Study Reveals Hidden Costs: How Restaurant Food Delivery Apps Can Inflate Your Meal Prices Nearly 100%

Ordering food through delivery apps like DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub can significantly hike up the cost of your meal. Recent research from LendingTree shows that what starts as a $12 meal can balloon to over $20—an increase of about 80%. That’s a big hit for many.

While it’s nice to have food delivered right to your door, it often comes with hidden costs. Many people don’t realize how much more they’re paying until after they’ve clicked “order.”

According to Matt Schulz from LendingTree, around 40% of Americans order food delivery at least once a week. “Adding an extra 80% onto our food budgets is tough for a lot of us,” he points out.

The True Cost of Delivery

A study analyzing orders from major restaurant chains in big U.S. cities found that, on average, delivery costs 79.5% more than picking up the same meal yourself—an extra $9.30 per order. This markup is even worse when you compare it to other dining options:

• Delivery is 279.9% pricier than buying a similar frozen meal.
• It’s 601.7% more than cooking a comparable meal at home.

Delivery Costs by City

The price difference varies across cities:

• Atlanta: 92.2% markup
• New York: 89.1%
• Philadelphia: 82.8%
• Chicago: 71.8%
• Miami: 69.3%
• Houston: 67.0%

Busy parents and professionals often overlook these extra costs, opting for the ease of delivery after long days. However, this could be a wake-up call for many to reconsider how often they order in.

Who Orders Delivery?

Stats show that:

• 38% of Americans order delivery each week.
• 24% do it several times a week.
• Parents of young kids lead the pack, with 60% ordering at least once a week.

Younger generations are also big fans of delivery. About 56% of Millennials and 50% of Gen Zers use delivery at least weekly. Interestingly, men order more often than women—49% of men compared to 28% of women.

Final Takeaway

Convenience does cost money. Before hitting that “order” button, take a moment to evaluate the added fees and tips that can nearly double your meal’s original price. The trade-off between time and cost might give you pause to think ahead.

For more insights, you can check the study by LendingTree.

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