How to Build a Food Delivery App (Like Uber Eats)
By idea2appAdmin
March 3, 2025
Table of Contents
Apps for food delivery are seeing an unstoppable rise in popularity due to the unparalleled convenience they provide avid foodies. So, it’s not surprising to discover many new companies looking to join the market with a food delivery app development like Uber Eats.
Uber Eats, a household name in the world of food delivery, is at the forefront of changing food delivery. Since beginning January 14, 2014, Uber Eats has witnessed incredible growth, carving out its niche and expanding its global reach. With over eight million customers and a community of 900,000 restaurants, Uber Eats has become a major competitor in the online food delivery business.
This blog clarifies the most important aspects for entrepreneurs who want to begin the exciting experience of food delivery app development like Uber Eats.
Before we create a food delivery app development like Uber Eats, let’s examine why entrepreneurs should invest in food delivery solutions.
The above statistics demonstrate the importance of developing an app for a food delivery business. In this article, we’ll provide additional information to support this case.
Making an app for food delivery on demand, such as Uber Eats or DoorDash, can help your business in various ways. The benefits are described below:
Mobile commerce is growing like ever, and the food and beverage industry isn’t immune to these shifts. One of the greatest benefits of constructing an on-demand delivery application is the most obvious. It lets you reach those who are mobile-friendly and prefer purchasing via apps.
Various food delivery apps are available on the market, each with its operating style and rules. If you’ve got a unique idea that you want to escape their limitations, creating your app could be an ideal alternative. Additionally, consumers prefer to order directly from their favorite restaurants, and providing a customized app for them can make it easier to stand out from the crowd.
From managing orders to dealing with delivery partners, restaurants, and customers. There are various complications and challenges in online food delivery. It is possible to streamline all of those aspects of your company and bring everything under one roof by constructing an application. It will allow you to speed up and manage your processes and have additional time and funds in your hands. Additionally, adding a function to calculate the shortest route to multiple destinations can improve delivery efficiency and lower costs.
Customers today prefer simplicity and comfort over everything else. An application can provide this convenience, remote ordering, and mobile-based order management for your customers. All they have to do is open the app with one click, and they will have all your offerings available.
Apps can connect you closer to your customers by closing the barriers. Additionally, they give you access to a wealth of information and device-based sources, such as the frequency of use, location data, demographic information, behavior, and more. This can improve customers’ experiences and boost their loyalty to your company.
It’s probably the most frequently asked and difficult issue you’ll face when planning an app like Uber Eats. If the features aren’t selected carefully, many of these apps are just another in the pack, unloved.
To stay on the right path, start by determining the audience your Uber Eats app is designed for and then add the features according to the needs of those who use it. Add on features that could further enhance their “food delivery” experience – similar to how you select the toppings on your pizza.
Here are a few “must have” and “nice to have” features that you should have in your application to help increase your competitive edge:
Login for users is a standard feature in many applications that allow users to sign up with their Google account or mobile numbers. However, it is possible to make the traditional login process more user-friendly to your customers by allowing users to log in using their preferred social media applications, improving customer satisfaction through speedier log-ins, and drastically reducing the number of fake accounts.
Many people prefer to plan their meals due to their busy schedules. They try to be organized by being ahead of time. Your food delivery app’s pre-order option perfectly meets customers’ needs by allowing users to place orders weeks or days in advance from any place according to their availability. This feature will also assist restaurant owners in figuring out what they will need in stock for a specific day, which makes food preparation a lot easier.
Engaging users with alerts and notifications about their order status and delivery information, tracking their order, and providing the most affordable prices for food items will motivate users to stay on the app longer as long as they can activate or deactivate the notifications they prefer.
Customers can modify their orders and include them in their carts to make it easy to checkout. This way, you’ll be able to delight your customers by offering food items based on their preferences, thereby increasing their engagement with your application.
With Order Tracking, customers can monitor the preparation of food and the delivery process in real-time using Google Maps integrated with your application. By integrating the Internet of Things (IoT) into your Uber Eats-like app, you can ensure faster delivery by effectively designing routes and identifying locations where delivery times are delayed.
Delivery agents should be able to create profiles and join the board by filling in their names, verification credentials, and contact details. It is also possible to include an area for them to submit the Covid certificate of vaccination, which could improve security in the modern world.
Incorporating this feature in the app allows Uber Eats—like app delivery agents—to announce their availability to deliver food anytime using the app. This feature can also allow restaurant owners to be aware of the availability of couriers within their vicinity, which gives them more time to handle orders if there’s a shortage of couriers.
With Commission reporting built inside the Uber Eats similar app, delivery drivers can easily find out their earnings total, track their daily order intake, and keep track of the rewards they receive from every order.
Understanding which route is most convenient and least congested in actual time significantly eases the process of delivering the order to your customer. With an integrated GPS built into your app, you will receive real-time updates on roads and conditions and alternative routes. You could also consider integrating geolocation in the Uber Eats-like app, which will give your couriers an estimated arrival time at a particular location and let your customers know when their orders can be picked up.
Delivery History enables delivery personnel to gather information and review the delivery history of orders. This allows them to note difficult locations or routes.
Restaurant owners can use the order dashboard to view their orders, whether they are canceled, dispatched, or delivered. With a user-friendly ordering dashboard, restaurant owners can decide whether to accept or reject orders based on availability.
A sales report using customized analytics can help restaurants measure their success in the food delivery marketplace. They can also create reports on their sales, including the taxes they levy and the commission the marketplace pays, to get an exact overview of their business’s performance and profit.
Restaurants must be able to change or add items to their menus and refresh them with new offers, prices, promotions, or announcements about special events using the menu manager feature integrated into the app for restaurants.
Restaurant owners can easily mark their opening hours using the “business hours” feature built into the restaurant app. This feature will also let users know what restaurants are open at any moment, providing greater clarity regarding when to take food orders from a particular restaurant.
Through Database Management, Admins can manage various data, such as newly registered restaurants and clients, the number of delivery companies, ratings and reviews of different restaurants, and more.
Order Management allows administrators to manage their customers’ details and monitor the dates and times of their orders, as well as the total number of orders placed during the month or on a day.
Administrators can also control or create new offers and discounts at certain eateries and announce special occasions. They can also generate coupons for customers to use when they check out. Additionally, the system monitors the types of customers who are eligible for these codes and checks the expiry dates for coupons and discounts.
Administrators can generate revenue reports for specific orders through the centralized dashboard that integrates with Your Uber Eats app. These reports contain details on the restaurant’s transactions, the commissions paid, payments to delivery drivers, and more.
Feedback and reviews will help administrators monitor the reviews the restaurants of their partners receive and what their customers comment on the delivery people. This way, administrators can better understand what restaurants are performing best, which delivery service providers are rated highly, and areas they could improve.
Food delivery app development services offer advantages that include enhanced user convenience and more efficient company operations. They simplify ordering, payment integration, and real-time order tracking, increasing customer reach and engagement via push notifications.
Food delivery apps allow users to order meals from anywhere, eliminating the need to visit a restaurant. Features such as intuitive menu browsing and real-time tracking of orders save time and effort, making them perfect for busy lives.
With features such as GPS technology that allows real-time tracking of orders, customers can track their order’s progress from creation to delivery, giving them peace of mind during delivery.
Secure payment gateways are compatible with different payment methods, such as wallets, cards, and digital transactions, providing customers flexibility and security.
By aggregating multiple restaurants into one place, customers can explore different dishes, compare menus, and read customer reviews in a single application.
Apps such as aggregators and restaurant apps allow companies to reach an audience beyond their geographical reach, increasing their potential for sales.
Automating processes like placing orders and integrating payments eliminates human error, streamlines workflows, and allows businesses to concentrate on quality food and customer service.
Push notifications are a great way to stay in touch with customers, encourage discounts, menu items, and other promotions, and increase customer loyalty and sales.
Apps offer valuable data on customer preferences, behavior, and patterns of order to help businesses make educated decisions about improving the quality of their products and services.
Brand Identity
Restaurants that use dedicated restaurant apps can personalize their apps’ UI/UX, which ensures uniform branding and a unique user experience that increases their presence on the market.
These numbers show that among the most effective methods of entering the food delivery business is creating an app similar to Uber Eats. If you’re wondering “how to build an app like Uber Eats,” we’ve got the answer. Follow these steps to make sure you have a successful experience.
You’ve come up with an idea for an app, and you can imagine it as successful in the same way Uber Eats is. But where do you begin?
The first step to food delivery app development is to conduct thorough market research. You must study the statistics and study of the area or country you plan to launch. It is essential to be aware of the newest trends in the food industry, the changing behavior of customers, your ideal customer, the role technology plays in making your app successful, and how to help it distinguish itself from others. The answers to these questions will allow you to plan your plan and ensure no room for error.
The next step is to create the blueprint for your application. Sketch out a plan for how it works for eateries, users, and delivery service providers. Once you have your idea in writing, it allows you to make the necessary adjustments and to understand the concept.
Two kinds of business models are used in the food delivery industry. Based on your business’s goals and needs, select the one that’s best for your requirements. These are:
Before deciding on the model, consider its strengths, drawbacks, potential, and the kinds of experiments you can conduct.
Once you’ve decided on the best model you want to pursue, The third step involves selecting the most effective features for the apps. Remember that you’ll be required to develop various apps for customers, restaurants, and delivery people. So, the features will be different for each.
Whatever features you add, they must make the app simple to use without having users perform a lot of work. For example, they should be able to search for an ingredient quickly. Also, the restaurant should be able to verify the cooking directions that their customers may need.
You may not be completely interested in technology, but it’s vital when you create an application. Depending on the model you choose, the platform (iOS/Android) you’d like to use, and the features you intend to incorporate into the application, the tech position has various specifications.
It will also require third-party integrations of payments, locations, etc. Note the technologies utilized in creating applications and the cost of each one.
Select a revenue-based model after you understand the basics of building an app similar to Uber Eats. You can follow multiple models, such as the one used by Uber Eats. Below are a few of the revenue models:
It’s one of the most popular models online food delivery services utilize. This allows you to charge the restaurant a fee for every order they get. For example, Uber Eats charges 15%-30% commission on the total amount of the order.
Another well-known revenue model is the delivery charge. This method charges customers according to their orders’ total volume, distance, location, and. Therefore, you earn a few dollars for each food item you purchase.
Restaurants listed on your app for food delivery are likely to be the first on the listing. Advertising and promotion models can help you earn cash whenever a restaurant or company advertises.
Certain apps for food delivery on demand also offer subscriptions for their customers. Customers pay a monthly recurring fee to benefit from these subscriptions, which can attract new customers and increase revenue.
In peak times, such as busy weekends or evenings, Uber Eats may charge an extra fee for delivery. This can help you earn more, even with just a few orders.
After your strategy, you will need experts to help develop, deploy, and test the app. An experienced food delivery app development company will assist you in creating the application to meet the requirements of your business. Request references or utilize the search engine to locate the right team that is skilled, experienced, and able to be within your budget.
Forming a team can take some time, but you and your team members must agree on concepts and the development process. Also, consider their soft skills to ensure smooth and efficient communication.
Your app is ready to go live. What next? Many startups have failed quickly because they don’t have a reliable strategy for the near future. Your work doesn’t end when you are in the development stage; however, it takes a lot of work once the app is used. Here are four ways to ensure the app delivers the desired results to your business.
One of the most important MVP goals is collecting constant feedback from users. The reviews and ratings of your customers can help you determine the areas needing improvement. For instance, you might have issues with late delivery times. This is why you might consider adding more delivery personnel to help optimize the delivery process.
Tip: When a newbie starts, select the basic features you need to start and add more modern and stylish features as you expand.
It is essential to continuously increase your user base over the long term. There are many methods for doing this. You can create strategies to boost your brand’s visibility, request your customers to invite their friends and family members to exchange gift cards, cut down on your shipping costs or other costs, and different ways. Find a variety of methods to reach the most effective numbers.
As a company, you must manage marketing strategies and partnerships with restaurants, hotels, and cafes and maintain the software to ensure it runs smoothly. All of this will require a large amount of cash. Therefore, you must find investors who can provide real funds to help you reach your objectives.
When you are a new business, you should choose a monetization strategy that will allow you to make regular income. As you grow and become more popular, you can look at new monetization methods to make better money. This includes restaurant advertising promotions, promoted ads, content that is paid for premium services, and subscriptions. Limiting yourself to one approach can slow your expansion.
Food delivery app development like Uber Eats is exciting; however, knowing the price is essential. The cost of developing a custom-made app for food delivery will depend on many factors, such as the features you’d like, your choice of platform (iOS or Android), and the amount of customization required. Let’s look at it in detail to make it easier to understand.
The major cost involved in food delivery app development consists of developing both the component of the app that users view (frontend) and the other part that is running behind the scenes (backend). It is more costly if you have more options you would like to add.
For instance, if you only require the basics, like ordering and tracking delivery dates, the cost is lower. However, if you require more advanced features, such as special ordering suggestions or in-app transactions, the cost will rise.
If you decide to develop an app for food delivery that runs on simultaneously iOS and Android, the costs will be higher. You could also opt to use cross-platform development (using techniques like React Native) to keep costs lower, but there are advantages and disadvantages, too.
When you design a food delivery app development, the look and feel of the app are crucial. An appealing layout makes your app easier to use and keeps customers returning. The cost of design will depend on how easy or intricate your app should appear.
If you are looking for a simple style, it’s more affordable. However, if you require personalized animations, graphics, or a distinct design, it will cost you more. Design quality is crucial to ensure that users are satisfied with the experience and at ease with the application.
Your app requires external services to run smoothly. For instance, you’ll need payment gateways that allow users to pay for food items and GPS integration for tracking the delivery. These are crucial services, but they are not without associated costs.
Utilizing Google Maps API for a location or the payment method Stripe adds to the total expense of food delivery app development. You should consider these costs when determining your budget.
Once your food delivery service is in operation, you’re ready to maintain it. This will include correcting bugs and updating the app whenever iOS and Android updates are released, as well as ensuring that the app remains quick and reliable.
Hosting your application on servers and ensuring it runs smoothly are costs. As your app gains greater numbers of users, the price for servers and improvements in performance will increase.
Making a food delivery app is only the beginning. It is also important to convince people to sign up. Marketing costs include optimizing the app store (ASO), social media marketing campaigns, and advertising. Without a well-planned marketing strategy, it can be difficult to make your app visible and entice customers.
In the end, food delivery app development for your restaurant is a wise choice that will bring a variety of advantages, including increasing sales, increasing customer loyalty, and making your operation more efficient. With a customized food delivery application, you’re in control over the process, which means you won’t need to rely on third-party services and can retain more of the revenue.
Focus on mobile apps for food delivery development. By offering easy and personal service to your customers, you can help your restaurant thrive in the rapidly growing food delivery industry.
Some of the most notable features include user profiles, a simple restaurant search, real-time tracking of orders and payments, secure payment options, and customer reviews.
If you are developing a food-related app, it is essential to begin by conducting a thorough market analysis. This should establish your business objectives, the target market and competitors, and your app’s concept. The next step is selecting the best business model and the most effective features, identifying the technology stack, and then identifying the perfect development team.
Security is the top concern when creating an app to deliver food because it handles sensitive customer information like payment information and addresses. Encrypting data with strong encryption for personal data and payment information is vital to safeguard against any security breaches.
Methods for ensuring security, like Two-factor authentication (2FA), must be utilized to ensure that only authorized users can access the application. Regular updates and security patches are essential to protect the app from new threats. Furthermore, complying with privacy laws like GDPR will ensure that users’ data is treated responsibly.
In 2025, the food delivery business will be defined by the increasing demand for eco-friendly packaging, drone delivery, AI-driven personal recommendations, and other related services.