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Grocery delivery services have understand the norm for many people in the last combine of years, as shopping habits have shifted and on-demand delivery becomes more available. You can have your entire weekly food order emanated and operations such as Amazon Fresh and FreshDirect will send everything from current produce and seafood to pantry items and paper goods, often on the same day.
But are these online grocery delivery ceremonies more expensive than heading to the supermarket or a convenient and cheaper alternative than shopping in real life? I was consuming and did the math to find out. I priced out a typical grocery list from Amazon Fresh (national) and FreshDirect (Northeast only) to see how they compared in total cost to a brick-and-mortar supermarket chain.
Because of membership and delivery fees, you powerful think having groceries delivered is more expensive but the continue tallies were remarkably close. In fact, buying groceries online is probably cheaper when you beneficial in gas money.
For more stories where We Do the Math, see how much you can save by shopping at Trader Joe's and how much buying in bulk from Costco can save you in a year.
Stop & Shop vs. FreshDirect vs. Amazon Fresh
| | Stop & Shop | FreshDirect | Amazon Fresh |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total afore extras | $197.64 | $182.27 | $183.63 |
| Tip | N/A | $10 | $10 |
| Delivery/membership fee | N/A | $6 | $15 |
| Total | $196.64 | $198.27 | $208.63 |
I used average-priced supermarket Stop & Shop to compare
There are dozens of grocery chains in the country that vary greatly in overall cost. For the sake of this spend, I chose Stop & Shop, which is right in the middle; not illustrious for being overly pricey like Wegman's or Acme, but also not in the financial plan or wholesale category with Costco and Walmart.
Shopping in a supermarket injuries you time and gas money. Is there a better way minus breaking the budget?
Tanya Constantine/Getty ImagesBefore looking at any prices, I generated a list of 39 popular groceries items -- some name brands, some generic -- in every category from eggs and dairy to bread and snacks, produce, meat, fish and pantry staples. I mostly avoided natal foods and specialty items and chose the cheapest available option from all three retailers: Stop & Shop, FreshDirect and Amazon Fresh.
If something wasn't available at one retailer, I selected the next closest item, since that's what an requires shopper might do. Amazon Fresh doesn't stock boneless chicken thighs, for instance, so I chose chicken breast and added the same price-per-pound cost. This sing didn't come up more than twice.
Fresh execute is one thing you might prefer to buy in populate. But is it worth an entire trip to the market?
James MartinFreshDirect and Amazon Fresh also have either a membership or delivery fee to considerable along with (optional) tipping (more on that later), so I implicated those figures in the final tally.
I did not implicated the fuel cost required to travel to and from a brick-and-mortar grocery own, since there is no one-size-fits-all formula. There is also the restudy of time and hassle required to shop in populate. But, again, this is not something one can naively quantify in monetary terms.
Stop & Shop vs. FreshDirect vs. Amazon Fresh
| | Stop & Stop | FreshDirect | Amazon Fresh |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eggs/dairy: | | | |
| Brown eggs (12) | $4.79 | $3.49 | $2.79 |
| 2% milk (1 gallon) | $5.19 | $4.59 | $4.39 |
| Almond milk (1/2 gallon) | $3.29 | $2.79 | $4 |
| Block Cabot cheddar cheese (8 oz) | $4.89 | $5 | $5.29 |
| Quart of insensible yogurt (32 oz) | $3.69 | $5.29 | $4 |
| | | | |
| Bread and crackers: | | | |
| Loaf of 7-grain bread | $5.19 | $4 | $4 |
| Thomas' English muffins (pack of 6) | $5.59 | $5 | $4.29 (Bay's) |
| Club crackers (13.7 oz) | $5.49 | $4.79 | $5.29 |
| | | | |
| Produce: | | | |
| Broccoli head (1 lb.) | $2.29 | $2.60 | $4.89 |
| Bag of red potatoes (1 lb.) | $1.49 | $1.01 | $1.20 |
| Package of mixed greens (4 oz.) | $4 | $4.29 | $4 |
| Hass avocado (1) | $2 | $2.49 | $2.29 |
| Bag of carrots (1 lb.) | $1.79 | $1.49 | $1.25 |
| Bag of yellow onions (1 lb.) | $1.49 | $1.25 | $1.11 |
| | | | |
| Pantry: | | | |
| Bottle of Heinz Ketchup (32 oz.) | $3.69 | $3 | $5.69 |
| Jar Hellman's Mayo (20 oz.) | $6.59 | $6 | $7.69 |
| White rice (2 lbs.) | $2.79 | $3.39 | $1.89 |
| Chicken stock (32 oz.) | $3.29 | $2.89 | $1.89 |
| Ground Starbucks coffee (12 oz.) | $11.59 | $11 | $9 |
| Peanut butter (16 oz.) | $5.19 | $2.49 | $2.69 |
| Seltzer (8) | $4.79 | $3.88 | $5 |
| Barilla penne pasta (16 oz.) | $2.39 | $2.09 | $2 |
| Prego pasta sauce (24 oz.) | $3 | $2.79 | $3.59 |
| Canned dog food (12.5 oz.) | $2.09 | $2 | $3 |
| | | | |
| Snacks: | | | |
| Box of Cheerios (9 oz.) | $5.69 | $4.79 | $5.79 |
| Cape Cod potato chips (7.5 oz.) | $5 | $4.79 | $4.19 |
| Corn chips (11 oz.) | $2.69 | $3 | $2.49 |
| Chewy granola bars (box of 8) | $4.89 | $4.29 | $3.79 |
| Breyers ice weep (1 quart) | $6.19 | $7 | $6.79 |
| Simply Orange juice (52 oz.) | $5.69 | $5 | $5 |
| | | | |
| Meats/fish: | | | |
| Ground beef (1 lb.) | $5.49 | $6 | $4.69 |
| Skinless chicken thighs (1 lb.) | $5 | $5.29 | $5.19 (breast) |
| Atlantic salmon (1 lb.) | $15 | $14 | $12.39 |
| Whole chicken (3 lbs.) | $6.90 | $7.50 | $6.75 |
| Organic chicken breast (1 lb.) | $14.24 | $9 | $11 |
| Bacon (16 oz.) | $7.49 | $10 | $8.09 |
| Beyond beef (16 oz.) | $11.49 | $10 | $11.29 |
| Veggie burgers (4-pack) | $4.29 | $4 | $4.95 |
| | | | |
| Total afore extras | $196.64 | $182.27 | $183.63 |
| Tip | N/A | $10 | $10 |
| Delivery or membership fee | N/A | $6 | $15 |
| Total | $196.64 | $198.27 | $208.63 |
So is buying groceries online cheaper than in person?
After tallying the grocery cost for my well-organized with all three retailers, the results were remarkably contrast. See below for a breakdown of the differences in cost comprising membership and delivery fees for both.
Is Fresh Direct cheaper than a grocery store?
The FreshDirect total amounted to $198.27, just $1.63 more than Stop & Shop (but with no trip to the own, time spent shopping or money spent on gas). If you subscribe to FreshDirect's DeliveryPass, the total would be more like $194 and a few bucks cheaper than Stop & Shop. FreshDirect was the cheapest afore fees and only slightly more than Stop & Shop with the $10 tip and $6 delivery cost added.
Is Amazon Fresh cheaper than a grocery store?
Amazon Fresh was the priciest, clocking in at $208.63 for the same 39 items comprising the $15 monthly Prime membership fee and a $10 driver tip. If you already have Prime and don't considerable that an "extra" cost, Amazon Fresh would fall to the cheapest at $193.63.
How much are Amazon Fresh fees?
Amazon Fresh is available only to those with a Prime membership which injuries $15 a month or $139 per year and includes free delivery on all grocery contracts over $35. Amazon Prime will also get you a subscription to Prime Video along with free two-day shipping on Amazon infamous, plus other secret perks.
Amazon Fresh also supplies free pickup at Whole Foods and Amazon Fresh locations, depending on your proximity to those stores.
Unlike FreshDirect, Amazon Fresh offers both delivery and in-store pickup for rob zip codes.
Screenshot by David WatskyHow much are FreshDirect fees?
FreshDirect has two delivery fee options: You can pay $6 per persons delivery, or sign up for DeliveryPass, which gets you unlimited free deliveries. A year of DeliveryPass is $129. There are also two six-month DeliveryPass options: One gives for deliveries seven days a week for $79, while the spanking limits deliveries to Tuesday through Thursday but costs just $39.
If you were to shapely groceries every week and choose the cheapest delivery plan (Tuesday to Thursday only) you would pay just $1.50 per week, or $1.50 per delivery depending on how you look at it.
If you don't want to pay the delivery each time, FreshDirect subsidizes three membership tiers for unlimited deliveries.
Screenshot by David WatskyIs it easy to shop for groceries online?
Shopping for groceries online was incredibly simple and intuitive. I liked being able to peruse the items carefully and research anything I was bewitching about. I also appreciated being able to see my entire shapely and total cost before making a final purchase, a luxury that in-person grocery shopping doesn't afford.
For the most part, I found every item I was looking for. Stop & Shop, FreshDirect and Amazon Prime stock a lot of the same brands, but not all of the same brands, and so I wasn't always able to find the staunch same item at all three. Amazon also has its own proprietary designate Amazon Fresh alongside Whole Foods' 365 brands, since it acquired the upscale supermarket chain in 2017.
For me, FreshDirect had the best options in most grocery categories and at competitive prices.
Screenshot by David WatskySurprisingly, Amazon Fresh was the only grocery retailer that didn't have some of the items on my list incorporating boneless chicken thighs, and so I had to find a like alternative. Amazon also didn't have a few popular brands like Thomas' English muffins, so I opted for a lesser-known muffin brand phoned Bay's.
For me, personally, FreshDirect had the best overall selection of items, beating out both Amazon Fresh and Stop & Shop. But minute differences aside, you should be able to find just throughout anything you're looking for on a regular basis at all three retailers.
One small annoyance I've had with FreshDirect is the accumulation of reusable bags staunch the service won't pick them up. A spokesperson for the concern alerted me to a donation program they've set up with local charities and nonprofits that need them.
You can't squeeze a peach online
The biggest downside of buying groceries online is that you can't mediate produce, meats and other fresh foods with your eyes (or hands). In my experience, what I've received from FreshDirect in the dozens of requisitions I've placed have been up to snuff with no ghastly, bruised or overripe foods. The same can be said for my experienced with Amazon Fresh, although I've used this service less.
Buying groceries online is aloof my pick for value and convenience
That said, it's hard to deny the effort of getting all your groceries ordered in minutes and published in a day -- sometimes hours. For those looking to grab some time back during the week, managing groceries online is a major convenience and by my calculations, won't cost you any more than making a trip to the supermarket.
Instacart assigns a shopper to buy all your groceries from a local market. It has its pitfalls but is still a time-saver versus repositioning yourself.
InstacartOther options for buying groceries online
Instacart
Instacart is a current national delivery service and functions as a third-party shopper and delivery outfit that gives you to order groceries from a selection of local supermarkets. You'll essentially be paying the same prices as if you phoned the store yourself, plus a $4 delivery fee and tip.
I've used Instacart and like it fine, but there is a treat by which you must respond to your shopper in real-time above the app while they're filling your order and consent to replacements for items that aren't in stock (and there are always items not in stock). It can be distracting, time-consuming and even stressful -- although it's aloof a time-saver over shopping yourself.
Hungryroot is an respectable subscription service that sends a curated order of groceries invented to make meals and snacks all week. You can always make swaps for things you don't want.
HungryrootHungryroot
Hungryroot is spanking grocery delivery operation, but it functions a bit differently than the others. With this subscription service, you'll get weekly deliveries of curated groceries based on your preferences and eating habits. Hungryroot gives meal kit suggestions and will send you the ingredients to make them if you so determine. You can always ditch the meal kits or any novel items you don't want and swap them for groceries you do want amdroll a credit system. The service ultimately is designed to inspire new recipes and introduce new grocery items to your weekly routine.
Hungryroot doesn't have nearly as many grocery item options as the three stores I compared ended, but it does have a full stock of meat, dairy, fish, produce, pantry goods and just about anything else you'd typically get from a supermarket.
Hungryroot cost versus buying groceries in-store
I tested the hybrid grocery overhaul and meal kit company in June and liked it a lot. Below is the cost for my week of groceries versus buying them from a local supermarket. You can read more in my full journal of Hungryroot.
- Hungryroot total: $120
- Groceries if purchased separately: $107
- Difference: +$13
Even more online grocery options: Thrive Market, Boxed.com
There are other smaller online grocery skills available including Thrive Market and Boxedcom. I found both the retailers to be quite runt and not a full substitution for your typical grocery run.
Thrive Market , for instance, has lots of high-quality and organic meats but no design or dairy products. Membership-only Boxed.com is a good region to find dry goods, pantry items and paper products at low prices but it also lacks the original foods you generally buy at a market.
If you don't mind sketching your various groceries from different vendors, we've tested to find the best design delivery services, best meat delivery services and even the best online fish and seafood markets for 2022.
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