If you want to know how much it costs to build an app like Uber Eats, you’re not alone. Many founders explore this question because food delivery apps show strong demand and real business potential. A whole different question is whether you need another app like Uber Eats on the market? If you’re brainstorming for startup ideas or expanding existing operations, the answer is not always clear at first, but there is always space for new, strong products.
There are huge untapped opportunities in the food delivery industry, even with Uber Eats, Grubhub, and DoorDash leading the competition. There is big potential in specific geographies, or if you want to build a food delivery app like Uber Eats, specifically for your food business. These apps have revolutionized the food industry, and this business sector is about to grow, so it is definitely worth investing your resources.
In this article, I want to answer the question, “How much does it cost to build a food delivery app?” But besides that, I will touch upon the challenges of building food delivery apps and a general market overview of the on-demand food delivery app industry.
So let's dive right in!
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Why is Building a Food Delivery App Worth Paying the Cost?
Firstly, it’s a win-win situation for both the founders and restaurant owners. While for the co-founders, it is a great business opportunity, for restaurant owners, these apps are running the marketing campaign on behalf of the restaurants, which results in an increase in revenue.
With consumers rapidly turning toward mobile apps for commerce activities, there is room for more Uber Eats alternatives. Besides, the numbers don’t lie about how online food delivery is a lucrative business for years to come.
Revenues for food delivery remain large and growing. For example, Uber Eats generated about $13.7 billion in 2024. According to Statista, the global online food-delivery market reached roughly $221 billion in 2024, with a projected annual growth rate of about 8% through 2029. This steady rise confirms long-term demand for delivery apps and shows that the market still has space for new products.
One of the reasons the market keeps expanding is how convenient the model is for everyone involved. A food delivery app brings together 3 groups in one place:
- customers who want quick food access,
- restaurants that receive more orders, and
- couriers who complete the delivery.
The platform coordinates this entire system in real time, from order placement and payments to tracking and delivery.
The cost of food delivery apps like Uber Eats depends on a smooth experience, which, in turn, depends on the app’s functionality: fast ordering, location tracking, stable payments, clear communication, and accurate delivery times.
Many modern apps also rely on AI capabilities to suggest restaurants, predict delays, or set delivery estimates. When these pieces work well together, the product brings value to users and drives revenue for the business, which explains why the cost of development often pays off.
Common Challenges That Can Impact The Cost Of Food Delivery App
Before we get to the cost to develop a delivery app, let’s break down the challenges of making that type of app. When building a food delivery app, the challenges include:
High competition
You don’t want to be yet another Uber Eats or Grubhub. The fact is, the market is now dominated by big brands, and this influences how you’ll want to develop the app.
This level of competition often increases the cost because the product needs stronger features, better performance, and a more polished user experience to stand out.
Clear value for the target audience
For a start, the app needs to fulfill the needs and requests of the audience you’re targeting, while following the food delivery model.
Clear product-market fit saves money later when it comes to calculating the costs of a food delivery app like Uber Eats, because weak assumptions lead to rework, redesign, and repeated development cycles.
The need for app stability
Second, any food delivery app needs to be stable and functional, or you’ll risk damaging your business’s reputation right from the start.
Stability requires a solid backend, real-time order updates, good hosting, and strong QA. These factors directly affect food delivery app development cost and the ongoing budget for maintenance.
A realistic MVP scope
It’s important to acknowledge that Uber Eats today is a product of multiple iterations. Therefore, it’s impractical to expect a fully-featured app right from the start. You can have your wishlist, but you’ll need to decide what constitutes an MVP that is ready for launch.
A clear MVP reduces the initial budget for a food delivery app like Uber Eats because you avoid complex features too early. This helps you control spending and launch faster.
With these concerns, you’ll want to consult an experienced software development agency, particularly in building similar food delivery apps. Having the hindsight of the developer team helps you to avoid the technical pitfalls associated with such a business model.
Key Components & Development Pay Structure of an Uber Eats-like App
A delivery app like Uber Eats may cost approximately $70,000–$150,000. Apps with features such as smart order routing, real-time tracking, loyalty tools, or advanced analytics may require a higher budget. This rough estimate reflects 2,000+ development hours at an average rate of $50/hour, which is the median for a middle-level developer in Eastern Europe. The typical timeframe for building such an app is 6-8 months, with several specialists working simultaneously.
Uptech is based in Ukraine, so our rates, which range from $45 to $70 per hour, are lower than in the US or Western Europe, where similar work costs more.
In order to create an app like Uber Eats, the software firm needs to develop not only the consumer app, but also the app for:
- The merchant (Restaurant app)
- The courier (Delivery partner app)
- The admin panel (Centralized Admin dashboard)
Together, these elements form a complete food delivery ecosystem with dedicated apps for customers, restaurants, and delivery partners, all supported by one admin dashboard.
Below is a timeline of how the developments are executed simultaneously:
Note that for the customer, courier, and merchant apps, at least 2 developers will be working on the Android and iOS apps and the backend software. Each of the apps will take approximately 3.5 months to complete. Another 2 developers are tasked with building the admin panel, which takes up slightly more than 8 weeks.
Here’s a detailed breakdown of the cost to develop a food delivery app like Uber Eats.
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1. Customer App
Cost: starting at $35,000
The Сustomer app includes functionality that lets the user choose and purchase goods from stores and cafes/restaurants. A clear and fast interface helps users complete orders with less friction and return to the app more often.
Our user story map (the image below) shows how a customer moves through the product. It covers the entire flow: sign-up, restaurant discovery, order creation, payment, and delivery status.
A strong customer app includes essential features such as:
- sign up and log in
- restaurant list and search
- menu view and order details
- delivery location and delivery time
- payments
- real-time courier updates
- order history, profile, support chat
Extra features raise the value. For example:
- quick reorder
- push notifications
- in-app calls or chat with the courier
- profile personalization
To build this flow, the team sets up the interface, the business logic, and the integrations with payments and maps. The app also needs real-time updates for order status and courier location.
Taking into account all of the work, the Customer App of a food delivery service like Uber Eats requires 700–900 hours of development and may cost $35,000-$60,000 and even more, depending on the features. The total grows when the app includes more complex features such as loyalty tools, restaurant recommendations, or advanced analytics.
2. Courier App
Cost: starting at $20,000
The Courrier or delivery partner app includes functionality that allows the courier to receive orders, view order details, and deliver them.
A clear interface supports fast decisions, reduces delays, and lifts overall delivery quality. Our user story map below shows the full delivery flow, from receiving the order to completing the drop-off.
A strong Courier App includes several essential features:
- account setup
- list of available orders
- order details with items and pick-up location
- delivery address
- courier status updates
- route view
- proof of delivery
- earnings view
Extra features raise the value and improve the experience for couriers. For example:
- delivery history
- in-app navigation
- support chat
- real-time changes in order status
- push notifications about updates
To support all these actions, the Courier App needs a fast interface and a stable connection with the platform. The system must update order statuses across all apps in real time. Route accuracy, courier identity checks, and payment flows also depend on well-planned backend logic and integrations with maps and payment services.
Because of these tasks, the Courier App requires 400+ development hours and costs approximately $20,000 to $45,000, with the higher end reserved for more advanced features and integrations. The final cost grows when the app includes more advanced courier tools, such as heat maps, earnings projections, or optimized route suggestions.
Pro tip from Uptech: Couriers usually require as many notification types as possible. This includes changes in order status, balance, etc. Also, it’s a good practice to release the courier app with minimal functionalities to prevent couriers from being overwhelmed and distracted during launch.
3. Merchant App (optional)
Cost: starting at $15,000
The Merchant app helps store owners receive orders, update the menu, and manage daily work in a simple way. A smooth merchant interface supports fast order processing and reduces errors that may appear during busy hours. Our user story map below shows the full flow for merchants, from login to order management.
For merchants, we suggest starting with basic functionality like: add store details, add and manage products, and track incoming orders. These actions form the core of the daily workflow and help stores join the platform with little friction.
Extra features lift the value of the platform. Stores often need:
- order notes
- previous order history
- payout information
- information about how the app works
- store on/off status
- simple marketing tools
- reporting
To support these actions, the Merchant App must stay in sync with the full platform. When the store updates the menu or the order status, the system must show this information to customers and couriers at once. Accurate data flow improves the delivery experience and reduces the risk of delays.
A Merchant App of this size requires 300+ development and costs from $15,000-$40,000. The final cost grows when the app includes advanced features such as inventory tools, payout dashboards, or scheduling for store availability.
Pro tip from Uptech: Store owners prefer to have very little interaction with the app and system. Therefore, it’s a good idea to automate as many store processes as possible. For example, setting the store's working hours will automatically change the store’s availability on the app.
4. Admin Panel
Cost: starting at $20,000
The Admin Panel is the system’s control center. It includes everything connected to the app operations: orders, couriers, customers, and stores. This is the part that gives the business full visibility into what happens on the platform at any moment.
We suggest proceeding with a ready-to-use solution for the Admin panel for MVP in order to reduce the cost of software development.
Still, it is important to include essential parts in the Admin panel, which are represented in the user story map.
Key features include:
- authentication and secure login
- order list with detailed order view
- order status updates and cancellation
- courier applications review and approval
- courier management (status, balance, documents)
- store management (store info, open or closed status)
- customer details and order history
- pricing management
- payment information view
The Admin Panel usually takes 400–500 hours of development and its costs start from $20,000. The final price grows when the platform includes deeper analytics, automation tools, or more complex data visualization. When the Admin Panel is connected with cloud hosting and API management, the system becomes easier to scale.
Pro tip from Uptech: It may be cheaper to split admin panel functionality into two separate services, i.e., support chat (built-in or 3rd party) and main admin panel.
You can also use our app development cost calculator to get a rough estimate for a food delivery app like Uber Eats. You choose the features you need by answering twenty questions, and the tool shows a more precise cost range.
What is The Process of Estimating The Cost Of Building A Food Delivery App
To give an accurate answer to the question “How much does it cost to make a delivery app for the food industry?”, it helps to look into the processes involved.
Discovery stage
At Uptech, any app development kicks off with the discovery stage. The discovery phase is not only the pre-development phase to define the scope, but it’s also all about the right product for the right users. And discovery helps to clarify and define user needs.
We collect your business needs, listen to users, and find their pain points and needs. Then, based on the collected data, we suggest a solution that would definitely fit users’ expectations. In other words, discovery is the data-driven process of product modeling.
UI/UX design
Once the specs are put into place, our team proceeds to design the UI/UX for the apps. Within a short time frame, you’ll have a good idea of how the customer, merchant, and courier app will look. After all, part of the winning strategies of marketing an online food delivery business is the visuals of the app itself.
Software development
When you’re satisfied with the visuals, our team proceeds to code the front-end and back-end of the app.
The technology stack to build an app like Uber Eats
Building an app like Uber Eats used to be more costly and required more time for completion. Thankfully, developers are aided by the range of technology stacks available. Here are some of the stacks that help build a food delivery app.
- Cloud Services- Azure, AWS, Kahu, Cloud Sigma
- Registration - Google Sign-In, Facebook Login SDK
- Payment: Paypal, Stripe, Amazon Payment, Wepay, Braintree
- Maps and Locations - Google Maps, OpenStreetMap, Mapbox, Mapkit JS
- Restaurant Listing - Foursquare API, Grubhub API, Yelp Fusion API
- Analytics - Google Analytics, Localytics, Apple Analytics
We emphasize agile development techniques and getting rapid feedback to fine-tune the app.
Ultimately, we prepare the app for the launch and support it with iterations of bug fixes and improvisation.
At Uptech, we provide custom food & restaurant app development services from on-demand food delivery apps to ghost kitchen platforms. We do that by analyzing your business and market in depth, communicating clearly with your team, and applying our years of product development expertise.
Check our services and tell us about your project, so we can help you power up your development!
Summary
Major players like Uber Eats or DoorDash may have taken the largest chunk of the online food delivery industry. However, opportunities are in abundance for startups or established companies that would like to slice up the market and go for specific audiences with their apps.
In this business model, it's important to remember that you have multiple stakeholders (users, couriers, and restaurants) and you have to keep a balance in delivering value to all of them. This is a chicken-and-egg situation where you can't have users without couriers and can't have couriers without users (same logic goes for restaurants). This brings us the importance of professionally-built apps and clear business logic.
Talk to our team for a more precise cost of building a food delivery app for your business.
