You have a lot of shopping options in this day age. But when it comes to finding organic, gluten-free, non-GMO foods, you’re a bit more limited. Thankfully, the companies that do offer health foods are some of the best around.
Two of those stores are Thrive Market and Sprouts. One is based online, offering grocery delivery all over the continental U.S., whereas the other has brick-and-mortar stores scattered around the central United States.
In this Sprouts vs Thrive Market review, we’ll be taking a closer look at both of these health food companies, so you can better choose which one fits your needs.
Thrive Market Review
Thrive Market opened its online doors in 2014, offering consumers a healthy alternative to what most grocery stores were carrying at the time. Being an online grocery store, Thrive carries a wide variety of healthy products.
The selection of items is always growing, too, ensuring that you are more likely to find what you’re looking for without having to go elsewhere.
You can buy not only food but common household items like natural cleaning products and baby goods. In fact, most of what you’d pick up from your local grocer is available through Thrive Market. And as an online health foods store, you’ll find an ever-growing selection of all-natural items to stock your home with.
Thrive Market is known as a cross between Whole Foods and Costco prices, giving you an affordable shopping experience that guarantees to save you money. It’s all part of Thrive’s impressive business model, and it really shows in the savings you earn by being a member.
Do You Really Save Money With Thrive Market?
Actually, Thrive Market isn’t all that different from other online grocery stores. Before you can use Thrive’s services, you will first need to pay a membership fee.
But once you do, you will find yourself immersed in a wealth of shopping options, from gluten-free organic foods to beauty & bath supplies.
What’s more, becoming a Thrive member can earn you savings of up to 50% off of retail price. And when you sign up, you can save 25% off your first order, ensuring that you start saving right from the start.
These kinds of savings alone are worth it to many consumers. Most of the time, you’re going to be saving some percentage off of retail, making Thrive worth its weight in gold.
Over time, you’re going to see those savings add up, likely covering your membership fee and then some.
How Much Does Thrive Market Cost a Month?
The membership fee to join Thrive Market costs $59.95 a year. That equals out to just $5 a month. If you’d rather use Thrive on a month-to-month basis, you have the option of doing so at a slightly higher price.
You need to be aware that this option costs nearly double that of the annual membership fee, at $9.95 a month. Still, when you factor in the substantial savings that the membership affords you, $5 or even $10 a month is well worth it.
If you’d like to try out Thrive Market before you commit, you can sign up for a free 30-day trial. You will have to submit your credit card information to take advantage of this offer, so be sure to cancel before your trial is over or you will be charged the full $59.95 for a year’s worth of shopping.
It’s also worth pointing out that if you think you will be using Thrive’s services for more than 6 months out of the year, it makes financial sense to go ahead and sign up for the yearly membership. If not, you will be paying more than what’s necessary.
Current Thrive Market Promo:
Thrive Market Review: Shipping
Thrive Market really shines in its shipping. As a customer, you automatically get free shipping when you order $49 or more worth of goods. What’s more, new members need to spend only $25 to take advantage of the free shipping offer.
As a Thrive Market member, you also have the option of using scheduled shipping. This service is designed to make sure that your home is always stocked with the goods you need.
Scheduled shipping provides you with on-time delivery of specific food and household items.
Need certain cleaning supplies every month? What about baby food? With scheduled shipping, you’re guaranteed to get the items you need without having to reorder them.
Thrive Market takes care of the rest and sends your requested products directly to your residence or place of business.
Thrive Market Review: Community
Thrive is passionate about helping people and the communities they live in. For example, for every paid membership Thrive Market gets, the company matches that membership and gives a free membership to a low-income family or person who is less fortunate. This could a veteran, first responder, student, or teacher.
This selfless act ensures that those struggling have the opportunity to buy high-quality food and household products at a discounted price. When you consider what kind of impact COVID had on many people across the United States, it’s truly incredible what Thrive is doing for those in need.
And then there’s the fact that Thrive has a zero-waste policy. This policy ensures that all of its packaging is 100% recyclable. So whenever you order anything from the company, regardless of what it is, the plastic and boxes shipped to you can be recycled.
What’s more, this policy extends to Thrive’s warehouses, as well. Every single one of these warehouses produces zero waste, making Thrive one of the cleanest companies on the planet.
With no waste produced, Thrive is doing its part to protect the planet and stay green.
Organic Products
Thrive Market stocks a vast selection of sustainable gluten-free foods. These products are ideal for all kinds of specialized diets, such as the paleo diet.
You will also find Whole30 and non-GMO foods, as well. Currently, Thrive Market carries over 6,000 items across more than 500 brands.
Not only can you buy healthy food, but Thrive is also home to many everyday staples, such as pet supplies, supplements, vitamins, snacks, and more. You can choose from Thrive’s own private label or select name brands like Bob’s Red Mill, among others.
The Thrive Market brand is very high-quality, and this isn’t limited to only food. Thrive produces an impressive number of items, from supplements to pet items.
Thrive Market offers just about everything you need that can be found in a traditional big-box store, just on a much smaller scale.
But don’t let that stop you from giving them a look. Thrive continues to grow all the time, seeing huge increases in inventory and brands.
There are still some limitations on the grocery items that Thrive Market can carry due to its delivery model.
Because Thrive Market is an online grocer, you won’t find fresh produce, for example. So you’ll need to make a trip to your local grocery store or farmer’s market to stock up on fruits and vegetables.
Nearly everything else, however, is there for the choosing.
Sprouts Review
Sprouts is a very attractive grocery store. Each department in Sprouts stores is well-organized, with a commendable selection of products to choose from.
Sprouts is a privately-owned company, so they are rather limited in their reach.
With only 300 stores in the United States, only a select amount of people will be able to take advantage of the grocery store’s delivery service.
Food selection-wise, you’ll find plenty of organic products to stock your cabinets with. And whereas Thrive Market offers nearly anything other than fresh produce, Sprouts has it coming out of its ears. It is a farmer’s market, after all.
As such, you aren’t limited to the types of foods you buy. Sprouts carries a wide variety of pantry staples and products from just about every category you can think of.
As mentioned, Sprouts offers delivery to select areas of the United States. Like many other grocers, shipping is free if you spend more than $35 on your first order.
After that, the cost of delivery depends on the size of your order and when you need it delivered to your home or business.
On top that, you’ll be charged $3.99. So depending on what you order and when, you could be looking at a substantial sum of money.
So while Sprouts has Thrive Market beat on fresh produce, Thrive Market excels in just about everything else. In this day and age, customer service is incredibly important to a business. Upon examining customer reviews for both companies, Thrive Market came out on top.
Sprouts, unfortunately, has a series of negative reviews across the board, whereas Thrive Market reviews are mostly positive. When you factor in everything Thrive does for the local community and its strict zero-waste policy, it’s clear to see that Thrive Market is the better choice.
You might have to get your fresh produce elsewhere, but you’ll enjoy a consumer-friendly experience with everything else.
Wrap Up
Wrapping up this Sprouts vs Thrive Market review, it comes down to the overall user experience. And Thrive Market wins by a landslide.
While it’s true that you’ll have to pay more upfront due to Thrive’s membership fee, you will likely earn that back in savings several times over throughout the course of the year.
As such, it’s a small price to pay for quality products and service. If nothing else, you can always take advantage of Thrive Market’s free trial to see if it’s right for you.
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