Sometimes you just don’t want to cook another meal. Thankfully, there are food delivery apps that make it easy to order delivery from your favorite restaurants. These apps let you order food and other items from thousands of restaurants, track your delivery in real-time, find deals, and more. Here is our list of the best food delivery apps, and how you can find the cheapest and fastest delivery service in your area.
Grubhub: Largest Selection of Restaurants
- Delivery Fee: Set by restaurant
- Surge Pricing: No
- Minimum Price: Set by restaurant
Grubhub claims that it has the largest selection of restaurants of any food delivery service. The app features over 300,000 restaurants in over 4,000 cities in the US. So, if you want to order food from a restaurant, there’s a good chance you can find it in this app.
Unlike other delivery service apps, Grubhub leaves the delivery fee and minimum price up to the restaurant. However, the delivery service does take a commission from each restaurant, and that cost is passed on to you.
If you don’t want to pay a delivery fee, you can sign up for a Grubhub+ subscription. Then you will get free delivery on orders over $12 from participating restaurants. You will also earn exclusive deals as a subscriber with the Perks program that lets you get free delivery or save money on your orders.
Download: Apple App Store / Google Play Store
Postmates: Most Versatile Food Delivery App
- Delivery Fee: $0.99-$9.99
- Surge Pricing: Yes
- Minimum Price: No ($2.50 for orders under $10)
Postmates is the most versatile food delivery app because it lets you order food from over 600,000 restaurants, grocery stores, pharmacies, gas stations, and tons of other stores. With the Postmates app, you can get everything from makeup to home care products, and even liquor and tobacco products (as long as you’re over 21).
There is a standard delivery fee of $0.99-$3.99 if you order from one of Postmates’ partner merchants, and $5.99-$9.99 for all other merchants. You might also be charged an additional $2 if your order is too small. Postmates also has surge pricing, which means you might have to pay more during peak hours.
If you don’t want to pay a delivery fee, you can sign up for a Postmates Unlimited subscription for $10 a month. Then you will get free delivery on any order over $12. The delivery service claims that the subscription will pay for itself if you use it at least twice a month.
Download: Apple App Store / Google Play Store
DoorDash: Best Food Delivery App for Group Orders
- Delivery Fee: Varies ($4-$5 on average)
- Surge Pricing: Yes
- Minimum Price: No ($2.50 for orders under $10)
DoorDash is the most popular food delivery app, making up 58% of the deliveries in December 2021, according to data from Second Measure. The delivery service claims that the app has over 300,000 local and national restaurants in more than 4,000 cities across the US, Canada, and Australia.
While DoorDash does not require an order minimum, it does have surge pricing, so you might have to pay more during peak hours. The app also makes it easy to place large orders for meetings and family gatherings. You can pick a restaurant up to a week in advance, choose a spending limit, and everyone in your group can choose their own meal and options. Then everything will arrive with labels, so it will be easy to see who ordered what.
If you don’t want to pay a delivery fee, you can sign up for a DashPass subscription for $10 a month. Then you will get free delivery on orders of $12 or more from participating restaurants. DoorDash claims the average subscriber saves $4-$5 on each order, so the subscription should pay for itself if you order food at least twice a month.
Download: Apple App Store / Google Play Store
Uber Eats: Cheapest Food Delivery App
- Delivery Fee: Dynamic (usually from $0.49 to $7.99)
- Surge Pricing: Yes
- Minimum Price: No ($2-$3 small order fee)
In a 2019 study, Market Watch compared the price of an identical order from all the major food delivery apps. In that case, Uber Eats had the cheapest delivery fee of $1.49 compared to other services that charged as much as $6.49.
Unlike other food delivery services, Uber Eats has a 15% delivery fee for every order unless the restaurant uses its own drivers to deliver your orders. However, Uber Eats does have surge pricing, so you might have to pay more during peak hours. There is also a $2 fee for small orders less than $10 or a $3 fee for orders under $15, depending on your location.
If you don’t want to pay a delivery fee, you can sign up for an Eats Pass subscription for $10 a month. Then you will get free delivery on orders of $15 or more from participating restaurants. Plus, you will get a 5% discount on all eligible orders, and you’ll earn Uber Rewards points when you order from certain restaurants. You can use these points to get money off your next order, free rides with Uber, a free subscription to Apple Music, and more.
Download: Apple App Store / Google Play Store
The delivery fees for every app will depend on the restaurant that you order from, the time that you want your food delivered, and more. Since the costs vary so much, you might want to consider downloading another app to help you find the best delivery service for your order.
How to Find the Cheapest Food Delivery Service in Your Area
To find the cheapest and fastest delivery service for any restaurant in your area, you can use two apps called FoodBoss and MealMe. Both of these free apps will compare all the fees of the major food delivery services and how long your delivery will take.
FoodBoss lets you compare prices between Uber Eats, Postmates, delivery.com, and a few other delivery services. You can use the app to search for food by category or by local restaurants, and it will show you which delivery services are offering the best deals, the cheapest prices, and the fastest delivery times.
You can download the app for free from the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store, or you can use the FoodBoss website from your computer.
MealMe is a new app that compares the prices of a lot more food delivery services, including UberEats, GrubHub, Postmates, DoorDash, and more. Since the app works with so many delivery services, it’s easy to find the cheapest options. Plus, you can complete your order entirely within the app, which lets you find deals on individual dishes.
You can download MealMe for your iPhone or iPad for free from the Apple App Store.
Now that you know the best food delivery apps, check out our list of the best grocery delivery apps to get your shopping done cheaper.