A ranking of Ritual vs. all the other meal pick-up apps in Toronto

Ritual and all the other meal pick-up apps in Toronto don't deliver, but they do let you skip the lines, which comes in handy during lunch hour.

There's only a handful of social ordering apps available in the city (Ritual being the most popular one by far), with the main difference being restaurant selection, app interface, and convenience.

Here's a ranking of all the meal pick-up apps in Toronto.

Ritual

Download: Free
Membership fee needed: No
Number of Toronto restaurants offered: 1,000+

Definitely taking the lion's share of meal pick-ups in the city, Ritual focuses exclusively on ordering ahead (unlike other apps, which also do delivery). 

This Toronto-based app took the industry by storm when it launched in 2015 and has been a particular favourite for office workers, thanks to corporate programs and its handy Piggyback feature.

The app is pretty simple: just make an account, link your payment method, and browse you area for restaurants near you. You can browse under categories like Healthy Eats or Indian which a available within a nine minute walk. Interface-wise, it's really easy to scroll around to find what you want.

Pros

The Piggyback feature (which lets people pick up their friends orders, sort of like Uber's fare splitting option) and the Ritual Rewards program, which lets you rack up points for discounts and even free coffee. Ritual also has a yearly month-long 'Lunch for $1' promo.

Cons

There's been some security concerns revolving around Ritual's Piggyback feature, which allowed nearby users to find employees listed under their place of work. 

MealPal

Download: Free
Membership fee needed: Yes
Number of Toronto restaurants offered: 75+

This is less of a pick-up app as it is a lunch subscription service: the whole point is that you can eat a meal every day for less than $7. 

Choose between two 30-day plans: the 20 Meal Lunch offers you up to 20 meals, with each meal costing around $5.99 before taxes and fees. The 12 Meal Lunch gets you 12 meals in the month, and comes up to around $6.39 per meal. 

Pros

MealPal's a pretty convenient option if you're not the type who likes to pack a lunch, ever. You can also pause your plan, which comes in handy if you go out of town. 

Cons

Committing to a subscription fee takes away from the spontaneity of deciding what you want to eat that day. Plus, restaurants only offer a limited number of lunch options daily. You're also only allotted one lunch per day, and Toronto doesn't offer dinner plans right now. 

DoorDash

Download: Free
Membership fee needed: No
Number of Toronto restaurants offered: 16

This delivery app just introduced its DoorDash Pickup last year, letting customers order ahead. Just download the app and scroll down to the bottom until you see the 'Try Pickup' section. You'll get access to most things on the menu, at no extra cost. 

Pros

If you already have DoorDash downloaded on your phone for its delivery function, the pick-up option is just an added bonus. 

Cons

There's only 16 options offered in the entire city right now—13 of which are Popeyes (those biscuits, am I right?) To be fair, they're still expanding, and there are a couple locations of Ajisen Ramen and one T-Swirl Crepe. 

Foodora

Download: Free
Membership fee needed: No
Number of Toronto restaurants offered: 800+

This super-popular delivery service teamed up with Grabb Mobile Inc. to offer order-ahead capabilities in 2017. 

Now that they've merged, Foodora now offers a pick-up feature for restaurants in Toronto. Just download the Foodora app, create an account, and toggle the button that lets you switch between delivery and pick-up modes. 

Pros

Again, if you're big on delivery apps, it's pretty likely you already have Foodora on your phone. This pick-option just expands your options, with the same filter capabilities as before. 

Cons

Unlike Ritual, there aren't enough perks for users (like a tempting point system) to convince us to keep coming back. 

Maegan

Download: Free
Membership fee needed: No
Number of Toronto restaurants offered: 35

Few people know about this app: it offers both delivery and pick-options, and while it's rarely anybody's go-to for either, there are actually a couple of notable businesses here worth signing up for.

Pros

There are few busy restaurants offered on the app, including Pai and the Crawford location of Fresh, which is convenient when you want to skip the line. 

Cons

Maegan has been around for at least three years, but it doesn't seem like it's done much expanding beyond its roster of predominantly Burger's Priest locations. Its functionality is so-so; not the worst, but it's definitely not the sleekest app on your phone. 

by Tanya Mok via blogTO