DoorDash agrees to buy Instacart for about US$17bn, promising one membership instead of two

Many households live with two delivery apps: DoorDash for Friday dinner, Instacart for the weekly shop. Some pay for two memberships. On 29 October, DoorDash said it wants to bring the two under one roof.

The DoorDash Instacart acquisition values Instacart at US$65 a share, or about US$17 billion. It would put the biggest US delivery app by orders, by one data firm’s count, in charge of Instacart, which works with more than 2,200 grocery and retail chains. The key word is “expected”. The deal is expected to close at the end of 2027 or in the first half of 2028, after regulators have their say.

The US$17bn price, and how Instacart shareholders get paid

The DoorDash Instacart acquisition price works out like this:

• Price: US$65 per Instacart share, 26% above its closing price on 22 October, the last trading day before media reports of talks.
• Payment: at least 75% in cash. Shareholders can choose cash, DoorDash shares or a mix, but shares are capped at 25% of the total.
• Approval so far: Instacart’s board backed it unanimously; owners of about 19% of its shares agreed to vote yes.
• Funding: DoorDash will use its own cash plus borrowing, backed by a short-term loan promise from JPMorgan.
• Brand: DoorDash expects to keep Instacart’s name and app. Until closing, the two run separately.

The same day, DoorDash reported quarterly revenue of US$4.61 billion, up 34% and above estimates, according to Investing.com and Stocktwits. It expects at least US$500 million a year in net savings and gains from the deal, built up over several years.

One membership, 50,000 more stores: what DoorDash promises

After closing, DoorDash says, Instacart users could shop at more than 50,000 extra stores, on top of nearly 100,000 today. DashPass and Instacart+ members would pay one membership fee instead of two, which DoorDash estimates would save members about US$100 million a year in total.

Its commitments: grocers stay free to use any delivery platform. Instacart Shoppers, the people who pick and deliver orders, keep their current features and can choose whether to take DoorDash orders too.

“Grocery is one of the hardest things to get right online,” said Tony Xu, DoorDash’s co-founder and chief executive. He pointed to ripe avocados and ice cream that must not melt.

Why the DoorDash Instacart merger faces an antitrust test

Reuters reported that the deal is likely to face scrutiny from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the US competition watchdog. Data firm YipitData told Reuters that in 2025 DoorDash had 65.1% of orders across the delivery apps it tracks, restaurant meals included, Uber Eats 25.8% and Instacart 9.1%. Zak Stambor, an analyst at Emarketer, called regulation the “biggest wildcard”.

Critics go further. Lindsay Owens, president of the think tank Groundwork Collaborative, said the deal “would be obviously illegal”. DoorDash, Reuters noted, could argue it competes with Walmart, Target, Gopuff and Amazon, whose fast-delivery push featured in its latest results. This week the FTC also began a study of whether delivery firms use shoppers’ personal data to set prices and drivers’ pay.

If you shop, deliver or run a store, nothing changes yet

Shoppers: both apps, prices and memberships stay as they are until the deal closes. Weighing DashPass vs Instacart Plus? Choose on today’s prices. The one-fee promise comes later, at a price DoorDash has not given.

Dashers and Shoppers: DoorDash’s drivers and Instacart’s shoppers keep their current terms for now. DoorDash says more orders could mean more ways to earn. It has said nothing about pay rates.

Grocers: the “any platform” promise matters most. In practice, a store with only one delivery partner has less room to bargain on fees.

Elsewhere: DoorDash already owns Deliveroo and Wolt. Beyond the US, approvals are needed in Canada and Israel; for readers elsewhere, nothing changes directly. Investors: this is not investment advice.

Why the promises sound good, and the fine print matters more

There is real good here. One membership instead of two saves money for families who pay for both. Local grocers could get tools they cannot build alone.

The worry, in our analysis, is just as real. When the biggest delivery app buys a key rival, pressure to keep fees low and pay fair can fade. One company would also hold a great deal of shopping data. In our analysis, the likelier outcome is a long review that ends with written conditions rather than a simple yes or no. On balance, the deal makes sense for DoorDash. Whether it makes sense for shoppers depends on those promises being written down and kept.

Three things to watch before 2028

Watch whether the FTC opens a deeper investigation, what a single membership would cost, and whether grocers keep their freedom to choose. The avocado still has to be ripe either way.