Why Did Food Delivery Get So Expensive?

Food delivery apps make life more convenient. A few taps, and food from your favorite restaurant shows up at your doorstep, mostly fresh and hot. But that convenience comes at a price, and it isn’t small. A $16 burrito-and-nachos order can balloon to $40 by the time it arrives.

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A 2025 study found that ordering delivery costs about 80% more than picking up the same meal directly from the restaurant. The gap widens further when you compare delivery to a similar frozen meal from the grocery store (279.9%, or $15.48, more expensive) or a comparable meal cooked at home (601.7%, or $17.98, more expensive).

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Delivery apps also eat into restaurant margins, leaving neither customers nor restaurants happy with the arrangement.

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Here are some of the hidden ways delivery apps inflate your total order price:

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Hidden Fee Stacking Right Before Payment

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You add items to your cart, customize them, and do some quick math to estimate the total. When it’s time to pay, the number looks different. You scramble to find the small dropdown that reveals the pile of platform fees the app has quietly tacked on.

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Dynamic and Surveillance Pricing

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Food delivery apps change prices in real time. A bowl of ramen might cost less at 3:30 pm on a Tuesday than it does at dinner on a Friday, when demand spikes. These apps draw on millions of data points to adjust prices on the fly. They may also use your location, order history, and even the fact that it’s payday to determine what you pay. You and a friend in different neighborhoods can see different prices for the exact same order.

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Small Order Fee

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You’re alone and not particularly hungry, but it’s lunchtime, and you want something. You open the app and add a 6-piece sushi set. At checkout, a small-order fee appears. Sometimes the app tells you the minimum you need to spend to avoid it; sometimes it doesn’t. Either way, you start piling on extra entrées to hit the threshold, ordering more than you wanted just to dodge a fee you didn’t know existed.

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Menu Inflation

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Because delivery apps cut into restaurant margins, many restaurants mark up their in-app prices to stay afloat. A 2022 survey found that restaurants raise menu prices by an average of 24% on delivery apps. With rising inflation, that figure is likely even higher today.

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So even if you spot a shiny 30% discount on an item or restaurant, chances are that by the time you reach the payment page, the inflated base price has already eaten up most of it.

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How to Save Money on Food Delivery

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Controlling the impulse to order food is easier said than done, but here are a few tricks to save money on your next order:

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• Call the restaurant directly and order from them. This dodges almost every trick delivery apps use. It’s slightly less convenient, but it’s more profitable for the restaurant and cheaper for you, especially if the restaurant is close by.
• If you decide to order through an app (which is fine once in a while), try ordering when you’re not very hungry. You’ll be patient enough to compare options, check whether any restaurants are offering discounts or free delivery, and look for promotions that can lower the total.
• If you’re already out running errands, plan to pick up your food instead. Call ahead and place the order so you don’t spend much time waiting.
• If you order through delivery apps a few times a week, consider a credit card tied to third-party delivery services. You’ll get cashback or points on those purchases.