After researching the most popular delivery apps, I began the testing process. Because I was looking for the app that offered the best value, I was most interested in average delivery costs, special deals, and the costs and perks of any available membership programs.

I also considered how easy the site was to use and how accessible information is -- if delivery costs are hard to see, for example, you might waste time looking for that information or even placing an order without knowing how high the cost is. I also noted how many restaurants were available through each site and if they were diverse in terms of cuisine, cost, and local versus chain options. Aesthetics were not particularly important here, as it seems unlikely to be important to most consumers of this category. (I’ve mentioned appearance in my review, but didn’t take it into account in my rankings as long as usability was good.)

I tested using my own location, a college town in the midwest, which has a fair number of restaurants, but I also tested using addresses from other cities. A few of the apps tested were only available in a few locations -- in those cases, I looked at the locations that were available. I did not order from all these apps, as the actual delivery is more associated with the specific restaurants or drivers (and also, some of these services are not available where I live.) 

One of the most popular and ubiquitous delivery platforms, GrubHub was our number one choice for its widespread availability and cost-saving membership program. (Our runner up, DoorDash, is very similar, but GrubHub’s membership program has more perks -- it’s a narrow difference, and if one app or the other has more offerings in your area, you may want to use that app.) Since its founding in 2004, GrubHub has expanded across the country and now offers deliveries from 300,000 restaurants in 4,000 cities in all 50 states. That means wherever you are, you can probably order from GrubHub.

And when you do, you should use the app, which is easy to browse and order from and helps you track your order once you’ve placed it. Once you’ve either set a home address or allowed the app to access your location, the app presents you with all your available delivery options. Places you’ve ordered from before appear at the top of the screen, so you can return to your favorites quickly, rather than waste time hunting around each time. Restaurants with special deals are clearly marked so you can easily see what will save you the most money.

What sets GrubHub apart from other apps in the category is how many perks and special deals it offers. Tap the “Perks” icon on the bottom of the screen to look at your deals and coupons. The app displays the cash value of your available deals (in my case it was $27, between free delivery on certain restaurants and discounts on others.) You can also see how to earn more perks — for instance, I could get $10 off any purchase for referring a friend, or $5 off at McDonald’s for ordering three times.

But if you order food frequently, the best way to save money on the GrubHub app is the GrubHub+ membership program. For $9.99 a month, you get unlimited free delivery and a free meal every month. Not all restaurants are included in the free delivery, but those that are are clearly marked with a GH+ tag, and in all the areas I looked at, many restaurants are included. One thing to keep in mind is that orders containing alcohol don’t qualify for free delivery, even at participating restaurants.

Without a GrubHub+ membership, delivery fees vary from free to $3.99, plus a few higher-priced outliers, which is pretty standard for delivery platforms. So if you order more than three or four meals per month, the membership program is likely to save you money.

The app makes it easy to track your order history, reorder favorite items, and manage your account. You can track your order through the app, so you always know where your food is. Like most delivery services, GrubHub offers contactless delivery, so you can receive your food safely. The app also allows you to order food for pickup at restaurants that offer it. 

The GrubHub app is not particularly attractive, especially compared to its closest competitor, DoorDash. The app is user-friendly — you can easily see what restaurants are available and order from them. It works seamlessly. But it’s dark and just not very attractive. But function is more important than style for these apps. As long as it works, the aesthetics don’t really matter.

Another issue with the app is that it’s difficult to see the delivery fees before you’ve started your order. While some apps display that information clearly while you’re browsing, GrubHub makes you start your order before you see how much the delivery will cost. That means you may waste time selecting food before realizing you don’t want to pay the delivery fee.

I like it when the top two apps in a category include a scrappy underdog, but that did not happen here. Our top two came down to a battle of behemoths, and you really can’t go wrong with either one of them. This makes sense since the larger platforms are available in more places and have the resources to offer cost-saving loyalty programs.

Founded in 2012, DoorDash has grown fast and offers delivery from about the same number of restaurants as GrubHub. DoorDash is more popular in Texas and the Bay Area, while GrubHub is more popular in the northeast, so you might find more options depending on where you live.

The DoorDash app highlights the special deals available, including discounts and free delivery. They also offer a membership program, DashPass, for $9.99 per month, but you can receive up to a year free if you purchase with an eligible Chase credit card. (Chase Sapphire cards come with a year free, Chase Freedom and Slate cards offer three months free and a 50% discount for the next nine months.)

DashPass offers free delivery on orders over $12 from participating restaurants, so it’s pretty similar to the GrubHub+ program, although that one also includes a free meal each month. If you use a Chase credit card, DashPass is the best value for you. I will say that DoorDash makes it very easy to sign up for a free trial of DashPass, but you have to hunt around a bit to find what the cost after the trial is. 

Look and usability is where the DoorDash app shines. Bright, spacious, and easy to read, the app displays a ton of information without feeling crowded. The top of the screen offers quick sorting options, both in types of food and characteristics like pickup, 4.5 + star ratings, under 30-minute deliveries, and restaurants that offer group orders. These options save you time by showing you exactly what you want. Scroll down to find restaurants sorted into categories — Your Favorites, Special Offers For You, National Favorites (chain restaurants), Popular Local Restaurants, and more. If you just want to see all that’s available in your area, keep scrolling for a complete list. DoorDash also offers delivery from grocery stores and drug stores. 

While delivery apps are convenient for consumers, they’re not always the best deal for restaurants -- delivery platforms take up to 40% commission on orders. With many restaurants struggling to stay afloat during the pandemic, you may want to ensure that your money goes directly to your favorite local eateries. If that’s the case, ChowNow is the app for you.

With ChowNow, 100% of the money you spend goes directly to the restaurant you order from. As such, the selections on the app tend to be smaller local establishments rather than big chains. Unlike some other platforms, ChowNow does not have its own delivery drivers -- instead, restaurant owners subscribe to list their menu on ChowNow. When a customer orders, the restaurant receives a notification for the delivery or pickup order, and they take it from there.

That means that delivery rates fluctuate more widely and tend to be higher than on the large platforms. I saw delivery fees up to $6.75. So ChowNow may be better for your conscience than for your wallet. While you may be willing to pay the extra delivery fees in the name of helping your favorite restaurant through a difficult time (or just because you’re really missing a particular treat), I was not a fan of how difficult it is to see what the delivery fee will be. You can’t see the delivery charge until you are ready to place your order. As with GrubHub, this is time wasted if you select your items and then don’t want to pay the delivery fee, or money wasted if you pay a fee you might not have otherwise, just because you’ve already put the time in.

ChowNow does not have restaurants everywhere, but I found many options in all the cities I looked at. Choices abound in LA, Seattle, Denver, New York, San Francisco, and many others. However, the app may not be as useful to you if you live in a smaller town or rural area -- there was nothing available in my midwestern college town, for example.

The app is sleek and attractive, although it does require a lot of tapping to see different options. For instance, the menus are displayed as click down menus of courses/categories, so you have to tap through to see that food is available. It seemed to me that information availability was sacrificed for a minimalist aesthetic -- but that aesthetic is gorgeous. The app itself feels like a nice bistro menu, the kind that many folks are missing and would like to support. ChowNow is a great way to do that while getting a delicious meal. 

During the pandemic, many of us have explored the limits of just how many things we can get delivered. But delivery was popular long before, and Delivery.com has been in the business of delivering everything for over a decade.

Open the app to find options for restaurants, groceries, alcohol, and even laundry. While not as widely available as GrubHub or DoorDash, Delivery.com features deliveries from over 19,000 businesses in 24,000 cities -- and they're expanding that all the time. If you live in an area with lots of merchants that deliver through the company, Delivery.com is a great one-stop shop for all your delivery needs, saving you from downloading multiple apps, storing your credit card number with multiple platforms, etc.

Delivery fees are comparable to other platforms -- from free to around $5. Delivery fees are displayed when you’re scrolling through the list of restaurants, so you can rule out places with too-high fees ahead of time. Restaurants offering special discounts or limited-time free delivery are clearly indicated, so you can easily browse for deals. 

You can also see star ratings, price range ($-$$$$), cuisine type, distance, and how long the delivery will take before clicking through to the menu. Having all that information at hand makes for an efficient browsing experience, with few time-wasting clicks.

Delivery.com doesn’t have a subscription membership program, but it does have a free-to-join points program that allows you to get points for every order you place. For every dollar spent, you earn 20 points. You can redeem your points for discounts on future orders -- 5,000 points gets you $5 off, 9,500 gets you $10, and 18,000 earns you $20 (maybe the price of a full meal). If you don’t want your points, you can donate them through Charity at Checkout and support a number of organizations working to end hunger and other causes.

The app highlights special promos as well, making them easy to find through a button on the bottom of the interface. I was testing the app during the holiday season, and they were running a 30 days of deals promotion, with a different coupon available each day. You can also get a $10 off coupon for referring a friend.

Because I was comparing the app to other food delivery apps, I mainly focused on restaurants, but I briefly looked at the other services as well. All have the same clear layout, range of options, and transparent information. Whether you’re housebound, too busy to do errands, or just prefer to have things delivered, Delivery.com can help with all your needs. 

Postmates is a popular and widely available service. The app is highly browsable and highlights local restaurants and special deals. However, delivery costs tended to be quite high. They do have a membership program that offers free delivery on orders over $12.99 for $9.99 per month. That's the same price as GrubHub+ and DoorDash, so if you order food often and prefer Postmates offerings in your area, this might be the best deal for you. 

Caviar was originally launched as a high-end food delivery service, specializing in fancier restaurants. However, it was purchased by DoorDash in 2019. The two apps are now pretty much identical, although in some locations, Caviar may have restaurants that DoorDash does not, so it might be worth checking if you can't find a favorite on DoorDash. Caviar also offers DashPass.

Another popular delivery app, Seamless and GrubHub merged in 2013. They maintain separate apps, but they look pretty much identical and appear to offer the same restaurants and have the same perks for the same price on their loyalty program. 

Favor is only available in Texas. However, if you live in Texas, you should definitely check out this app, which offers a wide array of restaurants as well as grocery deliveries. Favor is operated by H.E.B, a popular Texas grocery chain. 

I first entered my own address, in a college town in Kansas. No luck. Then looked at all the big cities I could think of: New York, San Francisco, Boston, Atlanta, etc. Not available. It turns out that Bite Squad is the app for often-ignored locations, serving cities in Arkansas, Florida, North Carolina, North and South Dakota, Hawaii, Ohio, Oklahoma, North and South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Wisconsin. If you're in those locations, Bite Squad appears to have many restaurant choices, though delivery costs run high.