Grocery delivery services like Instacart can be a real lifesaver when you have a busy schedule. But if you’re not careful, you can end up spending more than you would at the actual grocery store. For one, prices tend to be a tiny bit higher on the app than the in-store prices. And when you can’t physically see the amount of stuff you’re adding to your cart — or you shop without an Instacart coupon — it’s easy to overbuy.
But using Instacart can be worth it if you shop smart. You can almost always find an Instacart coupon or promo code to apply to your order. And you can even earn money when you refer your friends to start using the service. To help you save on your next grocery delivery, we’re sharing our best tips for finding (and using) Instacart coupons right here.
To always get the best produce coupons and deals, download The Krazy Coupon Lady app or text HACKS to 57299.
Our Best Tips For Finding an Instacart Coupon:
1. Check Instacart’s ‘promos and coupons’ tab.
It might seem like it’s bad for their business, but Instacart actually gives out deals and discounts right on their promos and coupons page. When you’re logged into the app (iOS / Android), look for the “Track credits and promos” option in the menu tucked into the upper left corner. Your deals might be different from what others get, as they change based on your user activity. (You’ll also get these deals in your inbox when you subscribe to Instacart emails.)
These are usually offers for Instacart as a whole (like free delivery from any retailer), rather than coupons for a specific store. When I went to the page, I received these offers:
- Free delivery on my next three orders
- 14 days of unlimited free delivery with an Instacart+ trial
- Opportunity to earn Delta Skymiles with my Instacart purchases
2. Browse all the available Instacart coupons at local retailers.
Another place to find Instacart coupons is to look at the deals available locally. Once you’re logged in on the website or the app, choose a retailer at the top of the home page to open up their store page. Then jump to the “Deals” menu (at the bottom of the app or on the left-side menu of the desktop site). From there, you can click through the available coupons at each store and find the best deals.
This step can be a bit tedious, since you have to click into each individual store to see what coupons they have available. So if you know you need a particular list of items — like laundry soap, contact solution, and paper towels — it would be smart to look through Aldi, Walgreens, Dollar Tree, Costco, and Sam’s Club and see if any of those retailers have coupons for one or more items. Then you can compare the savings at each store.
I found pretty good Instacart coupons for my local Aldi, including $2 off Gain detergent pods and $0.50 off Tide and Downy products.
TIP: Keep in mind that the Instacart coupons change based on store location. So if your friend in another state discovers a great Costco coupon in the Instacart app, your Costco might not offer the same deal.
3. You can get a $10 credit with Instacart’s referral program.
Instacart has a pretty generous referral program. When you refer a friend and they make a purchase, they’ll get $20 to spend and you’ll receive a $10 credit to use however you’d like.
Every Instacart user has their own unique referral code. To find yours, log in to Instacart online or open the app. Select the three dots in the top left corner, then tap “Invite friends, earn money.” There you’ll find a link or code that you can share via text, email, or copy and paste it to use wherever you want.
There’s no limit to the number of times you can send out this link, but be aware that you can only earn the $10 bonus five times. (But $50 total is still a great deal!)
Related: Some grocery delivery services are better than others — we compared them all!
4. Get $10 off your first order when you create an Instacart account.
If you’ve never used Instacart before, you’ll get $10 off your first order. Once you create a new Instacart account, the promo code will get sent to the email associated with your account. This kinda sounds like an opportunity to use a spare email address to get another $10-off coupon if you ask me.
5. Pay with PayPal for a quick $20 off.
When you place an order on Instacart, you’ll have the option to pay in several ways. And while you might be tempted to just enter your credit card number so you can earn points, you’ll save a lot more by checking out with a PayPal account. When you use PayPal as your payment method on Instacart, you’ll automatically get $20 off an order of $80 or more and free delivery.
This Instacart coupon only works for your first order with PayPal, so you can only get the deal one time. And if you’ve already paid with PayPal, you might not be eligible — but it never hurts to try!
Related: Here are the free grocery delivery promos you gotta use.
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