There’s a growing number of online services that make buying groceries easy and convenient. But the real question is whether these services actually save us money.
We’ve researched several of the most popular online food services and the answer we’ve come up with is this: it depends. As you’ll see below, there are a lot of different factors that determine how much you can save by buying groceries online.
What’s Ahead:
First, a few factors to consider
Lifestyle
It may be weird to think about your time in terms of dollars and cents, but for those who really do value their time, the convenience of online food services may be worth much more than the potential added costs.
Buying habits
If you find yourself buying more than expected at the grocery store, shopping online is a good way to stick to your list and avoid impulse buying.
It’s also a good way to be more methodical while price shopping or comparing prices based on weight.
Gas spending
Some delivery services cost extra, but they may actually amount to less than the cost of gas to drive to and from the grocery store (depending on where you live, of course).
Other savings
If online shopping does cost extra, there are some ways you can offset the costs. A credit card that issues rewards could give you the extra funds you need to shift to a more convenient shopping method.
The Chase Freedom Unlimited® card (with no annual fee!) gives you 1.5% cash back or more on all your purchases. You’ll also earn 5% cash back on all travel booked through Chase Ultimate Rewards®. You can increase your savings to as much as 7.5% by signing up for a Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, or Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card and spending your points on the Chase travel portal. In addition, you’ll get 3% cash back on dining and drugstore purchases and 1.5% cash back on other purchases. Plus, as an intro offer you can earn an additional 1.5% on all purchases (up to $20,000 spent in the first year) – worth up to $300 cash back! That’s a HUGE incentive and bonus on the reward front.
Best online food services overview
| Food Service | Best For |
|---|---|
| HelloFresh | Time-strapped grocery shoppers |
| Amazon Prime Pantry | Bulk purchasing |
| Instacart | Comparison shopping |
| Home chef | Quick and easy meals |
| Amazon Prime Now | Convenience at no extra cost |
Best online food services
HelloFresh
- Best for: Time-strapped grocery shoppers
How it works
HelloFresh is just one of many food delivery services that delivers meal kits right to your door. Rather than buying a bunch of groceries and cooking food throughout the week, they deliver recipes for each meal as well as all the ingredients, pre-cut and pre-measured so that all you have to do is cook it.
Cost
Starts at $6.99 per serving, plus $5.99 for delivery.
Pros
- Prevent food waste-A lot of us end up buying more groceries than we need. You may actually save money if you find yourself regularly throwing out food that’s gone bad.
- Save time-For many of us, time really does equal money. So paying a bit more to avoid the onerous meal prep could actually help us save.
Cons
- More expensive-Each meal costs a minimum of $6.99. If we purchase the ingredients ourselves, the cost per meal can be much lower.
Visit HelloFresh today or read our full review.
HelloFresh promotion: Try HelloFresh - Get 18 Free Meals + 3 Surprise Gifts + Free Shipping!.
Amazon Prime Pantry
- Best for: Bulk purchasing
How it works
All Amazon Prime members can shop from Amazon’s massive online inventory of groceries, including household goods and non-perishable items.
Cost
Free shipping on orders of $35+ for Prime members with a $119 annual Amazon Prime subscription.
Pros
- Easier to buy in bulk-Prime Pantry has a massive online inventory, which includes many bulk items that help you save in terms of cost per unit.
- Save up to 15% with Subscribe and Save-You can get 15% off and free delivery on household items you would have bought anyways through their automatic scheduled purchasing program.
- Online deals and coupons-More brands are partnering with Amazon to offer great deals online. You can find some seriously good deals on Amazon if you browse their product listings or coupons page.
- Less impulse buying-Buying online allows you to stick to your shopping list more meticulously and avoid getting swayed by impulse buys.
Cons
- No coupons-The coupons that you use in traditional grocery stores aren’t accepted by Amazon.
- Inventory can be pricier-Many Amazon Primers have reported that some items may even cost more than in grocery stores. This can be partly attributed to having fewer available options to buy affordable generic brands.
- Need to buy produce elsewhere-Prime Pantry only delivers non-perishables, so you would need to get your produce somewhere else.
See what Amazon Prime Pantry can offer you.
Instacart
- Best for: Comparison shopping
How it works
Instacart partners with more than 190 retailers including local stores and national chains, offering same-day grocery delivery of both perishable and non-perishable items.
Cost
$14.99/month for free unlimited same-day delivery or $5.99 fee for orders of $35+ and $9.99 for orders under $35.
Pros
- Easy comparison shopping-With a huge inventory from multiple retailers, it’s super easy to compare prices and find the best deal.
- Easier budget-conscious shopping-Having an overview of your bill as you’re shopping makes it easy to remove items that don’t fit your budget and be conscious of your total.
- Online savings-Instacart often has great promos and sales for extra grocery savings.
Cons
- Can’t use coupons-Unfortunately, Instacart doesn’t allow you to use traditional coupons that you would use at a physical grocery store.
Amazon Prime Now
- Best for: Convenience at no extra cost
How it works
With Amazon Prime Now, you can get groceries delivered to you within 1-2 hours in select cities. Amazon partners with local stores as well as larger chains like Whole Foods and Sprouts to offer a wide selection of both perishable and non-perishable items.
Cost
Two-hour delivery is free with $119 annual Amazon Prime membership; $7.99 for one-hour deliver.
Pros
- Free delivery-Existing prime members get the convenience of grocery delivery completely free of charge.
- Great savings opportunities-Amazon partners with specific brands to offer sales online. You can also use apps like swagbucks.com, which gives you rewards for shopping on Amazon, or a number of other online retailers.
- Get an overview of your bill-Seeing your bill update as you shop helps you stick to your budget more consciously.
Cons
- Can’t use coupons-Like Instacart, Amazon doesn’t allow you to use the traditional coupons that are offered at grocery stores.
Start shopping with Amazon Prime Now.
Home Chef
- Best for: Quick and easy meals
How it works
Home Chef works just like Hello Fresh. They delivery meal kits right to your door, with fresh, pre-measured ingredients that you can quickly prepare.
You can choose between a variety of food options, and decide how many times a week you would like your box delivered.
Cost
Starts at $7.99 per serving. Try Home Chef - Get $90 off your first 3 orders!
Pros
- Save time-Home Chef offers meals that range in the amount of time they take to make. You can choose from plenty that take 30 minutes or less.
- Fresh ingredients-Home Chef has very fresh ingredients that vary, so you always have something exciting to try.
Cons
- Cost-Home Chef is an expensive alternative to grocery shopping.
Become a Home-Chef member today or read our full review.
Other ways to save on groceries
If you’re looking to lower your monthly grocery spending, there are ways you can do so without moving over to online shopping.
Use rewards credit cards
There are plenty of rewards credit cards out there, some of which specifically cater to grocery store and dining purchases.
If you want to earn rewards for groceries specifically, check out the Citi Rewards+® Card, which offers 2x Thankyou® Points at supermarkets and gas stations (for the first $6,000 per year) and 1x point per $1 spent after that.
Plus, you’ll also earn 10% points back for the first 100,000 ThankYou® Points you redeem per year.
Savings apps
Coupons have been around for ages, and now there are a ton of new apps to help you save big on groceries.
Swagbucks is a great example of a savings app. All you have to do is take a few surveys here and there to earn points towards gift cards. You can redeem those gift cards at places like Amazon and Walmart.
Avoid food waste
Americans are throwing out billions of dollars of food every year. Avoid buying more than you need by making a shopping list and sticking to it.
This also means avoiding the classic grocery store meander that leads to impulse buying.
Sales
Pay attention to sales. Load up on your favorite on-sale essentials if you know you’ll have to buy them eventually.
Just try not to be too caught up in the sale mentality. You may just end up buying something you’ll never use because the sale was good.
Summary
As the online food delivery competition continues to grow, it’s becoming easier to have your cake (delivered) and eat it too.
Having the control to make online purchases at your leisure can definitely have its financial advantages. But online delivery by no means guarantees a cheaper grocery bill than its brick and mortar counterpart. The verdict really depends on how you shop, live, and eat.