Instacart for iOS

No time to shop for groceries at your favorite grocery store or supermarket? Instacart for iPhone gets groceries to you from supermarkets in your area in as quickly as an hour for a low to no delivery fee.

Pros

Easy to start up: Even before registering for an account, you can just Input your zip code and discover which stores Instacart partners with in your area. In testing, we were shown 17 recommended stores in San Francisco alone. Then sign up with an email and password or with your Facebook or Google accounts.

Many ways to browse and search: Your default homepage will showcase your preferred grocery store and all its offerings, divided by categories -- such as Trending Near You, Favorites, Sales, Savings for You, and Featured Products -- with popular products underneath that you can swipe. Press "View more" for more. Once you place your first order, you'll notice a Your Items section up top, with items you've ordered or similar ones.

The search button on the bottom rail lets you search that store by keyword or recommends popular searches, such as eggs, avocado, milk, bread, banana, tomato, almond milk, cheese, onion, and garlic.

The adjacent Browse button shows you the same categories as the Home page but divided by more streamlined-looking clickable tiles.

The Your Items button takes you to a page that displays all the items you've bought, so you can easily reorder them. You can also see your favorited items on this page under the Loved by you tab and saved shopping lists under Your Lists.

Great filters: Open the participating stores' page, and you can filter them to the most appropriate one for you by tapping on filters, such as Biggest Savings, Alcohol, Drugstore, Groceries, Pet Supplies, or Meals.

Add groceries to your cart in a tap: To add an item to your cart, just press the plus button next to it. To add it again, just press the plus button again.

All your groceries in one place: Some food delivery apps only offer dry goods or only provide produce boxes, but Instacart offers baby products, bulk items, dairy, drinks, eggs, fresh flowers, meat, organics, produce, and so on.

Easy checkout: When you're done shopping, tap the grocery cart icon on the top right and then Checkout. Then choose your preferred delivery time, from within one hour to five days from now. Add your payment info, which, of course, can be saved for future purchases, and then tap Place Order.

Nutrition info: Concerned about nutrition info for a product? Whether it's gluten-free, vegan, or low in carbs? Tap any packaged item and see all its nutritional facts, just like you were reading the back of a product label in a store.

Fast delivery: Get your order in as quickly as one hour.

Available in hundreds of cities: Atlanta, Austin, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York City, Oakland, San Francisco, and Washington D.C are only 10 of the many cities that Instacart delivers to.

150+ participating stores: Instacart partners with top retailers Whole Foods Market, Costco, Smart & Final, Safeway, Stater Bros, Petco, CVS +, and many more.

Coupons and deals: Tap Coupons to see all available sales and store coupons, including on products that, if purchased, will earn you free delivery.

Notifications: Sign up for notifications to get updates directly from the app, such as where in the process your order is.

Chat with your shopper: If you or your shopper need to chat directly about any changes to your order, you can chat directly within the app.

SEE: Best 2018 Grocery Shopping Apps for Easy Home Delivery

Cons

Overwhelming: While it's convenient to shop for groceries on your phone, it's also overwhelming to look at all your options on the small screen. Sometimes it's just easier to look at all the cracker options, for example, in the grocery store aisle.

Delivery minimums: If you only want to order one item, like milk, then Instacart is not the app to use at that moment, because Instacart's participating stores have minimums you must hit before placing an order.

Delivery fee: Instacart charges a $5.99 delivery fee for orders, even after you hit your preferred store's delivery minimum. Of course, you can get around this and get unlimited free delivery on orders of $35 or more by signing up for Instacart Express for $14.99 per month or $149 a year.

Bottom Line

Instacart may require delivery minimums and charge a delivery fee, but the convenience of shopping for groceries from your phone or tablet is priceless.