Is Instacart or Memberful better?

Neither clearly leads. Instacart starts at Free and Memberful at $49/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.

Which is cheaper, Instacart or Memberful?

Instacart has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Instacart and $49/month for Memberful.

Does Instacart or Memberful run on more platforms?

Instacart runs on iOS, Android, Web. Memberful runs on web, api.

Can I use Instacart for free?

Yes. Instacart has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Memberful starts at $49/month.

What is Instacart best used for?

Instacart is most often used for a household with limited time wanting groceries delivered same day from a familiar supermarket chain, a frequent orderer comparing whether an instacart+ subscription pays off against per-order fees, someone using snap ebt benefits at a participating retailer through the app, a shopper who wants to order ahead and collect at pickup to avoid the delivery fee entirely. Of those, a household with limited time wanting groceries delivered same day from a familiar supermarket chain and a frequent orderer comparing whether an instacart+ subscription pays off against per-order fees are not what Memberful is typically brought in for.

What can Instacart do that Memberful cannot?

Instacart covers Multi-retailer marketplace, Instacart+ membership, Same-day and scheduled delivery, Pickup option. Memberful covers Membership checkout, Flexible subscriptions, Member management, Landing page builder.

E-Commerce · head to head

Instacart vs Memberful

Instacart

E-Commerce

US and Canada grocery delivery and pickup marketplace with a paid membership tier

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

Memberful

E-Commerce

Membership platform for creators to sell subscriptions, courses and gated content

From: $49/month
Rated: -

Full review Website

The short version

Only Instacart has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
Each has a real cost: Instacart item prices shown in the app are frequently higher than the same items in the physical store, and this markup is not clearly separated from delivery and service fees at checkout, making true cost comparison difficult.; Memberful charges a 4.9% transaction fee on top of the flat monthly fee on the Standard plan.
They diverge on capability: Instacart covers Multi-retailer marketplace, Memberful covers Membership checkout.
Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Instacart and Memberful actually diverge.

Attributes where Instacart and Memberful differ
Attribute	Instacart	Memberful
Starting price	Free	$49/month
Pricing model	Free to download; item markups plus delivery and service fees per order, optional subscription	subscription
Free tier	Yes	No
Platforms	iOS, Android, Web	web, api
Founded	Unknown	2013

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (E-Commerce).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Instacart

Multi-retailer marketplace
Instacart+ membership
Same-day and scheduled delivery
Pickup option
Item substitution controls
Instacart Ads and retail media

Only in Memberful

Membership checkout
Flexible subscriptions
Member management
Landing page builder
Dynamic paywalls
Third-party integrations

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Instacart

A household with limited time wanting groceries delivered same day from a familiar supermarket chainnot Memberful
A frequent orderer comparing whether an Instacart+ subscription pays off against per-order feesnot Memberful
Someone using SNAP EBT benefits at a participating retailer through the appnot Memberful
A shopper who wants to order ahead and collect at pickup to avoid the delivery fee entirelynot Memberful

Memberful

Selling paid membership subscriptions from an existing websitenot Instacart
Gating podcast, newsletter or course content behind a paywallnot Instacart
Running a WordPress site with paid member-only contentnot Instacart
Offering one-time purchases alongside recurring membershipsnot Instacart

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Instacart

Item prices shown in the app are frequently higher than the same items in the physical store, and this markup is not clearly separated from delivery and service fees at checkout, making true cost comparison difficult.
Shoppers are a mix of employees and independent contractors depending on market and retailer, and gig-classified shoppers have raised pay and working-condition complaints that have drawn regulatory attention in several US states.
The service fee and delivery fee combination means a small grocery order can carry a large proportional surcharge, making Instacart uneconomical for frequent small top-up shops.
Item substitutions chosen by a shopper when stock runs out can differ meaningfully from what was ordered, and refund handling for a poor substitution requires customer support intervention.
Availability is limited to the US and Canada, and even within those countries, delivery zones and retailer coverage vary block by block in a way that is not obvious until you enter an address.

Memberful

Charges a 4.9% transaction fee on top of the flat monthly fee on the Standard plan.
Requires a separate Stripe account, adding setup complexity compared to all-in-one checkout platforms.
Lacks built-in course-hosting depth found in dedicated learning management platforms.
No free plan beyond the pre-launch trial period; charges begin once payments go live.

Pricing, plan by plan

Instacart

Free

Pay per orderFree
- Item prices often marked up versus in-store
- Delivery fee varying by store and delivery window
- Service fee of roughly 5 percent of order subtotal
Instacart+$9.99/month
- Delivery fees waived on orders over a store minimum
- Reduced service fees
- Also offered at a discounted annual rate

Memberful

$49/month

Standard$49/month
- 4.9% transaction fee
- Full platform access
- Free until you go live
Enterprise$undefined/mo
- Custom volume-based rates
- Premium services and success management
- Dedicated migration support

Which should you pick?

Choose Instacart if

You need multi-retailer marketplace.
You want to start without paying.
You work on iOS, Android, Web.
You also want instacart+ membership.

Instacart review

Choose Memberful if

You need membership checkout.
You work on web, api.
You also want flexible subscriptions.

Memberful review

Questions people ask

Is Instacart or Memberful better?: Neither clearly leads. Instacart starts at Free and Memberful at $49/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Instacart or Memberful?: Instacart has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Instacart and $49/month for Memberful.
Does Instacart or Memberful run on more platforms?: Instacart runs on iOS, Android, Web. Memberful runs on web, api.
Can I use Instacart for free?: Yes. Instacart has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Memberful starts at $49/month.
What is Instacart best used for?: Instacart is most often used for a household with limited time wanting groceries delivered same day from a familiar supermarket chain, a frequent orderer comparing whether an instacart+ subscription pays off against per-order fees, someone using snap ebt benefits at a participating retailer through the app, a shopper who wants to order ahead and collect at pickup to avoid the delivery fee entirely. Of those, a household with limited time wanting groceries delivered same day from a familiar supermarket chain and a frequent orderer comparing whether an instacart+ subscription pays off against per-order fees are not what Memberful is typically brought in for.
What can Instacart do that Memberful cannot?: Instacart covers Multi-retailer marketplace, Instacart+ membership, Same-day and scheduled delivery, Pickup option. Memberful covers Membership checkout, Flexible subscriptions, Member management, Landing page builder.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Instacart: Are Instacart prices the same as in the store?

Often not. Many retailers set higher item prices for Instacart orders than for in-store purchase, on top of delivery and service fees.

Memberful: What does Memberful cost?

Memberful's Standard plan costs $49/month plus a 4.9% transaction fee, while larger organizations can get custom volume-based rates on the Enterprise plan.

Source

Instacart: Does Instacart+ pay for itself?

Only for households ordering often enough that the waived delivery fees exceed the subscription cost; occasional orderers usually do not break even.

Memberful: Is there a free plan, and what are its limits?

Memberful can be used for free while setting up a membership site, with no charges incurred until the creator goes live and starts accepting payments.

Source

Instacart: Are Instacart shoppers employees?

It depends on the market and retailer; Instacart uses a mix of directly employed and independent contractor shoppers.

Memberful: What does Memberful integrate with?

Memberful integrates with WordPress, Mailchimp, Discord and Kit, among other tools, to connect membership data with existing sites and marketing systems.

Source

Instacart vs Memberful

Instacart

Memberful

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in Instacart

Only in Memberful

What people use each for

Instacart

Memberful

Where each one falls short

Instacart

Memberful

Pricing, plan by plan

Instacart

Memberful

Which should you pick?

Choose Instacart if

Choose Memberful if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on Instacart

More on Memberful

Keep looking

Other head to heads