This review is in no way sponsored by Thrive Market. I tried out the service on my own. Referral links included.
A few weeks ago I decided to try out the online grocery store I’d been hearing about called Thrive Market. If you haven’t yet heard of it, think of it as an interesting mix between Whole Foods and Costco. It’s like Whole Foods in that you are going to find the same type of products that you would find at Whole Foods. So think healthier, natural ingredients, special-diet friendly (Paleo, gluten-free, for example) and non-GMO products. And its like Costco in that you pay a membership fee every year, and that fee helps reduce the prices of the products.
So while you don’t have to buy large quantities like you do at Costco, you still get to enjoy a nice price break, typically anywhere from 15-50% off what you might find at a place like Whole Foods or even on Amazon.
I found a coupon to take 15% off my very first order, PLUS a 30 day free trial so that I could test it out before paying the membership fee (it’s $59.95 for the year). Since I had some items like coconut aminos and almond flour that I wanted to buy and that my nearest traditional grocery store doesn’t carry, I decided to go for it.
Here’s a video where I unpack everything I got for just under $80. Shipping is free on all orders over $49, FYI. Give it a click if you want to see what I got!
Ok, so let’s break down some of what I bought and compare it to Amazon, which is honestly the place where I would probably buy it, as our local Whole Foods just isn’t a place I frequent (on account of spending $50 MINIMUM anytime I go in there for “1 or 2 things”).
There were a few things on my list that Amazon just doesn’t have, or that you have to buy very large quantities of (8, 12) so I didn’t include those. But most items were found on both sites, and here’s the cost comparison for you (spoiler alert: Thrive Market had the best price EVERY SINGLE TIME). Amazon prices do fluctuate throughout the day, so the price of each item the moment you read this may vary slightly.
Item
Purity Farms Ghee : Amazon price $10.99 (plus $5 shipping), TM price $10.95
Bobs Red Mill Almond Flour: Amazon price $13.88, TM price $8.45
Bobs Red MIll Coconut Unsweetened: Amazon price $7.95, TM price $3.25
Great Lakes Gelatin Beef: Amazon price $18.99, TM price $13.45
Thai Kitchen Organic Coconut Milk: Amazon price $2.38 TM price $2.15
Nutiva Shortening: Amazon price $6.15, TM price $5.45
Coconut Secret Coconut Nectar: Amazon price $27.89 (must buy 3), TM price $5.95
Coconut Secret Coconut Aminos: Amazon price $13.99, TM price $4.45
Enjoy Life Mini Chocolate Chips: Amazon price $13.99 (must buy 2), TM price $4.45
Big Tree Farms Coconut Palm Sugar: Amazon price $16.23, TM price $4.65
So, um, WOW. Two lessons here: 9 times out of 10, Amazon is TAKING YOUR MONEY BIG TIME on these types of products. As an avid Amazon Prime customer, this was a bit of a blow to me, honestly. I just didn’t realize that their prices were so high. The other lesson? If you can wait a few days for your products to arrive, Thrive Market is going to do right by you and give you a very good price.
And if you are still wondering how this compares to Whole Foods (or similar) I can tell you that I have read another review online where someone did cost compare everything to her local Whole Foods. The cost differences weren’t quite as drastic and some of the stuff above, but they were still significant. That’s the reason I decided to try it!
I think I am going to spring for the membership because I prefer shopping online to going to a store, and this is a way that I can start to incorporate more non-gmo foods into my family’s diet and feel confident that I’m getting the best price around. And I LOVE that I don’t have to search around for coupons to because in this particular season of my life, I don’t have time to do that, anyway.
Save 25% Now!
If you want to give Thrive Market a try, you can do even better than I did and get 25% off your first purchase, plus 30 days to decide if it is right for you. There’s nothing to lose and some pretty significant savings to be hand when you take 25% off the already best prices you are going to find! 🙂
Sydney D. says
I’m glad you had a good experience with Thrive. I, like many of the other reviewers, did not have a good experience.
The thing is, I think Thrive is good for you if you actually want to pay the membership fee. However, Thrive is not an ethical company. They advertise certain items as “free” as long as you pay shipping, without making it clear that you also HAVE to sign up for their annual membership fee. My “free” jar of almond butter cost me $62.95. Ridiculous! Then they make it impossible to cancel the membership once you realize your mistake of opting in for it.
I would NEVER advise any friends to purchase from Thrive, whether they want to pay membership or not. Their shady, borderline unethical practices have turned me off from their company altogether. There are plenty of healthy, affordable alternatives: Aldi and the organic section of Kroger are good options AND they don’t scam people out of their money.
Bill Samuel says
This company is not ethical. There is supposed to be a free trial membership which you can cancel. I cancelled well within the time limit. They wrote me back and said please continue. I told them no. This was in June. In July, they billed my credit card for a membership.
Don’t ever get involved with these folks. They are bottom feeders.
Janet Mitchell says
THIS IS A SCAM. They do not, will not, honor cancellation requests. Even though I have sent at least three requests in the last month and have been more than clear about my desire to cancel my subscription, they billed me. SCAM. FRAUD. HORRIBLE COMPANY.
Tiffany Merritt says
I don’t represent the company, so I can’t offer specific advice on how to make sure your membership is cancelled, but I would definitely suggest calling their customer support. I have had good experiences when I have called in with questions or concerns in the past.
Shari A. Mann says
I wanted to see what was on offer, so I went to the website. Before I could go further, I was required to enter my e-mail address. Which I did not do, as they already have it and are sending frequent solicitations.
I’m the only person I have to feed. I’d like to eat better, but eating comes before paying fees for a service I could likely not use much. Being in my mid-70’s, having things come to the door has great appeal. But it’s one I’ll continue to choose to forego, until I can get factual information about what’s on offer and what it costs, .
Shari A. Mann says
I’m a senior citizen, attempting to eat better without breaking the bank. I’m an Amazon Prime member, and a Costco member. I’ve been getting soliciting e-mails from Thrive Market for months now, and have been hitting the delete button every time.
I’ve been wondering if the $59.95 membership would be worth it to me over the course of a year. With only myself to feed, I’m doubtful of that.
I’d wanted to see what products were available, complete with sizes, prices, and country of origin. If it’s from China, I won’t buy it. BUT I went to the website and could not go anywhere without providing my e-mail address. Thrive already has that, but being required to provide it turned me off.
I won’t be trying a trial or subscribing, since I can’t learn first.
Gina says
After all the hoopla on all the Paleo sites (great PR and marketing arm Thrive!), I finally broke down and used a 25% off coupon at Thrive today. While shopping, I compared prices to Vitacost.com. The prices were always within a few cents in Thrive’s favor. But Vitacost doesn’t have a membership fee, always has sales and coupons, and carries tons more brands and items that I use, in more sizes as well. (Such as the Honest Company.) So, while I was happy with my order price, I will not be extending the trial membership to a paid one.
Katrina says
Oh thank goodness for your comment Gina! I’ve been hurting my brain trying to decide if Thrive is worth it – this is the 4th blog I’ve looked at touting Thrive as a big cost savings (but only compared to Whole Foods or Amazon!), and I don’t believe that none of them have heard of Vitacost or Jet. I keep telling myself I want someone else to write that up; my rudimentary click back and forth comparisons while keeping the tally in my head has Vitacost and Jet ahead every time I’ve tried it and I’m seeking another human’s confirmation of that. 🙂
Tiffany Merritt says
I’m not familiar with Vitacost so I’m glad you have mentioned it. I’m making a note to check them out before my membership is up for renewal. Hopefully Ill be able to do a comparison post!
Tiffany Merritt says
Here’s my cost comparison of Thrive Market and Vitacost. I hope it helps! http://stuffparentsneed.com/organic-food-with-online-delivery-thrive-market-vs-vitacost/
Joanne McIntyre says
Every bad review I have seen on Thrive Market is about cancellation, not one person mentions the great food available at great prices. Seems fishy to me. Let me represent to opposite side of the story. I am 65 and live in the country, I have to travel 80 miles to buy any healthy(non grocery store) food. I signed up a few months ago and have been very pleased with the quality, pricing and quick service of this company. Don’t believe the naysayers……
Jana says
Since January we had multiple issues with out orders, either shipping out delayed or coming damaged. For those considering the membership, I would caution you that you might not get your items on time. This ends up being waste of money as we end up having to buy our food/household items in regular store anyway. Bad customer service, bad.
Sarah Talmi says
where is the “Like” button?
June says
I tried thrive, but found they were not competitively priced on things I use so I’ve decided not to pay the membership fee. So I ask them to stop the emails TWICE they said they would but I’m still getting them? I feel they don’t listen to me?
Sam (Thrive Market Member Services) says
Hi June!
To unsubscribe from our email list, please scroll to the bottom of one of our promotional emails and click the “unsubscribe” link. You will then be directed to a page where you can update your email subscription.
If that does not work please write in at the link provided below and tell them you want to be removed from all mailing lists: https://thrivemarket.com/faq/contact/index/cat_id/9/
So sorry this hasn’t been sorted out yet! We hope this is resolved soon.
Paulette says
How upset would you be if you purchased edible seeds and the website did not disclose that they were grown in China??…..and the company said they have no obligation to disclose that to their customers…….and it’s supposed to be a health conscious, ethical company?
Thrive Market is that company. I purchased 3 bags of “Woodstock Organic Pumpkin Seeds” to use in my bread baking and nowhere on the product information page was it shown that these were a product of China.
Thrive Market just told me again that they did not believe that they were withholding important information and that they are refusing to refund my money. I even offered to send the offending seeds back to them.
Their customer service sucks and I’ve been in that business for 50 yrs. How many potential customers might this review reach and how many sales might they lose? I think it potentially could be much more than the <$20 they owe me.
Sam (Thrive Market Member Services) says
Hi Paulette,
I can see that your seeds were refunded!
I’m so sorry for any hassle you’ve experienced as we would never want to withhold information from our customers. We’re working hard to add full 360 photos of our products to prevent details like this from slipping through the cracks.
Please feel free to reach out with further questions on our FAQ page: https://thrivemarket.com/faq
chuck says
i accepted their trial membership offer and placed an order. All went ok with the order but i decided not to go forward with the annual membership. They sent me an email reminder that i would billed for an annual membership if i didnot cancel within 2 weeks. I wrote them 5 times and tried calling (you cannot get a live person) but they never replied back. i do know they did receive my requests as i received back an automated reply saying we will get back to you in 24 hours. They never did. And to top it off they charged my cc.
This is a blatant scam
Tiffany Merritt says
Sorry to hear about your experience. I have had immediate success calling in on two different occasions, and I’ve had prompt email responses, as well. Definitely sounds like you had a different experience!
Sam (Thrive Market Member Services) says
Hi Chuck,
We never want to charge someone for something they don’t want.
We recently experienced a large influx of new customers and inquiries, and fell behind in our response time for a bit. We’ve overcome that hurdle now, and I am so sorry for any inconvenience caused! Of course, any unwanted memberships can be cancelled and refunded if unused.
If you ever need to reach out with further questions contact our revamped member services team with our FAQ portal: https://thrivemarket.com/faq
Tatiana says
It was very easy to cancel my trial membership. My wait time was 1-2 minutes.
Like their customer service. Have to cancel now,but ‘ll be back in the end of year.
Tiffany (Thrive Market Member Services) says
We’d be happy to have you back Tatiana! You can reach member services at (866) 419-2174. If you need any help with your membership, we’d love to help!
Jenny from Mommin' It Up says
That is an AMAZING price on the Enjoy Life chocolate chips!! I am checking this out! My son and I are both GF and so I am very interested.