7 of the best food delivery apps

The pandemic hit the restaurant industry hard, and both emerging and well-established restaurants closed as a result of lockdowns and other safety measures. But many restaurants pivoted and used food delivery apps to continue serving customers, even when in-restaurant dining wasn’t possible.

Now, it’s become almost essential for restaurants to partner with a food delivery service to sell meals to customers, as many people prefer the convenience of takeout over dining out.

Whether you’re considering a food delivery service for the first time or looking to switch from your current one, you have plenty of options to choose from. As you evaluate different apps, consider factors like subscription pricing, reputation, ease of use, and delivery costs, as well as whether they serve your area.

Here are seven options to consider.

1. Grubhub

App Store user rating: 4.7/5 (4.2M ratings)

Play Store user review: 4.5/5 (865K reviews)

Grubhub can help you grow your restaurant business. With the Grubhub Marketplace, you can reach 33 million diners without any up-front costs. Marketing rates start at five percent, and there’s no long-term commitment.

When you join Grubhub, you’ll get a merchant welcome kit that includes tamper-evident stickers and marketing materials to help you get started. You can also get a free menu photo shoot.

You can access your Grubhub orders on a tablet, your own device, or through its point-of-sale (POS) integration, so you can choose the option that best fits with your existing procedures. Grubhub offers three plans, ranging from Basic to Premium, and the merchant portal is user-friendly.

Grubhub also gives you several delivery options, making it a versatile platform. To deliver orders, you can use the Grubhub fleet, use your own delivery staff, or rely on your drivers for local deliveries but use Grubhub drivers for orders outside your range. You can even allow customers to place in-stock pickup orders through the platform.

Grubhub also powers Seamless, an easy-to-use food delivery app. The platform also offers deals and rewards to help customers discover new restaurants, including yours.

2. Uber Eats

App Store user rating: 4.8/5 (8M-plus ratings)

Play Store user review: 4.3/5 (5.4M-plus reviews)

One of the more well-known food delivery apps, Uber Eats offers plenty of versatility and customization options, making it a top pick for many restaurants. You have flexibility to use your own delivery staff or use delivery people already on the Uber platform.

The Uber Eats platform provides data insights and allows you to respond to reviews. In-app marketing can help you expand your reach, and you can even use the platform to offer a loyalty program and encourage repeat purchases.

Signing up with Uber Eats is fast, and you can start accepting orders in just days. The platform can also help you define the right delivery radius based on your restaurant’s location.

Several other food delivery apps use the Uber Eats platform, including Postmates and Postmates Unlimited. Uber Eats also offers Eats Pass, a monthly subscription option that allows users to enjoy free delivery and five percent off of orders that are over $15.

3. Jotform Apps

App Store user rating: 5/5 (31K-plus ratings)

Play Store user review: 4.8/5 (21K-plus reviews)

Jotform Apps gives you control over every element of your food ordering process, from the dishes you offer to the delivery options. That’s because with Jotform, you create your own no-code food delivery app to your exact specifications.

The Jotform Food Delivery App is a customizable app template for restaurants, diners, small cafes, and more. It includes a product list widget that you can edit to add your menu items. You can showcase dishes, run promotional campaigns, and even collect customer feedback to improve the customer experience. 

The template is fully customizable, so you can personalize it with your restaurant’s branding. It will gather delivery and payment information, making for a smooth checkout process and leaving you to focus on food preparation.

You can also create your own food delivery app from scratch with Jotform’s no-code app builder. The drag-and-drop interface is easy to use, and you can add forms, links, buttons, payment processors, and images to the app without any coding. You can even add images and descriptions of your food or upload a PDF of your menu.

Jotform integrates with more than 40 payment gateways, so customers get a secure and convenient checkout process. Customers can download and use the app on any device, including desktop computers, smartphones, and tablets.

4. DoorDash

App Store user rating: 4.8/5 (18M-plus ratings)

Play Store user review: 4.6/5 (4.3M-plus reviews)

With DoorDash, you’ll have plenty of options to customize the platform to suit your restaurant, grocery store, or liquor store. DoorDash offers a variety of plans and options that allow you to use the platform in many different ways.

Those options include Basic, Plus, and Premier plan options, each with different delivery commissions and features. There’s also a self-delivery option that allows you to use your own drivers with a 12 percent delivery commission (or an eight percent delivery commission if you use DashPass).

You can also use DoorDash for online ordering with no commission fees and no monthly software fees. The platform also offers an on-demand delivery option, where you pay a flat fee ranging from $6.99 to $10.99 per order for delivery.

DoorDash offers plenty of perks to help you build your business. The dashboard allows you to easily track live orders, solve issues, and provide feedback about Dashers. The Business Manager app allows you to track this information from your phone, and you can manage your store information from a phone, tablet, or computer. DoorDash also provides key metrics, so you can monitor sales, review customer ratings, and identify which items are popular.

DoorDash also integrates with point-of-sale and other systems, so it makes a seamless addition to your restaurant, helping you improve operations rather than adding to your workload.

5. delivery.com

App Store user rating: 4.8/5 (33K-plus ratings)

Play Store user review: 3.5/5 (3.6K-plus reviews)

With over 3 million users nationwide, delivery.com could help you grow your restaurant, grocery store, or other food-related business. More than 19,000 local businesses already use the platform.

delivery.com offers several features to help boost your business. You can integrate your listing on the platform with your website. The platform’s custom software makes it easy to manage your business listing and hours, and it offers digital marketing packages to help you maximize your exposure on the delivery.com website and app.

You can even work with an account manager, who can provide you with advice and recommendations for your marketing strategy. Additional marketing options include the use of strategic partnerships and gift cards to help drive sales.

6. Instacart

App Store user rating: 4.8/5 (3.4M-plus ratings)

Play Store user review: 4.2/5 (271K-plus reviews)

Instacart specializes in online grocery delivery. More than 65,000 physical stores in more than 5,500 cities in the United States and Canada already use the platform. Instacart offers shoppers the convenience of being able to shop online from home, then have their groceries delivered.

With Instacart Ads, you can get your grocery store or food retailer on the platform and reach more customers. You can choose the specific products you want to promote, set a budget for your ad campaign, review your results, and optimize the performance of the campaign.

7. ChowNow

App Store user rating: 4.7/5 (16.1K-plus ratings)

Play Store user review: 4.6/5 (4.3K-plus reviews)

ChowNow is an order and delivery service that partners with the DoorDash delivery system. Restaurants can sign up for monthly subscription plans by contacting its sales team. If you sign up for ChowNow Direct, an online marketing platform for restaurants, your ChowNow subscription fee will be waived.

ChowNow integrates with POS systems like Toast and Square. With ChowNow’s Order Better network, you can add your business to popular online ordering sites, expanding your audience reach and increasing your order volume. The service takes care of the integrations with platforms like Google, Yelp, and Tripadvisor.

ChowNow also offers a marketplace for local restaurants. There are no commissions or hidden fees, and you’ll just pay a credit card fee of 2.95 percent plus $0.15. You can add on services like photo shoots, and with no setup fees or monthly payments, it’s free to list your restaurant.

What to consider when choosing the best food delivery services

Each of these food delivery services offers slightly different benefits. For a food delivery app to be a successful addition to your business, it needs to support your needs without being difficult to implement or maintain. Consider the following criteria as you evaluate the different food delivery service options.

Customization options

You don’t want to be stuck trying to make your business fit into an existing app’s format. Instead, it’s best to choose an app that gives you plenty of options to customize it so it truly works for your business.

Many apps are designed so you can upload your entire menu in a single step, giving your customers access to your full selection of dishes. An app that lets you upload photos of those dishes can help you drive sales.

Look for the ability to further customize the app with your branding colors and logo. You want customers to easily recognize your business by the app’s visual appearance when they’re on your page.

It’s also important to have control over the delivery options. Many apps let you choose to use their drivers, your own fleet of drivers, or a combination of the two. Many also let you manage in-store pickup orders. This flexibility allows you to offer multiple delivery and pickup options, potentially driving sales in the process.

Ease of use

Consider how easy to use the app is for both your staff and customers. When it comes to helping you generate sales, an app needs to be customer-friendly. It should be convenient to download and the user interface should be simple and easy to navigate. Look for a platform that accepts the payment methods your customers use most often.

The app’s dashboard also needs to be simple so your staff can learn it with minimal training. Look for a dashboard that you can access from multiple devices, ideally ones that you already use in your business. Consider which staff members will need access to the app, and look for apps with a streamlined dashboard that’s intuitive to learn and use.

Integrations

It’s important for any app to make a seamless addition to your existing systems. You don’t want to just add another platform that your staff has to manage separately.

Many apps offer a wide variety of integrations, so take the time to verify that any app you’re considering integrates with the platforms you already use. You’ll want to make sure that the app pairs with your payment systems as well as your existing POS system.

Feedback collection

Look for apps that allow you to easily gather customer feedback on both the app itself and the food delivery experience. It’s even more valuable if an app gives you the opportunity to respond to that customer feedback so you can engage with customers and demonstrate that you value their opinions.

Data and metrics also provide important information about the performance of your app and your business. You’ll be able to use that information to adjust your policies and food offerings, revise your delivery procedures, and ensure that your customers have a positive experience that encourages them to return.

Technical support

Look into whether the app offers technical support. Consider how you can reach the customer support team, and pay attention to when live support is available. You don’t want to run into an issue with the app during peak service hours and be unable to get assistance.

Price

Finally, consider the app’s price. Don’t automatically opt for the app with the lowest subscription or commission fees. Instead, consider the value that each app delivers to your business. Many of these apps can connect you with a significant base of customers, which could help grow your audience and boost sales. You might find that investing in a more expensive app can pay off through the boost that it provides your business.

Choosing a food delivery app can help grow your business and even expand your customer base, but it’s important to take the time to find the app that’s right for you. There are plenty of options to choose from, so think about the most important features that you need in an app, and you should be able to narrow down the list to the right option.

Photo by Norma Mortenson