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The average food delivery app development cost lies between $15,000 to $30,000 or more. However, the exact cost to build a food delivery app depends on various factors. Mobile apps have changed many things; now you have to just open a mobile app on your smartphone, choose your favorite restaurant to order food, and within minutes, you will get your order at your doorstep.
According to various reports, the food delivery industry is booming and expected to hit a $213 billion market size by 2030. (Source: Business Apps).
Partnering with a leading food delivery app development company will help you get affordable services within budget.
Factors Affecting Food Delivery App Development Costs
The cost of developing a food delivery app can vary depending on various factors. The following are the major factors that affect the food delivery mobile app development cost.
(1) Complexity of app
It’s a simple rule: the more features you want, the higher the cost you have to bear. But you cannot neglect must-have features like GPS tracking, bestseller suggestions, etc. You can also provide restaurant management or table reservation service alongside food ordering. There are some advanced features like push notifications, AI-powered suggestions, and more, which cost you more. The following are approximate food delivery app MVP costs according to the complexity of the app.
| App Complexity | Per Hour Rates | Estimated Cost | Time Duration |
| Simple App | $25/hour | $15k to $30k | 4 to 5 months |
| Medium-complex App | $50/hour | $35k to $60k | 5 to 8 months |
| Advanced App | $150/hour | $60k to $80k or more | 9+ months |
(2) Design complexity
The complexity and uniqueness of the UI/UX design of an app may influence the cost of development. But a simple and minimal design will cost you less; again, that won’t contain qualitative graphics, animations, and other branding elements. Custom design takes more time and effort, which directly influences the costs. In short, you can consider the food delivery app design costs you approximately $3k to $30k.
(3) Platform compatibility
Custom food delivery app development cost for multiple platforms (iOS, Android, and Web) will increase the cost as compared to building for a single platform. Each platform has its unique requirements, costs you differently, and also varies in timeline. Optimizing the app for all platforms, with various screen sizes and resolutions, takes more time and costs more.
(4) App Features
Simple apps with basic features like ordering, registration, and payment integration will cost approximately $5000 or more. But complex and advanced features will cost between $20,000 to $50,000 or more, depending on the time, effort, team size, and other parameters.
| App Features | Estimated cost |
| Basic Ordering & Payment Integration | $3k to $5k |
| User Registration & Profile Management | $2k to $4k |
| Real-Time Order Tracking | $5k to $10k |
| Push Notifications | $2k to $3k |
| Multi-Payment Options | $3k to $7k |
| Loyalty Programs and more | $4k to $8k |
| AI-Based Suggestions | $10k to $20k |
| Custom Recommendations | $15k to $25k |
| Restaurant Dashboard | $6k to $12k |
| Advanced Reporting and Analytics | $8k to $15k |
(5) Integration of 3rd-party services
Easy integration with 3rd-party service providers like payment gateways, geolocation, geofencing, analytics tools, and AI chatbots for customer support influences the white-label food delivery app cost. Moreover, you might need a license for many 3rd-party apps, which increases the total budget of app development.
(6) Security measures
The app must protect user data, transactions, and sensitive information for any food delivery app. Moreover, it must include implementing end-to-end encryption protocols, secure user authentication, and compliance with data protection law. Hence, ensuring security of the app adds additional expense to the food delivery app feature costs and time.
(7) Development team size and location
This factor is the most dominant one while discussing building a food delivery app budget. Hiring a certified development team or outsourcing the project from a leading app development company highly affects the budget. You have to spend your resources on developers, designers, QA, project managers, and other professionals, which costs you more.
But outsourcing your project with a leading app development company like India App Developers will strategically help you by saving costs. So, it can substantially increase your food delivery app development pricing.
| Various Regions | Estimated cost |
| North America (USA/Canada) | $100 to $200 |
| Western Europe (UK, Germany, France) | $80 to $150 |
| Eastern Europe (Poland, Ukraine, Romania) | $30 to $60 |
| India | $20 to $50 |
| South-East Asia (Vietnam, Philippines) | $20 to $40 |
| Local Developers (USA/Local Cities) | $20 to $30 |
(8) Technology stack
The choice of the tech stack will also influence the development cost. Some technologies need licensing fees or have higher development and maintenance costs compared to others. Besides this, using advanced technologies may require hiring developers with specific skills. This impacts the budget of the food delivery mobile app.
| Tech Stack | Estimated cost |
| Simple tech stack | $5k to $10k |
| Intermediate tech stack | $15k to $25k |
| Advanced tech stack | $35k to $50k+ |
How Long Does It Take to Build a Food App?
There are two important questions that you should ask your mobile app development partner. The first is, how much does a food delivery app cost, and another is, how long will it take to build a food delivery app? Here is the approximate time that cross-platform food delivery app development takes.
| App Complexity | Food Delivery App Development Timeline |
| Simple app development | 1 to 3 months |
| Average app development | 2 to 6 months |
| Complex app development | 6 to 12 months or more |
Cost to Maintain a Food Delivery App
Checking on food delivery app maintenance costs is as important as checking on food delivery app development expenses.
To ensure a smooth user experience, you must stay updated with the latest features and fix the bugs regularly. In short, it is essential to invest in app maintenance as well to keep it ahead in the market. The following table shows various components of app maintenance and its approximate costs.
| Maintenance components | Approximate cost |
| Bug Fixes & App Updates | $5,000 to $15,000 p.a. |
| Server & Hosting Maintenance | $3,000 to $8,000 p.a. |
| Security Updates | $2,000 to $5,000 p.a. |
| Customer Support | $10,000 to $50,000 p.a. |
| Third-Party Service Integrations | $3,000 to $10,000 p.a. |
| Performance Monitoring & Analytics | $1,000 to $3,000 p.a. |
| Marketing & Promotion | $10,000 to $50,000 p.a. |
Recommended Food Delivery App Development Platforms
Choosing the right food delivery app development company and platform is one of the important things while building an app, because it directly affects the performance and quality of the app. It also plays a big role in the food delivery app development cost and the overall timeline. Below are some of the most commonly used and recommended food delivery app development platforms.
| App Development Platforms | Pros | Cons |
| iOS (Swift & Xcode IDE) |
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| Android (Java & Kotlin using Android Studio IDE) |
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| React Native |
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| Flutter |
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Develop an Affordable Food Delivery App with India App Developers
Want to build a budget-friendly yet premium food delivery app? India App Developer, a seasoned food delivery app development company, focuses on creating scalable, secure, and feature-rich apps. Having over 15 years of experience and having the top 10% of certified development teams, we are fully equipped to develop an app that simplifies the food ordering and delivery process, ensuring a smooth user experience.
From live order monitoring to 3rd-party payment gateways, we guarantee valuable services that help you to grow in a highly competitive market. If you are a startup and want to build a next-gen food delivery app or want to scale your existing app to ensure growth, we have a custom solution for all your unique needs.
