In 2025, restaurant app development is no longer reserved for big brands. Local restaurants are using mobile apps to increase orders, build loyalty, and grow their business.
Whether you choose to hire a restaurant app developer, build your own, or use an all-in-one solution like the DoorDash Commerce Platform, creating a restaurant app is a key lever for building customer relationships and boosting sales.
Keep reading to learn everything you need to know about restaurant app development and how to get started.
What is restaurant app development?
Restaurant app development is the process of creating a mobile application that lets customers browse menus, place orders, earn rewards, and stay connected to your brand. The goal is simple: make it easy for customers to order from you, directly from their phones. After all, more than half of consumers prefer mobile apps as their primary channel for engaging with brands.
Traditionally, restaurants had to hire a restaurant app developer to custom-build a solution from the ground up, which could cost thousands of dollars and months of development time. Today, however, platforms like the DoorDash Commerce Platform offer a faster, more affordable alternative.
Why restaurant app development needs to be part of your 2025 budget
As more diners order, pay, and engage through mobile, investing in your own app is one of the smartest moves you can make for long-term growth.
Here’s why it deserves a place in your budget this year and beyond:
Mobile orders are now your most loyal customers
Mobile app users are 30% more likely to reorder*, and they account for 25% of first-party digital orders.** With numbers like that, it's clear that a restaurant ordering app is a high-ROI first-party channel.
You own the customer relationship
When customers order through your own app, you get valuable insights — what they order, how often, and when they return. That data helps you improve marketing, personalize offers, and build stronger loyalty over time.
It’s more affordable than you think
Restaurants can choose between hiring a restaurant app developer, building the app themselves, or partnering with a platform like the DoorDash Commerce Platform for a hands-off solution. Each path offers control over design and costs, so you can align development with your business goals and budget.
Get a Commerce Platform demoHow to get started with restaurant app development
If you’re exploring restaurant app development for the first time, here’s where to start:
Define your goals: From boosting first-party orders to driving restaurant customer retention, have a clear vision of what you'd like to achieve with your app.
Choose the right partner: Think about how involved you'd like to be in the development of your app. If you'd like to take a hands-on approach and learn how to code along the way, hiring a restaurant app developer could be right for you. If you'd prefer a turnkey experience, go with the DoorDash Commerce Platform.
Build with proven technology: When selecting a restaurant app development partner, ask for success metrics from previous projects to ensure that whoever builds your app knows what it takes to create a first-party ordering machine.
Test, launch, and promote: Before launch, test the app’s checkout flow and design and come up with a plan for how you'll market your app to customers. If you go with the DoorDash Commerce Platform, our experts will help you market your app — making app launch a breeze.
Choosing the Right Mobile App Development Path
There’s no single way to build a restaurant app. The right approach depends on your goals, budget, and how much time you want to spend managing technology. Here are three common options to consider:
Build the app yourself
If you enjoy hands-on projects and want full control, you can code the app or use DIY app-building software. DIY tools often include drag-and-drop features for menus, photos, and payment systems. While this option gives you full creative freedom, it can be time-consuming to manage updates and integrations on your own.
Hire a developer or agency
Working with a professional restaurant app developer or design agency is a good choice if you want to be hands-on in the app development process without doing all of the work yourself. This route offers maximum flexibility but can come with higher upfront costs — often ranging from several thousand to tens of thousands of dollars — and longer development timelines. You’ll also need to maintain the app over time, which adds to ongoing costs.
Invest in a white-glove solution like the DoorDash Commerce Platform
For restaurants that want the benefits of an app without the complexity of managing development, a turnkey option like the DoorDash Commerce Platform delivers the best of both worlds. DoorDash builds, tests, and launches a custom app for your restaurant, powered by the same technology that supports millions of DoorDash orders every day.
How 3Natives grew first-party orders with their branded mobile app
When 3Natives launched their branded mobile app, customers quickly embraced it — and the results were impressive. Diners placed orders 71% more often through the app compared to the website, showing just how powerful a dedicated mobile experience can be.
Get started with our restaurant app development solution
Restaurant app development is no longer out of reach. With the DoorDash Commerce Platform, you can create a branded mobile app that helps customers order faster, rewards them for loyalty, and keeps your restaurant top of mind — all backed by the same technology that powers millions of orders each day.
Get a Commerce Platform demo*Compared to customers using web ordering channels. Based on internal DoorDash data from January 2025 to June 2025
**Based on internal DoorDash data from January 2025 to June 2025 for merchants with mobile apps
***2.9% + $0.30 payment processing fee applies
