The best grocery delivery for one.
Delivery fees don't shrink with your cart — a flat $7.95 to $9.99 lands hardest on a small order. Here's when delivery is actually worth it for one person, and when free pickup or a quick in-store run quietly wins.
The verdict
our honest pickWinner: It depends
For one person, the honest answer is that no delivery service is "cheap" on a small cart — the fee is the story, not the store. If you want delivery, Walmart+ has the least punishing fee structure (no percentage service fee, cheapest modeled baseline) as long as you can batch to $35; if you order rarely, pay-per-order Instacart avoids a wasted membership. But the real budget move is free curbside pickup or a quick in-store run, which skip the delivery fee altogether.
The picks, ranked
- 1Walmart+Best if you can reach $35
Walmart charges no percentage service fee — the 5% Instacart tacks on simply isn't there — and its shelf prices model as the cheapest broadly available baseline ($51.29 on our 12-item basket). Batch to $35 and delivery is $7.95, or free for members. Skip the $98/yr membership unless you genuinely order weekly; for one person, pay-per-order plus free pickup usually wins.
- 2InstacartBest for occasional, no-membership orders
No annual commitment: Instacart lets you pay per order, so an infrequent single shopper isn't sinking $99/yr into Instacart+ just to break even, and you get store choice. The catch is the stack — a 5% service fee, $5.99 delivery ($9.99 under $35), and a 10% tip pile onto a tiny cart, so keep orders near $35 and treat the suggested tip as adjustable.
- 3Aldi (delivery)Cheapest groceries to offset the fees
When you do order delivery, Aldi's shelf prices model about 12% under Walmart ($45.30 vs $51.29 on our basket), so a smaller grocery bill absorbs the Instacart fees better. There's no Aldi app — every order rides Instacart's 5% service fee, $5.99 delivery, and 10% tip. Best for a single shopper who wants the lowest grocery total and can clear the $35 line.
Why small orders get taxed the hardest
Delivery fees are basically flat, so they bite hardest when your cart is small. A $9.95 charge on a $100 haul is under 10%; that same fee on a $25 single-person order is roughly 40% before you even tip. Worse, most services punish sub-$35 carts specifically: Instacart jumps from $5.99 to $9.99 under $35, and Walmart's non-member delivery climbs to $9.95. One person's natural basket — $20 to $30 — lands right in that penalty zone. The fix isn't a fancier service; it's clearing $35 or skipping delivery entirely.
The membership math rarely works for one
Every delivery membership is a bet on volume. Walmart+ ($98/yr) pays off around 13 orders a year; Instacart+ ($99/yr) needs about 17. A single shopper who orders twice a month and often skips a week rarely clears those thresholds, so the annual fee just becomes overhead. Amazon Fresh and Whole Foods are worse fits still: both require Amazon Prime ($139/yr), and Fresh only waives its $9.95 delivery at $100 — a subtotal one person almost never reaches. For most singles, paying per order keeps things cheaper and honest.
How to actually decide
Start with pickup. Many stores, Walmart included, offer free curbside pickup on $35-plus orders — it skips the delivery fee entirely and is usually the cheapest way for one person to shop online. If you want it dropped at your door, batch two mid-week runs into one $35 order and pay per delivery rather than buying a membership. Choose Walmart for the lowest fee structure, Instacart when you want Aldi's cheaper groceries or a specific store, and reserve Amazon Fresh or Whole Foods for when you already pay Prime. Run your real cart through our best-deal tool to see the all-in total by ZIP.
Frequently asked
What's the best grocery delivery for one person?
It depends on basket size. If you can batch to $35, Walmart+ has the least punishing fees — no percentage service fee and the cheapest modeled baseline. If you order rarely, pay-per-order Instacart avoids a wasted membership and adds store choice. And free curbside pickup is often cheaper than any of them, since it skips the delivery fee.
Why is grocery delivery so expensive for small orders?
Because the delivery fee is roughly flat, it becomes a huge share of a small cart. A $9.95 fee is under 10% of a $100 order but about 40% of a $25 one. On top of that, Instacart charges $9.99 (not $5.99) under $35 and Walmart's non-member delivery rises to $9.95 — so sub-$35 single-person carts get penalized twice.
Should a single person pay for a delivery membership?
Usually not. Walmart+ ($98/yr) breaks even near 13 orders a year and Instacart+ ($99/yr) near 17 — thresholds an occasional single shopper rarely hits. Unless you reliably order delivery weekly and clear $35, pay-per-order or free pickup almost always costs less than the annual fee.
Is grocery pickup cheaper than delivery for one person?
Often, yes. Many stores, including Walmart, offer free curbside pickup on orders of $35 or more, which removes the delivery fee entirely — the single biggest cost on a small order. For one person shopping online on a budget, free pickup is frequently the cheapest option, with delivery reserved for when you truly can't get to the store.
How can one person avoid delivery fees?
Four moves: use free curbside pickup on $35+ instead of delivery; batch two small mid-week runs into one order that clears $35; pay per order rather than buying a membership you won't use enough; and choose a cheaper store like Aldi (modeled ~12% under Walmart) so a smaller bill better absorbs whatever fees remain.
Keep comparing
Get YOUR cheapest delivery by ZIP.
This guide is the general answer — build your real basket once and we'll name the single cheapest all-in delivery for your ZIP, every service's real fees and tip included, refreshed daily.
Find your best deal