Food Delivery Money-Saving Guide - I Tested 5 Platforms and Found Only 3 Actually Work
Hey everyone, I’m here to talk about saving money again.
Last week I suddenly wondered which food delivery platform saves the most money, so I placed the same order (braised chicken rice + cola) on 5 platforms to see which was cheapest.
The result: prices differed by a full 15 yuan.
Let me give you the conclusion first: Douyin delivery is cheapest, Meituan delivery second, Ele.me third, JD delivery fourth, and most expensive is mini-program ordering (ordering directly through the merchant’s WeChat mini-program).
But this conclusion has a prerequisite: you need to know how to use coupons.
Let me start with Douyin delivery. This has only recently become popular; many people don’t know about it yet. Douyin delivery coupons are really generous—new users get 20 yuan off first order, and existing users have various discount coupons.
That day I ordered braised chicken rice, original price 28 yuan, used a 20-off-10 coupon, ended up paying only 18 yuan. Plus Douyin delivery has another advantage—you can watch merchant livestreams to see if their kitchen is clean, which I find reassuring.
But Douyin delivery also has drawbacks: fewer merchants, many haven’t joined yet, so limited restaurant choices.
Second, Meituan delivery. I use this most because there are many merchants and fast delivery. Meituan coupons mainly come from two sources: membership red packets and merchant coupons.
I got Meituan delivery membership, 15 yuan monthly, with 6 no-threshold 5-yuan red packets. Honestly, this membership isn’t great value—6 red packets total 30 yuan, membership costs 15 yuan, so you only save 15 yuan. But if you order delivery frequently and each order exceeds 25 yuan (can use bigger discount coupons), then membership is worth it.
Meituan also has a trick: don’t order directly in the app, first check “Meituan Youxuan” or “Meituan Shangou”—sometimes the same restaurant is cheaper there. That day for braised chicken, Meituan delivery was 28 yuan, Meituan Youxuan was 25 yuan, 3 yuan difference.
Third, Ele.me. Ele.me coupons mainly come from “Ele.me red packets,” available daily but random amounts—sometimes 5 yuan, sometimes 2 yuan, sometimes 0.5 yuan, pure luck.
But Ele.me has an advantage: “Super Membership” is really cheap, 9.9 yuan monthly, with 4 no-threshold 5-yuan red packets. If you order delivery at least 4 times monthly, this membership is worth getting.
That day I used Ele.me for braised chicken, original price 28 yuan, used one 5-yuan red packet, paid 23 yuan. 5 yuan more expensive than Meituan, but still 10 yuan cheaper than ordering directly through mini-program.
Fourth, JD delivery. I only recently discovered this; JD delivery coupons mainly come from “JD Plus Membership.” If you’re already Plus member, you get 2 monthly 10-yuan delivery coupons.
But JD delivery has very few merchants. That day I wanted braised chicken, found only one restaurant with a 4.2 rating—didn’t dare order. Ended up ordering dumplings, original price 32 yuan, used one 10-yuan coupon, paid 22 yuan.
Fifth, mini-program ordering. This is most expensive because mini-programs usually don’t have coupons, and delivery fees aren’t cheap either. That day I ordered braised chicken directly through mini-program: 28 yuan food, 5 yuan delivery, 2 yuan packaging, total 35 yuan.
So you see, cheapest was Douyin delivery at 18 yuan, most expensive was mini-program at 35 yuan, a full 17-yuan difference.
But what I want to say is: saving money on delivery isn’t just about price, but also “value.”
I once tried to save money by ordering from a very cheap place, ended up with diarrhea and spent 300 yuan at the hospital. Since then, I never order from questionable places just to save a few yuan.
So my current approach is:
- 先在抖音外卖看看有没有我想要的店,如果有,用优惠券点
- 如果没有,去美团外卖,用会员红包
- 如果美团也没有,去饿了么,领红包再点
- 实在不行,就直接打电话给商家,问能不能自提,省配送费
这四个步骤下来,我每个月点外卖的钱从400块降到了250块左右,省了150块。虽然不多,但积少成多,一年也能省1800块。
所以回到最开始的问题:你觉得外卖平台的优惠是真的便宜还是套路?
我的答案是:如果你会用优惠券,是真的便宜;如果你不会用,就是套路。
关键在于,你要花时间去研究,去对比,去领券。如果你觉得时间比钱重要,那就别省这几块钱了,直接点就行。
但如果你像我一样,觉得能省则省,那就花点时间,学学怎么点外卖最省钱。这几块钱省下来,攒一攒,也够买一件新衣服了。