Are you looking for an online store to buy your healthy and sustainable items from? Thrive Market and Public Goods are two great options if you want to shop with an online grocery store.
Both offer plenty of whole foods and are a direct to consumer business. They make it simpler to buy health food and household goods. There are some differences between the two that we will cover in this article.
Both shops offer vegan, cruelty free, and vegetarian products. That makes them both great options for those who are trying to change their lifestyles to support better, sustainable companies. You also will be able to find a variety of foods for special diets with Thrive Market.
When trying to choose a new online store to shop with, you want to be sure that you are shopping with a quality brand. There are a lot of factors to consider and compare.
Luckily for you, we will be covering all of them here! Be sure to keep reading if you want to learn more.
How Do The Companies Compare?
Public Goods is a membership based home goods store. They carry a ton of different items. Many people compare them to Costco, since you pay a yearly fee of $59 to access their items.
The company is a wholesale business. The best part is their simplified design on all their household products; it makes it much easier to make choices and eliminates decision fatigue.
Interestingly, the brand is also anti-Amazon. Their CEO felt that Amazon was overwhelming and not truthful because there are too many options and thousands of reviews on their products.
This makes it hard to trust reviews and the ingredients listed in the product. So, Public Goods only has one type of product per item. There is only one deodorant, shampoo, body wash, etc. This also helps to keep their products low cost and free of product claims.
While Public Focuses on household items, the Thrive Market site focuses more on organic food. If you need a store for grocery shopping, then Thrive would be the better choice.
They make it easier for their members to find food on a budget. Everything they have is 25% to 50% less than retail costs. If you are providing groceries for your family, then their prices make it easier to make healthy foods.
There are plenty of similarities between these brands. The biggest difference to consider is that Public Goods focuses on cleaning products and other home items.
Thrive Market is a health food store that carries several other clean products.
Cost Comparison
Both of these stores offer discounts on all of their items. You can have a wonderful shopping experience at both because of this. However, how do the costs break down?
Let’s start with Public Goods. Their items are generally cheaper than retail competitors. Although, you will want to compare everything before buying.
It is a good option for dish soap, cleaning products, and beauty products. However, you will not find food brands here.
Current Thrive Market Promo:
A full year membership costs $59, which is a little less than $5 per month. Members get free shipping on orders over $45. Many people feel the membership is worth it, since all of their packaging is very clean and their products are sustainable.
What about Thrive Market? The Thrive membership is also about $59 a year, which is less than $5 per month. However, their memberships gets you more benefits.
All of their food, pet supplies, and other items are 25% to 50% lower than retail prices. Plus, every paid membership provides a veteran or low income family with a free membership.
This service fits in with Thrive’s mission to provide people with low cost, healthy food. Their quality is great and the experience is better than what grocers have to offer.
The best part of buying a Thrive Marketplace membership is that you never have to worry about wasting your money. If you do not save the amount of your membership before the year runs out, the brand will send you a refund in Thrive Cash for the difference.
That can then be used to buy healthy groceries. So, no matter what, Thrive is making sure that all of their customers are saving money- which is easy to do with their low prices. Public Goods does not offer this service.
While both services are similar in cost, Thrive Market has a lot more to offer for your money. They also make sure that you save on everything or they will refund your money.
If you were nervous about buying a Thrive Market membership, hopefully this gives you peace of mind. So, of the two brands, Thrive Market gives you a little more value.
Customer Service
When you are paying for a membership to access a store, you want to be sure that the company has your back. Will they be able to provide you with support if something were to go wrong with your order?
Thrive Market is well known for providing excellent customer service. If anything were to go wrong with your purchase, the online marketplace would handle it right away for you.
The customer service team is always available and easy to access.
You should feel like you are taken care of with them. There are also a ton of positive reviews online that mention Thrive Market having excellent customer service. Overall, people are very happy with this grocery delivery shop.
Public Goods also has some pretty good reviews. Many people appreciate that their private label makes it easier to buy home and body products. Additionally, many felt that their customer service was what you expect.
They received assistance with orders and many had no issues with getting things fixed. Still, the reviews are not overwhelmingly positive like they are with Thrive Market.
Both services have a high quality customer service team available for when you need them.
Product Selection
Thrive Market has a very wide product selection. You can purchase everything on your grocery list with them- at lower prices too.
Their personal brands have a lot of different products. You can find food, snacks, pantry staples, organic products, and more there.
Plus, with their excellent grocery delivery service, Thrive Market will deliver your order right to your door.
On top of foods, you will also find household items at Thrive Market. Since they have so many different products, buying an annual membership gives you access to a lot more than a subscription with other services.
Public Goods focuses on healthy, sustainable household items. This includes soaps and cleaning products, but not food items.
This means you are not going to have as much of a product selection available to you with this company. Still, an annual membership might be worth it if you plan on buying all of your cleaning items solely from them. Their private label is highly reviewed as well.
Still, you are going to have a much higher value if you are considering Thrive Market. You could do all of your grocery and household shopping in one place- without needing to purchase multiple subscriptions.
Plus, their food items can be sorted by diet and non-GMO filters, making it easier to find specific foods. Overall, we would have to say that Thrive Market is the company with the better product selection.
Other Factors
Thrive Market sells various items for different lifestyles. You can find many certified vegan snacks, foods, and beauty items.
The shop also allows you to filter all of their options by diets. You can sort through paleo, keto, vegan, and more easily.
If you have restrictions that make shopping challenging, this is a great feature. Thrive covers all of the different diets and lifestyles out there, so you can be sure you can find anything you need there.
Public Goods also carries only vegan products. All of their household items are free of parabens and sulphates.
Both stores offer cruelty free and green products. So, if you are spending more time thinking about what you are buying, these companies are both great options.
Is Public Goods Really Cheaper?
Public Goods is cheaper than buying natural items from a retail company. Most of their items are less than $8, but still all a great quality.
They offer only the basics and their website is not overwhelming, so you can focus on only buying what you need. This company is definitely cheaper than buying from retail.
However, you will need to be confident that you are going to shop enough with them to earn savings. Unlike Thrive Market, this company does not offer the guarantee of refunding the difference if you do not save money. Still, their goods are cost efficient and simple.
Do You Really Save Money With Thrive Market?
You do! If you are buying food and ingredients, you will save money. You save the most on sauce, flour, and other pantry foods.
We appreciated that Thrive Market keeps track of all your savings. If you do not meet the total price of the membership by the end of your yearly subscription, the brand will refund it to you.
That way, you can be confident that you are saving money with Thrive Market. Unlike Costco, Thrive will offer you a refund.
Plus, Thrive Market said that their customers save an average of $32 on all of their orders- that is pretty impressive. You can also apply for a free account, if you think you are eligible.
They are offered to low income families, current students, veterans, first responders, and teachers.
If you qualify, Thrive Market will reach out to you within three business days to let you know. Their mission is to help everyone access affordable and healthy food, so you will not want to miss out if you qualify for a free membership.
Wrap Up
So, which is going to be better for you- Thrive Market or Public Goods? Thrive Market has more saving options, provides free accounts to those who need it, has wonderful customer service, and a wide product selection.
If you want to get more of a value out of your membership, then we would have to recommend that you choose Thrive Market.
Public Goods is a great shop as well, but they focus on selling household items. If you need to buy more than soap online, you would want to consider Thrive instead.
They have household items, but also plenty of organic foods and snacks.
If you are interested, we recommend that you try out the Thrive Market free trial. It is 30 days long and allows you to access all of their products for free.
You can use that time to determine if making the switch is worth it for you and your budget.
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