KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — In our constant quest to save money, we tackle the grocery store.
The more convenient option is having your groceries delivered, but is it worth spending the extra money?
We compared shopping Kroger on Instacart and using their grocery pick-up service, Kroger Clicklist.
On Instacart, you place the order online and it's delivered to you oftentimes within a few hours.
On Kroger Clicklist, you pull into the spot, check-in and an associate brings out your groceries and loads them into your car.
Abby Ham shopped for a dinner recipe of spaghetti with meat sauce, salad and bread. Both options were comparable in price. Most items were the exact same price, others varied by less than a dollar.
Based just on the total cost of the food plus tax Clicklist wins.
The total cost of food:
Kroger Clicklist: $47.73
Instacart: $52.03
Difference of $4.30
Overall cost Instacart:
- Instacart is $99/per year
- Food cost: $52.03
- Service fee: $3.30
- 20% tip for the driver: $9.79
- Total: $65.12
- Total time: 5 minutes to order the food
Kroger Clicklist:
- Pickup is free
- Gas to get there and back: $5
- Total with tax: $52.73
- Total pickup time: 30 minutes In closing when you factor in the gas for picking up the groceries, Instacart is about $12 more expensive than Kroger pickup.
But if time savings is more important than cost savings, Instacart wins!
The higher your grocery bill, the higher the tip so it will be more expensive if you do a whole week's worth of groceries.
Instacart total: $65.12, 5 minutes
Kroger pickup total: $52.73, 30 minutes
Difference: $12, 25 minutes