Food Delivery Apps in Pakistan: Honest Review

Introduction

Food delivery apps in Pakistan look like a crowded market if you go by most “top 10” lists online. Open those lists and you will find Careem Food, Cheetay, EatOye and a handful of others sitting next to foodpanda as if they were all still taking orders. Most of them are not. Careem suspended its food service in June 2022, Cheetay was reported to be shutting down in early 2024, and EatOye was bought by foodpanda back in 2015.

So this review takes a different approach. Instead of padding a list, it looks at what actually works in 2026, what has disappeared, and why. It compares the real options for online food delivery in Pakistan: foodpanda, the newer grocery players like inDrive.Groceries and Krave Mart, restaurant-owned apps, and the old-school WhatsApp or phone order.

It also covers the parts most reviews skip. That includes a competition inquiry into alleged abuse of market dominance, rider strikes over pay cuts, street criminals who disguised themselves as delivery riders, and the licensing rules home chefs are supposed to follow. These are not there for shock value. They matter because they shape what you pay, how safe your doorstep handover is, and whether the person bringing your biryani earns a fair wage.

If you want an honest food delivery app comparison before you tap “Place order”, this is it.

The State of Food Delivery Apps in Pakistan in 2026

The short version: food delivery apps in Pakistan come down to one big player, a few specialists, and a long list of companies that tried and left. Understanding that shape helps you read every other review with a healthier dose of skepticism.

How big the market really is

foodpanda Pakistan’s chief executive Muntaqa Peracha said in 2025 that the platform runs food delivery in 35 cities and generated about $1.2 billion in economic activity in 2023-24, with a target of over $2 billion. Statista data cited in the same coverage put Pakistan’s online food delivery market at roughly $2.35 billion for 2025, growing around 8% a year on the back of smartphone use and a young urban population. You can read the details in Arab News coverage of Delivery Hero’s Pakistan expansion plans.

The biggest story of 2026 sits above the app itself. In July 2026, Uber agreed to buy foodpanda’s parent company, Delivery Hero, in a deal valued at about $14.8 billion, with closing expected in the second half of 2027. Pakistan is one of the markets included. For now, nothing changes for users, but it is worth watching how fees and rider terms shift once the deal is done.

The graveyard of Pakistani delivery startups

A realistic food delivery app review has to mention who is no longer around. These exits explain why foodpanda holds such a strong position among food delivery apps in Pakistan today.

1. EatOye was acquired by foodpanda in 2015, removing its main early local rival.
2. Careem Food launched in Karachi in 2019 and Lahore in 2020, slashed restaurant commission to 5% to win partners, then suspended the service in June 2022, citing economic conditions. Careem later ended ride-hailing in Pakistan in July 2025 and now builds its regional super app from Pakistan without running local food delivery.
3. Airlift, the quick-commerce startup that raised $85 million, shut down in July 2022.
4. Cheetay, founded in 2015 by brothers Ahmad and Majid Khan, had already stopped running its own deliveries, and Profit reported in early 2024 that it was preparing to close all operations.

The lesson for consumers is simple. When a lesser-known food ordering app in Pakistan offers deep discounts, enjoy them, but do not store a large wallet balance there. If the company folds, getting that money back can be slow.

Best Food Delivery Apps in Pakistan: App-by-App Review

Here is how the realistic options stack up. Each one serves a different need, so the “best” choice depends on what you are ordering and where you live.

foodpanda: the default choice in most cities

foodpanda is the app most Pakistanis mean when they say “order online.” Of all the food delivery apps in Pakistan, it covers the most ground, with restaurant meals, HomeChef kitchens, pandamart grocery, and pharmacy or shop deliveries across 35 cities. If you live outside Karachi, Lahore or Islamabad, it is often the only food delivery service that reaches you at all.

What works well:

• The widest restaurant selection by far, from big chains to local dhabas.
• Live rider tracking, multiple payment options including cash on delivery, and a subscription (pandapro) that can cut delivery fees if you order often.
• HomeChef listings give you access to home-cooked food you would not find elsewhere.

What does not:

• Menu prices on the app are often higher than in the restaurant. Restaurants pay commissions that ordering-software vendors put at 25 to 30%, and a HomeChef interviewed by Rest of World in 2022 said foodpanda took 35% of his sales. Some of that cost gets passed to you.
• Limited competition means fewer reasons for the company to keep fees low.
• Delivery radius can shrink in busy periods, which narrows your choices.

Verdict: the most reliable all-rounder, but check the restaurant’s own price before assuming the app is the cheapest route.

inDrive.Groceries and Krave Mart: fast grocery, not restaurant food

Ride-hailing company inDrive launched inDrive.Groceries in Karachi in January 2026 through a partnership with Krave Mart, a dark-store grocery startup founded in 2021. inDrive later acquired Krave Mart outright after approval from the Competition Commission of Pakistan, and the service has since reached Lahore. The promise is groceries in roughly 20 to 30 minutes, with more than 7,500 products.

Good for: milk, eggs, snacks and household items when you need them quickly.

Not good for: ordering a meal from a restaurant. These are grocery services, so do not confuse them with full food delivery apps.

Verdict: a real alternative to pandamart in the cities it covers, and healthy competition is good news for prices.

Restaurant-owned apps and websites

Many chains now compete with the big food delivery apps in Pakistan by running their own ordering apps or websites, often built by local software firms. Bakeries, burger chains and desi restaurants increasingly push customers toward these channels because they keep the full margin instead of paying an aggregator.

Why they are worth a look:

• Prices are frequently lower than on aggregator apps.
• The restaurant controls the delivery, so complaints go straight to the people who cooked your food.
• Loyalty deals are often exclusive to the brand’s own app.

The downside: you need a separate app for every restaurant, and delivery quality varies a lot.

WhatsApp and phone orders

The oldest method is still alive. Many restaurants, especially in smaller cities like Bahawalpur, Multan or Sukkur, take orders on WhatsApp or by phone and use their own riders.

This route is often the cheapest, but there is no platform standing behind you if the order goes wrong. Pay on delivery where possible, and avoid sending advance payments to numbers you found on social media.

What about Careem?

You may still see Careem Food listed as one of the top food delivery apps in Pakistan. Treat that as outdated. Careem suspended food delivery here in 2022 and ended ride-hailing in July 2025. Its Pakistan team now builds the company’s “Everything App” for the wider region. If Careem relaunches food delivery locally, that would be big news, but as of late 2026 it is not an option for Pakistani customers.

Food Delivery Apps in Pakistan Compared Side by Side

This table sums up the practical differences between the main food delivery apps in Pakistan and the alternatives. It reflects publicly reported coverage and business models as of October 2026, so always check the app in your own area.

How to judge any food delivery app

When you test a new food delivery app in Pakistan, these five checks tell you more than star ratings do:

1. Compare the menu price in the app with the restaurant’s own menu. Aggregator prices are often higher because restaurants pass on part of the commission.
2. Read the fee breakdown at checkout, including delivery fee, service fee and small-order charges.
3. Check refund rules for missing or wrong items before you need them.
4. Look at payment options. Cash on delivery is still the safest choice with unfamiliar apps.
5. See who the company is. A registered business with an office and support line is far safer than an anonymous page.

The Ethical Side: Legal Cases, Crime and Rider Welfare

No honest food delivery review is complete without the uncomfortable parts. The cases below, all involving food delivery apps in Pakistan or people impersonating their riders, are documented in Pakistani and international media. Where something is an allegation rather than a proven offence, it is described that way.

The competition inquiry into foodpanda

In July 2021, the Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) opened an inquiry into foodpanda for alleged abuse of dominant position and possible prohibited agreements under Sections 3 and 4 of the Competition Act, 2010. It was the regulator’s first abuse-of-dominance probe into a digital platform. The complaints came from rival Cheetay in May 2021 and the All Pakistan Restaurant Association (APRA) in June 2021, and Careem had earlier challenged an exemption the CCP granted foodpanda in 2019 for its loyalty agreements.

The allegations included excessive commissions, loyalty rebates, discriminatory treatment of restaurants, and exclusivity deals that could block new competitors. You can read the regulator’s own summary in the Competition Commission of Pakistan press release on the foodpanda enquiry.

Two points matter here. First, an inquiry is not a conviction, and foodpanda said at the time it was managing the matter with the CCP. Second, this review could not find a published final order on the case. What it shows is that restaurants and competitors took their concerns to a federal regulator, which is useful context when you wonder why menu prices on apps run higher.

Restaurant boycotts over commissions

Before the inquiry, restaurants took matters into their own hands. APRA members announced a three-day boycott of foodpanda from 15 to 17 September 2020, calling its policies unfair, and Karachi restaurants staged another boycott in December 2020 over commission increases. Commission disputes rarely make headlines for customers, but they directly affect what you pay.

Rider pay cuts and the 2022 Karachi strike

In March 2022, foodpanda riders in Karachi went on strike over cuts to delivery rates. According to Rest of World’s reporting on foodpanda’s troubles in Pakistan, one rider said the accident insurance barely covered his medical bills and that the promised injury compensation was refused. The strike ended within two days, with the riders’ union giving the company a 14-day ultimatum.

Riders in Pakistan generally work as independent contractors, not employees. That means no fixed salary, and their income depends on per-order rates the platform can change. When you rate a rider or decide on a tip, it helps to remember that.

Criminals posing as delivery riders

The branded bag and jacket became a disguise for street criminals, especially in Karachi:

• In January 2021, police arrested a man near Ferozabad who robbed people while posing as an online food rider.
• The same month, ARY News reported the fourth such robbery in Karachi, this time of a man sitting in his car in Gulzar-e-Hijri.
• In May 2021, residents of Gulshan-e-Jamal caught a suspect wearing a foodpanda uniform and bag during a robbery and handed him to police.
• In November 2024, Karachi police said they arrested four suspects who robbed people while disguised as Bykea riders.

These people were impersonators, not genuine riders. Still, it is a good reason to check the rider’s name and order details in the app before opening your gate.

Riders as victims

The danger runs both ways. Riders carry cash and phones, which makes them targets. A viral 2020 video showed a foodpanda rider being mugged in Karachi, and in September 2021 a rider in Lahore’s Batapur area was robbed of cash, his phone and the pizzas he was delivering. foodpanda said in 2020 that it waives looted cash from a rider’s balance when a valid police report (FIR) is filed. Paying digitally where you can reduces the cash riders carry.

Food safety and home kitchens

Home-cooked food is one of the best things about online food ordering in Pakistan, but it sits in a regulatory grey zone. The Punjab Food Authority has warned online home-food sellers to obtain licences or face action. foodpanda partnered with the PFA in 2022 to train its HomeChefs on hygiene and packaging. As a customer, look for kitchens with consistent reviews and clear contact details.

How to Use Food Delivery Apps in Pakistan Safely and Smartly

Knowing the history of food delivery apps in Pakistan is useful only if it changes how you order. Here is the practical part.

Pick the right app for the job

• Craving a specific restaurant meal? Check if the restaurant has its own app or WhatsApp line first, then compare with foodpanda.
• Need groceries fast? Compare pandamart with inDrive.Groceries or Krave Mart if you are in Karachi or Lahore.
• In a smaller city? foodpanda may be your only app option, so local restaurants’ own delivery is your best fallback.
• Ordering for a family dinner? Larger orders often benefit from calling the restaurant directly and asking about deals.

Protect yourself at the door

1. Match the rider’s name and the order number shown in the app before opening the gate.
2. Do not hand over extra cash or valuables to anyone who claims there is a “problem” with your order.
3. Call the app’s official support line, not a number someone gives you at the door.
4. If something feels wrong, stay inside and contact 15 (police) or your local helpline.

Protect your money and data

• Use cash on delivery or a trusted wallet such as JazzCash or Easypaisa when trying a new app.
• Never share OTP codes with anyone, including people claiming to be from a delivery company.
• Keep wallet balances low on smaller platforms. When startups like Airlift shut down, customers and suppliers were left waiting while the company worked through its arrears.
• Download apps only from the Google Play Store or Apple App Store.

Be a fair customer

Ethics is not only the company’s job. A few habits make a real difference to riders:

• Pay digitally when you can, so riders carry less cash.
• Give clear directions and a working phone number.
• Tip in cash or through the app if your rider dealt with rain, traffic or a long climb.
• Rate riders fairly. A low rating for a late kitchen hurts someone who did nothing wrong.

Conclusion

Food delivery apps in Pakistan have changed how cities eat, but the market is far less crowded than most online lists suggest: foodpanda dominates restaurant delivery across 35 cities, inDrive.Groceries and Krave Mart are pushing into fast grocery, and restaurant-owned apps and WhatsApp orders remain cheaper options for loyal customers, while Careem Food, Cheetay, Airlift and EatOye are gone. Behind the convenience sits a real history worth knowing, from the 2021 competition inquiry into foodpanda and restaurant boycotts over commissions to the 2022 Karachi rider strike and criminals who used delivery uniforms as cover. The smartest approach is to compare prices with the restaurant’s own channels, verify riders at the door, keep wallet balances small on unproven apps, and treat the people delivering your food fairly, because a good food delivery experience in Pakistan depends on both the app you choose and how you use it.