Best Food & Drink

Food and drink apps fall into three camps: delivery platforms that bring restaurant meals to your door, nutrition trackers that log everything you eat, and casual cooking games that simulate kitchen chaos. The top-rated apps here (DoorDash, Uber Eats, Grubhub) dominate delivery but carry a common complaint: inflated prices, spotty customer service, and inconsistent delivery reliability. MyFitnessPal leads the tracking category with the largest food database on mobile, though recent paywalling has frustrated longtime users. If you're hunting for practical utility, expect to trade convenience for markup fees and subscription pressure. Cooking games like Burger Master sit at the lighter end, offering time-waster fun interrupted by frequent ads. Whether you're ordering dinner, counting macros, or tapping through burger recipes, most apps in this category are free to download but lean hard on upsells or ads to monetize.

How to Pick the Right Food & Drink App

Choosing a food and drink app depends on what you actually need it to do. Here's what to evaluate before you download:

  • Delivery fees and markup transparency: Most delivery apps charge service fees, delivery fees, and mark up menu prices by 20-30% compared to in-store. Check the full checkout cost before committing, and look for subscription tiers (like DashPass or Uber One) if you order multiple times per week.
  • Tracking database size and barcode scanning: Nutrition apps live or die by their food libraries. MyFitnessPal has the largest crowd-sourced database, but smaller apps like Cronometer offer cleaner data. Barcode scanning speeds up logging significantly, so prioritize apps that include it without a paywall.
  • Offline access: Delivery apps obviously need internet, but tracker apps should let you log meals offline and sync later. Cooking games usually require a connection for ad serving, which means no play on flights or subway commutes.
  • Ad load and subscription gates: Free cooking games interrupt every 60-90 seconds with video ads. Delivery apps push premium subscriptions at checkout. Trackers lock macro breakdowns or meal planning behind monthly fees. Decide your tolerance before downloading.
  • Order accuracy and support responsiveness: Read recent reviews for delivery apps. If the last 50 reviews mention wrong orders, missing items, or unresponsive chat support, move on. These issues rarely improve.

Frequently asked questions

Are there good free food delivery apps?

DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub are all free to download, but they charge delivery fees, service fees, and menu markups on every order. You can use them without paying a subscription, but expect to pay 30-50% more than picking up food yourself.

What's the best app for counting calories in 2026?

MyFitnessPal remains the top choice thanks to its massive food database and barcode scanner, though many features now require a paid subscription. If you want free macro tracking without paywalls, Cronometer offers a cleaner alternative with verified nutritional data.

Can I use food tracker apps offline?

Most nutrition trackers like MyFitnessPal let you log meals offline and sync when you reconnect. Delivery apps require an active internet connection to browse menus and place orders.

Do food delivery apps work on older iPhones?

DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub support iOS 13 and later, which covers iPhone 6s and newer models. Performance may lag on older devices, especially when browsing restaurants with lots of photos.

Why do delivery apps charge so much more than restaurant prices?

Delivery platforms mark up menu prices by 20-30%, then add service fees and delivery fees on top. Restaurants also raise their app prices to cover the commission they pay to the platform, typically 15-30% per order.

Last updated: May 24, 2026