How Much to Tip Instacart & Grocery Delivery in 2026

The Standard: 15–20% With a Minimum

A good baseline is 15–20% of the grocery subtotal. On a $120 order, that is $18–24. For small orders, percentages are too low to cover the trip, so use a $5–10 minimum — a $30 order still requires a drive to the store and to your home.

For very large orders, weight matters more than dollars. A $300 order of mostly light pantry goods is less work than a $150 order with three cases of seltzer. Tip at least 10–15% on big orders, and adjust upward for weight. The 15% calculator helps with the math.

Why the Tip Matters Before Delivery

On Instacart, shoppers see an estimate of what a batch pays, including your tip, before deciding whether to accept it. A higher tip makes your order more attractive, which often means it gets picked up faster, especially during busy weekend hours.

Instacart lets you adjust your tip after delivery for a limited period, so you can raise it for great service or lower it if something went badly wrong. Use that fairly: lowering a tip after a shopper accepted your order based on it — often called “tip baiting” — is widely seen as bad etiquette, and shoppers can rate customers too.

The service fee and delivery fee shown at checkout go to the platform, not your shopper. Only the tip line goes to the person doing the work.

When to Add More

• Heavy items: cases of water, soda, or seltzer, 40-pound bags of dog food, and cat litter. Add $5–10.
• Stairs or long walks: third-floor walk-ups, big apartment complexes, or no parking nearby.
• Weather: rain, snow, ice, or summer heat waves. These are the days shoppers are most needed.
• Multiple stores: if your order requires a stop at both a grocer and a pharmacy or warehouse store.
• Great communication: a shopper who texts photos of substitutions and gets them right is worth rewarding.

If many items were out of stock and your final total dropped, keep the tip based on what you originally ordered — the shopper still searched for every item.

Walmart+, Amazon Fresh, and Other Grocery Apps

Grocery delivery works a bit differently across services, and tipping options change, so always check the checkout screen:

• Walmart delivery (including Walmart+): many deliveries are handled by independent drivers, and Walmart usually shows a tip option at checkout. A Walmart+ membership waives delivery fees, but the fee waiver is not a tip, so tip the same way you would on Instacart.
• Amazon Fresh: tipping options vary by how the order is fulfilled, and some orders may not show a tip field at all. If you see one, use the same guidelines; if you don’t, a tip isn’t expected.
• Shipt and similar apps: follow the same 15–20% guideline and adjust for weight and weather.
• Curbside pickup: store employees loading your trunk generally aren’t tipped, and some stores don’t allow it.

For restaurant delivery apps like DoorDash and Uber Eats, see the delivery tipping guide. If tip prompts everywhere are wearing you out, our take on tipping fatigue explains which ones actually matter — grocery delivery is one of them.