Merchant: Instacart · What this page covers: new-customer offers, how Instacart promo codes and credits actually apply, Instacart+ membership math, in-app and manufacturer coupons, the SNAP discount on Instacart+, and the fees no code touches · Sources: Instacart’s own pages and newsroom, listed under Where these offers come from.
Is there an Instacart promo code right now? We did not find a public, sitewide code on any Instacart page when we checked. What Instacart itself publishes instead: new customers get a $0 delivery fee on their first three qualifying orders, Instacart+ offers a 14-day free trial, manufacturer coupons apply automatically in your cart, and many promotions arrive as code-free links in emails or app banners tied to your account. Codes and credits never cover service fees, taxes, tips, or alcohol, so the real savings usually come from the membership math, loyalty-card pricing, and choosing stores that do not mark up prices.
Instacart is a marketplace: stores set their own item prices and Instacart adds fees on top. A $10-off code helps once; a store that charges in-store prices, or a membership that removes delivery fees, helps on every order.
Instacart offers at a glance
| Offer | Code needed? | Status | Expiration | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $0 delivery fee on first 3 qualifying orders for new customers (service fees still apply) | No | merchant-listed · last seen active | None published | Instacart newsroom: customer savings |
| Instacart+ 14-day free trial | No | merchant-listed · last seen active | None published | Instacart newsroom: customer savings |
| Instacart+: $0 delivery fees on orders as low as $10 (Costco $35+, eligible restaurants $25+), lower service fees | No | merchant_direct | Standing program | Instacart newsroom: no markups |
| Instacart+: 5% credit back on eligible pickup orders | No | merchant_direct | Standing program | Instacart+ Peacock page |
| Instacart+: Peacock Premium included | No (activate in account) | merchant_direct | Standing program | Instacart+ Peacock page |
| Instacart+ at 50% off ($4.99/month for 12 months) for recent EBT SNAP shoppers | No | merchant_direct | Standing program | Instacart+ for EBT page |
| Manufacturer coupons applied automatically to qualifying cart items | No | merchant_direct | Set per coupon | Instacart Help: Coupons and promotions |
| Code-free promotions activated from an email, text, push alert, or app banner | No (tap the button) | merchant_direct | Set per promotion | Instacart Promos and Coupons page |
| Loyalty card linking for store member pricing | No | merchant_direct | Standing feature | Instacart newsroom: new ways to save |
| 2 free months of Instacart+ plus $10 monthly credit with eligible World / World Elite Mastercard | No | expired | March 31, 2025 | Instacart Mastercard offer page |
| $0 delivery or pickup fees on first 3 EBT SNAP-eligible orders of $35+ | No | expired | September 16, 2021, 11:59 PM PT | Instacart EBT SNAP page |
| Back-to-School Deal Week: one free daily item with a $10+ order | No | expired | August 10–16, 2026 | Instacart newsroom: back to school |
| Staples school supplies as low as 25¢ on select items ($10 minimum) | No | expired | Through 9/12/26 | Instacart newsroom: back to school |
| Holiday Deal Month (retailer deals, free item days, up to 25% off gifts with minimum spend) | No | expired | November 24 – December 23, 2025 | Instacart newsroom: holiday |
How Instacart promo codes and credits actually work
Instacart treats a promo code as a balance you load into your account, not a code you type at checkout. Per Instacart’s help pages, you add it under Credits, promos, and gift cards (from the account icon in the app, or the menu on the website), and the amount is applied to your next order at checkout. Any unused portion stays in your account for later orders.
The rules Instacart publishes that matter most:
- Codes and credits do not touch fees. Instacart’s help page says promotions and credits cannot be applied to fees, taxes, tips, or alcohol items. A $10 code on a grocery order still leaves the delivery fee, service fee, and tip for you to pay.
- One promotion per order. Instacart’s Promos and Coupons page says promotions cannot be combined with each other or with select credits. If several apply, the one that expires soonest is used, and using a different one requires a separate order.
- Code-free promotions are locked to your account. Promotions you activate from an email or banner only work for the account tied to the recipient’s email address, which is one reason codes copied from forums so often fail. See our guide to fake coupon site red flags.
- Substitutions can cancel a promotion. If a shopper replaces or refunds items and your order total drops below the promotion’s minimum, Instacart says the promotion can be removed from the order.
Example (Instacart’s own example, our wording): Instacart’s Promos and Coupons page describes a $20-off promotion with a $35 minimum on a $50 order that includes EBT items. Only the $10 of non-EBT items can take the discount, so $10 is applied and the remaining $10 goes back to the account as credit.
New-customer offers: what Instacart actually promises
Instacart’s newsroom says new customers’ first three qualifying orders carry a delivery fee of “truly $0,” while service fees still apply. Instacart also advertises a 14-day free trial of Instacart+. These are the two new-customer offers we could trace to Instacart itself. Neither needs a code or removes service fees.
Instacart+ math: when the membership pays for itself
Instacart’s newsroom lists Instacart+ at $99 per year or $9.99 per month. Instacart’s most recent newsroom posts describe these benefits:
- $0 delivery fees on orders as low as $10. Costco orders need $35 or more, eligible restaurant orders need $25 or more, and service fees still apply.
- Lower service fees (Instacart does not publish a fixed amount).
- 5% credit back on eligible pickup orders, excluding alcohol, restaurant, and prescription orders.
- Peacock Premium included (not Premium Plus), activated from your Instacart account.
- A shared family account.
Caution: Instacart’s Peacock page still says free delivery starts at $35, while newer newsroom posts say $10. Your checkout screen is the final word.
Example (our math, not an Instacart quote): Instacart’s fees help page says delivery “starts at $3.99 for same-day orders over $35.” At that lowest fee, the $99 annual plan breaks even after about 25 deliveries a year, roughly two a month. The monthly plan ($9.99, or $119.88 over twelve months) needs about three $3.99 deliveries a month. Instacart’s newsroom has also used a $7.99 fast-delivery fee in its own savings estimate; at $7.99 per delivery, the annual plan breaks even after about 13 orders. The service fee reduction is unpublished, so we left it out.
Pickup example: On a $120 eligible pickup order, 5% credit back is $6 toward a future order. Credit back does not reduce the order you are paying for today.
Instacart says annual members who cancel within five days of renewal, without using the membership, get an automatic full refund.
Instacart+ discount for SNAP households
Instacart’s Instacart+ for EBT page offers the membership at $4.99 per month, half the regular $9.99, for one year to customers who are not already members and who placed an EBT SNAP order within the last six months. After the year, it automatically renews at $9.99 per month, and you can cancel at any time.
How EBT works on Instacart, per its EBT SNAP page: SNAP funds cover only eligible staple food items, which are labeled “EBT” while you shop. You need a separate credit or debit card linked to cover fees, bottle deposits, taxes, tips, and non-eligible items. Only one EBT card can be used per order, and funds must be used in the state that issued them. Instacart lists Alaska, Louisiana, and Montana as exceptions.
The EBT page still shows a promotion for $0 delivery or pickup fees on the first three EBT orders of $35 or more, but its own terms say it was valid until September 16, 2021. Treat it as expired.
In-app coupons, loyalty pricing, and “no markups” stores
Manufacturer coupons on Instacart are applied automatically to qualifying items in your cart. Instacart’s help page warns that if a shopper replaces a couponed item with one that does not qualify, the discount is lost.
Loyalty cards can be added at checkout. Instacart’s newsroom names Albertsons, Costco, Food Lion, Kroger, and Wegmans among the supported programs and estimates average savings of $8 to $12 per order at top retailers with loyalty pricing.
Item prices are set by the store, not Instacart. Instacart’s pricing principles say partners control item pricing and that it does not use personal data to set prices. Some stores charge more online than in the aisle. Instacart now highlights stores with “no markups” using a yellow banner and a dedicated tab, and its newsroom names Bashas, Fareway, Grocery Outlet, Hy-Vee, Raley’s, and Super King Markets among them. On a large order, that can beat a one-time code.
For layering store discounts, rewards, and card offers, see how to stack coupons, cashback, and rewards.
The fees promo codes don’t cover
Instacart’s fees help page breaks the bill into parts that promotions cannot reduce:
- Delivery fee: starts at $3.99 for same-day orders over $35; higher for one-hour, club-store, and smaller orders.
- Service fee: varies by market, is based on the item subtotal, and does not go to the shopper. Alcohol has its own service fee.
- Heavy fee: applies when certain heavy items, such as cases of drinks or pet food, total more than 50 lbs.
- Order minimum: orders must reach $10 before delivery is available.
- Taxes and local charges: sales tax, bottle deposits, and bag fees where they apply.
- Tip: separate from fees, and Instacart says 100% goes to the shopper.
Pickup orders carry no service fee, according to the same page. If you are near the store, pickup is often the biggest fee cut available without any code.
How to save at Instacart without a coupon
- Shop a store marked “no markups” when one serves your address.
- Add your store loyalty card at checkout so member prices apply.
- Choose pickup to avoid the service fee, and with Instacart+, earn 5% credit back.
- Pay annually if you keep Instacart+; it costs less than twelve monthly payments.
- Watch Instacart emails and app banners for code-free promotions.
- Keep heavy items under the 50 lb threshold.
- Watch Instacart’s seasonal events. Our big deal days calendar and Black Friday deals guide track when the big shopping events land.
What we could not verify
- Any current public Instacart promo code. We found none on Instacart’s own pages, and we do not repost codes from coupon sites.
- The order minimum and qualifying rules for the new-customer $0 delivery fee on the first three orders.
- The exact service fee reduction for Instacart+ members. Instacart describes it only as “lower.”
- Which free-delivery threshold applies to your area. Instacart’s newsroom says $10; its Instacart+ Peacock page says $35. Several Instacart help center pages could not be read by our tools.
- The full referral program terms (amounts and conditions). The referral help pages did not load for us.
- Whether Instacart offers a student, teacher, or military discount. We found none on its pages.
- Whether Holiday Deal Month will return, and when.
Frequently asked questions
Do Instacart promo codes cover delivery or service fees?
No. Instacart’s help page says promotions and credits cannot be applied to fees, taxes, tips, or alcohol. The new-customer $0 delivery fee and Instacart+ are the ways Instacart itself reduces delivery fees.
Can I use two Instacart promotions on one order?
No. Instacart says promotions cannot be combined with each other or with select credits. When more than one applies, the one expiring soonest is used.
Where do I enter an Instacart promo code?
Under Credits, promos, and gift cards in your account menu, in the app or on the website. The balance is applied to your next order at checkout.
How much does Instacart+ cost?
Instacart lists $99 per year or $9.99 per month, with a 14-day free trial. Customers who used EBT SNAP on Instacart in the past six months can get $4.99 per month for one year.
Why did my Instacart promotion disappear after delivery?
If items were replaced or refunded and the order total fell below the promotion’s minimum, Instacart says the promotion can be removed from that order.
Where these offers come from
Every offer and rule here comes from Instacart’s own pages: the Promos and Coupons page; Help Center pages on coupons and promotions and on fees and taxes; the Instacart+ Peacock, Mastercard offer, EBT SNAP, and Instacart+ for EBT pages; and Instacart newsroom posts on pricing principles, no-markup stores, customer savings, new ways to save, back-to-school savings, Holiday Deal Month, the Peacock partnership, and discounted Instacart+ for SNAP. No checkout test was performed, no code on this page was invented, and nothing was sourced from coupon sites. Read how we verify deals and our editorial policy. If something here is out of date, tell us through our contact page.
Related: How to stack coupons, cashback, and rewards · How to spot fake coupon sites · Costco coupons and member-only savings · Family Dollar coupons and Smart Coupons · The big deal days calendar
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