Looking for the best food delivery apps? We’ve compared the best food delivery apps by speed, fees, variety, offers and everyday value to help you save the most on your next meal.

Top food delivery apps have made everyone a foodie. With the touch of a button, a restaurant and a delivery driver can bring their favorite meal to your door in a matter of minutes. However, the fastest delivery service may not provide the best value, while the cheapest order has the potential to be when you’re already done eating.

This does not mean that the choice between the best food delivery apps is not connected to the restaurant. On the contrary, the most balanced delivery apps give the best value, speed, variety, offers and convenience. At the same time, the ability to track the delivery in real time has become essential for today’s customers.

So, which fastest food delivery apps offer the best value for money?

What to Look For in a Delivery App?

Before moving on to the best food delivery services, let’s look at what constitutes value. While a low delivery charge at the end of the order may seem attractive, the combination of service, small order fee and other expenses may be considerably taxing. At the same time, an excellent restaurant with a promised 25 minute delivery may turn out to be twice as expensive as another with a 30 minute delivery.

Ultimately, the best value is achieved with a combination of high quality, low prices and extraordinary speed. Another feature that has become essential for delivery apps is the accuracy of delivery time. After all, there is nothing more annoying than waiting for food to be delivered and watching the delivery app, only to find out that the driver is still at the beginning of the street.

DoorDash

If you find yourself in the United States, you will inevitably come across the DoorDash app. The main value proposition of the service is its availability since the platform provides access to thousands of local restaurants and dashers. At the same time, some of the most active customers may take advantage of membership programs that provide considerable value, including the elimination of delivery and service charges.

Best for: frequent customers

Uber Eats

The main competitor to DoorDash, Uber Eats, has an advantage over the competition in brand strength. The underlying infrastructure of the Uber fleet is used to deliver food from local restaurants. Thanks to the existing infrastructure, Uber Eats can provide customers with exceptional software, including route tracking and positioning of drivers in real time. Ultimately, the customer can be safely confident that the technology behind the delivery will perform its job correctly. Moreover, the network covers most large cities in dozens of countries, so the app is suitable for almost all users who want to try something different from their usual food.

Notably, users of other Uber services, including Uber rides, can take advantage of the Uber One membership program, which offers substantial benefits for repeat customers. In any case, the value depends on the user’s location, available restaurants and applicable discounts at checkout.

Best for: users who want intuitive software, route tracking and international availability.

Zomato

Despite the apparent similarity to other apps on the list, Zomato is much more than just a food delivery company. In India, the app functions more like a restaurant discovery engine with food delivery capabilities. Zomato’s main value proposition is its discoverability. Using the app, users can easily find the right restaurant, taking into account cuisine, rating, distance, dietary preferences and other nuances. This is especially important for users who know they are hungry but can’t decide where to go.

Although the app covers more than 1,000 Indian cities, it has one of the most comprehensive restaurant review systems in the industry.

On the other hand, for someone looking for the best value, the final price is always of primary importance. A discounted restaurant can turn out to be considerably more expensive due to additional costs for delivery and service. Therefore, it is always worth paying attention to the final cost of the order when searching for value.

Best for: restaurant discovery with excellent review coverage for Indian users.

Swiggy

Swiggy has built its reputation on being intuitive and convenient in India. The app’s interface is optimized for discovering local nearby restaurants and convenient ordering. It is a great option for users who are not looking to browse restaurant directories but instead want to choose from a short list of relevant nearby venues. In addition to traditional restaurant delivery, the company offers a quick commerce division, making it even more convenient to order daily necessities.

Best for: Indian users who want intuitive navigation and the ability to find nearby restaurants.

Foodpanda

Some users may find the variety and discoverability of the previous apps excessive. In this case, Foodpanda wants to provide a convenient and intuitive experience without extra features. In this app, the process of selecting a restaurant, choosing dishes and paying for an order is optimized for a hassle free experience. Foodpanda covers multiple Asian markets, including Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

This functionality is especially useful for users who know what they want rather than browsing the menu. After all, not everyone has the time or desire to explore long restaurant lists when they want to satisfy their hunger.

Best for: users in Asian markets who want a simple and intuitive ordering experience without extra features

Deliveroo

Deliveroo has carved out a nice niche for itself by providing high quality restaurant delivery services. This app prioritizes restaurants, delivery tracking and subscription services. Like many other apps on the list, Deliveroo provides a discovery service, going far beyond a food delivery app. In general, it has grown to be an excellent application that continues to serve its customers.

For the most frequent visitors, subscription services can provide tremendous value for money. On the other hand, the cheapest delivery service will provide the best value if used frequently enough. After all, the more often the app is used, the greater the cost effectiveness of the subscription.

Best for: European and international markets looking for a mature delivery application

Which Delivery Services have the Fastest Delivery?

Unfortunately, there is no single answer to the question of which delivery apps are the fastest. The delivery time depends on how far the restaurant is located, how much the rider is occupied and how busy the street is. In principle, an order of 5 minutes from a free rider can be faster than an order of 3 streets from a busy rider. Therefore, the promised delivery time at the checkout is always more relevant than general opinions about the speed of the app. On the other hand, the most extensive coverage of restaurants and drivers helps to find the fastest delivery in a particular area. Moreover, the more concentrated the restaurant and driver base is in one city, the faster on average these companies will deliver.

Which Delivery Apps Provide the Best Value?

The most affordable food delivery apps are not always the best value for money. When looking for the best value, it is essential to take a bird’s eye view of the entire order. First, it is necessary to add up the restaurant’s cost, delivery and service charges, adding local taxes or small order fees. Second, it is essential to calculate applicable discounts and bonuses in your account. Taking these details into account will provide you with the most accurate indication of value for money.

The cheapest apps will allow you to get the best value, but it is vital to double check the final cost at checkout.

A Quick Comparison

Business Fortune concludes that the top food delivery platforms are not the same and that is good news for the consumer. The competition drives promotional deals, subscriptions, tracking accuracy and faster deliveries.

Why Direct Ordering Is Making a Comeback?

Marketplace apps are, for the most part, an excellent tool for restaurants to attract customers. Still, they have to give up a part of the revenue to the platform owner for the use of their services. The value of such cooperation is different for different restaurants, depending on the plan they choose and the competition between the food delivery apps continues to drive prices down. However, many chains are now developing their own apps to cooperate directly with the customers. For example, the same customer who ordered through the marketplace can get on the restaurant’s email marketing list, receive a special welcome bonus and get personalized offers without going through a third party. This way, the restaurant gets more customers for its promotions and the consumer receives better deals.

 

FAQs

What are the best food delivery apps?

It depends on the region where the service is available. The most popular food delivery apps with the broad range of services are Uber Eats, DoorDash, Zomato and Swiggy. In India, for example, Zomato and Swiggy compete closely and the choice between them depends on the user’s preference. Foodpanda and Deliveroo are also popular in several Asian countries, as well as in the Netherlands, France and other European countries.

Which food delivery app is the fastest?

It is impossible to tell for sure which app has the fastest delivery because the time depends on the restaurant and the courier’s location, the distance to the delivery address, the time of the day and the weather. It is best to check the estimated delivery time for the chosen restaurant.

How to find the cheapest food delivery?

When comparing the prices, the delivery surcharge is not the only thing to consider. It is important to add the service fee and any additional discounts or small order bonuses, if applicable and compare the final price. In some cases, the delivery surcharge may be higher than the minimum order size in another application.

Are food delivery memberships worth it?

If the customers make several orders per month, then yes, membership plans are a great value. They usually include discounts on the delivery and service surcharges. However, if the consumer is not sure about the frequency of use, it is better to avoid annual subscriptions.

Are restaurant apps worth using?

It depends on the customer’s habits and preferences. If the user prefers to order from the same restaurant or a restaurant chain frequently, it is worth subscribing to their app to receive special offers, messages about new products launch and referral discounts.