Food delivery services can be invaluable. Instead of fighting it out with the masses in the parking lot and the cereal aisle, you can make a few taps on your smartphone and have everything you need waiting outside your front door. The costs can add up quickly though.
We aren’t going to tell you to avoid food delivery services. Far from it! Instead, we’re going to show you a variety of ways that can help you cut back on food delivery costs dramatically in 2023. You can enjoy the time saving benefits of food delivery without having to overspend. So stop paying full price for food delivery, and read about our secret ways to save big instead.
Use Multiple Apps
Competition for your delivery dollar is stiff. As a result, the numerous food delivery companies incentivize repeat business with coupons, codes, and discounts. By downloading multiple apps, you’ll be able to see and make the most of the best deals as soon as they pop up.
Some apps charge more for the same thing too. A higher delivery fee, inflated menu costs, and extra fees could make a big difference in the overall order cost. To maximize your savings, get in the habit of pricing out the same order across multiple delivery apps and choose the one that’s cheapest.
Say Yes to Notifications
The novelty of enabling push notifications wears off quickly with most apps. But then again, most apps aren’t handing out discounts on food. Food delivery services use push notifications to alert customers of new coupon codes and highlight new promotions.
Enabling notifications on each delivery app will ensure that you never miss out on a new savings opportunity. It also means you don’t have to work to find out about the latest deals either. If that’s not your style, join an email list and start getting coupon codes and incentives sent to you.
Watch Extra Fees
It’s become a bit of a mantra for those that love food delivery services, but keeping an eye out for extra fees will always be important. You can’t take prices at face value. In addition to the cost of the menu item and the delivery fee, there’s tips and fees to consider.
These fees can vary from order to order, and often don’t appear until the very end of the ordering process. All the more reason to enter your full order into multiple apps to calculate the total cost and maximize your savings.
Order Strategically
Planning ahead is always a good idea, but it’s particularly important here. When avoiding extra fees is hard or impossible, frugal food delivery customers often order more. Make the most out of your delivery fee by ordering multiple meals at once. Yet another way to minimize the money spent on delivery fees while still maximizing the convenience of, and efficiency of, food delivery services.
Go Premium
If you exhaust the available coupons or find yourself continuously using one app to tackle most of your deliveries then it might be time to consider a premium membership. Most food delivery services offer a premium tier that charges a little bit each month for additional in-app benefits.
Grubhub+
Get unlimited $0 delivery fees on orders over $12, earn exclusive rewards, and get access to exclusive perks for just $9.99 a month.
DashPass
For just $9.99 a month or $96 a year, get free delivery on all orders over $12, priority customer support, and exclusive promotions.
Eats Pass
Get 5% off orders over $15 and $0 delivery fees at eligible restaurants for $9.99 a month with Eats Pass from UberEats.
Instacart Express
$9.99 a month gets Instacart Express members unlimited free delivery on orders over $35, 5% credit back on eligible pickup orders, exclusive offers, and lower service fees on every order.
Postmates Unlimited
Get 5% off restaurant orders over $15 and grocery orders over $30, and free deliveries for $9.99 a month.
Just because we didn’t mention your favorite delivery service doesn’t mean they don’t have a premium tier. So be sure to visit their website to see if signing up could save you money.
Start Saving Today
There is middle ground to be found between the high cost of food delivery and the laundry list of associated benefits. By app hopping, ordering ahead, making the most out of coupons and discounts, and signing up premium tiered services, you can save big on food delivery in 2023.
It may sound like a lot of work, but the amount of time you spend putting our tips to use is still a fraction of the time it takes to get your own groceries, or order and pick-up takeout meals. You don’t have to write off food delivery, or accept overpaying. Be patient, do your research, and enjoy all of the extra time you have.
Shutterstock: Tero Vesalainen