Instacart vs Walmart+ vs Amazon Fresh vs Aldi, priced

I priced the same 12-item grocery list across the four big delivery services — Instacart-Aldi, Whole Foods, Walmart+, and Amazon Fresh — in five US cities this week. The first thing I learned is that there isn't one universal answer.The cheapest service flips depending on where you live, whether Walmart even delivers to your ZIP, and how big your basket is. The second thing I learned is that Walmart has no stores in Manhattan, which means most of NYC's most-densely-populated borough can't get Walmart+ grocery delivery at all — a fact every "Walmart is cheapest" article on Google has wrong.

Below is the city-by-city comparison, followed by the NYC line-item breakdown so you can see the fee stacks. If you want the answer for your ZIP, the free tool runs the same engine for any US zip in about a second.

The cheapest service changes by city

Same 12-item basket (listed below). All-in cost = item subtotal + each service's posted service fee + delivery + 10% suggested tip where applicable (Amazon Fresh has no tip system). Prices are modeled against this week's anchor data: BLS retail food survey, Aldi's weekly ad, and Walmart's posted shelf prices, adjusted by regional multiplier.

What flipped the ranking

Two things move the needle between cities:

1. Walmart+'s $35-free-delivery threshold. Walmart+ delivery is free above $35; the other services charge $4–$10 no matter what. On a basket large enough to cross $35 (most weekly baskets do), Walmart+ saves you $4–$10 in fees alone. That's enough to win in Brooklyn and Phoenix where the per-item prices are close.
2. Instacart's 5% service fee + 10% suggested tip stack together. A $35 Instacart subtotal becomes $35 + $1.75 + $3.50 = $40.25 before delivery. That stacking is invisible until checkout. It's also why Instacart-Aldi, which has cheaper food, can still lose to Walmart+ on the right basket.

The other quiet factor is Amazon Fresh's $100 free-delivery threshold. Below $100, Amazon Fresh adds $9.95 in delivery on top of an already-marked-up basket. Above $100, delivery is free and Amazon Fresh suddenly looks competitive. For weekly baskets under $100 it's almost never the right answer; for a bigger bi-weekly haul it can be.

The 12 items

• 2 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs
• 1 lb ground beef (85/15)
• 1 dozen large eggs
• 1 gallon whole milk
• 8 oz block of sharp cheddar
• 1 lb spaghetti
• 1 jar marinara sauce (24 oz)
• 2 yellow onions
• 1 head garlic
• 1 lb baby carrots
• 1 bag spring mix salad (5 oz)
• 1 loaf sandwich bread

Same items, Tuesday 2 PM delivery window in each city.

The NYC line items, broken down

Manhattan ZIP 10025. This is the per-service breakdown so you can see exactly where the fees come from:

Instacart (Aldi)

Walmart+ — N/A in Manhattan

Walmart has no stores within Manhattan, so Walmart+ doesn't deliver to 100xx/101xx/102xx ZIPs. For Brooklyn (11201), the same basket runs about $42.41 all-in: $38.55 subtotal, $0 service fee, free delivery on the $35+ basket, and a $3.86 suggested tip.

Amazon Fresh

Instacart (Whole Foods)

Where each service actually wins

Instacart-Aldi: usually cheapest, but not always

Aldi's food markup over Walmart is the smallest of the three non-Walmart services — about 10% above shelf prices for most categories. That's why Instacart-Aldi wins in Manhattan, Chicago, and Atlanta in our test. The catches: Aldi's selection is narrower (no name brands), Instacart's 5%+10% fee stack erodes the food savings, and in Manhattan specifically, Aldi delivery comes from Queens or Brooklyn stores, which can mean 2-hour delivery windows instead of same-day.

Walmart+: wins when delivery is free

Walmart+'s $35 free-delivery threshold is the entire game. Cross it and you save $4–$10 in fees against any other service. Below it, you pay $7.95 delivery and Walmart+ loses to Instacart-Aldi. The Walmart+ membership is $98/year — pays itself back at roughly 12 orders/year compared to Instacart-Aldi's per-order delivery.

Amazon Fresh: wins only above $100

Amazon Fresh has the worst pricing for small baskets ($9.95 delivery on anything under $100) and competitive pricing above the $100 free-delivery line. For bi-weekly shoppers buying $100+ at once, Amazon Fresh is a real contender. For weekly shoppers buying $40–$70, it's the worst choice in our data.

Whole Foods: most expensive in every city we tested

Whole Foods is between 50% and 80% more expensive than Aldi for the same basket — that's the Whole Foods premium, not Instacart's fault. Instacart just delivers it. Worth it if you specifically want Whole Foods quality on produce, fish, or specialty items; unworthy if you're buying staples like milk, eggs, and pasta.

If you can't be bothered to type your ZIP

For most weekly baskets in most US cities, the default winner is Instacart-Aldi — and where Walmart+ wins (Brooklyn, Phoenix in our test), the gap is small enough that either is fine. The exception is Manhattan: Aldi or Amazon Fresh only, Walmart+ isn't an option.

But the whole point of building a comparison engine was so you don't have to default. Type your zip into the free tool and get the actual answer for your basket in about a second.

Frequently asked questions

Prices: weekly-refreshed engine output as of 2026-05-21. Fees and item prices vary by region. We re-price the basket on every page load using the same engine that powers the comparison tool.