One of my favourite things to do when I'm overseas is visit the supermarket for cheap local snacks and discounted bentos if you're in Japan. But in Singapore, who has time to go supermarket shopping when we're so busy with work and other commitments?

That's why shopping for groceries online is one of the easiest and most convenient ways because you can search for items easily, check for deals and discounts and even have your cart saved for the next time you need to replenish certain items.

But, the catch is that many of these come with pretty high minimum orders to qualify for free delivery. So if you forget an item, you can't just order it online and have it delivered to you for cheap. We compare the online groceries in Singapore and find out which supermarket has the best delivery fees.

Online supermarkets in Singapore delivery fees

• Cheapest grocery delivery: RedMart ($1.99 for 6-hour timeslot)
• Lowest min. spend for free delivery: Cold Storage or Giant ($59)
• Most expensive grocery delivery: NTUC FairPrice Online ($3.99 to $8.99)

Still on the fence? Read more for our take on the different online grocers.

Plus, scroll to the end for bonus tips on getting a timeslot + recommended credit cards for grocery shopping!

RedMart (via Lazada)

RedMart was one of the first to make a name for itself in the online grocery delivery scene in Singapore even before the regulars, NTUC FairPrice and Cold Storage.

It became popular for offering many items at cheaper rates that what we'd fine in the usual supermarkets we went to, as well as a variety of items that you can find overseas such as products from Aussie supermarkets Woolworths and Coles and England's Sainsbury's.

You can get free delivery if you spend at least $60, which shouldn't be too difficult if you have many people in the family or large household items to buy. Or just top it up with extra snacks like I do.

Otherwise, delivery fees depend on whether you opt for Standard (two-hour time slots) or Saver (six-hour time slots), or Express (two-hour time slots, same day delivery).

The main difference between a Standard two-hour delivery is you can choose a two-hour time slot between 7am to 11pm, while for Saver six-hour delivery, you choose between two six-hour time slots: 8am to 2pm, or 2pm to 8pm.

Most of the time, it's easier to just opt for a six-hour time slot if you're unable to hit the $15 minimum order but if you do, two-hour is best for you.

NTUC Fairprice Online

If you're a loyal NTUC FairPrice shopper, good news, as you can now shop online from your favourite neighbourhood supermarket without having to leave your home. Iirc, the minimum order for free delivery used to be really high but you now just need to hit $59 and above to qualify for free delivery.

BUT, there's still a $3.99 service fee on all online orders, even if your items in the cart add up to $59 and above.

That makes our beloved NTUC one of the most expensive online supermarkets to order from. That's a shame because NTUC FairPrice's grocery prices are known to be quite competitive.

Additionally, the website says that you may be charged extra depending on the delivery slot you pick during peak periods. I have no idea how much that could be but if you want to avoid the charges, it's best to choose a non-peak period, probably a weekday afternoon.

Cold Storage Online

Cold Storage Online has one of the simplest delivery fee pricing structures: It's $7 for orders below $80; anything more and it's free. There are also no hidden charges, which is nice.

That said, it's known that Cold Storage tends to charge higher prices for certain products. Cost will be a key consideration, but some people continue to shop at Cold Storage because they sell certain premium products you might not find at your regular NTUC FairPrice.

Cold Storage also has a nifty system that lets you 'chope' a delivery slot when you start browsing. Once you reach the site, you'll be prompted to pick a time slot based on your postal code. After choosing a slot, it will be reserved for 30 minutes. You must check out before then or else it'll be released to others in the queue.

Sheng Siong Online

Sheng Siong has also established its online grocery delivery presence offering free delivery for orders $100 and above. Anything below that will cost you a $6 delivery charge.

Now $100 is a lot and considering that Sheng Siong is one of Singapore's cheapest supermarkets out there, you would have to buy quite a lot of items to hit that minimum order. For those who go to Sheng Siong, it may be more worth it to head to the physical supermarket if there's one near your house or really wait until you consolidate orders to get free delivery.

Another problem is that the site is a bit less search-friendly than most of the others, with products sometimes not appearing if your search term isn't exactly what they're looking for.

Giant Online

Like Sheng Siong, fellow budget supermarket chain Giant also has an online store. Price-wise, Giant is one of the cheapest in town - especially if you buy the house brand items.

It doesn't make sense to do your budget grocery shopping on Giant only to be slapped with a $7 delivery fee, so it's better if you can consolidate $59 worth of purchases to get free delivery.

Like Cold Storage Online (which is part of the same Dairy Farm Group), Giant's online supermarket allows you to reserve a timeslot for 30 minutes while you shop.

Amazon Fresh

Amazon Fresh is the name of Amazon's grocery delivery service in Singapore. It was formerly known as Amazon Prime Now but guess it's been changed because they don't want you to confuse it with the video streaming platform.

It's more worth it if you sign up as an Amazon Prime member which costs $2.99 a month. But why would you unless you're also using other Amazon services as well such as video streaming?

For those who aren't Amazon Prime members, you can still of course order from Amazon Fresh but you'd have to hit $100 and above to get free delivery within a two-hour time slot. Otherwise, for orders above $60, delivery fee is $4.99 and below $60, it's $8.99.

It's not the most user-friendly online supermarket around, but it has one key benefit - you may be able to choose same day delivery depending on your address.

To qualify for free, fast delivery with Amazon Fresh, though, you need to (a) hit a minimum spend of $60, and (b) be an Amazon Prime member at $2.99/month.

If you're thinking "hell no" to that, then check out the other options for on-demand grocery delivery right here.

Bonus tips for a successful online groceries experience

We too want to find out the cheapest way to get our groceries delivered without forking out any more than we'd have to so we did some digging. Here are some pro tips for you:

1. Use Pandamart, GrabMart or Deliveroo for small orders

Most online supermarkets require a minimum spend of about $60 or more to get free delivery. If you can't hit that amount, then try using one of these food delivery apps instead.

Foodpanda, GrabFood and Deliveroo all deliver from minimarts and supermarkets on demand, and the minimum order is usually quite small. Orders typically arrive in less than an hour, too, so no need to shell out extra cash for Amazon Prime membership.

2. Check out with a good cashback credit card

There are many credit cards that give you cash back and rebates for online spending or grocery shopping (online shopping included). Here are our favourites:

Before you hit "check out", make sure you're paying with one of these credit cards and you'll get extra discounts in the form of cash rebates on your bill.

This article was first published in MoneySmart.