Amazon Now Will Deliver Groceries in 30 Minutes — Here Is What It Costs, Where It Works, and Who Pays the Price

Amazon launched its 30-minute delivery service, Amazon Now, across dozens of US cities on Tuesday, promising groceries, household essentials, and electronics at breakneck speed. The catch is who makes it all work. Every delivery runs on gig drivers who use their own cars, earn no employee benefits, and operate out of tiny warehouses the size of a corner shop.

What It Costs and Where It Works

Amazon Now is live in Atlanta, Dallas-Fort Worth, Philadelphia, and Seattle, with rapid expansion planned for Austin, Denver, Houston, Minneapolis, Orlando, Oklahoma City, and Phoenix. The company said it expects to reach tens of millions of customers by the end of 2026.

Prime members pay $3.99 (£2.95) per delivery. Non-members pay $13.99 (£10.33). Orders under $15 (£11.08) carry an additional small-order fee of $1.99 (£1.47) for Prime subscribers and $3.99 (£2.95) for everyone else.

The service runs 24 hours a day in most launch areas and covers thousands of products, from fresh produce to over-the-counter medicine. Amazon first piloted the programme in Seattle and Philadelphia in December 2025 and has already rolled out 15-minute delivery windows in parts of Brazil, Mexico, India, and the United Arab Emirates. A test in London's Southwark postcodes began in January.

The Dark Stores Behind the Speed

Amazon Now doesn't run out of the company's sprawling fulfilment centres. Instead, it operates from micro-fulfilment hubs, often called 'dark stores,' that range from 5,000 to 10,000 square feet (464 to 929 square metres) and stock roughly 3,500 products. Only a handful of workers pick and pack orders from shelves before passing them to drivers at the door.

In two tests, GeekWire reporter Kurt Schlosser received deliveries in 23 minutes and 19 minutes, well under the promised 30-minute window.

The Workers Powering the 30-Minute Clock

Every Amazon Now delivery is made by an Amazon Flex driver, a gig worker classified as an independent contractor who uses their own vehicle, pays for their own fuel, and receives no employee benefits. Amazon says Flex drivers earn $18 (£13.29) to $25 (£18.46) per hour, but after accounting for fuel, insurance, and vehicle maintenance, real earnings can fall well below that range.

Beryl Tomay, Amazon's head of transportation, told the Associated Press that there is 'no rushing either in our building workers or the gig workers.' The entire service, however, operates on a 30-minute countdown from order to doorstep.

A 2025 report by the National Employment Law Project (NELP) found that Amazon Flex's labour model subjects drivers to 'unsafe work speeds' and 'wage theft,' and recommended the company reclassify Flex workers as employees. In December 2025, Seattle's Office of Labor Standards reached a $3.8 million (£2.8 million) settlement with Amazon Flex over allegations that the company failed to provide premium pay and sick leave to delivery workers.

A Race That Could Reshape Online Delivery

Amazon delivered 8 billion items same-day or next-day across the US in 2025, a 30% increase over the prior year. Amazon Now is the newest front in a war with DoorDash, Instacart, Uber Eats, and Walmart for control of quick commerce. Gopuff has promised 20-minute deliveries, and DoorDash previously piloted 10-to-15-minute drop-offs in New York before ending the programme.

Not everyone wants their groceries faster. Retailers and logistics analysts told the AP that a growing number of shoppers, especially younger buyers, are actively choosing no-rush shipping to reduce environmental impact and ease pressure on delivery workers.

Forrester Research analyst Sucharita Kodali questioned whether enough customers in the same area would order simultaneously to make the economics work. Amazon's own track record is mixed. Its previous ultra-fast service, Prime Now, launched in 2014 and shut down in 2021.

The speed keeps getting faster. The question is whether the workers behind the wheel can keep up.