8 Best Food Delivery Apps in Dubai: Talabat, Deliveroo, Careem, Keeta and More Compared

Food Delivery Apps in Dubai

In this guide you will find all eight food delivery apps in Dubai, with what you can order on each, what delivery costs, and what a subscription adds. Then we put Talabat side by side with Deliveroo, Careem, noon and Keeta, and look at which app is cheapest and which is used most.

Want the quick answer on which app to choose? Jump to the comparison.

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Here are the eight apps, from the biggest to the smallest. Each card shows what you pay without a plan and what paying for one adds. Orange cards are food delivery apps, blue cards are bigger apps with a food section, and the green card is a grocery app.

1. Talabat

Talabat is the app most people in Dubai think of first when they are hungry. It started in Kuwait in 2004 and is now based in Dubai, and it delivers far more than restaurant meals: groceries from its own talabat mart, pharmacy items and shopping all come through the same app.

What do I use it for? Most people use Talabat for restaurant meals. Many also use it for a quick grocery top-up from talabat mart, which promises delivery in under 20 minutes, or for pharmacy items.

What should I watch out for? Look for the talabat pro box before you pay, because some users say they joined pro by mistake at the Apple Pay step. Menu prices in the app can also be higher than in the restaurant itself.

Choose Talabat if you want one app for restaurants, groceries and pharmacy orders, or if your whole family orders food.

2. Deliveroo

Deliveroo is a British app that came to Dubai in 2015 and is now part of the American company DoorDash. It is strong on restaurant food, and its Hop grocery service delivers from small local stores. Deliveroo is upfront about fees: the delivery fee depends on where you live, and you see it before you choose a restaurant.

What do I use it for? Mostly restaurant meals, with Hop for a few groceries from small local stores. Because the delivery fee shows before you choose, it is easy to compare restaurants by what you will really pay.

What should I watch out for? Plus removes the delivery fee, not every fee: Deliveroo says Plus orders still pay a service fee, and a small order fee below the restaurant's minimum. The Plus Gold price you are offered depends on your account.

Choose Deliveroo if you already have Amazon Prime, or you like to pay in cash when the food arrives.

3. Careem

Careem is the app many people already use for rides, and its Food section lists about 9,500 restaurants, with delivery around the clock. It is the same app that books Hala taxis, which we explain in our guide to taxi apps in Dubai. One wallet, Careem Pay, pays for food, rides and groceries.

What do I use it for? Food at any hour, since Careem says its food delivery runs 24 hours a day, and Quik groceries, which Careem says can arrive in 15 minutes. One Careem Pay wallet covers food, rides and groceries.

What should I watch out for? The delivery time shown before you order is an estimate, and users say orders often take longer, so order early if you are hungry. Careem's help centre still shows an older Careem Plus price of AED 29, so check the price in the app before you join.

Choose Careem if you take Careem rides every week, because Careem Plus then saves you money on both.

4. noon

noon is best known as an online shopping app, but it has a Food section with more than 10,000 restaurants, plus quick groceries from noon Minutes. The big draw is the membership: one noon One plan gives free delivery on food and on shopping, so it suits people who already buy things on noon.

What do I use it for? Most people come to noon to shop. They use the Food section for meals and noon Minutes for groceries, and they can pay in instalments with Tabby or Tamara.

What should I watch out for? noon's help page has shown a limited-time price of AED 15 for noon One, while the App Store lists AED 25, so check the price in the app. Refunds can go to your noon wallet, so ask for your card if you would rather have the money back.

Choose noon if you already shop on noon, because one noon One membership covers both your shopping and your food.

5. Keeta

Keeta is the newest big food delivery app in Dubai. It belongs to Meituan, one of China's largest delivery companies, and it started in Dubai in September 2025. Within 90 days it reached all seven emirates, and it now lists more than 10,000 restaurant brands. Instead of a paid subscription, Keeta competes on price, with free delivery and discounts as daily deals.

What do I use it for? Occasional orders, when a daily deal makes a restaurant cheaper than on the other apps. In Dubai Silicon Oasis, you can also have food flown to a locker.

What should I watch out for? Plan to pay by card, because users say there is no cash on delivery. When an order goes wrong, refunds often come as credit in the Keeta wallet, not back to your card. Keeta also has the lowest App Store rating of the eight, at 3.7 out of 5.

Choose Keeta if you order now and then and want a deal on a single order without paying for a plan.

6. Smiles

Smiles is the food and rewards app from e&, the telecoms company that used to be called Etisalat, and it is open to everyone in the UAE, not only e& customers. It lists more than 16,000 restaurants, and every order earns Smiles points, which e& customers can also use to pay phone bills.

What do I use it for? Food and grocery delivery that earns points on every order, and Buy 1 Get 1 vouchers for eating out, attractions and shops.

What should I watch out for? Refunds can come as Smiles points instead of money back to your card. At AED 29 a month, Smiles Unlimited is the dearest plan here, so it pays off only if you also use the Buy 1 Get 1 vouchers.

Choose Smiles if you are an e& customer, or you eat out often enough to use the Buy 1 Get 1 vouchers.

7. EatEasy

EatEasy is a small Dubai food app that has run since 2013. You can order for delivery or for pick-up, and pick-up saves the delivery fee if the restaurant is close. It is much smaller than the apps above, so the choice of restaurants depends on where you live.

What do I use it for? Ordering ahead from a restaurant near you and collecting it, which skips both the delivery fee and the queue.

What should I watch out for? EatEasy is much smaller than the apps above, so check that your favourite restaurants are listed in your area before you rely on it.

Choose EatEasy if you mostly collect your food yourself.

8. instashop

instashop is mainly a grocery app, but it also delivers from some restaurants, cafés and bakeries, such as PAUL, Café Bateel and ALBAIK. Talabat has owned it since February 2025, but it still runs as a separate app.

What do I use it for? Mostly groceries. The restaurants and bakeries are an add-on to a supermarket order, not a full food delivery app.

What should I watch out for? Prices can be higher than in the shop itself. If an item is out of stock, the store may call you about a replacement, so keep your phone close.

Choose instashop if you want your weekly groceries from a big supermarket and a fresh bakery order in one delivery.

Talabat vs Deliveroo vs Careem vs Keeta Compared

For most people in Dubai, Talabat is the best food delivery app, because it puts restaurants, groceries and pharmacy orders in one app, takes cash, and has a family plan. But each of the others beats it at something. Let's compare them two at a time, starting with the pairs people search for most.

Talabat vs Deliveroo

The two are closer than they look: both have a 4.6 rating in the UAE App Store, and both start at AED 19 a month. Pick Talabat for groceries and a family plan. Pick Deliveroo if you pay for Amazon Prime, because Plus Silver then costs you nothing, or if you want money back when food is late.

Talabat vs Careem

The price is the same, so this comes down to rides. Pick Careem if you take Careem rides most weeks, because Careem Plus gives you 10% back on up to 10 of them as well as free food delivery. Pick Talabat if you only order food, because it adds pharmacy orders, cash on delivery and a family plan.

Talabat vs noon

Pick noon if you already buy clothes, electronics or household things on noon, because one membership then covers it all. Pick Talabat if food is the main thing you order, because it is cheaper at AED 19 and adds pharmacy orders and a family plan.

Talabat vs Keeta

Keeta's daily deals can make a single order cheaper. But it has the lowest rating here, and users say refunds often come as app credit. Pick Keeta for the odd order when you want the best deal. Pick Talabat for a weekly habit, where a subscription and reliable service matter more than one discount.

Which Food Delivery App Is Cheapest in Dubai?

No app is always the cheapest, because each restaurant sets its own delivery fee. The real saving comes from a subscription. Talabat, Deliveroo, Careem, noon and Smiles all sell one, and Careem Plus and talabat pro start at AED 19 a month. Keeta does not sell a subscription, but it offers free delivery as a daily deal.

A subscription pays for itself when the delivery fees you would have paid in a month add up to more than its price. So add up the delivery fees on last month's orders. If they come to more than AED 19, a plan will save you money. If you order only once or twice a month, skip the subscription and use Keeta's free-delivery deals or a pick-up order instead.

Three things decide whether you really pay less:

• Free delivery does not mean no fees. Deliveroo says Plus orders still pay a service fee, and a small order fee if you spend less than the restaurant's minimum. Other apps show their service fee at checkout.
• Menu prices can be higher in the app. Users of several apps report menu prices above the restaurant's own, so compare your usual order with the price on the restaurant's menu.
• Your bank card may include a subscription. The talabat ADCB credit card includes talabat pro, and the Emirates NBD noon One card gives noon One free for the first year.

Which Food Delivery App Is Most Used in Dubai?

Talabat is the most used food delivery app in Dubai. No independent study of 2026 market shares had been published when we checked. But talabat had more than seven million monthly active customers across its eight countries in December 2025, and it has the most ratings of any food-only app in the UAE App Store.

Deliveroo comes second on this count, and Smiles third. Careem and noon have even more ratings, but those also cover rides and shopping. Keeta has far fewer because it has been in the UAE for only a year. Food delivery as a whole keeps growing: orders in the UAE rose 15.2% in the first half of 2026, according to the restaurant software company Syrve, reported by Khaleej Times.

Food Delivery Apps That Are Not in Dubai

Three big names that people know from India and elsewhere do not deliver food in the UAE. If you are used to them, Talabat and Careem are the closest match, because both deliver restaurant food and groceries in one app.

Is Swiggy in Dubai?

No. Swiggy does not deliver food in Dubai or anywhere in the UAE. You can download the Swiggy app with a UAE phone number, but only to send food or gifts to family in India. Asked about a Dubai launch, Swiggy's food delivery chief Rohit Kapoor told Gulf News in December 2024 that the company had "too much to do right now in India".

Does the UAE Have Uber Eats?

No. Uber Eats left the UAE in May 2020. Its customers were moved to Careem, which Uber owns, so the Careem app is now the place to order food if you used Uber Eats before.

Does Zomato Deliver in Dubai?

No. Zomato stopped food delivery in the UAE on 24 November 2022. Its UAE delivery business had been sold to Talabat's owner in 2019, and Zomato app users were sent to Talabat.

Things to Keep in Mind When You Order Food in Dubai

Since September 2025, Dubai's consumer protection rules for delivery apps say you must see every charge before you pay: the food, the delivery fee, any service fee and VAT. A fee that was not shown at checkout cannot be added afterwards. So if your bank statement shows more than the checkout screen did, you have good grounds to ask for the difference back.

A few other things are worth knowing:

• Look for a subscription box before you pay. Some users say they joined a plan without meaning to at checkout. Untick it if you do not want it, and check your card after you cancel any plan.
• Ask for the refund to your card. When an order arrives wrong or late, apps often offer credit you can spend only in that app. If you would rather have your money back, say so in the chat.

If something goes wrong, this is what to do:

1. Report it in the app. Open the order, tap Help or Get help, choose the problem and add photos of what arrived. Do it the same day, while the order is still listed as recent.
2. Keep the evidence. Save a screenshot of the checkout breakdown, the receipt and the chat with support.
3. Complain to Dubai's consumer protection team if the app does not fix it. You can file a complaint on consumerrights.ae or in the Dubai Consumer app, or call 600 545555. Give the app's name, your order number and your screenshots.