🇨🇳Best Food Delivery Apps in China (2026)

Cities in China on Nomada

Each city guide carries the same food picks at city granularity, plus cost, climate, FIRE math, and visa context.

• Hangzhou

  Full guide: cost, climate, visa, food

  $1,620

• Guangzhou

  Full guide: cost, climate, visa, food

  $1,580

• Chengdu

  Full guide: cost, climate, visa, food

  $1,700

• Shanghai

  Full guide: cost, climate, visa, food

  $2,740

• Shenzhen

  Full guide: cost, climate, visa, food

  $2,410

• Beijing

  Full guide: cost, climate, visa, food

  $1,690

What to check before you commit

• Foreign-card acceptance. Test a real order to checkout before assuming it will work — apps can quietly reject foreign issuers at the payment step.
• Subscription math. If you’re basing in China for a month or more, the in-app delivery-fee subscription almost always pays for itself in 3-4 orders.
• Catalog at your actual address. A wide catalog with 60-minute waits is worse than a narrower one delivering in 25 — search your favorite local restaurant first.
• Address pin drift. Map pins for short-stay rentals are often 50-100m off. Drag the pin to the entrance on first order; the app usually remembers.

Frequently asked questions

• Which food delivery app is best in China?+

  Didi Food is the Nomada editorial pick for China — chosen on regional coverage, foreign-card friendliness, and how often the restaurants you'd actually order from are listed.

• Do these apps accept foreign credit cards in China?+

  Most do, but it varies by issuer. Apple Pay and Google Pay usually work when a card-on-file fails. Cash on delivery is a reliable fallback in markets where it's offered. If your foreign card is rejected, try a different network (Visa vs Mastercard vs Amex) or use a multi-currency card like Wise or Revolut.

• How do tips work on delivery apps in China?+

  Tipping norms vary widely. US, Canada, parts of Latin America, and the UAE expect 10-20%; most of Asia and continental Europe treat tipping as optional or symbolic. Apps often default to a percentage tip — check the value before checkout if you'd rather not over- or under-tip relative to local custom.

• Why isn't [favorite app] in this list?+

  This list focuses on apps that operate at meaningful scale in China and that have a usable foreign-friendly path (English UI, broad card acceptance). Hyperlocal apps, Chinese-only platforms, and apps that pulled out of the market in the last 12-24 months are deliberately excluded. If you think we're missing one, the list is re-evaluated quarterly.

Keep exploring China