How Does Delivery Work At Costco?

Costco is known for its members-only shopping, Kirkland Signature items (which are often popular products manufactured by hidden brands that charge you more when their own brand's name is on the label), and a great way to punctuate each shopping trip: the very cheap Costco $1.50 hot dog and soda combo. But while the company does want to get bodies in its stores for the inevitable impulse shopping that hardly anyone can escape at these warehouse wonderlands, Costco actually does offer delivery. Here's how it works.

There are two types of Costco delivery: same-day grocery delivery, which is powered by Instacart, and Costco two-day delivery for non-perishables, like household paper products, cleaning supplies, certain snacks, etc. Both are available on the Costco website, and you must be a member to use the services through said website.

Same-day delivery obviously brings your grocery order to your front door on the day it was ordered, sometimes within just a few hours. Two-day delivery packs and ships your order like any other package. The delivery websites clearly mark whether an item is available for same-day or two-day, and it even puts items into separate carts according to when they can be delivered.

Naturally, a service like grocery delivery comes with a cost, but Costco makes it manageable. For its same-day delivery through Instacart you'll pay Instacart rates, starting at $3.99 per order (though it can be as much as $7.99 during peak shopping times), and you do need to spend a minimum of $35 for a delivery order (though that's not typically an issue at Costco). Two-day delivery is totally free if your order total is above $75. Orders under $75 receive a $3/item fee, so if you purchase three items for a total of, say, $65, you'll pay an additional $9 for shipping (and you might as well just toss something else in the cart).

Another thing to note about cost is that shopping online and having your goods delivered may, in some cases, mean that the item prices will be higher than what you'd pay if you were in the store (again, as a small incentive to get people to shop in-store).

Because Costco offers its same-day delivery through Instacart, you can actually shop at Costco through the Instacart app — no membership required. However, non-members will pay higher item prices than members do, to account for the fact that they aren't paying a membership fee upfront. Even so, this is a great way to shop for people who like to buy in bulk to take advantage of Costco's still-competitive pricing.

It should also be noted that if you have an Instacart+ subscription, which costs $9.99 per month or $99 if you pay for an entire year upfront, you don't pay any delivery fees for same-day orders over $35, and the service fees are reduced, too (you do, however, still have to tip your driver). If you order from Instacart at least three times a month, from Costco or any other retailers that use the service, the subscription pays for itself by the third order.