How Much Does it Cost to Create an App like Postmates?
The food delivery industry has experienced exponential growth in recent years, with apps like UberEats, DoorDash, postmates, and Grubhub leading the charge. For startups, entrepreneurs and businesses looking to capitalize on this trend, developing a food delivery app is a profitable opportunity. However, one of the most common questions is: How much does it cost to develop a food delivery app?
According to Statista, the online food delivery market will grow 7.79% every year between 2025 and 2029, hitting US $1.89 trillion by 2029.
In this blog, we’ll provide a complete cost of food delivery app development, covering key factors, features, and tips to help you budget effectively. Whether you’re a startup or an established business, this guide will help you understand the financial investment required to build a successful food delivery app.
Why Invest in a Food Delivery App?
Before discussing the costs, let’s understand why food delivery apps are so popular.
As per Business App the online food delivery market is growing rapidly and is expected to grow $213 billion by 2030. These apps offer great convenience for users and generate high revenue through delivery charges, restaurant commissions, and premium features. Because of this, many small businesses and startups are looking for the best food delivery app development companies to build customized solutions.
Consumer habits have changed—people now prefer ordering food online for its speed and convenience. Countries like China and the US are leading this trend, with millions using food delivery apps every day. For restaurant owners, investing in a food delivery app can significantly boost their business. Learn more in our blog, How Food Delivery App Will Help Restaurants Grow Its Business.
Food delivery apps are more popular for many reasons. These factors create a strong environment for continuous growth and new ideas in the industry.
The demand for food delivery apps is increasing day by day for numerous reasons.
- Growing Demand for Convenience
- Explosive Market Growth
- Increased customer Reach & Revenue
- Enhanced Customer Experience
- Competitive Advantage
- Data-Driven Insights
- Flexibility and Scalability
- Enhanced Brand Loyalty
Key Factors Affecting the Food Delivery App Development Costs
The cost for developing a food delivery app depends on many factors. Here are the most important ones:
- App Complexity
- UI/UX Design Complexity
- Platform Choice
- Technology Stack
- Features and Functionality
- Development Team Location
- Maintenance and Updates
1. App Complexity and Features
Food delivery applications have become increasingly popular, offering a wide range of services to meet user demands. Development cost and timeline increases when features increase. For example, a simple food delivery app with core features such as order placement, payment processing, and delivery tracking will demand less time and resources than a more complex app.
Similarly, restaurant-specific applications that offer table reservations, menu management, and restaurant operations tools add another layer of complexity. These features require seamless integration with the restaurant’s existing systems, user-friendly interfaces, and robust backend infrastructure, all of which contribute to higher development costs and longer timelines.
Reasons for Increased Cost and Timeline:
Complex Features: Advanced features like real-time tracking, AI-based recommendations, smart search filters and multi-platform compatibility require more development effort and expertise.
When creating a food delivery app, it’s important to know that the app serves four main groups: customers, restaurant owners, delivery staff, and the platform admin. Each group has different needs, and the features you build for them will affect the app’s cost, complexity, and how well it works. Here’s a simple breakdown of the key features needed for each group:
Solutions:
Start with an MVP: Build a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) with core features to test your idea before investing in advanced functionalities.
2. Platform Choice
Selecting the appropriate platform is a critical step in the restaurant app development process. Whether your target audience uses iOS, Android, or both significantly impacts the overall development budget. Every platform comes with its own set of pros and challenges. For instance, the cost to build a food delivery app like Postmates depends on the platform’s complexity and specific requirements.
A cost-effective and versatile solution is cross-platform development, which ensures the app performs seamlessly across multiple devices.
Key Considerations When Choosing a Platform
- Native Apps
- Developed separately for iOS and Android.
- Offers superior performance and a more tailored user experience.
- Separate codebases result in higher development expenses.
- Cross-Platform Apps
- Built with frameworks like Flutter/React Native.
- Cut development costs by sharing one codebase across both platforms.
- May have slight limitations in performance compared to native apps but is ideal for businesses targeting a wider audience.
Solution: The choice between native and cross-platform development depends on your budget, target audience, and performance requirements. For businesses aiming to reach both iOS and Android users while keeping costs manageable, cross-platform development is often the optimal solution.
3. UI/UX Design & Personalization
User experience (UX) plays a critical role in determining the success and value of a mobile app. A well-designed app goes beyond aesthetics—it drives user engagement, retention, and overall satisfaction. A great app design ensures seamless interaction, user-friendliness, and a positive experience for its users. Here is the reason how design complexity affects app development costs.
- Complex Design Elements: Incorporating intricate visual elements, unique design layouts, and brand-specific color schemes can increase development complexity.
- Customization: Adding tailored features and functionalities requires additional time and resources.
- Responsive Design: Optimizing the app for various screen sizes and resolutions ensures compatibility across devices but adds to the development effort.
- Design Adjustments: Iterative changes and refinements during the design process can extend timelines and impact costs.
Solution: This requires a talented app development team with a strong understanding of market trends in food delivery apps, leading to better development and cost-effective solutions.
4. Tech Stack
The technology stack is a critical component of any software development project, as it defines the tools, frameworks, and languages used to build the application. Below is a breakdown of the tech stack, including
- Frontend Development:
a. Cross-platform: React Native, Flutter
b. Native Apps:
i. Android: Java, Kotlin
ii. iOS: Objective-C, Swift
- Backend Development: Node.js, PHP, Ruby on Rails
- Database Management: PostgreSQL, MongoDB, MySQL
- Cloud & Hosting Service : AWS(Amazon Web Services), Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure
Solution:
By leveraging the right combination of frontend and backend technologies, cloud hosting, the application can deliver a high-performance, scalable, and user-friendly experience.
5. Third Party integration services
Third party integration includes payment gateway and mapping services. Third party tools such as AI-driven chatbots, loyalty programs and CRM platforms increase the overall development costs.
- Payment Integration: PayPal, Stripe, Razorpay
- Maps & Geolacation Services: Google Maps API, Mapbox
- Analytics: Google Analytics
Free APIs provide essential functionalities without the need for expensive custom development or premium subscriptions.
Integrating third-party services such as payment gateways, mapping and geolocation services, analytics tools, and customer support platforms will impact the on demand food delivery app development cost. Some third-party services may require licensing fees or API usage charges. As a result, it can affect the overall development cost.
6. Development Team Location
Location plays a significant role in determining the development cost of a food delivery app. The cost of living varies across different countries, which directly impacts developer rates. In developed countries like the United States, Canada, or the United Kingdom, developer costs are significantly higher due to higher living standards and wages. For example, hiring a developer in the U.S. can cost anywhere between $100 to $150 per hour.
On the other hand, in developing countries like India, the Philippines, or Ukraine, developer rates are much lower due to the lower cost of living. For instance, hiring a skilled developer in India may cost between $20 to $40 per hour, offering a more cost-effective solution without compromising on quality.
Solution:Outsource or hire remote teams from developing countries to reduce overall development expenses. However, it’s essential to consider factors like communication, time zone differences, and cultural compatibility when choosing a development team from another region.
By strategically selecting a location for development, businesses can optimize costs while ensuring high-quality outcomes for their food delivery app.
App Development Costs by Stages:
Breakdown of App Development Costs:
- Scope & Market Research: 10-15%
- Design: 20-25%
- Development: 40-55%
- Testing: 15-20%
- Deployment: 5-10%
Why Partner with a Professional App Development Company?
Developing a food delivery app requires technical expertise, industry knowledge, and a user centric approach. Collaborating with a professional app development firm ensures:
- High quality design and development
- Timely delivery within budget
- Scalable and secure solutions
- Ongoing support and maintenance
Conclussion
If you’re developing an app for the first time, it’s important to consider the cost of creating a food delivery app, as it can vary based on the factors mentioned earlier. By carefully planning and prioritizing features, you can develop a cost-effective app that aligns with your business objectives.
At Oddappsclone, we specialize in delivering customized food delivery app solutions guiding you from the initial concept stage to the successful launch of your mobile platform. Our team of skilled professionals is experienced in building on-demand apps similar to Postmates, ensuring high-quality results. To get started and receive an accurate estimate for your app project, consult with our experts. For more details, feel free to reach out to us at info@oddappsclone.com