Top Food Delivery Platforms in Kuwait (2026 Update)

• By qrcod.app admin
• 21-08-2026
• Category: Market Research

Top Food Delivery Platforms in Kuwait (2026 Update): How the New Fee Caps Are Reshaping the Market

A lot has changed in Kuwait's delivery scene since our last snapshot in August 2025. Meituan's Keeta entered the market and is now the #2 most-used Food & Drink app in Kuwait, Deliveroo rolled out free nationwide delivery, and — most importantly for restaurant owners — the Ministry of Commerce and Industry introduced binding commission and delivery-fee caps that took effect in mid-2026. Below is an updated, independent overview of the platforms serving Kuwait today, followed by what the new rules actually mean for your margins.

1) Talabat 🇰🇼 — Still the market leader

• Ranking: #1 Food & Drink app in Kuwait (Similarweb, August 2026)
• Position: Dominant, unchanged share of the market
• Why it stands out: Huge restaurant selection plus grocery and pharmacy delivery; part of Delivery Hero's regional network; frequent promos and an updated app experience rolled out in August 2026.

Founded in 2004, Talabat remains Kuwait's largest marketplace by a clear margin. It continues to invest in retail partnerships (recently adding Centerpoint) and merchant-training programs, including a 2026 partnership with the Kuwait Gastronomy & Culinary Arts Organization.

2) Keeta 🇨🇳 — The fastest-rising new entrant

• Ranking: #2 Food & Drink app in Kuwait (Similarweb, August 2026) — ahead of Deliveroo and Jahez
• Launched in Kuwait: September 2025
• Why it stands out: Backed by Meituan's global delivery infrastructure; aggressive merchant onboarding of local brands (Naif Chicken, Dipndip, Shrimpie) alongside international chains; competitive delivery pricing to build share fast.

Keeta's rapid climb to the #2 spot in under a year is the single biggest shift in Kuwait's delivery landscape since our last update — and it has intensified price and promo competition across the board.

3) Deliveroo 🏷️ — Betting on free nationwide delivery

• Move in 2026: Launched free delivery across all six governorates, regardless of distance
• Partners: Thousands of restaurants and groceries
• Why it stands out: Premium selection, polished app experience, and a strategic shift from geographic expansion toward order frequency and loyalty.

Operating in Kuwait since 2019, Deliveroo is now competing less on speed alone and more on removing delivery fees entirely for the customer — a response to intensifying competition from Keeta and Jahez.

4) Jahez 🇸🇦 — Value-focused challenger

• Edge: Speed and value
• Why it stands out: ~33-minute delivery pledge, pin-drop addressing, flexible pre/post payment, low-cost Jahez Prime subscription, and frequent steep discounts.

A Saudi-born platform expanding in Kuwait since 2022, Jahez continues to compete hardest on price — a strategy that gets more expensive to sustain now that commissions are capped and platforms can no longer offset promo spend with unlimited merchant fees.

5) Cari 🚀 — The homegrown, merchant-friendly option

• Positioning: Local disruptor built around low/no commission for merchants
• Why it stands out: Same in-store pricing, merchants keep control of pricing and promos, fast delivery windows.

Cari was founded by the team behind Carriage after their non-compete with Delivery Hero expired, positioning it as the restaurant-friendly alternative to the big international platforms. With the new regulation now capping what every platform can charge, Cari's low-commission pitch is less of a differentiator than it was in 2025 — but it remains a solid option for merchants who want to keep as much of the order value as possible.

Comparison Table

The real story this year: commission and fee caps

In mid-2026, Kuwait's Ministry of Commerce and Industry introduced the first GCC-level regulation capping what delivery platforms can charge. The headline rules:

• • 17% maximum commission on orders delivered by the platform (covering commission, ads, and featured placement combined)
• • 10% maximum commission if the merchant or customer handles delivery themselves
• • KD 1 maximum delivery fee charged to the consumer per order
• • A ban on forced exclusivity — platforms can no longer penalize merchants for offering self-delivery
• • Full compliance required by September 1, 2026, with penalties ranging from warnings to license cancellation after that date

We covered the regulation in detail in a dedicated breakdown of the new delivery rules (in Arabic). The short version for restaurant owners: for the first time, every platform above is playing under the same fee ceiling, which narrows the gap between the "cheap" and "premium" platforms and makes self-delivery a genuinely protected option rather than something platforms can quietly discourage.

Even so, 17% — or 10% for self-delivery — is still a meaningful cut of every order that passes through a third-party app. That's why a growing number of restaurants and cafés in Kuwait are pairing their presence on these platforms with a QR-code digital menu and direct ordering for dine-in and pickup customers, capturing those orders at effectively zero commission while still using delivery apps to reach new customers.