- Instacart doesn’t offer specific student discounts, but general promotions are available.
- Watch out for misleading “student discounts” on coupon websites like BrokeScholar and StudentBeans.
- Instacart+ offers free delivery on orders over $35 with a 14-day free trial.
- Look for back-to-school promotions for discounted Instacart+ memberships in August and September.
Does Instacart Offer Student Discounts?
As far as I can tell, Instacart does not offer specific student discounts on their platform. However, just like anybody else, students can take advantage of the various promotions, discounts, and coupons that Instacart offers.
These include a one-time free credit for new users who use a promo code during signup and free delivery on certain orders.
In addition, there are various unique and creative ways for existing users to earn free credit and discounts good toward their orders.
Clarifying the StudentBeans “Promotion”
If you come across a website called BrokeScholar or StudentBeans advertising an Instacart student discount, be aware of what you’re signing up for.
From what I can tell, these platforms simply send you to an affiliate link to a standard new user promo code that you can find anywhere else.
This isn’t actually a student-specific discount. In essence, they’re just referring you to Instacart using the referral link from your account.
Secondly, you have to create an account to unlock the “discount”. This means you can expect marketing emails from the site.
I highly suggest seeking other alternatives to see if you can get a better discount. As a new Instacart user, you can only apply one first-time promo code, so be cautious as to which one you apply.
Don’t Overlook Instacart+
Another great way to save money as a student is to sign up for the company’s subscription service, called Instacart+.
Subscribers to the service can take advantage of benefits like free delivery on orders over a certain amount, as well as reduced service fees.
Instacart offers a 14-day free trial to demo the service, which I suggest. After that, you’ll be charged $19 for the first year, and $99 every year after that.
If you don’t think it’ll save you money in the long run, just cancel before you’re charged.
I highly suggest signing up to receive marketing emails from the company. They usually offer back-to-school promotions that grant discounted Instacart+ memberships.
These promotions are usually marketed to busy parents who are busy getting their kids ready for the schoolyear, but students can also take advantage of the savings.
These usually appear at the beginning of the school year and typically run from August to September. For example, in 2023 the company offered the promotion from August 14, 2023 – September 25, 2023.
