How much does it cost to build a restaurant app?
Updated 20 October 2026
Most custom app projects cost $10,000 to $50,000, and far more if the restaurant app has to take orders, bookings or payments; the average project reviewed on Clutch is about $90,000. Add 15–20% of the build cost every year to keep it running. If the app's job is to bring customers back (a digital menu, offers, a loyalty card, notifications), there's a way that costs €59 a month and is ready the same day: your own app, with your restaurant's name, on a platform that already exists, with no commission.
Telaio: a restaurant app you don’t have to build
Your own app, with your restaurant’s name, logo and colours, on your customers’ phones. They install it by scanning the QR code on the table: ten seconds, no App Store, no account.
- A digital menu with the 14 allergens required by law and diets, changed from your phone whenever you like
- Offers, plus two automatic ones: «Welcome» and «Come back and see us»
- A digital punch card: one point for every offer used, rewards you decide
- Notifications, scheduled if you like, to people who said yes: theme night lands on their phone
- A button to call you with one tap, and eight languages for tourists
€59 a month · no setup fee · no commission · cancel any time
Founder code: a reserved price for twelve paid months, plus one month free · 47 of 50 left · Get it ›
What drives the price
The price is hours of work times an hourly rate. A simple first version, 5 to 10 screens, takes 150 to 400 hours (Techsy, June 2026); Clutch lists typical rates of $25–49 an hour, and Western European agencies often charge more. Projects reviewed on Clutch typically cost $10,000–$49,999, with an average of about $90,780.
Every extra adds to the bill: both iPhone and Android, a panel to change the menu and prices yourself, allergens, languages for tourists, and above all ordering, bookings and payments, which need connections to your POS and to payment systems.
With Telaio: you know the price before you start: €59 a month, everything included.
The costs that come later
- Maintenance: usually 15–20% of the build cost every year, after a first year that can reach 25–50% (Techsy). Every new version of iOS and Android has to be followed.
- The app stores: Apple charges $99 a year to publish on the App Store, Google a one-time $25.
- Getting it downloaded: someone in for dinner rarely goes to a store to find and download an app, with an account and a password.
With Telaio: maintenance, updates and hosting are included, and there’s no app store to pay.
How long it takes
A simple first version takes one to two months, a mid-complexity app two to four, a complex one four to eight (Techsy). Across the projects reviewed on Clutch, the average timeline is about eleven months. Then come Apple's and Google's reviews before it goes live.
With Telaio: your app goes live the same day, with your name and every area in place; if you’d rather we load your menu, it’s ready in 2–5 days (a separate job, priced up front).
When building one is the right call
When the app has to sell: takeout or delivery orders with payment, bookings with a deposit, a link to your POS. Then a custom build is the right road, and it's worth getting at least three quotes against a precise list of features.
With Telaio: to bring customers back you don’t need to sell in the app: offers, a punch card and notifications are enough, and they’re ready.
The alternative: a restaurant app you don't have to build
If the app is there to bring back the people who've already eaten with you, you don't need to write it from scratch. With Telaio you get your own app, with your restaurant's name, logo and colours:
- a digital menu with the 14 allergens required by law and diets, changed from your phone whenever you like;
- offers, plus two automatic ones: «Welcome» and «Come back and see us»;
- a digital punch card: one point for every offer used, rewards you decide;
- notifications, scheduled if you like, to people who installed the app and said yes.
Customers install it by scanning the QR code on the table: no App Store, no account, no password. What it doesn't do, said up front: it doesn't take orders or payments, and it doesn't handle bookings. The «Book» button calls your phone.
Three years, side by side
| Custom build (simple version) | Telaio | |
|---|---|---|
| To start | $10,000–$50,000 for most projects | no setup fee |
| Every year after | 15–20% of the build cost | €59 a month, or €41 on the 12-month plan |
| App stores | $99 a year (Apple) and $25 (Google) | none |
| Ready in | months | the same day, or 2–5 days if we fill it for you |
| Over three years | from about $13,000 to $70,000 | from €1,476 to €2,124 |
Telaio's figures leave out loading your menu, if you'd like us to do it: that's separate work, at a price agreed beforehand. Telaio is billed in euro.
Who already uses it
Locanda Al Capriolo in Farra d’Alpago and IlCortivo in Vittorio Veneto, in north-east Italy: each has its own restaurant app, with its own name, on its customers' phones.
Want to create your own app?
Your own app, with your restaurant's name: ready the same day, €59 a month, no commission.
Even better: ask for your Founder code. With the Founder code you get a reserved price for your first twelve paid months, plus one month free.
50 Founder codes for each model: they last while there are free ones.
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Sources
More guides: How to fill a restaurant on quiet nights · How to get repeat customers at your restaurant: six things that work · How to start a restaurant loyalty program that people actually use · All guides ›