Grocery delivery vs in-store shopping: which costs more in Canada?
Online grocery delivery is convenient but is it actually more expensive than shopping in person? A full cost breakdown for Canadian shoppers in 2026.
Grocery delivery has gone from pandemic necessity to permanent habit for many Canadian households. But convenience has a cost — and it is often larger than the delivery fee alone.
The visible costs
Delivery fee: typically $3 to $10 per order depending on service and order size
Service fee: many platforms charge an additional percentage-based service fee (often 5 to 10 percent)
Tip: $5 to $15 is customary in Canada for grocery delivery
Minimum order requirements: some services require $35 to $50+ to qualify for delivery
The hidden costs
Item markups: some platforms price items 5 to 15 percent above in-store shelf prices
Inability to compare unit prices easily — app interfaces rarely show $/100g
Substitution risk: replacement items may be more expensive than what you ordered
Loss of sale-price awareness: delivery apps rarely surface this week's deepest discounts as prominently as a flyer
Impulse-spend in a different way: algorithm-driven recommendations push higher-margin items
What does it actually add up to?
On a typical $150 weekly grocery order, the all-in delivery premium (fee + service fee + tip + item markups) is often $20 to $35. Over a month, that is $80 to $140 — or roughly $1,000 to $1,700 annually that an in-store shopper does not pay.
$1,000 – $1,700
When delivery is worth the premium
If you genuinely cannot get to a store (mobility, schedule, no vehicle)
If the time saved is worth more to you than the premium (high-income time-vs-money tradeoff)
If you are disciplined about sticking to a list and avoiding app-driven impulse adds
If you use click-and-collect (PC Express, Walmart Pickup) which often avoids delivery fees and markups
The cost-conscious middle ground
Click-and-collect (order online, pick up in store) avoids most delivery premiums while preserving the discipline of a pre-planned list. PC Express and Walmart Pickup in Canada typically charge a modest fee ($3 to $5) with no item markups, making it the best hybrid of convenience and cost control.
Frequently asked questions
Is grocery delivery more expensive than shopping in store in Canada?
Yes, typically by $20 to $35 per order when you account for delivery fees, service fees, tips and item markups. That adds up to roughly $1,000 to $1,700 per year for a weekly shopper.
Do grocery delivery apps mark up prices in Canada?
Some do. Third-party platforms like Instacart often price items 5 to 15 percent above in-store prices. Retailer-own services like PC Express typically use in-store pricing.
Is PC Express cheaper than Instacart?
Generally yes. PC Express uses in-store pricing with a modest pickup fee and no item markups. Instacart charges delivery fees, service fees, and often marks up individual item prices.
What is the cheapest way to get groceries delivered in Canada?
Click-and-collect services (PC Express, Walmart Pickup) are typically the cheapest option — no delivery fee, no item markups, and a small service fee of $3 to $5.
Put this into practice
Grocery Saver surfaces this week's biggest sale prices in your city and plans an optimized multi-store route so you can act on the kind of advice in this post in five minutes a week.