Updated Date: Mar 17, 2026
Grocery delivery apps are the best helping hand for busy individuals to shop for daily essentials. From vegetables, household items, personal care, and other lifestyle goods, customers can easily check, finalize, and order them all. Instacart and Shipt are the famous names that have been used for this matter. Such online grocery orders have become a trend now (after the pandemic era).
Accordingly, Shipt and Instacart have been accelerating their offering; however, this has emerged the debate among shoppers and customers on the best. Dive into the insight on grocery apps and the comparison between these two ahead!
What are Grocery Delivery Apps?
Grocery delivery apps are an on-demand business type that works as an instant and fast delivery solution. Nowadays, the busy schedule has spiked the growth trend of such app usage. People find it handy to select items, add them to the cart, place an order, and receive them within a day or two at their home.
This was initiated back in the lockdown, and ever since then, there has been no setback. As a result, apps like Instacart and Shipt have gained extreme popularity. They provide flexible and rapid services to the customers at the doorstep. That’s why it’s no wonder that the online grocery software market size is expanding to USD 2.43 trillion. Now, you can analyze the clear picture of how huge the grocery app market is heading into.
Apart from that, these online grocery solutions have become an earning source for gig workers. So, it is arguably a great way to scrutinize between the two to know which is the better platform. You will have a detailed outlook on how similar or dissimilar these are. So, it can be the right solution.
What is Shipt? – Quick Look
Shipt is a top online grocery business service that provides food items to consumers by connecting with local vendors. With the same-day delivery guarantee, Shipt marks itself as the trusted grocery delivery partner across the USA.
It smoothly works to bridge the connection between local stores and customers. With its headquarters in San Francisco, CA, it has widened its reach to be accessible in more than 5,000 cities in the USA. It has been a reliable pick for grocery shoppers and gig workers. Users get the real-time update on the shopping and experience personalized solutions.
Shipt has been a frequently used grocery app solution in the market for drivers as well. Thus, Shipt gives flexibility to customers and gig workers, making it a direct competitor to Instacart. So, you also need to know about…
What is Instacart? – Brief Overview
Being the top grocery delivery app, Instacart has been the quick pick for a variety of items. Ranging from groceries, household essentials, personal care, beauty, and other daily-use items. Connecting with customers via mobile devices to order and get the products at the doorstep.
For the regular purchases of household items, Instacart stands strong as a broad marketplace with faster delivery. Accordingly, it has somewhat captivated the larger audience not only for shopping but also for earning. To better understand this, just keep reading!
Instacart & Shipt: How Do They Work?
Both are prevalent on-demand grocery delivery applications in the US and handle the major supply of grocery items. Let’s break down the distinct workings of Instacart and Shipt.
How Exactly Does Shipt Work?
By creating an account and subscribing to its services. Add some items to the cart, select the delivery window, and make the payment. Shipt does not have a large inventory of products; a shopper is allocated to visit local vendors or stores in the neighborhood and deliver the order directly to your home.
Making the online grocery shopping quicker, Shipt charges platform fees. It is basically either for an annual basis or a monthly basis; the user can choose accordingly. So, this way, the unlimited delivery is unlocked for the customers.
How Exactly Does Shipt Work?
This grocery app allows customers to order from local stores through the Instacart website or app. The orders placed on Instacart are fulfilled by personal shoppers and local vendors. Well, it works to create connectivity among the local stores and manage the orders seamlessly. Next, for transparency and clarity, you need to check the following evaluation of Instacart vs. Shipt.
Comparative Overview Between Shipt and Instacart
| Factors | Shipt | Instacart |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Shipt functions to offer a personal shopping service, building relation between the shopper & customer. | Instacart is more of an on-demand and fast delivery solution. It operates on wider market to handle the bulk delivery |
| Variety of Items | Groceries, Household essentials, personal care, beauty products, Pet Supplies | Fresh Veggies/Groceries, Household essentials, personal care, beauty products, Alcohol & beverages |
| Customer Base | Urban families & Loyal shoppers | Households and local residents |
| Membership Fees | $10.99/month or $99/year. It offers free delivery on orders of $35+ | $9.99/month or $99/year (Instacart+), which gives free delivery on $35+ orders |
| Store Options | Target, Publix, Safeway, Harris Teeter, H-E-B, Meijer, 7-Eleven | Costco, ALDI, Kroger, Publix, and Wegmans |
| Flexibility | Depends upon shift timing | Entirely works as an on-demand solution |
| Availability | Broad Availability across the USA & Canada | Available to the local stores within the USA cities |
The debate has taken to the Shipt vs Instacart Reddit as well (so, it’s the most discussed topic). Now, moving to the in-depth difference between Shipt and Instacart. This will cover all-around considerations. So, here you go…
Difference Between Instacart Vs. Shipt: Detailed Analysis
1. Shipt Vs Instacart: Pros & Cons
Using the Shipt or Instacart majorly have given the same services. Yet there are divergences when it comes to benefits and limitations. Have a look at it.
What are the benefits & limitations of Instacart?
| Pros of Instacart | Cons of Instacart |
|---|---|
| Gives First 3 deliveries free | Comparatively higher than the in-store price |
| Quick deliveries within an hour or two | Lack of a better quality product |
| Accessible in the cities across the USA & Canada | Handles the irregular earnings |
What are the benefits & limitations of Shipt?
| Pros of Shipt | Cons of Shipt |
|---|---|
| Free Delivery for the first 14 days | Limited Store Availability |
| Offers 24/7 Support & Services | Relatively low Pay & high effort for shoppers |
| Accessible in all metro cities across the USA | Improper Communication Network |
2. Shipt & Instacart: Ratings & Reviews
Now, moving to the numbers, which is the most sought-after way to evaluate. So, showing you the ratings of both the apps on Android and iOS.
3. Shipt Vs Instacart: Drivers or (Gig Workers)
Whether to work for Shipt vs Instacart, workers do get confused between them. Particularly, the drivers for delivery are the most commonly asked query. That’s why it is one of the essential needs of the local drivers to gain from these increasing grocery markets.
- Shipt works in a few cities compared to Instacart, and this means that Shipt is overlapping operations and has a limited scope for drivers
- Whereas Instacart has thousands of markets, which allows drivers with larger market exposure and earning opportunities.
Thus, shoppers can easily get their goods sold through both, while the drivers can use Instacart for rapid earnings and Shipt for consistency.
4. Instacart vs Shipt: Pay & Pricing
Now, the pricing aspects, as we get so many queries on which pays better, Instacart or Shipt. Hence, mentioning the costs and feed straightaway!
Shipt
- For Members Cost: $10.99/month or $99/year. It offers free delivery on orders of $35+.
- For Non-Member Fees: ~$10 per order + fees
- Shopper Pay: Reported average of $15–$25/hour. Thus, its pay is based on order size and effort, often considered more consistent for long-term shoppers.
Instacart
- For Member Cost: $9.99/month or $99/year (Instacart+), which gives free delivery on $35+ orders
- For Non-Member Fees: $3.99+ delivery fee, plus service fees.
- Shopper Pay: Reported average of $10–$30/hour. So, its pay is based on batch (order) size, location, and distance, plus 100% of tips.
Well, it’s all to compare and analyze between Shipt & Instacart. There is no concrete winner name driven from this comparison, as they both have balance and should be picked depending on your needs.
For small businesses planning to make an app like Instacart or Shipt, it is necessary to have know-how on revenue collection. Because it will highlight the
Who makes more money, Shipt or Instacart?
For businesses looking into grocery delivery app development, knowing their revenue estimation is important. As per the recent reports on the 2025 revenue data, Instacart has collected total revenue of USD 3,742 million, which is 11% up year-over-year.
Shipt has earned the aggregate revenue of USD 1.0 billion. Accordingly, it has raised the bar for itself in terms of a profitable and reliable online grocery platform.
Well, the grocery delivery market is indeed competitive and asks for a foolproof strategy from the ground up. So, startups, you do have a future and growth in this, but a solid technical team is necessary from the beginning.
Final Choice of The Best Grocery App Solution!
Shipt or Instacart, the choice can be either one. It relies on the delivery duration. On top of it, the shopper’s pay is also different, but not by a vast margin. Yet Shipt is focused on offering high-quality services. Instacart is more convenience-driven, with a wider local shopper base.
The business-minded people can follow any of them as their inspiration to enter the online grocery delivery market. However, the popularity of Instacart as the most praised brand makes it ideal to look up to as an idol. You can book a call for further discussion on the project strategy!
FAQs
