Have you ever ordered delivery and watched your $10 order suddenly double after all the fees? With Kroger's recent partnership launch with DoorDash, shoppers now have even more grocery delivery options — but which one actually saves you money?
I tested three popular grocery delivery apps using the same five items from the same Kroger location to find out which service offers the best value.
WATCH: We compare the three popular apps to find out which one was really the cheapest option
Which items we tested
I filled my cart with these everyday essentials:
- A gallon of 2% milk
- A dozen eggs
- Kroger brand whole wheat bread
- A pack of Heritage Farm chicken breasts (about 4.5 pounds)
- An 80/20 one-pound ground beef tray
Kroger Delivery
Delivery time: About 7 hours (Wait time varies based on volume of orders)
Delivery fee: $2.95 (free with Boost membership)
Kroger's own delivery service offered the longest wait time but the lowest prices. I was able to clip digital coupons, including ground beef on sale for $4.99 (down from $7.49) and 50 cents off eggs.
Total before tip: $28.02
Instacart
Delivery time: 1-2 hours
Delivery fee: Free for first three orders
Instacart provided the fastest estimated delivery window. After linking my Kroger Plus card, I could access some store discounts, though not all promotional pricing carried over.
Total before tip: $32.52
DoorDash
Delivery time: About 1 hour
Delivery fee: Varies from $1.99 to $5.99
Despite offering the ability to link your Kroger account, DoorDash priced all identical items higher than on Kroger's website. Linking your Kroger card only saved 50 cents, and with the tip, the order easily tops $40.
Total before tip: $38.80
In the end, it turned out that ordering the same five items through DoorDash costs approximately 38% more than ordering them through Kroger delivery.
Instacart and DoorDash may deliver your groceries faster, but if you can wait a few hours, order directly through Kroger's website or app so you don't waste your money.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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