5 online grocery delivery services that make life easier for New Yorkers - and how their offerings, prices, and promotions compare

Note: As of 3/20/20, Peapod says, "Online shoppers may be experiencing delays on our website as well as with our delivery times due to high demand." We recommend checking with your local Stop & Shop about specific stock levels before placing an order online.

Stop & Shop has temporarily suspended its online pickup service until further notice. Home delivery customers can now request "unattended delivery," in which shoppers will drop orders at your front door.

For customers ages 60 years and older, Stop & Shop now has designated shopping times of 6:00 a.m.-7:30 a.m. every day. During this time, only members of this age group may shop in the store.

How it works: Create a free account, then start shopping and adding items to your cart. You can browse by aisle and curated categories, or take advantage of features like Order Genius and Express Shop. Order Genius analyzes your past purchases to recommend products you'll like, and Express Shop quickly generates product results for you based on your grocery list.

Peapod offers special discounts of up to $5 off during certain two-hour delivery slots throughout the week, so if you're flexible with when you receive your order, take advantage of this feature. It also lets you schedule deliveries up to two weeks in advance.

Fees:

• Free to create an account
• Free to pick up orders in select areas
• $9.95 delivery fee on orders of $30-$75
• $7.95 delivery fee on orders of $75-$100
• $6.95 delivery fee on orders of $100 or more

Grocery offerings: Peapod carries a large assortment of your favorite brands as well as its own in-house brand. The organic selection is robust, and its seasonal curations are also worth a look.

Price comparison:

• Fuji apple: $0.75/ea
• Boneless chicken breast: $2.99/lb
• One dozen large white eggs: $1.99

Special programs and discounts: First-time customers get $20 off and free delivery on their first order, as well as free delivery on subsequent orders of $60+ for the first 60 days. In addition to weekly promotions, these programs help you save money:

PodPass is a program that saves on monthly delivery fees. The best value option is a $55/year pass that's valid for Tuesday through Thursday deliveries.

Stop & Shop store members should connect their account to Peapod to earn gas and school rewards.

Note: As of 3/20/20, Instacart is experiencing higher-than-normal demand. Delivery times may be limited and some items may be out of stock. It has rolled out a "Leave at My Door Delivery" feature to all customers. You'll receive a photo confirmation from your shopper once your groceries have been delivered.

The company also sent out an email to customers urging them to consider tipping above and beyond to reflect the extra efforts of their shoppers to keep up with the demand for home delivery since the coronavirus outbreak was declared a public health emergency.

How it works: Instacart brings together local supermarkets on one platform. Create a free account, then choose your store to start shopping. In New York, options include Costco, Fairway, Whole Foods, Morton Williams, and CVS.

The platform allows you to select back-up items in case the ingredient you want is sold out or unavailable, and you'll have a dedicated shopper who communicates with you via text to let you know when items aren't available or when they've been swapped.

Delivery is available in as little as an hour, but you can also schedule it up to a week in advance. Delivery fees may increase during popular times of the week and delivery hours depend on your local store hours.

Instacart is a great grocery delivery option for groups like apartment roommates or families because you can create group carts to shop together.

Fees:

• Free to create an account
• Delivery fees depend on the size of your order and the delivery time you choose. There is a minimum order amount of $10.

Grocery offerings: The online prices can differ from in-store prices, but you can find each store's policy regarding price adjustments under the store name.

Price comparison:

• Fuji apple: Varies by individual store
• Boneless chicken breast: Varies by individual store
• One dozen large white eggs: Varies by individual store

Special programs and discounts: Instacart compiles each store's coupons on to the store page so they're easy to find and use.

Instacart Express is a $99 annual membership for free delivery and reduced service fees on all orders of $35 or more. You can take advantage of a free two-week trial before committing to the program.

Note: As of 3/20/20, AmazonFresh is experiencing limited availability on some products and delivery may be temporarily unavailable. Please keep this in mind if you plan on placing an order and confirm availability at checkout.

How it works: Only Prime members (sign up for a free trial here) are eligible to use Amazon's grocery delivery service. Once you've added AmazonFresh to your account, you can start shopping.

There are two types of delivery available: Attended and Doorstep. Attended Delivery is a one-hour slot where you receive your order in a paper bag, while Doorstep Delivery is a two- to three-hour time slot where your order is dropped off in temperature-controlled totes.

Fees:

• Free membership with a Prime account
• $9.99 delivery fee on orders under $50
• Free delivery on orders of $50 or more
• Free to pick up orders in select areas

Grocery offerings: The biggest advantage of using AmazonFresh is the ability to shop Whole Foods Market produce and prepared foods. If you like the organic and natural options at Whole Foods, it's easy to get them through AmazonFresh. The Local Market category highlights local makers like Maple Hill Creamery, Tate's, and Junior's Cheesecake.

Price comparison:

• Fuji apple: $0.76/ea
• Boneless chicken breast: $4.14/lb
• One dozen large white eggs: $2.48

Special programs and discounts: Coupons change often and are available across categories in the Fresh Deals section.

Note: As of 3/20/20, a new statement on FoodKick's website says it is experiencing very high demand and long customer waits. Service agents do not have access to timeslots beyond those visible to you, and you can use the "request a credit" tool on the Help page to report any missing or damaged items.

Like FreshDirect, FoodKick is also giving shoppers the option to donate to NY Common Pantry, whose mission is to reduce hunger and promote dignity, health, and self-sufficiency in New York City's most vulnerable communities. The recent concern over coronavirus has impacted NYCP's volunteer base.

How it works: Create a free account in under a minute or sign in with your FreshDirect account information (they're sister companies), then start shopping and adding items to your cart. Browsing and navigation on the site encourage discovery rather than deals.

If you need your groceries quickly and hate waiting at home during two-hour delivery slots, FoodKick provides the solution — you can get delivery within an hour, and it offers plenty of one-hour slots throughout the day.

Fees:

• Free to create an account
• $4.99 delivery fee, with a minimum order of $30
• $5.99 one-hour delivery fee, with a minimum order of $30

Grocery offerings: FreshDirect's sister service is a more curated and localized grocery shopping experience. It offers a wide variety of categories, but there are fewer options within each category, they tend towards smaller brands, and we found they tend to be more expensive than the options at other grocery services. FoodKick only currently serves New York City (Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens), so you can find city favorites like Doughnut Plant and Baked by Melissa.

Price comparison:

• Fuji apple: $1.12/ea
• Boneless chicken breast: $6.99/lb
• One dozen large white eggs: $3.29

Special programs and discounts: First-time customers get 30 days of free delivery.

Like with FreshDirect, DeliveryPass membership with FoodKick ($9.99/month) gets you unlimited free deliveries. If you're a frequent customer, it'll save you on the fees that can add up quickly. If you're already a DeliveryPass member through FreshDirect, deliveries are only $2 per order.