10 Best Delivery Services for Restaurants in 2024

Food delivery apps have completely transformed the restaurant industry in the past few years.

Many forward-thinking restaurant owners see a chance to offer a new dining experience, even when seating is limited.

Namely, the food delivery app industry is projected to grow to a market size of $213 billion by 2030.

We’re here to help you make informed decisions if you're new to the food business. We’ve put together a list of 10 top food delivery services and their key features. Let’s take a closer look!

Understanding How Food Delivery Works

At its core, delivering meals is a service offered by restaurants and food businesses to get food to customers. Here's a quick look at how the online food delivery process works:

• A customer places an order for delivery to a chosen address.
• The restaurant prepares the food, packs it, and hands it off for delivery.
• While deliveries are usually made by drivers using cars, it's also common to see deliveries done by scooters, bicycles, or even on foot.

For restaurant owners looking to embrace this trend, the number of options can feel overwhelming and time-consuming to sort through.

Just like technology has reshaped retail, it's also transformed the restaurant world, raising customer expectations. These days, offering online food delivery is often essential for staying competitive.

10 Best Delivery Services for Restaurants

1. Uber Eats

• Available in 24 countries
• Order fees can go up to 15%
• Cashless payments are accepted

Uber first gained popularity as a taxi alternative, and now they’ve made their mark in food delivery with the Uber Eats app. It’s become one of the top choices for both taxi and food delivery services.

Perfect for: Those who are already familiar with Uber

2. DoorDash

• Available in the US, Canada, and Australia
• Offers restaurant recommendations
• Delivers ready-to-eat meals and alcohol

DoorDash is a platform used by over 310,000 restaurants across more than 4,000 cities. It connects local restaurants with 'dashers' (freelance couriers), so businesses don’t need to hire their own delivery drivers. DoorDash is one of the top food delivery services in North America, alongside Uber Eats, GrubHub, Postmates, Seamless, and Instacart.

DoorDash also acquired Caviar, a service that started as a premium food delivery app. Since the acquisition in 2019, Caviar now offers a wider variety of balanced meal options.

Perfect for: Lunch and dinner choices

3. GrubHub/Seamless

• Available in over 4,000 U.S. cities
• Supports various payment methods
• Includes a food tracking feature

GrubHub boasts the most extensive network of restaurant partners. It works with more than 200,000 restaurants across the U.S. It also owns Seamless, and both services use the same app.

Perfect for: People ordering food online

Seamless

Specifications:

• Available in major cities across the US and UK
• $9.99 per month subscription fee
• Restaurant fees vary depending on the total bill

This popular food delivery app partners with Grubhub, offering a wide selection of meals with no extra charges. It now also provides the option for contactless delivery, allowing customers to have their meals left right at their doorstep.

Perfect for: Food lovers in New York City

4. Postmates

• Provides 24/7 delivery service
• Offers contactless delivery
• Subscription plans start at $9.99 per month

Postmates can deliver just about anything, from food and drinks to retail goods, right to your customers' doors. Their goal is simple: "To make it possible for anyone to get anything delivered on-demand." Like other similar services, Postmates uses a network of couriers to handle orders from local restaurant partners.

Perfect for: Late-night snack orders

5. Instacart

• Available in many major areas of the US and Canada
• Offers a wide selection of grocery delivery options
• Faster deliveries with Instacart Express

Instacart is more than just a restaurant delivery service. It lets shoppers choose and order products online or via mobile app. Customers can either pick up their orders at the store or have them delivered (delivery fees apply).

Perfect for: Grocery shopping

6. Delivery.com

Specifications:

• Available in over 100 US cities
• Rewards points program
• Minimum order fees differ by restaurant

Delivery.com offers a wide range of delivery options, including the ability to schedule your food delivery in advance. You can choose your preferred pick-up and drop-off times. In addition to meals, the app also delivers alcohol, wine, and groceries, making it a versatile choice for various needs.

Perfect for: Contactless food delivery

7. Deliveroo

Specifications:

• Available in major cities across the UK
• Offers a loyalty rewards program
• Minimum order fees vary by restaurant

Deliveroo provides a range of delivery options, including the ability to schedule your orders in advance. You can select your preferred pick-up and drop-off times. The app delivers a variety of meals from local restaurants, making it a convenient choice for diverse dining needs.

Perfect for: Flexible meal delivery

8. goPuff

Specifications:

• Available in 170+ cities – goPuff operates in over 170 cities.
• Charges extra delivery fees – Additional delivery fees apply.
• Includes cleaning supplies – Offers cleaning supplies along with other items.

goPuff is an excellent app for having snacks, beverages, groceries, and even over-the-counter medications delivered right to your door. It covers more than 500 cities across the U.S. and is expanding quickly.

What sets goPuff apart is that everything you order comes from their own warehouses, not from local stores.

Perfect for: Snacks

9. Just Eat

Specifications:

• Available in multiple cities across the UK and other countries
• Delivery fees vary by restaurant
• Option for contactless delivery

Just Eat provides a diverse range of delivery options, including the ability to schedule your food delivery for a later time. You can choose from a wide selection of restaurants, and the app also offers contactless delivery for added safety. It’s a flexible choice for both regular meals and special orders.

Perfect for: A wide range of meal options with flexible delivery choices

10. Caviar

Specifications:

• Caviar has no subscription plans available.
• Delivery fees can go up to $8.99.
• It operates in 28 US cities.

Caviar joined DoorDash in 2019 and now offers food delivery in over 25 cities.
The app caters to customer preferences with a wide selection of local restaurants and diverse cuisines. Users can either pick up their food or have it delivered straight to their doorstep by placing an order online.

Perfect for: Healthy meals

What Goes Into Food Delivery?

In recent years, technology has revolutionized meal delivery. The days of paper menus and manually managing orders are long gone. Now, customers expect convenient options like free delivery.

These days, business owners offer user-friendly food delivery apps and online menus, where customers can explore a variety of options and place orders. Many platforms even allow customers to schedule deliveries for a specific time at an affordable price. Here’s what’s involved in food delivery apps:

• Customers can choose to pay either online or when their food arrives.
• Special diet options, like vegetarian, low-carb, gluten-free, or diabetes-friendly meals, can easily be selected with just a few taps.
• Weekly meal plans are available for those with specific dietary needs.
• Meal kit services provide fresh ingredients, saving you time on grocery shopping and meal prep.

The rise of food delivery has opened up incredible opportunities for restaurants to attract new customers and grow beyond their physical locations.

Key Features to Look for in a Food Delivery App

Ready to find the best food delivery app for your business? Whether you’re running a well-established restaurant or starting a new meal-kit service, you’ll need a platform that fits your needs perfectly.

Here are some key features to think about when picking a food delivery app:

1. Route Planning and Allocation: Good route planning helps restaurants manage multiple drivers, meet customer expectations, and cut costs. It makes it easy to assign orders to specific drivers.
2. Easy and Secure Payment: Your app should offer various payment options. If it doesn’t, you might lose customers when they’re about to place an order. Look for apps with online payment options like Square, Stripe, Apple Pay, or PayPal, as well as cash or credit upon delivery for those who prefer not to pay online. Make sure the app keeps payment information safe and secure.
3. Flexible Delivery Scheduling: This feature makes things easier for both customers and your staff. Allowing customers to schedule deliveries for later in the day or the next day can make the ordering process more convenient. It also helps the kitchen and delivery team plan better for busy times by ensuring they have enough staff and ingredients.
4. Live Tracking: Customers will love being able to track their orders in real-time. This feature also helps reduce the time delivery drivers spend at each stop and provides managers with useful information. Many popular delivery apps now include live tracking.
5. User-Friendly Customer Interface: The customer experience is crucial. Your app is the first interaction customers will have with your restaurant, so make sure it’s easy to use. Look for an app with a simple, intuitive dashboard and a smooth ordering process. To gauge the user experience, try using each app yourself as a customer.
6. User-Friendly Administrator Dashboard: Just like your customers need an easy-to-use interface, you’ll need a dashboard that’s straightforward and lets you manage everything as a restaurant manager.
7. Order Management: This is essential for any food delivery app. From the admin panel, you should be able to manage all orders, update customers on their order status, and handle payments.
8. Navigation and GPS Tracking: This feature helps your delivery drivers complete their routes more efficiently, leading to happier customers and the ability to handle more deliveries during each shift.

FAQs On The Best Delivery Services for Restaurants

Concluding Thoughts

One challenge local restaurants face today is figuring out how to deliver food straight to customers' doors. However, with changing trends creating new opportunities, it’s up to restaurant owners and operators to take advantage of them.

We hope this article has helped you find the right meal delivery service for your needs. While we’ve covered some of the top options, you might also want to explore other popular services like Amazon Fresh and Freshly for nutritious meal choices.