Technology brought everything at your fingertips, including food. Food is the priority of Gourmets around the world and they are always in search of versatile cuisines. Food delivery services have completely reshaped the food services and they altogether took it to a new level.

On-demand food delivery apps are witnessing rapid growth as we speak. The reason behind the increased usage of food delivery apps is that they allow the users to get the food they love from any restaurant of their choice right at their location.

Why Food Delivery Apps are a big hit now?

Ultimately, the goal of any shared economy business is to empower both providers and customers on a very large scale.

Food delivery apps made the whole process of managing orders easy for both customers and restaurants. From a customer’s point of view, they can order something they like with a few taps on their phone. From a restaurant’s point of view, they just need to prepare the order and not worry about its delivery. The number of restaurants and companies investing and collaborating with food delivery apps are increasing day by day.

Irrespective of the demographic, these food delivery apps are borne to grow at uber speed among the population of mobile users.

The food delivery system is considered a brilliant business idea that has maximum chances of getting success. Getting to the point, if you are planning to invest in developing a food delivery app then you are at the right place to understand what goes into making these on-demand applications.

But before planning any investment and strategy, an open question arises i.e:

How Much an On-Demand Food Delivery App like UberEats Costs?

So, let’s know how the food delivery app development cost is estimated.

There are many things and features that contribute to the mobile app development cost. The development cost for a food delivery system depends on factors like development platform, the technology used, the number of developers required, the complexity of the app, features, and functionalities, etc.

Let’s get an idea about the cost of food delivery app development. As the development cycle includes many development stages and every stage requires some resources. Hence, depending on the required resources and required features the overall cost is estimated.

Developing a food delivery app like UberEats or GrubHub may cost you somewhat around $5,000 to $15,000. From brainstorming, designing, development till deployment, everything is included in this cost.

The development cost estimated by the food delivery app development company will be based on the following main factors:

Technical Documentation

UI/UX Design

Front-end Development

Back-end Development

A/B Testing & QA

Bug Fixing & Technical Support

Now let’s know the features that add to the cost of food delivery app development.

What are the features of a food delivery app?

The most important aspect of an on-demand food delivery app is its features and functionalities. It is imperative to discuss the feature prior to developing an application in order to arrive at estimation in terms of time, cost and effort.

Now, you must know that a single food-delivery app consists of four different user perspectives. Every food delivery application is developed in four parts and each is relevant to different stakeholder i.e Restaurants, Customers, Delivery person, and Admin. All of these four elements of the application are then combined together in a single app platform.

Features involved at every end will affect the development cost. Moreover, the feature list of each end will differ to some extent.

Features of Customer Panel

Login: Customers need to log in to the application via social platforms like Facebook, Gmail or via a mobile number or an email address. These credentials need to be stored on the database to authenticate the users later.

Customers need to log in to the application via social platforms like Facebook, Gmail or via a mobile number or an email address. These credentials need to be stored on the database to authenticate the users later. Location & GPS: GPS and navigation will be added to display the list of nearby restaurants based on the user’s location and to track the orders directly on the Map. Google Maps is the most preferred and authentic map data provider in most cases.

GPS and navigation will be added to display the list of nearby restaurants based on the user’s location and to track the orders directly on the Map. Google Maps is the most preferred and authentic map data provider in most cases. Home Page or Menu Page: The home screen of the application will display all the available offers. Also, it will show all the restaurants offering online delivery services. A point to note that the home screen of the application has to be interactive and easy to understand so that it does not confuse customers.

The home screen of the application will display all the available offers. Also, it will show all the restaurants offering online delivery services. A point to note that the home screen of the application has to be interactive and easy to understand so that it does not confuse customers. Menu: Menus shows the list of the items or dishes available in the restaurant that can be ordered by the user. It is one of the very important features of a food-delivery application.

Menus shows the list of the items or dishes available in the restaurant that can be ordered by the user. It is one of the very important features of a food-delivery application. Delivery Location: Customers can set-up multiple addresses at which they want their order to be delivered.

Customers can set-up multiple addresses at which they want their order to be delivered. Food Cart: Cart contains the dishes or food items a customer has added. Customers can easily add or remove items from the cart. In the end, the cost will be calculated including taxes and delivery charges (if any).

Cart contains the dishes or food items a customer has added. Customers can easily add or remove items from the cart. In the end, the cost will be calculated including taxes and delivery charges (if any). Payment Options: To allow customers to pay online in a hassle-free manner, payment gateway integration is also required. At the payment page, the user can select among the available payment options.

To allow customers to pay online in a hassle-free manner, payment gateway integration is also required. At the payment page, the user can select among the available payment options. Reviews & Rating Screen: After the order gets delivered, the customers can provide their reviews & feedback on various parameters like quality of food, delivery service, etc.

After the order gets delivered, the customers can provide their reviews & feedback on various parameters like quality of food, delivery service, etc. Order History: All the past orders of the customer will be recorded to make re-ordering more convenient.

All the past orders of the customer will be recorded to make re-ordering more convenient. Offers and Discount Coupons: The admin or restaurant can update the offers and discount codes. Customers will be updated about the new offers and discount coupons via push notifications.

The admin or restaurant can update the offers and discount codes. Customers will be updated about the new offers and discount coupons via push notifications. Order Tracking: Customers can easily track the location of the delivery person. Also, the contact number of the delivery person needs to be displayed. Additionally, a chat system can also be integrated, should the customers want to chat with the delivery person in real-time.

Customers can easily track the location of the delivery person. Also, the contact number of the delivery person needs to be displayed. Additionally, a chat system can also be integrated, should the customers want to chat with the delivery person in real-time. Smart Search Filters: Easy searching and sorting filters will help customers search the food item or restaurant of their choice. Moreover, the supporting filters like delivery time, reviews, offers, popular can be implemented. This will help the customer by listing the restaurants according to his preference. This feature can also be used to promote specific restaurants in the app.

Features of Restaurant Backend Panel

Dashboard: After setting up the restaurant account, the user is redirected to the home page or dashboard. The dashboard can show various analytics like current orders, overall sales, estimated time to complete an order, etc.

After setting up the restaurant account, the user is redirected to the home page or dashboard. The dashboard can show various analytics like current orders, overall sales, estimated time to complete an order, etc. Manage Orders: When a customer will place an order, the restaurant owner can either accept the order or refuse to take it. On-time delivery is an important factor in food delivery services, hence, if the restaurant knows that the order can not be delivered within the mentioned time, the order can be declined. This section also implements return orders.

When a customer will place an order, the restaurant owner can either accept the order or refuse to take it. On-time delivery is an important factor in food delivery services, hence, if the restaurant knows that the order can not be delivered within the mentioned time, the order can be declined. This section also implements return orders. Manage Restaurant Account: Restaurant account consists of information like restaurant picture, logo, menu, images, working hours, min order value and estimated delivery time. Also, discounts and offers can be added from the restaurant’s end.

Restaurant account consists of information like restaurant picture, logo, menu, images, working hours, min order value and estimated delivery time. Also, discounts and offers can be added from the restaurant’s end. Payment: The restaurant owner needs to set up his bank account details and payment options to receive payments from customers. The payment section will also display the financial reports of the restaurant.

Features for Delivery Person App

Login: After the complete verification, the delivery person needs to log in and set up his account. The login credentials will be provided by the admin.

After the complete verification, the delivery person needs to log in and set up his account. The login credentials will be provided by the admin. Order Request: Orders will be auto-assigned to the delivery person based on his real-time location. Along with the order, its order ID, delivery address and customer name will be displayed. After the delivery person accepts the order, their profile information will be shared with the customer.

Orders will be auto-assigned to the delivery person based on his real-time location. Along with the order, its order ID, delivery address and customer name will be displayed. After the delivery person accepts the order, their profile information will be shared with the customer. Order History: This section will display a list of the orders completed by the delivery person and their overall ratings.

This section will display a list of the orders completed by the delivery person and their overall ratings. Contact with Customer: After accepting the order, the delivery person will receive a unique IVR number which will connect the delivery person with the customer. Make sure that the customer’s contact number is not shared with the delivery person.

After accepting the order, the delivery person will receive a unique IVR number which will connect the delivery person with the customer. Make sure that the customer’s contact number is not shared with the delivery person. Push Notifications: The Delivery person will get push notifications regarding any update from the customer’s side or admin’s side.

The Delivery person will get push notifications regarding any update from the customer’s side or admin’s side. Chat Option: In case the delivery person is unable to contact the customer through a phone call, he can tap on the chat option to connect with him.

In case the delivery person is unable to contact the customer through a phone call, he can tap on the chat option to connect with him. Payment Options: Delivery boy will receive his payments from the admin on a monthly or weekly basis. Also, there will be options for getting payment transferred in the bank account or in-app wallet. There will be an option of transaction history that will record all the payments accepted by the delivery person and his earnings. If the payment is transferred in his in-app wallet, he can any time transfer it to his bank account.

Delivery boy will receive his payments from the admin on a monthly or weekly basis. Also, there will be options for getting payment transferred in the bank account or in-app wallet. There will be an option of transaction history that will record all the payments accepted by the delivery person and his earnings. If the payment is transferred in his in-app wallet, he can any time transfer it to his bank account. Map with Navigation: To locate the address of the customer, a map navigation system will be implemented in the app. After accepting the order, he will see the customer’s address on the map and will be navigated to the destination. This will also help in knowing the real-time location of a delivery person

To locate the address of the customer, a map navigation system will be implemented in the app. After accepting the order, he will see the customer’s address on the map and will be navigated to the destination. This will also help in knowing the real-time location of a delivery person Online Support: In case of any issue in delivering the order, the delivery person can connect with the support team to get help.

Food delivery applications are taking food delivery services to great heights, restaurants are getting more orders than before. A survey report says that online food delivery services resulted in rising of 25% more sales. Sales are not subjected to the rush in the restaurant, because people are still eating restaurant food but just not at restaurants. According to a report, restaurant owners believe that almost half of their sales are taking place due to this online order and delivery system.

With the change in consumer’s behavior and habits, restaurants need to rethink the traditional way of doing business. As people are now more comfortable with getting their food right at their location instead of going out on lazy days.

Food delivery services hold potential opportunities in the coming years. The blend of food delivery applications with the latest technology trends like machine learning or AI may create a boom in the industry.

With ever-growing opportunities in the food delivery sector, it’s time to invest in this evolving market. For scalable and secure app development, you need to connect with a leading mobile app development company.