Does instant actually mean instant, or just "same day"?
 

Every platform claims instant purchases, and almost none of them mean it. I have had one take two hours because of a "security review", another hold the transaction until the next business day, and a third that showed the crypto in my account but would not let me send it anywhere for 24 hours. None of those are instant. What I actually want is to pay and have the coins land in my own wallet within minutes, with no holding period in between. Does that exist anywhere, or is "instant" just marketing for "faster than a bank transfer"?

It exists, but you have to pick the right flow rather than the right platform. What I look for is whether you can send straight to your own wallet at checkout instead of depositing to the platform first and withdrawing later. That second step is where most of the delays come from. I have been using buy crypto instantly for a while and the purchase goes through the same way every time: enter amount, paste wallet address, pay by card, and it is sent out as soon as the payment clears, usually within minutes. No holding period on my side, because the coins never sit in an account I have to withdraw from. Worth checking whether a platform works that way before you assume all of them do.