Instacart

The cheapest Instacart baskets in the US typically combine an active Instacart+ membership, a subtotal comfortably above the delivery minimum, and a partner retailer like Aldi, Costco or Sam's Club, so build your basket, then check out through ShopBack before you pay, where ShopBack Cashback works like a discount, only easier than a promo code. Using an Instacart-run coupon or retailer-specific promo on a full weekly basket is the most-frequent pattern. Verify current fees and thresholds on the merchant page above. Route through ShopBack at shopback.com/instacart before clicking through to earn cashback on the rate table above.

Costco is one of Instacart's anchor partners in the US, and Instacart's Costco storefront lets non-members shop Costco through Instacart, typically at a small markup over warehouse pricing to offset the platform. Costco members shopping through Instacart usually see in-warehouse pricing on many items with a smaller markup band, plus Instacart's normal delivery and service fees. Head-to-head against a warehouse trip, Instacart wins on time and effort (no drive, no line, no bulk-to-car handling) and loses on unit price relative to walking the aisles yourself. Same logic applies to Sam's Club on Instacart. Route through ShopBack on checkout to earn cashback on the rate above.

Instacart+ is Instacart's paid membership, priced in the roughly ten-dollars-a-month range with a discounted annual plan; verify current pricing on the merchant page above. Members get a waived delivery fee on eligible orders above a published minimum, a reduced service fee, exclusive member credits back on select orders, and periodic member-only promos. Instacart+ has been bundled with a Chase co-brand card benefit in prior windows; verify current benefit terms on instacart.com before locking. Rough breakeven: on a typical mid-tens-of-dollars order, delivery plus service fees run in the high-single digits to low teens of dollars before tip, so two orders a month typically clears the monthly membership cost. Shoppers who order weekly or restock warehouse baskets through Costco and Sam's Club usually clear breakeven within the first order or two.

A typical Instacart order in the US carries a variable delivery fee scaled by order size, distance and time-slot demand, a service fee in the low-teens percent for non-members (reduced for Instacart+ members) with a low-single-digit-dollar minimum, a heavy-item fee on select bulky products (bottled water cases, large detergent, litter, dog food), and an alcohol-delivery fee in states where alcohol is available. Tipping is customary at the mid-teens-percent range on grocery orders; adjust after delivery based on quality of substitutions and handling. Prices for some items on Instacart may differ from in-store shelf prices; verify at checkout by comparing to the retailer's own app if the delta matters. Verify current fees on the merchant page above.

New Instacart customers in the US typically get a first-order welcome offer combining a percentage or dollar-off promo (commonly a $10-off type first-order credit) plus a waived delivery fee on the first eligible order, applied automatically at checkout when signing up with a fresh account. Combining the first-order welcome with an Instacart+ free-trial sign-up unlocks additional waived-delivery orders through the trial window and stacks Instacart+ member credits. Verify current welcome-offer values on the merchant page above. Route through ShopBack before clicking through to earn cashback on the first-order promo on the rate table above.

Instacart's deepest promo windows in the US cluster around Thanksgiving (turkey week and the weekend before), Christmas grocery week, Super Bowl Sunday (party groceries and alcohol where legal), Fourth of July (barbecue and beverages), Easter, back-to-school (August), and Amazon Prime Day cross-events (retailer-side pushes to defend basket share; Amazon itself is not a ShopBack US merchant at the moment). Instacart+ free-trial windows and Chase co-brand promos surface intermittently across the year, and retailer-specific coupons run continuously on individual storefronts. Preview the Instacart deals tab a day or two before each holiday, cart in advance, and check out through ShopBack for cashback on the sale price.

Instacart and Amazon Fresh + Whole Foods sit in different ecosystems. Amazon Fresh is Amazon's own grocery banner and Whole Foods is Amazon-owned, so Prime members get free grocery delivery on eligible orders above the published minimum through Amazon and Whole Foods with a service fee waived at higher order thresholds; verify current thresholds on amazon.com before locking. Instacart trades single-ecosystem depth for multi-retailer flexibility: one Instacart cart cannot span Amazon Fresh, but it can span Costco plus Sam's Club plus Aldi plus a regional grocer in a way Amazon cannot. Practical read: Prime-heavy households shopping only Whole Foods and Amazon Fresh typically save more on Amazon; households running weekly warehouse restocks or mixing multiple retailers typically save more on Instacart. Route through ShopBack on Instacart to earn cashback at the current published rate; Amazon is not a ShopBack US merchant at the moment, so compare its price but do not expect cashback there. For a deeper look, see Whole Foods vs Trader Joe's vs Sprouts vs Aldi in 2026: Who Wins.

Walmart+ is Walmart's in-house grocery-delivery membership, priced in a similar monthly range to Instacart+ (verify current pricing on walmart.com), and covers Walmart's own grocery catalog with free delivery on eligible orders above a published minimum plus additional membership perks (fuel discount, Paramount+ bundle in prior windows). Instacart+ covers the multi-retailer partner network including Costco, Sam's Club, Aldi, Publix, Wegmans and H-E-B, but not Walmart's own catalog. Practical read: Walmart-first households save more on Walmart+; households mixing warehouse clubs (Costco, Sam's) with regional grocers or specialty stores save more on Instacart+. Both memberships are month-to-month, so households at the margin sometimes rotate seasonally. Verify current benefit terms on each merchant page above.

Target uses Shipt (Target-owned) as its primary same-day delivery arm through target.com and the Target app, and Shipt also operates as an independent membership. Target is also available on Instacart as a partner retailer. Head-to-head on Target-only orders, Target Shipt typically wins on price (RedCard 5 percent discount stacks natively, Target Circle offers apply, and Target's own promo events run first through Shipt), and Instacart wins on flexibility (Target cart can combine with a Costco or CVS pickup order in the same trip). Practical read: for Target-only baskets, order through Target and Shipt; for multi-retailer baskets that include Target, Instacart is the cleaner path. Route through ShopBack on the platform you use to earn cashback on the current published rate.

DoorDash and Uber Eats have both expanded aggressively into grocery in the US: DoorDash through DashMart plus grocery partnerships with Kroger and other regional chains, and Uber Eats through grocery partnerships with Costco, Albertsons and Sprouts. Instacart still typically has the widest US grocery-partner network by retailer count, especially in the warehouse-club and regional-grocer segments. Head-to-head, Instacart wins on multi-retailer basket flexibility and warehouse-club access; DoorDash and Uber Eats win on hot-food-plus-grocery combined orders and on markets where their local shopper density is higher than Instacart's. Practical read: keep accounts on all three, compare total-with-fees at checkout for the specific basket, and use whichever platform has the deepest active promo and shortest delivery window.

Instacart delivers beer, wine and spirits from partner retailers in states where alcohol delivery is legal, with age verification and an alcohol-delivery fee at checkout; availability and legal-age rules are state-dependent, so verify current availability on the merchant page for your zip. Instacart also supports pharmacy pickup through CVS, covering both over-the-counter items and prescription pickup at eligible CVS locations. Pet supplies flow through Petco integration, and electronics flow through Best Buy integration on eligible orders. Route through ShopBack on eligible orders to earn cashback on the current published rate.

Instacart accepts credit and debit cards, PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay, HSA and FSA cards for eligible items, and EBT SNAP for eligible groceries at eligible retailers in the US. The retailer network for EBT SNAP includes Aldi, Publix, Wegmans, H-E-B and select regional grocers; verify current EBT SNAP availability for your zip on the merchant page above. Instacart supports separating an order into an EBT-eligible portion and a non-EBT portion in the same cart, with a second payment method covering the balance. Route through ShopBack pre-click to earn cashback on the current published rate on the eligible order value.

Instacart supports curbside pickup from partner stores in eligible markets, which typically waives the delivery fee entirely and cuts the service fee. Pickup is the cheapest path on Instacart for shoppers who can drive to the store, and it still preserves the in-app shopping and substitution experience plus Instacart+ member benefits. Delivery is the value trade for shoppers who prioritize time over cost or who cannot drive to the store. Practical read: for shelf-stable weekly baskets, pickup is cheapest; for perishables that need cold-chain handling or bulk warehouse orders that would fill a car, delivery is worth the fees. Verify pickup availability for your zip on the merchant page above.

Instacart is a US grocery, convenience and retail delivery marketplace, connecting consumers with a network of partner stores through the Instacart app and instacart.com. The partner network spans warehouse clubs (Costco, Sam's Club), national grocers (Publix, Wegmans, H-E-B, Kroger, Safeway, Albertsons, Ralphs, Aldi), mass retail (Target), pharmacy (CVS), pet (Petco), electronics (Best Buy), beauty (Sephora), and more than a thousand regional retailers. Categories cover full grocery baskets, household, personal care and beauty, alcohol where legal, pet, electronics, and pharmacy pickup. Instacart+ is the paid membership that waives the delivery fee and cuts the service fee on eligible orders.

Go through ShopBack before you pay and the Cashback tracks to your ShopBack account: sign in to ShopBack, open the Instacart page at shopback.com/instacart and click through to Instacart to check out. The live rate is shown in the rate table on the ShopBack Instacart page above.

After you click through from ShopBack to Instacart and complete an order, the merchant submits the transaction to ShopBack and it typically shows as Pending Cashback within about 2 days. Cashback confirms within about 45 days after Instacart's return and adjustment windows close.

Individual partner storefronts run their own rolling promos on Instacart, and the Instacart deals tab surfaces them alongside Instacart-run coupons. Aldi, Publix, Wegmans, H-E-B, Target and CVS typically have the most active coupon coverage on the platform. ShopBack Cashback works like a discount, only easier than a promo code: go through ShopBack before you pay.

The strongest Instacart baskets are full weekly grocery runs (fresh, frozen, pantry across a single retailer), warehouse-club restocks (Costco or Sam's Club without the trip), late-night convenience runs, and alcohol delivery in states where it is legal. The partner network stretches across national grocers (Publix, Wegmans, H-E-B, Kroger, Safeway, Albertsons, Ralphs, Aldi), warehouse clubs (Costco, Sam's Club), mass retail (Target), pharmacy (CVS), pet (Petco), electronics (Best Buy), beauty (Sephora) and more than a thousand regional retailers, so most zip codes have at least three or four viable partner storefronts to compare on price and delivery window.

For a basket you could buy entirely at Walmart, Walmart's own delivery is usually cheaper, because Walmart generally lists its regular prices online while Instacart item prices at some retailers can sit above in-store shelf prices, and Instacart adds service fees and a suggested tip. Instacart wins on choice: it suits shoppers who want a specific grocer such as Costco, Aldi or a regional chain, need fast delivery from a store Walmart does not replace, or want one app across several stores. Frequent Walmart shoppers get the most from a Walmart+ membership, while frequent multi-store shoppers get more from Instacart+. Compare the big memberships in our Target Circle 360 vs Walmart+ vs Amazon Prime breakdown. Check the cashback rate on the ShopBack Instacart page and activate it before you check out.

Instacart is better for full grocery shops, and DoorDash is better for restaurant meals and quick convenience top-ups. Instacart is built around groceries: it partners with more supermarkets, lets you chat with your shopper about replacements, and handles large weekly baskets well. DoorDash started with restaurant delivery and has added convenience stores and some grocers, which suits small top-up orders alongside takeout under one DashPass membership. Households that order groceries every week usually get more from Instacart+, while people who mostly order takeout get more from DashPass. If you use both often, compare what each membership covers before paying for two, and see our Target Circle 360 vs Walmart+ vs Amazon Prime breakdown for how grocery delivery memberships compare. Check the cashback rate on the ShopBack Instacart page and activate it before you check out.

Cashback rates, brand exclusions, and merchant terms are subject to change; verify the current rate table on this page and merchant terms before purchase. Content updated 2026-10-09.

Yes, Instacart runs offers for both, but you find them in different places. New customers should look for the offer shown when they sign up, while existing customers can check Instacart's own Promos and Coupons page and the deals on individual store pages in the app. You do not need a code for Cashback: start from ShopBack before you pay and part of what you spend comes back as Cashback. Check the live rate on this page before you pay.

Yes. Instacart is on ShopBack, so start from this page before you pay and part of what you spend comes back as Cashback on your order. Check the live rate on this page before you pay.

The main route to free delivery on Instacart is an Instacart+ membership, which waives the delivery fee on grocery and retail orders above a minimum order size, with a higher minimum for Costco orders; service fees still apply. Members can also add family members to share the benefits. Without a membership, curbside pickup from partner stores avoids the delivery fee where it is available. Start from ShopBack before you pay and part of what you spend comes back as Cashback; the live rate is on this page.

Yes. Going through ShopBack is an essential step before you check out on Instacart: open this page, click through to Instacart and place the order as normal, so you pay less on the same basket. Instacart+ benefits and Instacart's own coupons still apply as normal. Check the live rate on this page before you pay.

ShopBack works like an automatic cash discount on your Instacart order. Once the order confirms after Instacart's return and adjustment windows close, a share of what you spend comes back to you as cash, and because it is cash rather than points, it lowers the effective price of the order itself. See the live rate on this page.

ShopBack's guides on Instacart cover finding the cheapest supermarket, same day grocery delivery options and saving on grocery delivery: Cheapest Grocery Store 2026: Walmart, Sam's Club and Instacart Fees, Costco Same-Day Delivery 2026: Instacart, DoorDash, Uber Eats Fees and How Do I Save on Grocery Delivery in the US? (2026).