How to choose a Talabat and delivery app agency in Dubai: 9 questions to ask before you sign

More and more agencies in Dubai offer to "manage your Talabat". Some are marketing agencies that added delivery apps to their list. Some are former platform employees. Some, like us, only do this.

From the outside, they all promise more orders. Here are the nine questions we would ask if we were a restaurant owner hiring one. We answer each of them for DelivUp at the end, so you can compare.

What should a delivery app agency do?

A delivery app agency works on what happens inside the apps: your storefront on Talabat, Deliveroo, Keeta, Noon Food and Careem. In practice, four jobs:

1. The menu: categories, dish names, descriptions, options, prices.
2. The images: dish photos, cover, banners.
3. The offers: which discounts and platform campaigns to run, and which to skip.
4. The follow-up: reading your numbers on each app, and deciding the next move.

An agency that only runs ads on the apps, or only takes photos, is doing one job out of four. That can be fine, as long as you know it.

Which 9 questions should you ask an agency?

1. How do you charge: fixed fee or commission?

Some agencies take a share of your orders or of your growth. It looks safe ("they only win if I win"), but it means you pay more every time you sell more, on top of the platform commission you already pay.

A fixed fee is easier to compare. Ask for the full price in AED, what is included, and what is not.

2. Do you need my password?

You should never share your platform password. Every major app lets you add a manager or staff user from your own account, and remove it in one click. We explain how in How to give an agency access to your delivery apps without sharing your password.

An agency that insists on your password is a red flag.

3. Who approves the changes?

Your menu is your restaurant. Ask whether you approve the new menu before it goes live, and whether you can see every change made afterwards.

4. Where do the dish photos come from?

Ask whether the images show the dishes your kitchen really serves. Customers compare what they ordered with what they saw. A beautiful photo of a different dish brings orders once, then bad reviews.

Ask too who can use the photos if you stop working together.

5. How do you decide on discounts?

The fastest way to "grow orders" is to discount everything. It is also the fastest way to lose margin, because the platform commission is often calculated on the menu price, before your discount. See The real cost of a 50% discount on delivery apps.

A good agency shows you what each offer or platform campaign costs before you say yes, and puts an end date on every discount.

6. Which apps do you know, from the inside?

Each app has its own tools and rules: the Talabat Vendor Portal, Deliveroo Menu Manager, Noon Food Menu Maker. Ask which apps the agency works on every week, and ask for one example per app.

7. What do you report, and how often?

Ask what you will see, and when: orders, average basket, conversion, ratings, per app. A report every month with only "impressions" is not enough to decide anything. Ask to see a real report, with the client's name hidden.

8. Can I see restaurants you work with, live?

Ask for storefronts you can open on the apps today, with the restaurant's permission. Look at them as a customer would: are the photos real, are the names clear, can you find the best dishes in ten seconds?

Be careful with results presented without a source. UAE consumer protection law prohibits misleading advertising: ask where each figure comes from.

9. How long am I committed?

Ask for the minimum period, the notice to leave, and what you keep when you leave: your menu, your images, your access.

What are the red flags when you hire an agency?

• A promise of a ranking position or a number of orders in writing. Nobody controls the apps' algorithms.
• A request for your password.
• A plan that starts with a big discount on everything.
• No report you can read without a call.
• Photos that do not show your real dishes.

How does DelivUp answer the 9 questions?

We would not ask you to compare without doing it ourselves. Our prices are public on the pricing page.

1. Fixed fee, no commission on your orders. A Storefront Rebuild paid once (AED 2,500 for 2 to 6 apps), then a Growth Partnership from AED 990 a month for 2 or 3 apps, AED 1,290 from 4 apps. Ad budgets, platform commissions and the discounts you fund are paid to the platforms, not to us.
2. No password. You add DelivUp from your own accounts and can remove us at any time.
3. You approve the whole new menu before anything changes on your storefront.
4. 50 to 100 images made from your real dishes, from the photos your kitchen sends us.
5. Every offer and campaign is shown with its cost before you decide. No permanent discounts: every offer has an end date.
6. Talabat, Deliveroo, Keeta, Noon Food, Careem and Smiles, every week, for restaurants in Dubai.
7. A results report every 14 days in your DelivUp client space, compared with your last 8 weeks.
8. Our clients are on our work page, shown with their permission, with the apps we manage and what we changed.
9. 3-month minimum, then month to month. The first monthly payment is charged one month after your new storefront goes live.

Where should you start before you hire anyone?

Before you hire anyone, know where your storefront stands. Paste your Talabat, noon Food or Deliveroo link: your score out of 100 lands in your inbox in minutes. No upfront investment, and no obligation to work with us.

Sources: DelivUp pricing and service terms, November 2026; UAE Federal Decree-Law No. 15 of 2020 on Consumer Protection.