How Much Does it Cost to Build a Food Delivery App in 2024?

Food delivery apps in India have steadily expanded in recent years, supporting businesses in improving operational efficiency by prioritizing clients.

Building a food delivery app is a deliberate process, and must prioritize comprehensive market research, competitive analysis, technology stack finalization, and other tasks.

This guide will assist you in grasping the importance of creating the best food delivery app in 2024  like Zomato, or Swiggy, delving into cost estimation, key factors influencing expenses, and more. But first, let’s understand how meal delivery apps have become so prevalent in India.

Why do Food Delivery Applications continue to thrive?

Wondering why on-demand food delivery app development has become a new hue in the market?

Unquestionably, people will always go after what’s convenient. It shapes our preferences across various aspects of life – from the movies we enjoy and the music we relish to the games we engage in and even our culinary choices.

And this very inclination is a driving force behind the surge of food delivery platforms like Swiggy, Zomato, and Uber Eats.

The Covid epidemic has significantly altered many things. By choice or need, a significant portion of smartphone users have moved to mobile apps to manage their basic needs. Food delivery apps are one example of a sector with unexpected demand.

People's eating habits have altered over time. The rapid growth of food delivery has created numerous chances for businesses looking to launch a restaurant delivery app by 2024. To succeed in the rapidly expanding food-delivery ecosystem, however, you must first learn how to develop an on-demand food-delivery application.

Food Delivery App Industry Trends and Statistics

Before you hire a mobile app developer in India to create a food delivery application, you must be curious to know why these apps are creating a tagline.

According to Statista revenue in the Online Food Delivery market is forecasted to reach US$1.22 trillion in 2024, statista also states that in the meal delivery market, the number of users is expected to reach 2.5 billion users by 2028. These figures represent the market of Online Food Delivery market on a global scale.

Hopefully, these food delivery statistics are inspiring you to become a part of this thriving food delivery industry.

However, before you learn how to design a meal delivery service, you should know how much it will cost in 2024. Continue reading for complete information on the development process, features, technology, and development costs!

What are the Advantages of Developing a Food Delivery App in 2024?

In today's changing landscape, meal delivery apps provide numerous benefits to both businesses and consumers. With the global shift toward digitalization and convenience, creating an on-demand food delivery service provides a unique chance to streamline operations, improve the customer experience, and capitalize on future market trends.

In this era of rapid technological advancement, seizing the potential of a restaurant delivery app can revolutionize the way we dine and do business.

These are the top 7 Advantages of food delivery apps in 2024:

1. Simple to Use: Everything from the food ordering app to the administration panel has been designed to be simple to use.

2. One-Time Cost: This is a unique investment with a long-term investment return. For higher profits successful platforms can be monetized in the future.

3. Time & Cost Efficient: We already have a foundational food ordering app solution, which means a shorter time to market and lower development costs.

4. Accept Payments Almost Anywhere: We add our preferred payment gateways, with built-in support for the most popular ones.

5. Customizable and Expandable: Our top food-delivering app platform is completely customizable and adaptable to any changes or integrations.

6. Technical Assistance is Provided at No Cost: Free technical support with bug fixes and any necessary basic updates will be provided for the next six months.

7. Parties Integrations: Utilize your delivery network or collaborate with a well-known logistics service provider in your area.

How To Create a Food Delivery App in 2024?

Before you can create a meal delivery app, you’ll need to map out your thoughts and make a list of features you’d like your app to have. One way to go about this is to make a flowchart to show how the app will function from start to finish.

Here’s an infographic explaining the 7 simple steps to create a food delivery app in 2024:

Step 1: Researching and Analyzing the Market

What does a successful food delivery app look like? What features do people want? What exactly are you planning to offer in the app? Here are the few questions that you need to find answers to:

• Who are your potential customers?
  
• Tips for figuring out how to reach potential customers?
  
• Get an understanding of what technology trends your competitors are using to further their app clone.
  
• How can I make the ordering process simple and hassle-free?

Step 2: Understand Your Business Requirements

When meeting the needs of your users, make sure you understand your business goals. There are two types of food delivery app models.

• The Food Order model
  
• Service Model: Food Order and Delivery

Still, if you choose to go with the clone of UberEats or Postmates then the Order and Delivery model is a worthwhile option. It will allow restaurants to work together with a delivery company and be able to target a large user segment.

Step 3: Identifying Which Features Should Be Included

While all food ordering apps have similarities, some entrepreneurs may prefer a custom restaurant delivery app with unique features geared to their business model. In our future tutorial, we will look at the key components of a successful meal delivery app.

However, before you begin the development process, you must first have a strong understanding of the features you wish to integrate. The rationale is straightforward: these features will guide the entire app development process.

For example, if you want to create a restaurant-focused food delivery app, AppsDevPro allows you to integrate the Menu Order System plugin, which allows you to create a variety of menu categories. As a result, individual food items can be smoothly integrated into each menu category.

Step 4: Naming the App

If you don’t already have one picked out, this is an important decision. Make sure it’s something simple and easy to remember. You don’t want to get stuck with having to change your name down the line because someone else has taken it on as their business name.

Step 5: Find Developers

To create an on-demand food delivery app, you need to look at a Food delivery app development company that provides a complete team under one roof. Make sure you hire app developers in India with a minimum of 5+ years of experience.

Step 6: Creating User Profiles

Create profiles for customers so they may order easily without providing any personal information. Make sure to create driver profiles so they know who to expect when they arrive at their location. The last thing you want is for someone who has ordered a meal to open the door and discover no driver waiting.

Step 7: Pricing Structure

How much will it cost to create a meal delivery app like Zomato? Many different pricing structures work well, but they all depend on two main factors: what your goals are and how much risk you’re willing to take on.

In short, to create a perfect food delivery app that can shake the world, you need to plan well in advance. You must also include a distinctive component in your app that will help you capture the attention of consumers. So, here are the features and functionalities that will play an important role in developing a successful meal delivery app.

Must-Have Features of Food Delivery App in 2024

How would you create a dinner delivery app? Surely, after seeing its success, your fear will remain unchanged. However, before getting into the features needed to build an on-demand food delivery service comparable to Uber Eats, it is critical to recognize that copying the app is futile.

Users will be lured in by your app's uniqueness and simplicity. All you can do is hire an Android App Developer in India who will understand your requirements and help you incorporate the most effective features.

The most essential aspects of the Food Delivery App in 2024 are illustrated in the infographic below.

1. Features for Customer Panel

The user has to register after downloading the restaurant delivery app. Typically, the following sections need to be there in the app:

• Login: Allow Users to log in to the app by using a simple and quick interface. You can provide an option to log in by using your email ID, phone number, or any social media account.
  
• Location: Allow users to add their location manually or automatically using the in-app GPS feature for setting the pickup or delivery point from the map.
  
• Homepage: To create a meal delivery app make sure you have an attractive homepage with a search box so that users can quickly sort their search.
  
• Menu: Define the menu of each restaurant under a defined category to make it easier to access. You can hire a dedicated developer in India for specific app customizations.
  
• Cart Selection: Let users quickly add the food item to their cart without leaving the current page.
  
• Payment options: Make sure you integrate multiple payment options and provide the flexibility to pay using various payment methods. It may include credit card, PayPal, debit card, Google Pay, and more.
  
• Reviews And Ratings: Based upon the app experience, allow users to share feedback and provide ratings to the driver and restaurant.
  
• Track Order History: This allows users to track their history and helps them reorder the food items without having to research the items from the start.
  
• Discounts and offers: Keep your users engaged with your app by using push notifications and letting them know about the promo codes and discount offers.
  
• Support 24*7: Allow users to raise their queries on the app in case of any assistance. Also, you can hire an Indian mobile app developer to create an AI-driven chatbot for instant assistance.
  
• Tracking the delivery: To create your app successfully, make sure you have a feature to track the time and location of the food delivery.

2. Features for Restaurants

Features we would want our app to have in the restaurant panel section:

• Upload Menu: Allow restaurants to upload detailed menus with prices and items on sale currently.
  
• Track Order History: To create a food delivery app like UberEats make sure you have a feature of order history of all past orders.
  
• Advanced Search Option: Add filters and search options, so users don’t have to scroll through every dish if there’s not enough time before closing.
  
• Ratings and Reviews: Allow restaurants to view all the reviews from people who eat at this restaurant regularly, such as Yelp reviews.
  
• GPS Maps: Integrate maps to help you find your way to the nearest location of the order.
  
• Seamless order System: An online ordering system should be easy to access, which allows users to put in their order by tapping or swiping the screen.
  
• Accept Multi-Payment: There is a feature in the app to accept payment through multiple payment modules such as Apple Pay or PayPal via Apple Wallet.
  
• Tax Calculation: Add a feature to automatically calculate the tax and add it to the billing amount when paying.
  
• Order Tracking: To ensure seamless food delivery services, let restaurants keep tracking orders on a map until they’re delivered.

3. Features For Delivery Boy Panel

To be able to deliver for one restaurant to pick up from another restaurant, the delivery person must first download the app, complete registration, and verification with the restaurant and service provider, and upload it to his panel:

• Login: Allow them to log in to the app with the credentials provided by the admin panel. The credentials should be issued once they are done with a background check.
  
  
• Order request: Depending upon their availability, provide them the flexibility to accept or reject the order request.
  
• Order delivery: Once the order is confirmed, share the delivery address details with them to ensure seamless food delivery services.
  
• Order history: Make sure to add a feature in the app to keep track of the orders delivered to date.
  
• Chat/Call: Ensure seamless communication by offering in-app chat or calling options.
  
• Push Notifications: Have a feature in the app that keeps them informed about the order request, delivery details, order completed, payment received, and more.
  
• Google map navigation: With the help of this feature, they can easily locate the pickup and delivery location. Also, they can pick the shortest way to ensure the fastest delivery.

Choose the Right App Development Team to Create a Food Delivery App

To create a successful on-demand Food Delivery App in 2024 like UberEats or Swiggy, you need a smooth backend, an engaging frontend, data management on the server, and so on.

So here are a few technologies that can help you create an on-demand food delivery service for your business:

• Programming Language for Android and iOS: React Native, Flutter, Kotlin, Java
  
  
• Development of the backend: Node.js, Express.js, MongoDB, Nginx, Sockets
  
• Frontend development: ReactJs and Material UI
  
• Third-party APIs: Twilio SMS, Google Maps
  
• Registration: Google Sign-In, Facebook Login SDK
  
• Payment Integration: Stripe, Square, PayPal, Google Wallet, and WePay
  
• Restaurant Listing: Foursquare API, Grubhub API, Yelp Fusion API
  
• Analytics: Google Analytics, Localytics, Apple Analytics
  
• Maps and Locations: Google Maps, OpenStreetMap, Mapbox, Mapkit JS

How To Monetize Your Food Delivery App in 2024?

There are many different monetizing models you can use for your meal delivery app. Apart from just using a commission fee monetization strategy, you can go through these below strategies to make money from food delivery apps:

• Paid Subscriptions: some apps charge users on a monthly or yearly basis, with benefits like access to exclusive content, no ads, and more.
  
• Premium Features: some apps charge users a one-time fee for premium features like expedited deliveries or special menus.
  
• Sell products: many food apps also sell their own branded products as well as products from other companies.
  
• Marketing contracts: some apps allow people to order food for pickup at restaurants instead of delivering it themselves, meaning they’ll get paid by both parties.
  
• Sponsorships: some food apps give away free recipes in exchange for access to videos and articles.
  
• Freemium model: some apps offer a free version but also offer optional features for purchase that only work with the full version.

How Much Does It Cost To Create a Food Delivery App in 2024?

Predicting the cost of creating a food delivery app in 2024  without even knowing what the business requires is like asking an invalid question to the experts.

Majorly the app’s creation will depend on how it is designed. Costs will vary, depending on factors such as if the app is native or hybrid, or what services are offered.

Typical food delivery apps like Uber Eats would cost approximately range from $10,000 to $12,000 for a basic food delivery app. Larger enterprises with more resources and funding may spend upwards of $25,000 to create their custom app.

The entire process can take up to four months from start to finish and includes. The process may include: conceptualizing the idea for the app; creating a team of three to five members (UI/UX designer, developer, project manager); developing the UX; building prototypes; wireframing; designing graphics and icons; and coding (native and hybrid apps).

Conclusion

In conclusion, the cost of building a food delivery app in 2024 varies significantly depending on factors such as features, complexity, and development team rates.

However, investing in such an app can yield substantial returns by catering to evolving consumer preferences and driving business growth in the digital age.

Now, if you are convinced that a food delivery app is a profitable idea then you can explore us, Arramton Infotech, one of the leading custom app development companies in India.

Our team of seasoned Android/iOS app developers is committed to providing you with personalized solutions at competitive pricing. Check our Arramton.com for more info!

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1. Can food delivery apps be profitable?

Ans. Yes, food delivery apps can generate profit through commissions, delivery fees, and partnerships with restaurants.

Q2. What is the future growth of online Food Delivery?

Ans. The future growth of online food delivery is promising, driven by convenience, technology advancements, and evolving consumer preferences.

Q3. How long does it take to create a Food Delivery App?

Ans. The time to create a Food Delivery App varies but typically ranges from several months to a year.