Apps like Jahez have changed the way people order food, making the process quicker, easier, and more convenient. As one of the leading delivery platforms in the Middle East, Jahez stands out for its clean interface, smooth ordering experience, and reliable delivery system. For businesses looking to enter the food delivery space, a common question comes up early: How much does it cost to build an app like Jahez?
The answer depends on several key factors, such as the features you want (like real-time tracking, secure payments, and user profiles), the platforms you choose (iOS, Android, or both), and the experience level and location of your development team. Other factors, like app design, backend systems, data security, and regular updates, also shape the final cost.
This blog breaks down the main elements that influence the cost of building a delivery app. Whether you’re building a basic version to test the market or a full-featured platform, understanding these cost drivers will help you make smarter decisions and plan your investment more effectively.
Let’s first understand :
Jahez is a well-known company in Saudi Arabia, started in 2016 and based in Riyadh. It runs an online service that helps people find food, place orders, and get deliveries. The Jahez mobile app lets users track their orders, pay in different ways, and choose from many restaurants. The goal is to make the experience easy and smooth.
Jahez has also grown into other countries like Bahrain and Kuwait. As of April 2025, the company is worth about $1.58 billion and made $590 million in the year ending December 2024.
Jahez has also started new services, like fast shopping (PIK), selling sports goods (Blu Store), and delivery services (Logi). This supports Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 plan to improve digital services and everyday life.
To build a food delivery app that can truly compete in Saudi Arabia’s $12.94B market, you need more than just functionality, you need features that drive engagement, retention, and trust.
Here’s what that looks like:
An intuitive user interface is crucial when developing a food delivery app like Jahez. A sleek, easy-to-navigate interface allows users to explore, order, and track their deliveries with minimal effort. Clear menus, engaging food visuals, and a streamlined process are essential to ensuring the app remains user-friendly for both new and repeat customers.
For any Jahez app clone, offering bilingual language support is vital, especially in regions like Saudi Arabia. Including both Arabic and English ensures that your app is accessible to a wide range of users, from locals to expatriates. This feature improves the app’s inclusivity and appeal, making it an important component in building an app like Jahez.
When developing a Jahez-like app, an advanced search function with smart filters is a must-have feature. This allows users to quickly find restaurants based on various parameters, such as cuisine, delivery time, location, and ratings. Filters for options like “Halal,” “budget-friendly,” and “open now” provide users with a personalized food discovery experience, making the app more efficient.
Real-time order tracking is one of the key features for any Jahez alternative app. With GPS integration, users can track their deliveries from the restaurant to their doorstep in real-time. This feature builds trust and reassures users, providing them with updates on the status of their orders, which improves the overall experience.
To cater to a wider range of users, multiple payment gateways are essential when building a Jahez-type food delivery app. Supporting various payment methods such as Apple Pay, Mada, debit/credit cards, and cash on delivery ensures a seamless checkout process, giving users the flexibility to choose their preferred payment method.
An important feature for a Jahez clone app is order customization. Allowing users to personalize their meals—whether by adding extra spice or removing ingredients—helps increase customer satisfaction. This feature provides flexibility, empowering users to enjoy meals tailored to their preferences.
Dynamic push notifications are a powerful tool to keep users engaged in a food delivery app like Jahez. These notifications can inform users about order confirmations, special offers, new restaurants, and more. With real-time alerts, customers are more likely to return to your app for future orders.
Integrating a ratings and reviews system into your Jahez app clone features is essential for maintaining transparency and service quality. Users can leave feedback on restaurants, dishes, and delivery personnel, which helps other users make informed decisions. This feature fosters trust and improves the credibility of your platform.
To build customer retention in a Jahez-style delivery app, implementing loyalty programs and promo codes is essential. Offering discounts, cashback, and rewards for repeat orders encourages users to keep coming back. These incentives help your app stay competitive in the crowded food delivery market.
For faster and more efficient deliveries, AI-driven route optimization is a game-changer. This feature analyzes real-time traffic and order data to optimize delivery routes, ensuring quicker service and reducing operational costs. AI route optimization is especially important for a Jahez clone app to improve driver efficiency and delivery performance.
A restaurant management dashboard is a crucial feature for managing restaurant partners in a Jahez alternative app. This tool helps restaurants easily update menus, track orders, manage inventory, and analyze sales data. A well-integrated dashboard simplifies daily operations and ensures that restaurants can fulfill orders accurately.
In-app customer support is vital for resolving issues quickly and efficiently. Offering 24/7 support through live chat, email, or phone ensures that users can get assistance whenever they need it. This feature increases the user experience, especially in a Jahez-type food delivery app, where customer satisfaction is key.
Social media login & SSO (Single Sign-On) integration simplifies the sign-up process for users. Allowing users to log in through Google, Apple, or their mobile number removes barriers to entry and speeds up the registration process. This is a key feature to include when building a Jahez-like app, as it makes it easier for new users to start ordering quickly.
For a Jahez clone app to gain trust, data privacy & compliance with regulations like the Saudi PDPL and GDPR is essential. Users need assurance that their personal information is protected. Encrypting sensitive data and adhering to privacy laws is a non-negotiable feature in building a secure and reliable app.
Flexible order scheduling is a feature that improves the convenience of a Jahez-like app. Allowing users to schedule their orders in advance—for a lunch tomorrow or a party next week—makes it easier for users to plan their meals according to their schedules. This feature adds a layer of convenience and flexibility, improving overall user satisfaction.
Building a food delivery app like Jahez in Saudi Arabia comes with many considerations that directly affect the cost. From app features to regulatory fees, each factor plays a role in shaping the final price. Let’s take a closer look at the key elements that influence the cost of developing a Jahez-like food delivery app.
The features you include in your app are one of the biggest factors affecting the overall development cost. If you want your app to have advanced functionalities like real-time tracking, order management, customer reviews, and payment gateways, the cost will be higher. Basic features, on the other hand, will cost less but may not provide the same user experience as more complex functionalities.
Design plays a crucial role in the success of any app. A well-designed app that is easy to navigate and visually appealing will attract more users. The design process, which includes UI/UX design, can influence the cost significantly. If you opt for a simple design, it will be less expensive than a custom, high-end design that requires detailed graphics, animations, and user-friendly elements.
The platform you choose to launch your app on will affect the development cost. If you decide to develop for both iOS and Android, the cost will double as you need separate development for each platform. Building for just one platform can lower the cost, but keep in mind that launching on both platforms will help you reach a wider audience.
The backend of the app handles everything from managing user data to processing payments and storing orders. A robust backend is essential for an app like Jahez to function smoothly. The complexity of the backend system—such as database management, server requirements, and integration with payment gateways—can increase the app development cost.
Integrating third-party services such as payment gateways, mapping APIs for delivery tracking, and push notification services can add to the cost. These integrations can provide additional functionality and convenience to users, but each integration requires development time and resources, which increases the overall cost.
Security is critical for food delivery apps that handle sensitive customer data, including payment information. Ensuring your app complies with local regulations, such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) or local privacy laws, will require additional investment. Implementing secure payment gateways and other security measures will also add to the cost but is necessary to build trust with your users.
The location and expertise of the development team will greatly affect the cost of building your app. Developers in Saudi Arabia or the Middle East may charge higher rates due to local market standards. Alternatively, outsourcing to countries with lower labor costs could save money, but it may come with challenges in communication and quality assurance. Choosing the right team with the necessary skills is crucial for a successful project.
In Saudi Arabia, there are specific regulatory and licensing fees that food delivery apps must comply with. These fees may include business permits, tax registration, and other legal requirements to operate within the country. These costs can vary depending on the nature of your app and the region where you operate, so it’s important to factor them into your budget.
Building a food delivery app like Jahez involves different levels of complexity, which directly affect the cost. Whether you’re looking to create a basic app or a full-fledged, scalable solution, your app’s features and platform choices will impact the overall price. Here’s a breakdown of the estimated cost based on the type of app you’re building.
A Minimum Viable Product (MVP) is the simplest version of your food delivery app, focused on core features. These features typically include user registration, restaurant listings, ordering functionality, basic payment integration, and delivery tracking.
Platform Choice: This app will be built for a single platform, either iOS or Android, keeping costs lower.
Features: Basic and essential functionalities for a smooth user experience.
Estimated Cost:
In USD: $10,000 – $20,000
In SAR: 37,500 – 75,000 SAR
A mid-range app offers more features than an MVP, making it more user-friendly and functional. It includes features like user reviews, advanced order management, push notifications, and better payment gateways. This version will be developed for both iOS and Android, ensuring a broader user reach.
Platform Choice: The app will be developed for both iOS and Android, using a cross-platform framework like React Native or Flutter.
Features: Includes additional features such as user reviews, real-time tracking, ratings, and more sophisticated payment options.
Estimated Cost:
In USD: $20,000 – $50,000
In SAR: 75,000 – 187,500 SAR
An advanced app is a fully-featured, robust solution with all the functionalities you’d expect from a leading food delivery service like Jahez. This app will have native development for both iOS and Android, ensuring optimal performance, a premium user experience, and scalability for future growth. Features include advanced search filters, order customization, multi-language support, real-time GPS tracking, loyalty programs, and more.
Platform Choice: Native development for both iOS and Android, which provides the best performance and experience for users.
Features: Includes all essential features plus premium features like multi-language support, loyalty programs, social media integration, and advanced analytics.
Estimated Cost:
In USD: $50,000 – $100,000+
In SAR: 187,500 – 375,000+ SAR
Building a food delivery app like Jahez for the Saudi market requires a strategic approach. You need to understand the market, choose the right features, and ensure your app is both user-friendly and scalable. Follow these steps to create a successful food delivery app tailored to Saudi users.
Before you start building your app, it’s important to understand the Saudi market. Research the local food delivery preferences, competition, and consumer behavior. Define the specific goals for your app—whether it’s offering fast deliveries, wide restaurant choices, or unique features that set your app apart. This step will give your project direction and ensure you build an app that meets local needs.
The features you include will directly impact the success of your app. Choose essential features such as order tracking, payment gateways, restaurant listings, and user reviews. Also, think about adding more advanced features like in-app promotions, loyalty programs, or multi-language support. For technology, you’ll need to decide whether to develop your app for iOS, Android, or both, and choose a development approach like native or cross-platform. Pick a tech stack that aligns with your long-term goals and scalability.
Design plays a critical role in attracting and retaining users. Make sure the UI/UX design is simple, clean, and user-friendly, focusing on ease of navigation. For backend development, choose a reliable infrastructure that supports real-time updates, order management, and data security. You’ll need to set up servers, databases, and API integrations to connect the front-end with the backend seamlessly.
Once the design and backend are ready, start building the app’s core functionalities. Integrate all the chosen features such as registration, payment systems, restaurant menus, and order tracking. Ensure that the app runs smoothly, with all features connected and functioning as expected. Make sure your app’s performance is optimized for speed, reliability, and security, as these are crucial factors for user satisfaction.
Before launching, thoroughly test the app for bugs, glitches, and security vulnerabilities. Conduct usability testing to ensure it’s intuitive and easy for users. Once the app is ready, launch it on app stores like Google Play and Apple’s App Store. Don’t forget to market your app—use local SEO, social media, and digital advertising to attract users. Highlight the unique features of your app to stand out in the competitive Saudi market.
When it comes to building a food delivery app like Jahez, Zealous stands out as a leading food delivery app development company with a proven track record in creating robust, scalable, and user-friendly apps. We understand the complexities of the food delivery industry and the specific needs of the Saudi market. Our team of expert developers is committed to delivering high-quality solutions that ensure seamless functionality, fast delivery times, and a satisfying user experience. By choosing Zealous, you get a partner who can bring your vision to life with precision and innovation.
At Zealous, we offer customized solutions that fit your unique business needs. Whether you’re looking to hire dedicated mobile app developers or need a full-scale, end-to-end development solution, we have the expertise to support your project. As a custom mobile app development company, we focus on delivering personalized features that increase both customer and vendor experience, from real-time order tracking to secure payment gateways. With our experience, we ensure that your app meets all your goals, helping you stay competitive in the ever-growing food delivery market.
Our team is always eager to know what you are looking for. Drop them a Hi!
Hardik Gupta is the Team Lead for Mobile App Development at Zealous System. He specializes in creating innovative mobile applications for iOS and Android, focusing on delivering high-performance solutions and staying ahead of industry trends.
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