How Much Will It Cost to Build a Food Delivery App in 2025?
Once you’ve come up with the idea for a stunning food delivery app, the big questions follow: How much will it cost? How many experts will you need to do it right? And which option is better for your business right now – custom development or a ready-made solution? You’ll find all the answers in this article. Plan wisely and get the best outcome.
Why do you need to make a food delivery app in 2025?
Creating a food delivery app in 2025 is a smart and strategic step for growing your business in the current market landscape. And here’s why it really matters.
People now expect more than just food delivery – they want a personalized experience and smooth, convenient service. A few years ago, a phone call or a basic website did the job. Now, it’s all about providing a complete mobile experience: fast search, real-time courier tracking, discounts, bonuses, and handy push notifications.
Having your own app also means having access to valuable data: what dishes are most popular, when people order the most, and what your customers like. With this info, you can improve your menu, adjust pricing, and run smarter promotions. Basically, your app works not just for your customers, but for your strategy too.
A custom-built app is also a game-changer for niche businesses — whether it’s healthy meals, local specialties, office lunches, or food for kids or athletes. In 2025, people aren’t looking for “everything everywhere.” They’re looking for what fits them perfectly. That’s where tailored experiences really win.
And if you’re thinking long-term, like growing into a franchise or expanding to new cities or markets, having a solid mobile app makes that much easier. With it, you’ve got a strong, flexible foundation to grow.
Who is a ready-made food delivery solution suitable for?
A ready-made food delivery app doesn’t need to be built from scratch. That means you can launch much faster and start getting financial benefits from there. It already includes basic features and can be tweaked for your business, but it’s not a one-size-fits-all solution. So, who is it actually good for?
Small and medium-sized businesses that want to get to market fast
If you need to go online quickly, a ready-made app is a solid pick. It lets you test your idea, figure out what your customers want, and start making money without pouring a ton into development.
Businesses with a tight budget
It’s definitely the more affordable option compared to custom development. You still get the essentials: menu, shopping cart, payment, order tracking, and customer profiles. Sure, it may look like many other food delivery apps on the market, but if you’re starting out and trying to keep costs low, it does the job.
Businesses that are testing out new locations
Let’s say you’re launching delivery in a new city. You want to test the waters without committing to a full tech build. A ready-made app is perfect for creating a quick MVP. Later on, if it all goes well, you can invest in a more scalable custom product.
Entrepreneurs without a tech team
Not every business has an in-house IT crew. In startups, especially, tech resources are limited. A ready-made solution means you can skip the headaches of managing a development process. Most ready-made solutions providers also offer support, updates, and some level of customization.
Seasonal or short-term projects
If delivery is just a side project (say, for a summer season, a festival, or a one-off event), investing in full-scale development probably doesn’t make sense. A ready-made app lets you launch a short-term project quickly and without overspending.
So, yes, ready-made apps have their place in the business world. They’re a good fit for businesses that want to move fast, save money, or keep things simple. But if you’re aiming for growth, unique features, or seamless delivery management, custom development is the way to go. All in all, it’s all about what your business actually needs right now and where you’re heading next.
Who needs to make a custom food delivery solution and why?
In 2025, users want it all: personalization, convenience, speed, and a unique experience. That’s why businesses that aim to grow, stand out, and scale can’t just rely on basic solutions; they need a custom food delivery app. Here’s who should seriously consider going custom:
Brands that want to stand out
If your product targets a specific audience with clear goals and a strong brand identity, a one-size-fits-all solution won’t be enough. Custom development gives you the freedom to create a unique branded experience that translates your business goals, includes specific features tailored right for your needs, and gives you an opportunity to create every part of the design and functionality exactly how you want.
Businesses planning to scale
Launching in new cities or thinking of franchising? Then you’ll need a solution that grows with you. A custom app can handle multi-location management, integrate with your CRM or ERP, automate internal workflows, and adapt to regional specifics. Something off-the-shelf tools can’t do well.
Companies using analytics and AI
If you rely on deep analytics, user behavior data, or AI-powered recommendations, custom is the way to go. It lets you build the exact tools you need: smart suggestions, personalized offers, A/B testing, and detailed dashboards. All tailored to your business.
Businesses with complex logistics
Managing your own couriers, warehouses, or delivery zones? You’ll need features like real-time GPS tracking, optimized routes, auto-dispatch, and more. A custom app can be built around your specific logistics needs with a complex architecture and help you keep operations smooth and customers happy.
Companies with long-term plans
A custom app is an investment in independence. You’re not tied to a third-party platform or its limits. You can grow the product the way your business grows, without compromise. And in a market that’s only getting more competitive, owning your tech is a real edge.
So if your plan isn’t just to survive on the food delivery market but to scale, lead, and shape the user experience your way – create a custom delivery app. It pays off in control, flexibility, and future-proof growth.
What factors influence the cost to create a food delivery app?
Food delivery app development cost depends on a lot of things, and it’s rarely just a fixed number.
It starts with features. The more complex and tailored they are (like real-time courier tracking, multiple payment options, loyalty programs, or personalized food recommendations), the more time and budget it takes to implement them properly. Design matters too here: if you want a custom look that reflects your brand and provides smooth UX, it requires deep research into your audience and business goals, which adds to the cost.
Logistics also play a big role. If your app needs to manage deliveries across multiple zones, warehouses, or courier teams, then you’ll need smart routing, order tracking, and distribution systems, and that drives up the complexity. The same goes for integrating with your existing CRM, ERP, or inventory systems. These connections take time to build, but are essential for keeping everything running efficiently on the backend.
The food delivery app development cost also depends on the platforms you choose. Building for both iOS and Android costs more than developing for just one. In this case, it’s better to choose the best option that reflects your needs – development for iOS and Android or cross-platform development. And don’t forget about post-launch costs like testing, support, updates, and scaling. Who you work with also affects how much does food delivery cost – development teams vary in experience and hourly rates depending on location.
So in the end, the food delivery app cost comes down to the size of your vision, the depth of functionality, and the level of expertise you’re hiring to bring it to life.
How do the features and tech specifications affect the development budget?
This is the main budget item that shapes the overall cost of your future app. The technical side is the heart of the entire product, and its success and your reputation depend on how well it performs and how much it can do.
The more advanced features you want, the more time and resources you’ll need. Basic things like browsing the menu, adding items to the cart, and placing orders aren’t too demanding technically. The development team doesn’t need extra time for this. But when you start adding real-time courier tracking, AI-based recommendations, or integrations with multiple payment providers, things get serious. That’s where experienced engineers step in, and development hours start stacking up.
The same goes for tech specifications. If you want your app to run fast, work on both iOS and Android, handle tons of simultaneous orders, be secure, and integrate smoothly with your CRM or ERP systems – you’re looking at a much bigger project.
Let’s talk about extras. If your business involves advanced tools like drones for delivery, the mobile app must be able to integrate with them, enabling real-time tracking, control, and coordination. This adds to the development budget, as it requires specific functionality and testing, but it significantly enhances the delivery process and offers long-term value.
Every new feature involves more than just writing code: testing, UX/UI design, optimization, and ongoing tech support. In other words, cost is not solely determined by the number of features, but also by the level of implementation, technology involved, and level of integration.
So, the more unique and thoughtful your app’s functionality is, the more flexible your budget needs to be. But look at this from the following perspective of view: you’re not just investing in an app, you’re investing in a powerful business tool that will drive your growth years ahead.
How does the tech stack affect delivery app development company services cost?
A delivery app development company usually works with a standard tech stack for mobile apps. But depending on the client’s needs, additional frameworks or platforms can be added to get the desired result.
Let’s make it clear. The tech stack is a mix of tools, programming languages, frameworks, and platforms used to build a food delivery app. Each one handles a specific job – whether it’s making the purchase process feel simple or keeping the order logic smooth. It has a direct impact on the cost of developing a food delivery app because it influences how complex the project is, how fast it can be built, how easily it can grow, and how smooth the support will be down the road.
Some technologies require paid licenses, like advanced map APIs, secure payment gateways, or cybersecurity tools, and their integration adds to the budget. It’s also worth thinking ahead: if you’re planning to scale, it’s smarter to invest in technologies that can grow with your business without needing to rebuild everything from scratch. Your tech partner will provide you with the list of actual ones that would be the best choice for your app building.
Also, keep in mind that if the stack is outdated or unstable, it’ll be harder and more expensive to maintain your app later on. So, choosing the right technology for a mobile app project from the start it’s about setting yourself up for long-term success.
How does the composition of the development team affect the budget?
The number of specialists, their qualifications, and their roles directly affect not just how fast the app gets built, but also how good it turns out in the end. That’s why the team setup has a big impact on the overall cost.
The first core thing is a level of expertise. Bringing in an experienced UI/UX designer helps create a clear, user-friendly interface, while a skilled tech lead or architect ensures the app has a solid technical base and works the way it should.
The next important thing – the scope of the whole work. More complex features, like CRM integrations, analytics, or AI-powered recommendations, require more niche experts, such as analysts, DevOps engineers, QA testers, and security pros. Naturally, more people on the team means a higher budget.
That’s why it’s so important to know from the start what you want your app to do. Once that’s clear, it’s much easier to figure out who exactly you need on the team. And an approximate budget you should put into development.
How much does it cost to develop a custom food delivery app in 2025?
The cost of developing a custom food delivery app in 2025 depends mainly on a few key things: how complex the features are, the tech stack you choose, the development team composition, the quality of design, and where your developers are located. We’ve covered all these in previous sections, now, let’s move on to the numbers.
- A basic app version, with essential features like browsing the menu, adding items to a cart, placing orders, and push notifications, typically starts around $15,000 and can go up to $40,000.
- More advanced app with real-time courier tracking, user reviews, multiple user roles, and payment system integration, expect the cost to be between $40,000 and $70,000.
- Fully loaded app with AI-powered recommendations, analytics, loyalty programs, and syncing with CRM or ERP systems, the budget can climb to $150,000 or more.
This price includes not just the customer-facing mobile app. It covers deeper things like a courier app, backend infrastructure, admin panel, UI/UX design, testing, licenses for paid APIs, cybersecurity measures, ongoing technical support, and regular updates. Plus, the size and expertise of your team influence the cost; a bigger, more skilled team will cost more but deliver better quality.
Our advice here is to plan a flexible budget beforehand and carefully decide which features to launch first and which to roll out later through updates. That way, you can get your product live on time, avoid unnecessary spending, and build a food delivery app that’s profitable in the long run.
Insights from TRIARE experts on how to optimize the development budget
Having worked on similar projects for over 10 years, we at TRIARE know exactly where you can save without sacrificing quality. With a solid development process and industry insights, our experts highlight several key ways to optimize your development budget:
This kind of approach helps you invest smartly in a reliable product and grow it steadily, without budget surprises. At TRIARE, we not only build modern, high-quality apps but also help clients focus their resources on what really matters right now.
Conclusions
The final cost of your food delivery app really comes down to a mix of things – from the features you want to the team you hire. There’s no one-size-fits-all price. What you can do is look at the general range and plan smart.
Think about what your app really needs right now. What’s a must-have for launch? What will actually drive your business forward? Once you know that, it’s easier to see the full picture: how big the team should be, how long development might take, and how complex things will get.
At TRIARE, we’ve developed plenty of food delivery solutions and know how to balance smart investments with cost-effective decisions to maximize value for our clients. We’ll help you shape your budget wisely and bring your idea to life without the guesswork. Ready to go? Contact us and let’s start!
