Amazon has launched one-hour and three-hour delivery options across numerous U.S. cities as it aims to compete with instant delivery services like Instacart, DoorDash, and Uber Eats. This initiative will make over 90,000 items available for rapid delivery, with eligible products clearly labeled in the Amazon app.
The new delivery options are positioned to enhance customer convenience and align with evolving consumer behaviors. Amazon Prime subscribers will incur charges of $9.99 for one-hour deliveries and $4.99 for three-hour deliveries, while non-Prime members will pay $19.99 and $14.99 for the respective options. The one-hour service will be accessible in hundreds of cities, including major areas like Los Angeles, Chicago, and Washington, D.C., as well as smaller locales such as Des Moines, Boise, and American Fork. The three-hour option will reach over 2,000 U.S. cities and towns.
A dedicated storefront featuring items eligible for the new delivery timeline will also be introduced. “Our customers are busier than ever and are looking for new ways to save time while keeping their households running. We saw an opportunity to use our unique operational expertise and delivery network to help make customers’ lives a little easier while unlocking even more value for Prime members,” said Udit Madan, Amazon’s senior vice president of Worldwide Operations.
Amazon is leveraging its existing same-day fulfillment centers to support these new delivery offerings. This is not Amazon’s first attempt at rapid delivery; the company previously introduced one-hour delivery through its “Prime Now” service in 2014, discontinued it in 2021, and trialed a 30-minute delivery service in Seattle and Philadelphia in December 2025.
Amazon has also launched similar rapid delivery services internationally, including the Amazon Now initiative in India in 2024, which offers 10-minute grocery deliveries, and a 15-minute service in the United Arab Emirates last year.
