How Much Should You Budget for a Restaurant Mobile App in 2025?

Are you interested in developing mobile applications for restaurants? You must be wondering how much does it cost to develop a restaurant mobile app in 2025. It is undeniable that the mobile app industry is expanding and providing solutions for every industry sector, from education and healthcare to the businesses of either restaurants or any other enterprises or startups. It has had exponential growth in the past few years of restaurant application development. With the advancement of technologies, there is a vast collection of opportunities for several businesses.

If we go through the market, according to the statistics, there are currently more than 8.93 million applications available in the store. And if you are looking for brief details about the costing of the application for restaurant, then you have come to the right place. This blog brings you detailed information about the cost, restaurant app development company, and whatnot. To learn about it. Keep reading the entire article.

According to the latest industry report, the cost of mobile applications is between $30,000 to $250,000 with an average of $171,450. Before going for the development of a mobile app for a restaurant, you must keep in mind that these numbers vary according to the functionalities and features along with the designs, and project requirements of both parties, the client or the restaurant mobile app developers.

Key Factors That Affect the Cost of Developing a Restaurant Mobile App

The question of how much does it cost to develop a restaurant app is a complex one, but multiple factors would influence the restaurant app development:

• Outsourcing vs. in-house app development
• Location and structure of a development team
• Features and functionality
• Android vs. iOS
• Native vs. Hybrid
• Visual design complexity
• Backend infrastructure

Before choosing the development team, you need to decide whether you need to outsource the project or choose an in-house development team of the restaurant app development company.

But there are multiple advantages to choosing the right development team and one main advantage is direct communication between the team members and having full control over them. Some more advantages of working with an in-house development team are:

• Proximity
• Face-to-face meetings
• Direct communication
• Deep involvement
• High level of control

When there is an advantage there is another side of it as well,

• Lack of talent on the local market
• Need for huge initial investments
• Dealing with hiring and bureaucratic problems
• Growing popularity of eSIM

Now when you choose to work with an outsourced restaurant mobile app developer there are some advantages and disadvantages that you need to keep in mind

Advantage:

• Unlimited talent pool
• High level of expertise
• Lower rates
• Flexibility
• No need for high initial investments

Disadvantage:

• Time zone differences
• Lack of personal control

As we see the list of advantages of outsourcing mobile app developers is far more than the disadvantages conclusively outsourcing the development of the project can be a good option, but it's totally up to you and the requirements of the project.

How much does it cost to develop a restaurant mobile app?

Now if you are wondering how much does it cost to develop a restaurant mobile app or how much a restaurant app development company costs for it? Well, it depends on the features and functionalities that you are willing to offer in your food serving or restaurant application. With no list of functionalities or simple mobile app for restaurants costs between $1000 to $10000.

App maintenance Cost

The app developers must make an application that aligns with the customer's needs and wants for that app maintenance is an essential component. Well, keeping the application for restaurants updated with time is important, and resolving the complexities of the application shows how much the development team whether in-house or outsourced team looks after the app. Not only this, but this also shows the professionalism and the expertise of the restaurant's mobile app developers along with how much app maintenance cost is affecting it.

It is noted that the annual cost of the custom mobile apps for restaurant maintenance is around 15% to 20% of the initial cost of the development. To keep your application stand out in the competitive market and provide users seamless experience, the app must be updated regularly, bugs and errors must be fixed and apps should be upgraded according to the customer's preferences.

Statistics for Restaurant Mobile App Development

Over the past few years, the restaurant industry has started growing rapidly. It all started from the pandemic, due to the need for online food delivery.

For suppose, let's consider doordash.com, that was the most awaited restaurant with the home delivery category in the US in April 2023. But when it was about time in February 2023, doodash was in the market with about 65% shares as compared to the other restaurants or food delivery service providers. Furthermore, Uber Eats holds the second-highest share with 23% in the restaurant competitive market.

According to the research, 67% of US restaurant business owners prefer to have their own application which helps in promoting their business, whereas 33% favored the third-party platforms either application or website.

Why a Restaurant Mobile App is Beneficial

Improves customer Experience

Along with the seamless ordering process, the restaurant's mobile app development has made it more convenient for customers to get their hands on more efficient features in the application. The features that it offers, order tracking, personalized recommendations, and menu browsing make it a food menu app while enhancing the overall features of the restaurant app.

Boosts Sales

An application can boost sales while allowing customers to order anytime anywhere. It also allows cross-selling or upselling by suggesting more related items related to the items that are already in the cart or letting them order items from previously ordered.

Increases Brands Visibility

Having an online presence for your restaurant enhances the brand or restaurant's visibility so your customers may get to know about it and opt for it. When the restaurant has an online presence whether on a website, an application, or from any other platform, it helps customers to opt for it anywhere anytime.

Features for Restaurant Mobile Application

Based on the analyses of the top applications for restaurant in the market, the following are the notable features to make a restaurant app.

Push Notification

Keep your users updated related to restaurants, it helps to push real-time notifications to the user about what’s new. The push notification for the application is necessary due to an increase in app engagement with the user while increasing customer loyalty. Moreover, important information related to the restaurant or about the promotional or discount codes as well can help notify users.

Tracking location via GPS

By integrating GPS into the application, customers can track their delivery person as well as their food order location by using your application.

Payment Methods

One way to make your application optimized is to add the fastest and safest payment processing options in your food application, which includes credit card payment, cash on delivery, coupons, etc when they are at the payment stage.

Social Media Integration

While gathering the customer's information, there are two stages after the application is introduced to your customer. One when the application is launched in the market for the first time and the second when customers place an order or reserve a table at any restaurant.

To give your customers access to these features you need to add the basic features to gather customers' information without hassle. Ensure your application has the option to let your customers sign up or login into your application via email or social media platforms.

Order ManagementOrder Management

The high-level feature that makes your application unique is online ordering from the application. For that you should add the geolocation in your restaurant mobile application to make it easy for the customer to pin their address, also it is useful in another way where you can track your order once placed. Moreover, this feature is helpful for the restaurant managers as well so that they know if they have to accept/reject the order.

UI/UX

A number of factors, such as the need for UI/UX design to attract users, might influence the cost of developing a mobile app. It is crucial to create a unique and intuitive user interface. If you need assistance choosing what to include in your UI/UX, it is imperative that you hire a mobile app developer. Hire a food delivery app developer for a visually appealing user experience, as many businesses are responding to Native app development for restaurant apps. To understand the user interface and experience, one must be familiar with the application's brand logo and other components.

App Maintenance

Since most businesses overlook this step in the process, it's important to realize that app maintenance can have a big impact on development costs when making a mobile application. To keep the app up to date and functional, the food industry need app maintenance services.

App maintenance services for the entertainment industry offer updated versions of apps with bug fixes and new features; users must select these services in order to reach a certain audience.

Development Team

When calculating the overall expenses of developing a mobile restaurant app, this element should be taken into account. The size of the team and hourly fees have a big influence on the total development cost, which will be determined using the hourly development cost. Because sophisticated applications can greatly increase time and expense, hiring a top-rated app development business gives excellent services at a reasonable cost.

Finally;

A restaurant app development can cost anywhere between $30,000 to $250,000 in 2025, based on the features and challenges of the app as well as the restaurant app development company's development team. Important components that affect the ultimate cost include platform selection, design, and whether to hire an internal team or outsource. Software changes also require maintenance, which usually adds 15% to 20% a year. Beyond the initial investment, a mobile app for restaurant offers a number of benefits, which includes improved customer service, increased sales, and heightened brand recognition. By concentrating on key features and maintaining a well-planned budget in which a top restaurant mobile application development company like Appicoders is an expert, your restaurant may thrive in the competitive digital market.