Talabat, Deliveroo, Keeta, Noon or Careem: which apps should you be on?

A year ago the question was simple: Talabat first, Deliveroo second, the rest if you had time. Then Keeta arrived, Deliveroo changed owners, and talabat's parent agreed to be bought by Uber. Here is how we think about it for the brands we run.

What changed in the last twelve months

• Keeta arrived. Meituan's delivery brand launched in Dubai in September 2025 and reached all seven emirates within 90 days. It says it has onboarded more than 10,000 restaurant and merchant brands across more than 40,000 locations in its first year.
• Deliveroo is now part of DoorDash. The acquisition completed in 2025, and DoorDash has said the Deliveroo app stays. Early in 2026 it wound down Deliveroo in Qatar, while the UAE business continues.
• Uber agreed to buy Delivery Hero, talabat's parent, in July 2026. Completion is expected in the second half of 2027. Talabat has said its listing, operations, strategy and leadership are unchanged.
• Careem Food kept growing. It expanded across Abu Dhabi, Al Ain and Sharjah in 2025. Ignore articles that say it left food delivery.

How we see each app

Commission terms are negotiated per restaurant on every app, so we do not quote rates here. Compare your own contracts, including who pays for delivery and how discounts are funded.

How to decide, app by app

1. Work out CM3 on your current apps first. If you cannot say what you keep per order on Talabat, adding Keeta will only make the picture harder to read.
2. Add one app at a time. Give it eight weeks. Track orders, average order, rating and net payout separately.
3. Watch for cannibalisation. Some new orders are new customers. Some are your regulars switching apps for a discount. Look at total orders across all apps, not just the new one.
4. Count the kitchen cost. Every extra tablet is another place orders can be missed at peak, and missed orders hurt your rating everywhere.
5. Read exclusivity offers carefully. A lower commission for exclusivity is only worth it if the other apps were not adding profitable orders.

What spreading across apps did for one kitchen

A burger brand in Business Bay was stuck at 80 to 90 orders a day, with 80% of its sales on a single app and a net margin of minus 6%. Adding apps one at a time, with menus built for each, took the top app down to 60% of sales while total orders grew.

If you also sell in Saudi Arabia

The Saudi market has its own big three: HungerStation (part of Delivery Hero, and so moving to Uber), Jahez, and Keeta, which launched there in 2024. The same rule applies: one app at a time, judged by what you keep, not by what you sell.

Sources: Keeta first anniversary, DoorDash completes Deliveroo takeover, Deliveroo Qatar wind-down, Uber and Delivery Hero.