Restaurant app development cost: what you'll really pay in year one

A restaurant app costs whatever it takes to build it, publish it and keep it running, and the route you pick matters more than the features. An agency quotes a custom build per project, then charges for hosting and updates. A DIY app builder costs a monthly plan plus Apple's $99 a year and Google Play's $25 developer fees, and you do the work. An ordering platform with a branded app charges a monthly fee and builds the app for you: Menuthere's Branded App plan is $99 a month ($990 a year billed yearly), with store fees included and 0% commission.

The three ways to get a restaurant app

1. Hire an agency for a custom build

Restaurant app development companies design and code an app for you. You get exactly what you specify, and you pay for it.

• Build: quoted per project. There's no standard price. Agency blog posts that rank for this topic publish wide ranges; idealink.tech's guide, for example, puts it at "$20K-250K" in its title. That's their estimate, not ours.
• Ongoing: servers and hosting, bug fixes, updates for each new iOS and Android version, and Apple's $99 developer fee every year. Ask every agency for a yearly maintenance quote, not just the build price.
• Also needed: the ordering system behind the app (menu, checkout, kitchen orders, payments), unless the agency builds that too.

Best for: restaurant groups that need features nobody else offers and have a budget and a team to manage the project.

2. Use a DIY app builder

Builders such as Appy Pie let you assemble an app from templates without code.

• Plan: a monthly or yearly subscription. On Appy Pie's pricing page (checked 19 October 2026), only the top plan publishes to both Google Play and the App Store.
• Store fees: not included. Apple's Developer Program is $99 a year and Google Play's registration is $25 once, so $124 in year one and $99 a year after that.
• Your time: you design the app, connect ordering and payments, submit it to both stores, answer review questions and keep it updated.

Best for: owners who enjoy the tech side and have time to run it.

3. Use an ordering platform that includes a branded app

Ordering platforms already run the menu, checkout and orders. With a branded app, they put your restaurant's name and icon on their app and publish it for you.

• Owner.com: Flexible $249 a month plus a 5% restaurant fee per order, or Flat Rate $499 a month with no additional restaurant fees. Guests pay a 5% order support fee on both plans. Branded mobile app included on all plans. Month-to-month.
• ChowNow: plans from $229 to $449 a month depending on plan and billing, a $119–$499 set-up fee, 2.95% + $0.29 per transaction, and a $99 annual Apple developer fee for branded mobile apps.
• Menuthere Branded App: $99 a month or $990 a year billed yearly. Menuthere builds and publishes your Android and iOS app, and Apple's and Google's store fees are included. 0% commission; your card payment gateway charges its own processing fee. Nothing is paid at signup, and your subscription only starts counting from the day your app goes live.

Best for: restaurants that want their own app for regulars without running a software project.

First-year cost, added up

Prices are from each company's own pricing page, checked on 19 October 2026. Card processing fees apply on every route and aren't included unless a company lists them as its own fee.

An example, for illustration only: if your online sales are $10,000 a month, Owner.com Flexible's 5% restaurant fee adds $500 a month, so year one comes to $2,988 + $6,000 = $8,988 before card processing. Your guests also pay Owner.com's 5% order support fee. This is simple arithmetic from Owner.com's published prices; your own numbers will differ.

What drives the cost of a custom build

If you do go to an agency, these are the questions that move the quote:

Menuthere's Branded App plan includes these as standard: ordering and payment, reorder, loyalty points customers see in the app, live delivery tracking with your own riders, order updates and unlimited push notifications, plus everything in the Pro plan (WhatsApp Business API on your own number, advanced analytics and several outlets). See the restaurant app builder page for the full list.

Is owning an app profitable?

It can be, but only if people use it. An app earns its cost when regulars order through it instead of a marketplace that takes a commission, and when push notifications bring them back on quiet nights. It doesn't help much if most of your orders are first-time customers, who won't install an app to order once.

Before you spend anything, run the simple test in Should your restaurant build an app?. For many restaurants the honest answer is to start with a free ordering website, which Menuthere offers with 0% commission, and add an app once regulars are ordering every week.

Skip the build. Get your own Android and iOS app for $99 a month, store fees included and 0% commission. Nothing is paid at signup. Get your app or book a 15-minute demo.