries aren’t always reliable.
Select a delivery or pickup time, depending on available windows. Delivery fees are low, and there’s an array of grocery items to choose from, including supermarket staples and specialty items. A Personal Shopper function lets you provide notes about your items, such as, “Please choose firm tomatoes.”
If you choose to pick up your items at a local Safeway, select the DriveUp & Go option to have employees bring your items to your car.
Safeway also has a subscription plan called FreshPass, where you pay $12.99 per month (or $99 per year) and receive free delivery on all orders over $30 and other exclusive perks.
Be sure to browse through Safeway’s Weekly Ad page for deals. Filter the page by category and search through the ad to create your shopping list.
