Instacart Shopper Review: Is Working for Instacart Worth It?

How Does Working for Instacart Work

Instacart allows you to sign up and become a personal Shopper. There are two roles available:

1. Full-Service Shopper: Shop for the groceries in-store and deliver the order to the customer’s home.
2. In-Store Shopper: Shop for the order and stage it for pick-up. This job doesn’t require you to deliver the groceries, so you don’t need a car to work for Instacart as an In-Store Shopper.

Below, I’ll cover how it works for both roles.

There’s also a Shopper app, which you’ll need to download. Here’s where you can get it:

• Android
• iOS

How it Works: Full-Service Shopper

One of the roles that Instacart hires for is being a Full-Service Shopper. Here’s how it works:

Step One: Sign up

Head on over to the Full-Service Shopper sign up page and apply. You will need to meet some requirements to be eligible for the role.

To work as a Full-Service Shopper at Instacart, you will need to:

• Be at least 18 years old
• Be eligible to work in the United States
• Have consistent access to a vehicle
• Have consistent access to and be able to effectively use a smartphone (iPhone 6s / Android 5.0 or newer)
• Be able to lift 50 lbs. with or without accommodation
• Have vehicle insurance, in accordance with local laws

Step Two: Shop for and deliver groceries

Once you are approved, you will be able to start taking orders. You will need to get the Instacart Shopper app. In the app, you will be able to view orders near you. You can choose the orders that you want to fulfill.

The company will give you a preloaded payment card you can use to purchase customer orders.

Once you select an order in the app, you will need to go to the specified store and shop for the products the customer has ordered.

When you have shopped for everything, you will need to deliver the order. You’ll be able to see the customer’s address in the app.

Step Three: Get paid

Now, you can get paid. What’s good about Instacart is that its Full-Service Shoppers can use an Instant Cashout feature to get their earnings immediately! So, you could have your earnings put on a debit card right away.

If you don’t use the Instant Cashout feature, Instacart will pay you weekly, every Wednesday by direct deposit.

How it Works: In-Store Shopper

The second role available from Instacart is In-Store Shopper. This role differs from the Full-Service Shopper role above in that you don’t need to have a vehicle in order to be eligible.

Here’s how it works:

Step One: Sign up

The first step is to head on over to the In-Store Shopper sign up page and apply.

You will need to meet a few requirements to qualify for this job.

To be an In-Store Shopper, you need to:

• Be at least 18 years old
• Be eligible to work in the United States
• Have consistent access to and be able to effectively use a smartphone (iPhone 6s / Android 5.0 or newer)
• Be able to lift 50 lbs. with or without accommodation

After you have submitted your online application, you will need to attend an in-person onboarding session. This is basically an orientation. Now, you can choose a session from the times and dates that are available in the Shopper app, or by checking the link you received in your email.

Step Two: Shop for groceries

Once you are approved, you will need to shop for customer orders, and pack the order for pick up.

In-Store Shoppers are only allowed to work up to 29 hours per week, so do keep that in mind for this role.

You will use a prepaid debit card provided by the company to fulfil customer orders, so you don’t have to worry about using your own money to pay for anything.

Step Three: Get paid

In-Store Shoppers get paid weekly for the number of hours that they have worked. Payment is sent by direct deposit.

How Much Do You Make Working for Instacart

So, how much does Instacart pay Shoppers?

How much can you realistically make with Instacart?

It depends on the role you do meaning that earnings differ for an In-Store Shopper and a Full-Service Shopper. In-Store Shoppers are paid a fixed, hourly wage, which varies depending on their location.

Pay for Full-Service Shoppers depends on the order. Instacart will give you an estimate for potential earnings on every order. This tends to be $7 to $10 per order as a Full-Service Shopper.

So, how much does this work out to per hour?

Here’s how much you can earn with each role:

Instacart Full-Service Shopper Pay

According to figures from Shoppers on Glassdoor, Instacart Full-Service Shoppers earn $2 to $30 an hour.

Average pay for Full-Service Shoppers is $12 an hour.

Instacart In-Store Shopper Pay

According to figures from Glassdoor, Instacart In-Store Shoppers earn $3 to $23 an hour.

Average pay for In-Store Shoppers is $13 an hour.

Is Instacart Shopper Legit?

Yes, Instacart is a legitimate company that’s been featured by a ton of major news outlets, such as Forbes and the New York Times. The Instacart app is also incredibly well-reviewed.

On the Google Play store, the Instacart app has a 4.3-star rating, and more than 170,000 votes. On the App Store, the Instacart app has a 4.8-star rating, and more than 2 million reviews. And Instacart is now valued at $39 billion.

It’s safe to say that Instacart is a popular company, but what do Shoppers have to say about it?

Do they have the same praise for the company? Do they think that Instacart is worth it?

Working for Instacart Reviews

The Instacart Shopper app is pretty well-reviewed. On the Google Play store, the Shopper app has a 4-star rating, and more than 86,000 votes. On the App Store, the Shopper app has a 4.8-star rating, and more than 600,000 reviews.

Most of the reviews on the app stores are about the functionality of the Instacart Shopper app, rather than the experience working there.

There are lots of reports from the company’s Shoppers on Indeed though.

On Indeed, Shoppers gave Instacart just 2.9 stars.

Some reviewers praised the company for giving them a way to earn money fast. Others complained about everything from low pay to poor support.

Here are some reviews from Shoppers who’ve worked for the company:

Shopper from Pittsburgh, PA:

• “Work when you want, low pay, no support. Too many miles on your personal car. Unfair rating system, customers lie to get free stuff. You can be deactivated for nothing.”

Shopper from Long Island, NY:

• “Great. Extra cash whenever I need it. Quick and easy to pick up shifts. Should recommend. Not stressful. Your own hours. The company is quick on answering.”

In-Store Shopper from Brooklyn, NY:

• “In store Shopper is simple and flexible. Management at store is very helpful but company instacart could do a lot more to make people feel valued. In store Shopper job is just preparing orders before delivery.”

Shopper from Bucks County, PA:

• “I’ve spent countless days waiting around doing nothing waiting for orders to pop up on my phone. Hours on end with nothing but horrible orders that aren’t worth taking. I am a 5 star Shopper who’s done hundreds of deliveries and I used to enjoy my job and making a decent living off of Instacart but recently it has become so difficult to find orders that I’ve had to pursue a full time job and drop Instacart all together.”

Shopper from Dallas, TX:

• “The base pay from Instacart is a little low especially when there are over 50 items and no tip is made from the customer. The rating system is unfair when the problem is beyond our control such as out-of-stock items. However, I do enjoy the flexibility of this job. You can log in to work whenever the stores are open.”

Shopper from Anaheim, CA:

• “I made a very decent amount of extra money being an Insatcart Shopper when I first started. But then it took a turn for the worst when customers were getting upset due to items being out of stock. When the customer’s rate Shoppers they are specifically asked “How was your order?”. They are not asked about the Shopper specifically. Due to that verbiage, the customer will give you a low rating if their order was not fully fulfilled. This is completely out of our control yet we are being penalized for items being out of stock. I used to see batches all the time and now see close to nothing. There is no way you can depend on Instacart as a secured source of income. They control every batch you see depending on your rating, which is set up for the failure of the Shopper. Ultimately, Instacart does not care about the Shopper or customer. Instacart is a shark company looking for a quick profit off the backs of the poor hard-working Shoppers that use their own vehicles and cell phone data to fulfill these orders. Zero overhead costs = high-profit margins.”

There are a few different Shopper roles listed on Glassdoor too. Depending on the role and location, the rating from Shoppers on there ranges from 3.4 stars to 4.2 stars, with most ratings being in the 3-star range.

Again, sort of mixed here.

Overall Verdict

Working for Instacart can be a good way to make money. Being a Full-Service Shopper is great because you can work as much or as little as you want to, giving you more control over your schedule, and your income. Sadly, you are responsible for gas costs and maintenance costs for your vehicle, which can somewhat diminish your earnings.

Being an In-Store Shopper is a great option to those who don’t want to drive, because a vehicle isn’t required for the position. But, you can only work 29 hours a week and are paid a set hourly rate.

Instacart is a decent company to work for and it’s certainly worth your consideration. However, Shipt Shopper is better reviewed than Instacart, so it could be a better choice. That being said, Shipt doesn’t offer in-store only positions, so you will need a vehicle to work for the company.

As you can see from this Instacart Shopper review, it’s a legit company that offers a good way to make money, but it’s not without its issues. Give it a try, but also consider other options, like Shipt.

Do you think Instacart is worth it? Let us know in the comments section below.