Create a Delivery App Like Glovo

The success of apps like Glovo has completely transformed the on-demand delivery market: meals, groceries, pharmacy items, flowers, last-minute products… almost anything can be delivered in just a few clicks. By 2026, the global market for delivery apps will continue to grow strongly, driven by heavy mobile usage, quick commerce, and consumers’ expectations for speed and real-time tracking.

In this article, we break down the cost to develop an app like Glovo and the main cost items you need to plan before launching your own delivery platform.

If you’re thinking about creating an app like Glovo, two questions always come up:

What is the cost to develop an app like Glovo, from idea to launch?

Should you start from scratch or use a turnkey solution (SaaS / white-label)?

In this guide, we’ll cover:

• How an app like Glovo works (customer, restaurant, courier)
• The essential features you need to include
• The differences between custom development and a ready-to-use platform
• A realistic estimate of the cost to launch your own delivery platform

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What Is the Glovo Delivery App?

Glovo is a multi-category on-demand delivery app. Unlike a simple food delivery app, Glovo allows users to have delivered:

• Restaurant meals (classic food delivery)
• Everyday groceries (grocery stores, supermarkets, convenience stores)
• Specialized products (pharmacy items, flowers, gifts, etc.)

The user places an order from their smartphone, tracks the courier in real time, and pays online or on delivery. On the business side, merchants and restaurants receive orders through a back office or a dedicated app, and couriers manage their routes with a driver app.

Creating an app like Glovo therefore means setting up a complete ecosystem:

• A customer app (iOS / Android + sometimes web)
• A courier / driver app
• A merchant / restaurant interface
• An admin back office to manage the whole platform

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Customer App: User Experience at the Heart of the Project

The customer app is the core of your business. This is where everything happens: navigation, search, payment, loyalty… To be competitive against players like Glovo, your app needs to be:

• Simple and ultra-smooth on mobile
• Clear about prices, fees and delivery times
• Reassuring when it comes to payment and order tracking

Essential features on the customer side:

• Easy sign-up / login : Registration via email, phone number or social networks (Google, Apple, Facebook). The faster the flow, the higher your activation rate.
• Choice and management of delivery address :Geolocation, saving several addresses (home, office…), automatic suggestions.
• Catalogue and search : List of restaurants, shops and dark stores filtered by category, distance, delivery fees, rating or estimated delivery time.
• Cart and options : Add / remove items, choose variants (size, ingredients, extras), promo code, clear display of service and delivery fees.
• Real-time order tracking : Display of status: order accepted, in preparation, picked up by the courier, on the way, delivered.
• Push notifications : Alerts at key steps (order sent, courier on the way, arriving soon) and targeted promotions.
• Order history : View past orders, re-order in one click, invoice or receipt available.
• Multiple payment options : Bank card, wallet, cash on delivery (depending on the country), integration with Stripe, PayPal or other local payment solutions.
• Support & chat : Ability to contact customer support, the courier or the restaurant in case of any problem.

The smoother your UX, the higher the development cost – but that’s also what makes the difference in a highly competitive market and directly affects the cost to develop an app like Glovo with a premium experience.

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Merchant App: Making Order Management Simple and Profitable

On the merchant side, the goal is to make order management simple and profitable. A restaurant or grocery store should be able to:

• Sign up easily and complete their profile (photos, contact details, opening hours, delivery zones)
• Manage their menu or catalogue (add, edit, set product availability)
• Accept / decline orders depending on kitchen workload or stock
• Track orders in real time and see when couriers arrive
• View sales, commissions, statistics and payouts
• Launch promotions (discounts, free delivery, special menus, happy hours, etc.)

This module can be a dedicated app (tablet in the restaurant) or a web back office. The more intuitive it is, the easier it is to onboard and retain your partners.

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Courier App: Optimising Routes and Profitability

Couriers are the backbone of an app like Glovo. Your courier app should allow them to:

• Sign up and log in : Profile creation, identity verification, documents (driving licence, ID card), admin approval.
• Receive delivery requests : Accept / decline jobs, estimate distance, time and earnings for each delivery.
• Follow their route : Integration with Google Maps / Mapbox, optimal route calculation, traffic taken into account.
• Update order status : Order picked up, on the way, delivered, issue on site, etc.
• View their history and earnings : Number of deliveries, total earnings, bonuses, peak-time periods.
• Communicate with the customer and support :Call or chat in case of unclear address, delay or questions.

A good UX on the courier side reduces delays and cancellations and improves the overall quality of your service.

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Create an App Like Glovo: Ready-Made Platform or Custom Development?

When you launch your project, you generally have two main approaches:

1. Custom development (“from scratch”)

You have your own ecosystem developed from A to Z:

• Native or cross-platform mobile apps
• Custom back office
• Custom API and server architecture
• Design 100% tailored to your brand

Advantages:

• Full control over features and UX
• Maximum scalability (you own the source code)
• More freedom to integrate specific business models

Drawbacks:

• Higher initial cost
• Longer development timelines (several months)
• Need for a strong technical team to maintain and evolve the solution

2. Turnkey / white-label solution

You start from an existing platform, already used for food and product delivery, and customise it with your own brand:

• Branding (logo, colours, domain name)
• Configuration of delivery zones, fees, payment methods
• Activation of the required modules (customer, courier, merchant)

Advantages:

• Much lower initial cost
• Fast go-live (a few weeks instead of several months)
• Infrastructure already tested, scalable and secure

Drawbacks:

• Less freedom for very specific features
• Dependence on the provider for major technical changes

At FlexiApps, we often support project owners in two stages: a fast start with a turnkey solution, then a gradual move towards more custom development once order volume and profitability justify a larger investment. This staged approach helps optimise the overall cost to develop an app like Glovo over time.

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Cost of an App Like Glovo in 2026: How Much Should You Plan?

The cost to develop an app like Glovo depends on many factors: technology choices, number of modules, target countries, complexity of the business model, level of customisation, etc. To help you define a realistic budget, below are some ballpark figures based on real projects.

1. Budget for custom development

For a serious project with customer app + courier app + back office + merchant module, the initial budget is generally in the range:

• Between €25,000 and €60,000 for a solid MVP with professional design and essential features
• Above €80,000 if you add many advanced modules (subscriptions, multi-city, complex pricing logic, specific integrations, etc.)

On top of that, you need to factor in:

• Hosting and infrastructure costs
• Maintenance costs (usually 15 to 20% of the initial cost per year)
• Marketing budget to acquire your first users and merchants

2. Budget for a turnkey / white-label solution

If you choose a SaaS-type delivery marketplace platform:

• Setup fees: often between €1,000 and €5,000 depending on the level of customisation
• Monthly subscription: on average between €50 and €600 per month depending on volume, options and countries

This approach allows you to:

• Significantly reduce your initial cost
• Test your market before investing in heavy custom development
• Accelerate your launch (a few weeks are usually enough)

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How to Choose the Right Budget for Your Glovo-Type Project?

To define a coherent budget, ask yourself these questions:

• What is your objective over 12–24 months? Local test, national rollout, specific niche…
• How many cities / countries do you want to cover at launch?
• Is your main value proposition based on technology or rather on operations (courier network, partnerships, marketing)?
• What monthly budget can you allocate to maintenance and marketing?

In many cases, starting with a turnkey solution and later investing in custom development once the model is validated is the most profitable scenario and helps you control the total cost to develop an app like Glovo over the long term.

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Do You Have a Delivery App Project Like Glovo?

Whether you want to launch a multi-restaurant delivery app, a grocery delivery service or a multi-service on-demand platform, FlexiApps can support you with:

• Audit of your idea and your target market
• Choice of the right architecture (SaaS, custom or hybrid)
• Detailed estimation of the cost to develop an app like Glovo for your specific case
• Development, testing, deployment and post-launch support

Tell us about your project and get a personalised quote to estimate the cost to develop an app like Glovo, adapted to your market, and to build your own profitable delivery platform. You can also learn more about how we build custom delivery platforms with end-to-end support.