My Not-So-Great Experience With ALDI Instacart Grocery Delivery
Thinking of trying ALDI grocery delivery through Instacart and looking for reviews? These are my really honest thoughts on my experience with it! (You might also enjoy my honest Kroger Pickup Review!)
As you all know, I love ALDI. If I didn’t have multiple Kroger stores nearby that offered such great markdowns and digital coupon deals, I’d likely be shopping at ALDI every week.
Last week, I took you along on my grocery shopping trip — and so many people said they found it really helpful for me to do so but asked if I could showcase different methods of shopping. So this week, I decided to try a different method: ALDI Instacart Delivery Service.
My Honest ALDI Delivery Review
I challenged myself to see if I could get everything we needed for our menu plan this week and spend less than $70 while using ALDI Grocery Delivery. Well, I definitely learned some lessons in the process…
1) Instacart Charges You More Per Item
I noticed right away that each of the items cost just a little bit more on Instacart than they do by shopping in-store at Aldi. It was just about $0.10-$0.50 per item, but that adds up quickly! I estimate I paid about $4-5 more than I would have spent in-store because of this.
2) Instacart Does Not Offer the Weekly Sale Prices
Also of note: I wasn’t able to get any of the weekly produce specials. Usually, I mostly just buy the produce specials at ALDI. Instead, I went with the more inexpensive regularly priced produce options, but I still would have saved probably $6-7 by purchasing only the sale priced fruits/veggies.
3) The Tip/Service Fee/Delivery Charge Add Up Quickly
Because I don’t have an Instacart membership, I paid $14 for the tip (15%) + service fee + delivery fee. You won’t pay as much each time if you have the membership, but you have to pay the membership fee — which is pretty hefty.
So, all total, I estimate I spent about $25 more by using Instacart than by shopping in-store. And there’s no way we could sustain a $70 weekly grocery budget if we were to exclusively shop ALDI with Instacart delivery.
In fact, the only way I was able to stick with our $70 budget this week was because I relied heavily on what we already had in our pantry and freezer that we have gotten marked down in previous weeks with different sales and coupons.
My ALDI Grocery Delivery Shopping Trip
- Broccoli Crowns — $2.28
- Tortilla Chips — $0.89
- 10-lb bag of Potatoes — $4.39
- 3-lb bag of Onions — $1.35
- 1 pint blueberries — $2.09
- 3-lb bag of Gala apples — $3.65
- 2 cans Refried Beans — $0.89 each
- Tater Tots — $1.65
- 2 cans Green Beans — $0.55 each
- Oats — $2.65
- Oyster Crackers — $0.89
- Crispy Oats — $1.25
- Milk – -$2.59
- Eggs — $0.95
- 16-inch Pizza — $5.49
- Salsa — $1.35
- 3-lb. bag of Jazz apples — $4.22
- 3-count Romaine hearts — $3.04
- Carrots — $1.55
- Cottage Cheese — $1.87
- 16-oz Mozzarella Cheese — $3.22
- 16-oz. Cheddar Cheese — $3.22
- Powdered Sugar — $1.55
- Tax: $3.50
- Delivery charge: $3.99
- Service fee: $2.60
- Tip (15%): $7.78
- Total: $70.12
4) You Might Not Get What You Ordered
While I felt like the price — with the extra fees — were more than I’d want to pay on a weekly basis, the overall experience was pretty easy and I was kind of excited to have the groceries delivered to our door… which felt like this crazy luxury!
The only thing was, when they were delivered, 7 items were completely missing! The shopper had just left everything on our porch and then we got an email that it was delivered. When we went out there, we discovered that probably what amounted to an entire bag of groceries was missing.
I’m guessing that somehow the groceries were delivered to a different house or left in her vehicle. It was probably a fluke thing, but it was definitely a disappointment.
The good news? I contacted Instacart and they quickly contacted me back and processed a refund for what I didn’t get…
I shared about my Instacart shopping trip on Instagram stories and heard from a few hundred of you about your experiences. Here were just a few of the responses:
I heard from so many people that they’ve had a good experience with Instacart Customer Service, so that was encouraging to me!
I thought maybe the person who got my bag of groceries may have needed the groceries or maybe it was a special blessing for them in some way.
This made me laugh! 🙂
I just had to share this one above. I love it so much!
Overall, I’d say my ALDI delivery review is that it’s probably not for me, but I could see how it would be really helpful for many families!! And based on the messages I received on Instagram, I do think my experience of having items missing may have been kind of a fluke thing.
Have you ever tried ALDI grocery delivery or Instacart? I’d love to hear your reviews, if so!
Other Articles You Might Enjoy:
- 25 Things You Should Buy at ALDI
- 5 Things You Should Never Buy at ALDI
- Kroger vs. ALDI: Which is Cheaper?
- An Open Letter to ALDI
- How I Save with ALDI Special Buys
Want to cut your grocery budget? Go here and sign up (it’s free!) I’ll send you my 10 Easy Ways to Cut Your Grocery Bill By $50.
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44 Comments
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Chris says:
Thanks for sharing your experience. I have not used this kind of service for our groceries. The groceries that you didn’t get I know are staples that you use every week. So you had to go out and get them anyway. What a disappointment! I had thought that maybe this might be a good thing for elderly or disabled shoppers who can’t drive. But it just sounds like a hassle.
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I’ve heard from a lot of people who have had great experiences and a lot of people who have had disappointing experiences… so it seems like it’s all over the board for people!
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Chrystal Bachmann says:
I have found that Instacart often offers free credits once you have used their service. I do not have a membership and they still frequently send $10 off $35 coupon credits. So I use the credits and order for pick up at Aldi to save the tip!
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Sommer P. says:
Yes, I got a $30 off $100 coupon recently after not using the service for a while, and used the “free” money to stock up!
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Amy M. says:
Yes, we have relied on Instacart heavily over the past year! I’d actually purchased a membership before the pandemic started and used it occasionally last Nov-Dec when my husband and I both had especially busy work schedules. It’s been VERY worth it for us the past 10 months since the pandemic started, since he and I both have some extra risk factors medically. We increased our grocery budget to accommodate the extra cost for the tips and increased prices. I do shop the sale items Instacart shows, too. I mostly order from Aldi, Kroger, and Bi-Lo (now Lowe’s in our area). Overall it’s been a positive experience. Most of our shoppers have been great with communicating, substituting well, etc., and I agree with others that Instacart Customer Service have been great the few times I’ve had a missing item or got something about to expire. We decided to go ahead and renew the membership for another year.
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Thanks so much for sharing your personal experience! I really appreciate it!
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Darci Foster says:
I’ve done the instacart thing a few times and it’s been hit or miss. We are a family of six and feed four adults, one teen and one tween. If you do pick up versus delivery it saves you the delivery fee and the tip so it’s only the service fee so I’ve only used the delivery option once when I had a coupon code for $10 off my first order and that covered my delivery fee. Bad weather had just started and I was sick so it was more than worth it!
I’ve had more than once where I’ve gotten bad food such as a bag of potatoes that had several rotten potatoes that had made quite the mess in the bag and smelled horrible and then the inappropriately packaged bag the had my bread on the bottom and it was smashed. They refunded the items right away but with a credit to my instacart account not my method of payment.
Usually we use walmart pick up service since I can get more than just groceries like soap, shampoo and for a house of five women… sanitary supplies! Most of the time I have good results that way and end up saving more by avoiding impulse buys. Due to COVID and being immunocompromised, I have not set foot in a grocery store since March of 2020. Either my husband goes or we do a pick up order.
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Jordan says:
Thank you so much for taking the time to share your experience! We really appreciate it! -Jordan, MSM Team
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Kathleen says:
Please keep in mind that one of the services provided is that it keeps people out of grocery stores. This could (along with other measures) slow the spread of Covid. However, that service is provided for a fee. This service (or similar curbside) may be more helpful if you consider this and factor in the time spent shopping.
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Yes! That’s one reason I wanted to try it out and review it because I know we have a lot of families here who have an immunocompromised loved one or need to quarantine/stay home as much as possible and are looking for creative alternatives that are also reasonably priced. I think it could be a decent option IF you can’t do curbside pickup and you actually get all of your stuff delivered! 🙂
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Belle says:
We like to use Instacart for Aldi pickup. Our store uses Aldi employees to fill the order and they have been great about communicating with us if anything is sold out. In addition, the fee is WAY less. Less than $2 in our market to pick up. When you pick up, you pull in the marked spot and the Aldi employee.comes and loads the groceries in your trunk, similar to Kroger. I have had a small increase in our food budget using his method (less than $4 a week) but it has saved me a lot of time. I often put in my order while on a work conference call and then swing by and pick it up after work. I highly recommend pickup vs delivery for Aldi!
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Do you have to pay for the Aldi bags? When I’ve seen employees at the store, they’re loading into plastic Aldi bags. TIA, I’ve seen the new parking spots but haven’t really looked into this yet.
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Jettsmom says:
I have used Aldi pickup. I didn’t see where they charged me for paper bags. I figured since everything is at least 5cents more, it covers the cost of the bags. I do pick up to save the delivery fees.
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We didn’t pay for bags either. They gave us paper bags which was nice because it helped keep things cold while driving home too.
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Thank you for sharing your personal experience! We appreciate getting different views and experiences! -Jordan, MSM Team
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Tabitha T says:
Where I am at in Texas, I pay the same price as in store BUT there is a often a $1.99 fee to use Instacart grocery pickup. I usually pay less than 50 cents for bag fees. If I took a kid with me to grocery shop, I would easily overspend by $2.50 so it’s worth ordering. However my store is starting to have out of stock issues so I may have to go back to other stores.
Target drive up helps with household items like laundry detergent or TP. No fee for that, but be careful because some name brand items are sometimes more online than in-store. For example Jimmy Dean breakfast bowl is $1.99 in store but $2.69 online. When it’s off, it’s usually crazy off. If you know your prices, it’s fine.
I used to use WalMart pick up but now you have to order a couple days in advance out here. If I were more organized, I would use it.
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Katie says:
I love Instacart. I don’t know what I would do without it. So paying a bit extra to have it is worth it to me.
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I can definitely see how it can be a huge help to people! I’m glad you have found something that works and benefits you and your family! -Jordan, MSM Team
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Mikki says:
I don’t know about your Aldi, but despite what it says in the order, when we get our groceries the receipt shows the actual store prices. Sales and all. The receipt matches our bank statement.
They said it’s because the system averages the prices for your location on the web. Ours is the Midwest. Again, our actual charge is what our store charges.I have tried both the delivery and pick up several times. The only time I had poor service was back in April of last year. Right in the middle of our shutdown and EVERY store was out of items.
I have been very impressed with our service here. I do prefer pickup because it saves us about $7 for delivery and tip.
I will continue to use Aldi, Walmart, and our local Kroger affiliate pick up.
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Cris says:
I see that they refunded you for exactly how much those items cost. Shouldn’t they have also given a little extra since you tipped based on how much you spent? I think that would have been fair, not take it away from the shopper (who knows what happened) but take the hit themselves.
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They gave me the option to change my tip, but I chose not to. (I did, however, leave an honest review of my experience so that they’d know… in case it was something they needed to address with the driver.)
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melissa says:
Just a word on tipping- As a former IC shopper, the tip automatically decreases if it was percentage based versus someone choosing to tip a flat amount. Ex: you choose to tip 15% of your total but then the shopper refunds a few items that were out of stock…their tip will go down according to the updated total of the bill. If the customer chose a flat amount $5, $10, etc. then the tip would remain the same no matter what changes occur to the order. Instacart has not been transparent with shoppers/customers about tips in the past and subsequently were involved in a large litigation not so long ago.
They likely gave her the option to decrease her tip based on the bad service experience but it was kind of her not to decrease it. Btw, when you fill out the comment section upon reviewing the shopper/service, it is actually sent to the shopper and while I never had any negative reviews, the positives always made my day. 😊
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Ashley P says:
I’ve only ever used it in emergencies. My oldest used to have horrible bouts of CVS (cyclic vomiting syndrome) where he would spend entire days throwing up for no reason. Thankfully he hasn’t had one in a good long while. But once on my shopping day, he had an episode and there was no way I could get out and do my shopping. So I ordered an Instacart delivery. Since it was my first time, I got the delivery fee waived. And I actually had a nice chat with the delivery lady about homeschooling and was able to connect her with our local homeschool group! So I guess God had a reason that day.
But you’re right about the higher prices. So I’ve only used it 2 or 3 times since when I was desperate.
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I’m so happy you have something that helps you out when you and your family have a tough time getting to the store! It is always great to find something that helps in a pinch! -Jordan, MSM Team
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We’ve done home grocery delivery exclusively since March. Initially, it was all Kroger powered by Instacart (you order through the Kroger app/website so you get the sale prices and store coupons but it’s shopped and delivered by Instacart). In November, I tried Wal-Mart Plus and haven’t gone back to Kroger. I’ve never been a WM fan but I’ve been nothing but pleased with the plus experience. We also use Costco Instacart (similar to Kroger) and it’s been terrific. We live about 25 miles from Costco so it’s totally worth the extra cost to have it delivered.
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Thank you for taking the time to share your experience with these different stores and their delivery options! We really appreciate getting reader input and it is super helpful for our other readers. -Jordan, MSM Team
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keb says:
I have used Instacart regularly for over a year. I have found that the two times I tried Aldi, I got incorrect items. When I use it for Wegmans (my usual store) I have had a much better experience. That being said, the prices are definitely higher than in store shopping.
Where possible, I will do Whole Foods delivery as I’m a Prime member.
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Savannah says:
I have looked into using Instacart this past year during Covid. I just simply could not justify the cost when you add everything up between the service fee, the delivery fee, the tip and the marked up prices. It just wasn’t worth it when I can pay nothing additional and do a grocery pickup at Walmart that is contact-less as well. It boggles my mind the amount of money just thrown away if this service is used regularly.
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I’ve heard — mostly — good things about the Walmart grocery pickup. I need to try it sometime!
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lizajane says:
I think you will like it. Although I don’t use it often, I have never had any issues. They contact about any substitutions, and I think I’ve only refused once or twice. Often the substitutes have been an improvement on what I ordered (i.e., larger size or name brand vs. store brand). It’s so convenient!
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Scotti says:
My 77yo grandfather pays $13/mo for unlimited delivery from Walmart and has never been disappointed. I order his groceries a couple times a week and it keeps him out of the stores and away from germs!
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Melissa says:
I do Instacart pick up at Aldi. One of the nice things about their pick up and delivery service that is not offered at other stores, is you can “chat” with the shopper while they are shopping and actually add things, or see what they are substituting – I’ve had them message me with a pic of what they want to substitute when something is out of stock. In my area pick up is only $1.99. It is more in other areas but I think that is partly because of the mark up. Milk is over $1.00 more on Instacart than it is in the store, so I think they make up for that a little by charging a lower fee for pick up or delivery in my area than they do in other areas.
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Traci Roldan says:
I used Instacart once and had a great experience, so this month I subscribed. I plan to use it once a week so I feel like it’ll offset/justify the subscription fee over time. I live in a small town, the nearest Target and Smart & Final (the main stores I use) are a 15 minute drive, so I feel that with the gas saved and the value of my time driving back and forth, doing the shopping, loading, unloading, I can justify any fees and tip spent. I absolutely love the convenience. My shoppers have all been great, I’ve never had anything missing or misdelivered. That may be a function of living in a smaller city, but I’ve been super pleased with all my shoppers. They make great substitutions and follow my preferences, I’ve haven’t had any problems so far. As a self-employed person, I also feel that I’m supporting other self-employed/gig workers local to my area, I feel that’s important economically for the area where I live. I’m a big Instacart fan so far!
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Pam says:
I’ve been shopping and delivering for Instacart for the past two and a half weeks. It’s been a good source of a little extra income. There have certainly been a few hiccups, mostly with deliveries—navigation sending me to an incorrect location, no response from the customer upon delivery, difficulty gaining access to apartment buildings, etc. For the most part it has been a positive experience, though! I’d love to hear about other people’s experience as an Instacart shopper (especially people who have done it for longer than three weeks)!
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Sarah says:
Instacart has been a lifesaver. No longer do I have to put the groceries in the cart, then onto the conveyer, then bag them myself, then load them in the car and then unpack them. Saves my back a lot of work and saves me tons of time. Not to mention no impulse buys!
The little more I pay per week is so worth it! Also, I can work from home or be with my kids while someone else shops for me! A win in my book!-
It is important for everyone to figure out what works best for them and their families! I’m so happy you’ve found something that works so well for your family! -Jordan, MSM Team
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Kimberly says:
Not delivery, but our family uses Instacart for curbside pick up at Aldi. There is a fee of $1.99 a week (say, if you shop there weekly) and an Aldi employee shops for your groceries. I have noticed that the prices are a few cents up from what the instore pricing would be. Still the most inexpensive option from any of the other pick ups we have done or monthly delivery fee that we have experienced.
As far as missing items, they are supposed to notify you of substitutions or approval of both substitutions and or out of stock items in the app. -
Jennifer says:
I’ve done Instacart delivery with Aldi’s for several years now. I do pay the membership fee. I know there is a slight markup, but the Aldi markup is way less than other stores. Since I work full time, ordering online helps immensely. I can shop when the stores aren’t open and get it delivered when I’m available. Another benefit for me is that I tend to impulse shop, so even with the slight increases for markup, fees and tip, I feel like I save more by not stepping foot in the store. I’ve had a few mishaps over time and they have been great about refunding. They always give me a chance to accept or refuse a substitution.
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