You can buy just about anything on Amazon, including your next grocery order. Amazon is making their grocery delivery service available to everyone — no membership required. Prime members have had access to the Amazon Fresh delivery service for years. However, the platform was only included with the $139 membership fee that also comes with access to other Prime benefits, like 2-day shipping and Prime Video.
Now, anyone can place an order for fresh groceries, which might have some people canceling their Prime memberships. Below we’re diving into what you need to know.
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Fees are increasing, but Prime members can still get free delivery with orders $150+.
If your main reason for having a Prime membership is using Amazon Fresh, don’t cancel it just yet. Prime members still pay less for delivery than non-members. And unlike non-members, those who pay for Prime can still get free delivery, although the minimum order price has jumped way up. (More on that in a minute.)
Prime members will pay between $3.95 and $9.95 for orders under $150. Once you pass the $150 threshold, your grocery order comes with free delivery. Non-Prime members will pay between $7.95 and $13.95, with no option for free delivery. In some large metro areas, you can arrange to pick up your order for no additional charge, regardless of your membership status.
Currently, Amazon Fresh is only available for non-Prime members in twelve major cities, although Amazon says they plan to expand nationwide by the end of the year. Here’s where it’s currently available for non-members: Austin, Boston, Charlotte, Dallas-Forth Worth, Denver, Nashville, Phoenix, Portland, Richmond, Sacramento, San Diego, and San Francisco.
Here’s what you’ll now pay for Amazon Fresh delivery.
On average, this means non-members will pay about $4 more for delivery than those who have the subscription, although many users are unhappy about the $150 minimum for free delivery. Non-Prime members only have to spend $100 to get the maximum savings, as there’s no further discount between the $100 and $150 tiers like there is for paying members.
For a Prime member, a $35 grocery order comes out to $44.95 after delivery fees. For the same order, a non-member will pay a total of $48.95.
RELATED: Amazon Fresh vs. Whole Foods: How Their Fees, Perks & Stores Stack Up
This is a big change for Prime members, and a lot of people aren’t happy.
All Prime members used to get free delivery on any order over $35. And many of them (myself included) aren’t thrilled about having to either spend $150 or start shelling out for shipping. Especially when the price of a Prime membership just increased by $20 not too long ago.
So while it’s definitely still possible to score free delivery with your Amazon Fresh purchases, you’ll need to be a lot more strategic about it. Instead of placing a $35+ order each week, you can maximize your savings by placing a $150+ order every three to four weeks and supplementing things like milk and fresh produce from other stores.
There are plenty of other grocery delivery services out there, and a lot of them are cheaper than Amazon Fresh.
If you’re not thrilled about paying more for Amazon Fresh, there are tons of grocery delivery services that might work better for your household.
Walmart+
Even as a Prime member with access to Amazon Fresh back when it offered free delivery for $35 orders, I’ve always used Walmart+. I find the prices at Walmart are usually much cheaper, and they typically deliver super quickly because of my location. It’s $98 per year (which averages out to just $8.16 per month) and the minimum order for free delivery is just $35.
Thrive Market
Another popular option is Thrive Market, which has an annual membership fee of $59.95. The membership gets you access to lower-priced grocery items, including tons of healthy options. Delivery and shipping are free for orders over $49.
Costco
Costco members can get free delivery from the store on orders of $100 or more, as long as they fall within the delivery radius. Non-members can even take advantage of delivery by going through Instacart, although it’s a bit more expensive as you’ll need to pay the Instacart service fees.
Instacart and Shipt
Services like Instacart and Shipt let you buy from a variety of local stores, so you can pay for one membership but order from multiple retailers based on what you need. Instacart Express is $99 per year ($8.25 per month), with free delivery plus a 1.9% service fee on orders over $35. Shipt is $99 per year ($8.25 per month) with a $35 minimum for free shipping, but you can also use Shipt without a membership and pay $9.99 per delivery.
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