How to Create a Food Delivery App: General Stages, Functions, and Nearest Cost

Target Audience and Main Goal Definition

To build a food delivery app is not similar to launching a physical restaurant, so if you want to digitalize your existing restaurant, you need to define your core user audience once again but from the other side.

1. Competitor research

It is significant to learn how successful services like Uber Eats or DoorDash work. Note their strengths:

• User-friendly interface design
• Order tracking features
• Loyalty program for constant users

The analysis will help you understand which solutions are already working in the market and what features users expect to see.

2. Target audience

Who will be your core client base? The target audience can be different, and it’s important to focus on their needs:

• Youth: appreciate speed and discounts
• Families: looking for affordable prices, a varied menu
• Office workers: demand convenience and accuracy of delivery

3. Niche and uniqueness

Find out what your service will stand out. For example:

• Delivery of only healthy food
• Working with local cafés and restaurants
• Express delivery within 20–30 minutes

Deep understanding of the market and audience will help you not only to choose the best food delivery app development services, but also create an outstanding and unique product.

To Build Food Delivery App Phases

As a restaurant management software development company, we know that to make an online food ordering app is a complex, multistep process. Each stage requires careful preparation.

1. Drafting of Technical Specifications

After making the market analysis, we form a roadmap that created especially for developers and usually includes:

• Description of all functions (personal account, menu, shopping cart, payment, order tracking).
• Choice of platforms (iOS, Android or both).
• Integration with external services (payment systems, cards, API of delivery services). The more detailed specifications are, the less concerns will arise during the development phase.

2. Design: User-Friendly Interface and User Experience

Users expect intuitive and beautiful interface. Design should be:

• Simple, so that any user can place an order without training.
• Visually appealing to attract attention.
• Adaptive, so that it works equally well on different devices.
• Include prototype testing steps: this will help to identify the interface weaknesses before its final implementation.

3. Food Delivery Application Development

This phase is used to be divided into two areas: 

• Backend: the server part is responsible for data storage, order processing and integration with external systems.
• Frontend: visible part of the application — what interacts with the user (menu, order processing, payment). Use modern technologies and programming languages such as React Native, Flutter, or Swift for fast and high quality results.

4. Integration of Payment Systems and Delivery Services

Security and payment convenience are key to the user’s trust. Anticipate:

• Bank cards (Visa, MasterCard).
• Electronic wallets (PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay).

It is also important to integrate the maps and API of the delivery services so that users can track their orders in real time.

5. Testing

Before launching, check the application in several main formats:

• Functional tests: whether each function works correctly.
• Performance testing: whether the application can handle high traffic.
• Security testing: whether the user data is protected.

6. Launching and Maintaining

After the application is released, start collecting feedback from users. This will help to identify bugs and improve the application. Also schedule regular updates to add new features and improve performance. For example, our app for efficient food delivery was successfully released a while ago, but we keep updating it and adding new features.

How to Create a Food Delivery App: Possible Roles

In the application for food delivery, functional can be distributed between multiple roles to effectively manage the process from order creation to delivery’ finish. These roles can be expanded or narrowed depending on the application.

User

• Registration and authorization: possibility to create an account, configure a profile, add payment methods.
• View restaurants and menus: filtering by kitchen, rating, price, distance.
• Order processing: adding dishes to the basket, choosing the delivery time, leaving comments (for example, wishes to order).
• Payment: decide the method of payment (card, cash, e-wallet).
• Order tracking: stages of the order execution (accepted, prepared, on the way, delivered).
• Reviews and ratings: possibility to evaluate the order and leave a review.
• Promotions and discounts: use of promo codes and bonuses.

Courier

• Registration and management of the profile: personal data entry, bank card binding for payments.
• Receiving orders: notification of available orders, selection of orders within the delivery zone.
• Navigation: built-in maps or integration with navigation applications for optimal route.
• Execution status: arrival at the restaurant, start, and completion of delivery.
• Order history: previous deliveries and earnings.
• Reviews: Ability to evaluate restaurants and customers.

Restaurant/Partner

• Menu management: adding, removing and editing dishes, setting prices and actions.
• Order processing: notification of new orders, ability to accept or reject orders.
• Reports: sales analysis, customer reviews, popular dishes.
• Schedule: setting the working time, disconnecting orders in case of high load.
• Inventory: tracking availability of food.

Platform Admin

• User management: moderation of customer accounts, couriers, restaurants.
• Complaint handling: review of complaints and dispute resolution.
• Functional update: adding new features, updating the interface.
• Transaction control: monitoring of payments and settlements between system users.
• Analysis: collection of data on the platform’s performance (number of orders, average delivery time, total profit).

Estimated Cost of Development

Costs depend on many factors: project scale, functionality, technologies used and the experience of the development team. Below, we will name main cost-affective factors for each phase.

1. Research and Concept

This stage is used to analyze the market, target audience and competitors. The result is an application concept and business task, which contains a description of all functions, architecture, and features of the interface.

• Minimum budget: if the research is done independently, it can be saved.
• Maximum budget: the involvement of professional analysts and marketers increases the cost.

2. Design

The design includes the creation of a visual concept and the development of interfaces (UI/UX).

• Simple applications: minimalist design for one type of user.
• Complex projects: include adaptation of interfaces for different roles (customers, couriers, restaurants).

Other possible requirements:

• Prototyping: creation of interactive test models.
• Adaptation of the design for different devices and screens.

3. Development

Development takes up most of the budget. The amount depends on the following factors:

Platforms

• A single platform application (for example, only iOS or Android) will cost less.
• Development of a cross-platform application (React Native, Flutter) or two separate platforms increases the costs.

Functional

• Basic functions: registration, menu, order processing, payment, notifications. 

Enhanced functions

• Tracking courier in real time.
• Integration with loyalty programs.
• Recommendation algorithms (AI-solutions for recommendations of dishes, restaurants).

Development team

• Freelancers: cheaper, but higher risk for quality and time.
• Outsourcing team: professionals working on the project completely.
• Internal crew: may be a more expensive solution due to salaries, taxes and the need for management.

4. Integration and API

To provide users with convenience, you need to integrate third-party services:

• Payment systems: Stripe, PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay.
• Geolocation: Google Maps API or other mapping services.
• Delivery services: integration with logistics management systems.

The more systems need to be integrated, the higher the cost.

5. Testing

Application testing is a necessary step to release the product without errors.

• Automated testing: faster, but requires scripting.
• Manual testing: checking all functions manually.
• Load testing: simulation of application performance under high load.

6. Launch and Support

After launch, the application requires constant maintenance:

• Technical support: fix bugs, configure servers.
• Updates: new features, improved interface.
• Hosting and servers: the price depends on the number of users.
• Marketing and promotion: advertising of the application and work with user feedback.

Food Delivery App Development Cost Affecting Factors: Summary

Developer Team Experience:

Experienced developers are more expensive, but they create quality and stable applications.

Team location

• Teams from the USA and Europe are more expensive.
• Teams from India, Eastern Europe are cheaper.

Development technology

• Cross-platform solutions (React Native, Flutter) reduce time and budget.
• Native development (Java/Kotlin for Android, Swift for iOS) is more expensive but provides better performance.

Scalability

The scalability perspective is better thought out at the initial stage of development.

Overall Project Budget

Basic application (minimum functions, one region): $50,000-$70,000.

Medium project (cross-platform, extended functionality): $80,000-$150,000.

Large app (like Uber Eats or DoorDash): $200,000-$500,000 and above.

How to Reduce Costs

• Modular approach: start with the basic version (MVP) and add features gradually.
• Using ready-made solutions: application building platforms such as AppSheet or Bubble allow you to create a basic product at a lower cost.
• Outsourcing: finding an experienced team from countries with lower cost services.

In Conclusion

To develop a food delivery app is not just technology, but a whole complex process where every detail matters: from market analysis to support of the finished product. By following the development steps and avoiding common mistakes, you can create a product that will take its place in the market.

Long story short: start with a clear idea of your project goals, and we will conduct analysis, define your audience and take the first step towards creating an app that will be your successful business!

If you need a helping hand of a well-experienced food delivery application development team, Contact Celadonsoft.