Walmart+ Grocery Delivery Review: Selection, Pricing, and What to Expect
Why grocery delivery matters for busy households
Grocery delivery services are designed to make it easier to keep your kitchen stocked without carving out extra time for a store trip. For many households, the appeal is straightforward: you can build a cart from your phone or computer, choose a pickup or delivery window, and receive staples, fresh foods, and household basics with less disruption to your week.
Among the services available, Walmart+ is a widely used option, particularly for people who already shop at Walmart. It combines grocery ordering from local stores with additional membership benefits, including shipping perks for online purchases.
What Walmart+ is (and what it isn’t)
Walmart+ is a membership program that includes grocery delivery and free shipping on online orders, along with other perks. It can be viewed as an alternative to services such as Amazon Prime, Instacart, and Shipt, but with an important distinction: Walmart+ is exclusive to Walmart stores and Walmart products.
Walmart also supports ordering without a membership in certain cases. Nonmembers can place free curbside pickup orders using the Walmart app. Nonmembers can also place delivery orders, but they will pay an additional delivery fee.
Core features: grocery pickup, delivery, and shipping
For many members, the primary appeal of Walmart+ is the ability to order groceries from a local store. Ordering is handled through the Walmart website or app, where you can shop across a broad set of categories that go beyond food.
Pickup and delivery both require a $35 minimum order. After building your cart, you reserve a time slot for curbside pickup or delivery (availability depends on your location, and Walmart delivers only to certain zip codes).
In addition to grocery ordering, Walmart+ includes free 2-day shipping on orders placed on Walmart.com. If an item is in stock at your local Walmart, it may arrive the same day you place the order, which can be useful when you need something quickly and prefer not to make a trip to the store.
Pricing and fees: membership cost, minimums, and delivery charges
Walmart+ costs $98 per year when billed annually or $12.95 per month when billed monthly. Whether that price feels worthwhile often depends on how frequently you use delivery and how much you value the shipping benefits on Walmart.com orders.
Order minimum: Pickup and delivery orders placed online generally require a $35 minimum.
Curbside pickup: Free for members and nonmembers.
Delivery for nonmembers: Typically $8–10 depending on the time and date selected.
Express Delivery: Available during certain hours for $10 for both members and nonmembers. Express orders do not have to meet the $35 minimum.
Tip: Tipping the delivery driver is optional but strongly recommended.
Because the driver is not the person who picks and bags your groceries, tip decisions are best based on the delivery experience rather than on produce quality or substitutions.
How ordering works in the app: a step-by-step overview
Getting started requires a Walmart account. After that, you can enroll in Walmart+ in one of two ways: enroll before placing an order via your account settings, or place an order and enroll during checkout.
From there, the ordering flow is designed to be simple:
Search for grocery items in the app or on the website and add them to your cart.
Reserve a delivery or pickup time slot.
At checkout, choose whether substitutions are allowed (you can decline substitutions on individual items if you need a specific product).
Add a tip, confirm payment, and choose contactless delivery if desired.
Receive notifications through the app about order progress, including when the driver leaves the store, arrives, and completes delivery.
If an item isn’t available, you may receive a substitution window where you can accept or decline substitutions selected by the employee who picked your order (unless it is a same-day order).
Product selection: groceries, household items, and more
Walmart+ offers a wide selection of foods and products. On the grocery side, shoppers can typically find many everyday categories, including meats, eggs, dairy products, canned goods, condiments, grains, seasonings, snacks, frozen foods, prepared products, and supplements. There is also a selection of fresh fruits and vegetables, including conventional and organic varieties.
Beyond food, the service includes access to many household and home categories, such as kitchen appliances, dinnerware, home decor items, and food storage containers. This broader assortment can be useful when you want to combine grocery needs with household restocks in one order.
Walmart+ includes Walmart’s own brands (such as Great Value, Marketside, and Sam’s Choice) as well as a range of familiar household-name brands, including Kraft, Hormel, Tyson, Bob’s Red Mill, Bolthouse Farms, Birch Benders, and Tattooed Chef.
Item pages on the website include detailed information, such as whether ingredients are organic, grass-fed, or sugar-free, which can help shoppers align purchases with budget and personal preferences.
Limitations to know before you rely on it
Even with a broad catalog, Walmart+ has a few practical limitations that can affect convenience depending on what you routinely buy.
No bagged ice: Walmart+ does not allow purchases of bagged ice.
Weight restrictions: You can’t select items that weigh 50 pounds (22.7 kg) or more on delivery orders.
Local stock controls availability: What you can order depends on what is in stock at your local Walmart store.
For shoppers who frequently buy heavier items or rely on bagged ice, these restrictions may mean occasional in-store trips even when you use delivery for most of your list.
Substitutions: the most common pain point
Substitutions are a recurring theme in customer feedback, and experiences can vary by store and by the employee assembling the order. When an item is out of stock, a similar product may be substituted unless you specify otherwise.
One challenge is that Walmart does not provide a built-in way to communicate the types of substitutions you would prefer for out-of-stock items. While many substitutions are adequate, occasional mismatches can happen.
If a substitution doesn’t work for you, there are ways to handle it:
Curbside pickup: You can refuse a substitution at pickup by informing the associate, who can remove it from your order.
Delivery: If you need to reject a substituted item after delivery, you will request a refund through the app.
This process can be manageable, but it does add a step—especially for delivery orders—when substitutions don’t align with your needs.
Freshness, quality, and refunds
The taste and freshness of a Walmart+ order depends largely on what you buy. Shelf-stable items such as canned goods, boxed dinners, snacks, drinks, and cooking supplies are generally likely to arrive safe and undamaged. Fresh produce, on the other hand, can vary in quality.
If something arrives damaged or missing, you can request a refund using the app or website. This refund option is an important part of the service experience, particularly when quality issues arise with perishable items.
Delivery logistics and packaging considerations
After you submit an order, a store associate collects and bags your items. A contracted delivery driver then delivers the groceries to your home. Any applicable bag fees in your region are automatically added.
One notable downside is that you cannot currently use your own bags or opt for reusable bags, which can make it harder to reduce plastic use. Some stores have plastic bag recycling collection bins near the front of the store, but the order itself may still involve many plastic bags.
Some orders may arrive with items bagged separately, which can lead to an excessive amount of plastic waste. If minimizing plastic is a priority, you may prefer shopping in-store or looking for a grocery option that better supports reusable packaging.
Dietary needs: broad options, limited filtering
Walmart+ carries foods that can suit many eating patterns. For example, shoppers following vegan or vegetarian diets can purchase fruits, vegetables, canned goods, tofu, and plant-based meat alternatives. People following a ketogenic diet can find meat, eggs, butter, vegetable oils, and dairy products. There are also options for shoppers managing allergies or intolerances, including lactose-free milk and gluten-free products.
However, Walmart+ does not allow you to filter items based on dietary restrictions or specific ingredients. That makes it important to read labels and ingredient lists carefully before purchasing, especially if you are shopping for medical or allergy-related needs.
Delivery timing and scheduling tips
How quickly you can receive an order depends on available delivery slots at the time you shop. If you have trouble finding convenient windows, scheduling several days in advance—or even up to a week ahead—can help.
After a delivery slot is confirmed, you can usually continue editing your grocery order until the early morning hours of the delivery day. This can be useful if you want to add items as you think of them throughout the week.
For faster needs, Express Delivery is available during certain hours for a $10 fee. For members, this option is positioned as a way to receive an order within 2 hours of placing it.
Customer service: what to expect
Customer service experiences can vary, and there are poor reviews in this area. Email support may be more convenient than calling a store directly, and refunds for damaged or missing items can be handled through the app or website.
How Walmart+ compares with Amazon Prime, Instacart, and Shipt
Walmart+ is often compared with Amazon Prime because both include free 2-day shipping and grocery delivery options. Amazon Fresh, which is included with Amazon Prime, is also limited to certain zip codes. In some areas—such as outer suburbs—Amazon Fresh may not be available.
From a membership-cost standpoint, Walmart+ at $98 per year is less expensive than Amazon Prime, which requires a $139 annual membership fee. At the same time, Amazon Prime includes benefits that Walmart+ does not, such as streaming.
Instacart and Shipt are different in structure because they are not limited to a single retailer. They allow you to order from many local or national grocery stores in your area, which can be a deciding factor if you prefer to shop outside Walmart.
Instacart: Same-day delivery starts at $3.99 for orders over $35, with other fees varying based on order size, 1-hour delivery, and club store deliveries. Instacart Express costs $99 per year or $9.99 per month and can unlock free delivery and reduced service fees on orders over $35.
Shipt: One-time orders cost $10, or memberships are available at $10.99 per month or $99 per year, including free delivery on orders over $35.
Who Walmart+ tends to work best for
Walmart+ can be a practical option if you want a fast, convenient, and relatively affordable way to order weekly groceries—especially if Walmart is already where you buy most of your food. It can also be a good fit whether you are short on time or prefer cooking at home, since the selection includes prepared and frozen meals as well as fresh ingredients and produce.
On the other hand, if you do not live near a Walmart store, if delivery is not available in your zip code, or if you prefer to shop across multiple stores, a service like Instacart (or Amazon Fresh where available) may be a better fit.
Practical takeaways before you subscribe
Check delivery availability: Delivery is limited to certain zip codes, and slot availability can vary.
Plan around substitutions: You can decline substitutions per item, but you cannot specify detailed substitution preferences.
Know the restrictions: Bagged ice is unavailable, and delivery orders cannot include items weighing 50 pounds (22.7 kg) or more.
Use refunds when needed: Damaged or missing items can be addressed through the app or website.
Consider packaging impact: Reusable bags are not currently an option, and some orders may involve a large amount of plastic bags.
Bottom line
Walmart+ is a membership that combines grocery delivery from local Walmart stores with free 2-day shipping on Walmart.com orders. The service is straightforward to use, offers a wide selection of groceries and household items, and can be especially appealing for people who already shop primarily at Walmart.
At the same time, the experience can vary by store, substitutions can be inconsistent, and delivery limitations (such as item restrictions and slot availability) may affect how fully you can rely on it. If you want Walmart pricing and the convenience of delivery plus shipping perks, Walmart+ can make sense. If you need broader store choice, more control over substitutions, or fewer ordering limitations, alternatives like Instacart or Shipt may better match your routine.