Is Thrive Market Worth It? My HONEST Review
Maintaining a healthy diet with high-quality foods is super important to me. However, when life gets really hectic, it’s tough to get to the grocery store as often as I need to. That’s why I decided to restart my Thrive Market membership. But is Thrive Market worth it?
It’s been a really long time since I’ve used the service, so I was really concerned about whether or not it would even be worth it. I remembered how much I liked the selection of products they had and decided to give it a try to see it again. After ordering a few boxes, I do think Thrive Market is worth the cost of the membership for most people. But there are a few things to consider to ensure the cost makes sense for you.
Keep reading to find out the pros, cons, and tips for using Thrive Market.
What is Thrive Market?
Thrive Market is a membership-based online grocery. They feature healthier food brands, clean beauty, safer cleaning products, and even biodynamic wines.
After you join, you can get competitive prices on these brands and have them shipped straight to your door.
Is Thrive Market Worth it?
In my opinion, Thrive Market is absolutely worth the membership price. The convenience and the selection of organic and non-gmo products works well for my lifestyle.
Let’s break down some of the costs associated with a membership.
Cost of Membership
The cost of the membership is $59.99 annually or 12.99 monthly. And you can cancel anytime. Of course, the annual membership is the better deal overall because it averages out to $5 a month.
Also, an annual membership comes with the option to cancel within 30 days for a full refund if you aren’t enjoying your membership. Another perk of the annual membership is that Thrive Market guarantees your membership will pay for itself or they will refund you the difference in Thrive Cash.
Personally, I saved at least $60 over the span of three orders.
Does Thrive Market have free shipping?
You can get free shipping by meeting a minimum spend for each category. Items are categorized by the type of boxes you’ll receive. Each type of box has a minimum.
- 49.99 for free shipping on grocery orders
- 120.00 for free shipping on frozen boxes
- 79.00 for free shipping on wine boxes
They have these minimums to encourage more efficient shipping.
Does Thrive Market have better prices?
It depends. Overall, their prices are similar to what you’d pay at other stores and sometimes a little lower. I found that some categories were better than others.
For example, their pantry staples and non-refrigerated items tended to be a little lower. The meat was about the same price as what you’d find at other stores with similar quality meats.
As far as wine is concerned, the pricing is subjective. But they I did see bottles as low as $10.
I should also note that buying items in higher quantities does help you earn Thrive Cash, their version of store credit or cash back.
Other Benefits of Using Thrive Market
The most beneficial part of using Thrive Market is the convenience and large selection of products. You could literally do all of your grocery and household shopping through the site.
One of my favorite things about Thrive market is that I get to shop my values and ethics. I feel good about choosing better brands for people and the environment. And the quality of products is top tier, including their store brand.
Drawbacks of Using Thrive Market
Overall, I love using Thrive Market, but there are a couple of things that aren’t as appealing to me. The first is the quantity minimums for some items. A few of the smaller items like these grassfed meat sticks, have a minimum. It’s definitely something to consider when budgeting your purchase.
There’s also a pretty hefty minimum on the meat and frozen items. You have to spend at least $65 in that category. Or at least $120 to get free shipping on frozen items. Having said that, I do understand that that this is a way to make shipping more sustainable which I can appreciate.
Another thing to consider is that they don’t sell fresh fruit and vegetables, so you’d have to use another service or buy those items in store.
Who Thrive Market Works Best For
Usually these types of services mainly appeal to people with busy schedules. But really anyone would find Thrive Market helpful.
People who have lots of dietary restrictions and food allergies will find lots of alternatives at great prices. The variety of value packs, customizable bundles and incentives for buying in larger quantities also makes it a good value for larger families.
If you live in a more rural area or a suburban area that doesn’t have as many health food store options, Thrive Market will make it easy to get better food alternatives,
Tips for Getting the Most Savings
Thrive Market’s prices are usually comparable or slightly less than shopping in store. It also helps that they do have a price match guarantee. If you find an item at a lower price, you can submit it and Thrive will refund you the difference in Thrive cash.
But there are more ways to maximize your savings with Thrive Market:
- Sign up for the text messages. I know, the last thing you need is another text subscription, but this one’s worth it. This is the easiest way to find out when they have sales on certain categories.
- Download the app and use the cart as your ongoing grocery list. This might be more of a productivity tip. But I find it helpful to add what I need to may cart as I think of things. And if there’s a sale on some of the items in my cart, I go ahead and checkout.
- Check your credit cards for extra points and cashback. Thrive Market seems to have cashback deals through my debit card pretty often. But I end up using American Airline’s points portal for miles since I plan to travel more this year.
- Consider buying items in bulk when you can. Not only will this help you earn Thrive Cash, their version of a store credit, but it also helps you meet the minimums easier.
- Try the Thrive Market brand. Honestly, the quality of their brand has been just as good as the stuff I normally buy. They also have a large selection, including pantry staples including alternative fours, sprouted grains and cooking oils.
- Use my affiliate link and get 30% off your first order. Here it is!
My favorite products from Thrive Market
There are tons of things to try, but here are a few of my faves so far:
My experience with Thrive Market has been overall positive. Realistically, I see myself using it at least twice a month for my pantry restocks and to take advantage of sales on certain brands I’ve been wanting to try out.
