Alternatives to Instacart Plus
Most people leaving Instacart Plus are not switching to a different grocery delivery service. They are realizing that the delivery fee savings do not offset the item markups, or that they do not order often enough for the membership to pay for itself.
Options worth considering
Keep using Instacart without the membership
Instacart works without Plus. You pay a delivery fee per order, but the fee is often lower than you expect on larger orders. The bigger cost most people miss is item markups. Instacart prices are frequently higher than in-store shelf prices, and that markup applies whether you have Plus or not. If you order a few times a month, the per-order delivery fee may cost less than the annual membership, and you are already paying the markups either way.
Switch to free store pickup from your grocery chain
Most major grocery chains now offer free online ordering with curbside or in-store pickup. Kroger, Safeway, Albertsons, H-E-B, Publix, and others let you build an order online at shelf prices with no delivery fee, no service fee, and no item markups. You drive to the store and someone loads your car. If your main issue with Instacart was cost, this eliminates every extra fee while keeping the convenience of not walking the aisles.
Use your grocery store's own delivery instead of Instacart
Many grocery chains run their own delivery programs with lower markups or none at all. Kroger, Walmart, H-E-B, and some regional chains deliver at or near shelf prices with a per-order fee. The delivery windows and minimums vary, but the per-item savings compared to Instacart can add up fast on a full grocery order. Check whether your usual store offers direct delivery before paying Instacart's margin on top.
Use Walmart Plus or Amazon Fresh for regular grocery delivery
If you want a membership that covers recurring grocery delivery, Walmart Plus delivers from local Walmart stores at in-store prices with no delivery fee on orders over a minimum. Amazon Fresh works similarly with a Prime membership in covered areas. Both eliminate the item markup problem that Instacart has. The tradeoff is store selection. You are locked to one retailer's inventory instead of choosing from multiple local stores.
Order less often with larger baskets
Instacart makes it easy to order small amounts frequently, but each order carries fees and markups whether the basket is large or small. Shifting to one larger weekly order instead of several smaller ones reduces the number of times you pay delivery and service fees. Combined with switching to pickup or a store's own delivery, a single planned weekly shop can replace what Instacart Plus was subsidizing across multiple smaller runs.